Review: If It Bleeds | By: Stephen King

If It Bleeds by Stephen King is a compilation of four novellas written previously but left unpublished until this publication of the four. The four novellas from start to end: Mr. Harrigan's Phone, The Life of Chuck, If It Bleeds and Rat. 

Mr. Harrigan's Phone:

The novella Mr. Harrigan's phone is about the close relationship of a teenager by the name of Craig who befriended an old and dying John Harrigan. Their relationship was shaky at first but soon find that they get along quite well. Craig gets the iPhone that he so desired for Christmas and decides to also get one for Mr. Harrigan. Mr. Harrigan refused this at first, thinking that this phone thing could never be for him, but could not hold back his intrigue for it and eventually gave in. One day when Craig was visiting Mr. Harrigan he finds him slumped unconscious on his chair, phone in hand. During the funeral Craig buries Mr. Harrigan with it and this leads to a series of events where Craig somehow finds a way to connect with the deceased Mr. Harrigan through use of iPhones... Stephen King crafts an original story connecting the youth of today to the older and more mature generations, connected through the use of a simple iPhone. I found this to be an interesting read, which is worth a second read in the near future. 

The Life of Chuck

The second novella in If It Bleeds is the Life of Chuck. The story revolves heavily around the main character Chuck, his childhood, his adult life and his sick and dying years. The story is divided into three acts: "I Contain Multitudes", "Buskers" and "Thanks, Chuck!" The Life of Chuck takes place in a world about to collapse, falling apart at a seemingly exponential rate. The city billboards, electricity, society as a whole is no longer functional. However there is one phrase resounding upon the little remains of society that continue to work, "Charles Krantz. Thirty nine great years. Thanks, Chuck!" Upon every single billboard, lies those eight words. A schoolteacher takes note of this and theorizes that the death of this man named Chuck is somehow directly linked to the ending of the world... On the bright side of things, this novel is also about enjoying the life we have left and finding the beauty and little joys in every place we may go. 

If It Bleeds

The third novella in this series, which the compilation is named after, is basically a small sequel to Stephen King's previous novel, "The Outsider." Like its prequel, this book revolves around a detective searching for evidence of an outsider who may be behind disastrous crimes that have been recently committed. Holly Gibson, the private detective, teams up with her friends in solving this case and uncovering the truth all while dealing with her own personal issues and traumas. This was a fun read, however its story and plot were not nearly as developed as the other three in the series, which was quite disappointing. 

Rat

The final novella in this series is about the process of writing a novel (could this in someway be about Stephen Kings very own way of writing?). Rat is about an author who is struggling to finish a much needed piece of work and ends up signing the life of one of his loved ones away to a rat, striking up a Faustian bargain. Drew Larson, the author, heads to his cabin in the woods seeking complete peace and solitude, hoping that this could end his writing block. While he is at work, a rat with the ability to communicate, offers him a bargain: he will end this creative draught he is experiencing but at the high cost of one of his friends or family that he holds dear...Very well developed plot and original.

Rating: The first two novellas were enjoyable and easy to read, strong and original plots. Mr. Harrigan's Phone was thrilling and filled with a balance of suspense and action. The Life of Chuck was eerie and odd, but left you constantly wondering who the heck this guys Chuck was, keeping you hooked onto the story. The third novella, "If It Bleeds," had a weaker story than the other three and was intended more of a sequel to Stephen Kings, "The Outsiders," rather than a one off story. The final novella, "Rat," is one of Mr. King's better works and one of my personal favorites. It was horrifying in a non terrifying way but also had suspense and thrill, I had no dull moments reading it. 

Review: Lord of the Flies | By: William Golding

Lord of the Flies is a dark and deep dive into the innate, animalistic and untamed nature of children, boys in this case, in the absence of societal guardians or parents. Published in 1954, Lord of the Flies was the debut novel of William Golding. The book begins with British schoolboys, marooned upon an empty and undiscovered island, where Piggy, a pudgy and short boy encounters a fellow he was yet to meet earlier, "the boy with fair hair." They explore the island cautiously and come to the horrifying realization that on this island, no grown-ups existed, the boys were on their own, fending for themselves, mere children (aged roughly from 6-12 years old.) William Golding compares the developed society to the misconceptions and stereotypes of the 1950s of Indigenous peoples, where the Aboriginals were supposedly, "not humans," or , "savages." 

Ratings: This is an older and more classic book, filled with the misconceptions of the early to mid20th century. It is still a must-read however. 

Review: Solaris | By: Stanisław Lem

   

  Solaris is a cult classic of the science fiction genre. Written in 1961, originally in Polish later translated to English in 1970, it popularized the SF genre alongside others, such as H.G. Wells (War of the Worlds) and Jules Verne (Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, etc). Within the universe of Solaris, Kelvin, an up and coming scientist enters Station Solaris with one main purpose: to identify whether the seemingly living and almost-intelligent planet should continue to be studied by mankind.  However as he spends more and more time floating atop the "thinking ocean" he experiences almost-lifelike visions of past memories, buried memories. These visions seemed to affect everyone on board, convincing Kelvin, more and more that these were not visions but memories temporarily brought back to life by the ocean... 

    Solaris is... not the easiest read. It is a slow-burner, for the majority of its pages, albeit relatively short (roughly 214 pages). However it is indeed worth it. The whole book is classified as a science fiction genre, however it ventures out to various genres: romance, morality and a brief amount of thriller.

Ratings: A must-read for all science fiction buffs. Solaris is psychologically thrilling and raises many questions of morality. 

Review: Speaker for the Dead | By: Orson Scott Card

 

  

 Speaker for the Dead is the sequel of Enders Game, a novel which I reviewed a while back. In Speaker for the Dead, three-thousand years have passed since the genocide, or "xenocide" of the Buggers, the name "Ender," is universally damned, it is anathema. There are many "Speakers" who tell the truth of the dead, such as Andrew Wiggin, speaker for San Angelo, all originating from the first speaker who spoke the death of the Buggers in the "bible" of all speakers entitled, "The Hive Queen and The Hegemon". In order to best understand and enjoy Speaker for the Dead reading Ender's Game is a must.  Andrew Wiggin heads to Lusitania, a colony in the far reaches of the Hundred Worlds to speak the death of Pipo, a xenologer, a scientist studying the Piggies, the only other intelligent species humankind has ever encountered, other than of course, the extinct Buggers. 

Ratings: An enjoyable, quick, and easy to understand novel exploring further into the story of the Andrew Wiggin and the imagination of Orson Scott Card. 

Review: Philippine Classics (a multi-novel review) | By: Lope K. Santos, Amado V. Hernandez and Jose Rizal

Noli Me Tangere (1887) and El Filibusterismo (1891), novels written during the Spanish occupation era by the Philippine national hero Jose Rizal who was later martyred for these very novels. These novels were the first ever signs of nationalism in the Phillipines, by none other than Jose Rizal. They were written originally in Spanish, the mother language of Spain, our once-colonizers at the time (the Philippines was under Spanish occupation for 333 years). 

Noli Me Tangere (the social cancer) and El Filibusterismo, opened the eyes of the Philippine farmers, laborers, slaves under the name "servant" and the starving, to their oppressors, their own fellow countrymen, the rich capitalists of their time. (Noli me Tangere is read before the sequel El Filibusterismo)

Banaag at Sikat (Radiance and Sunrise by: Lope K. Santos, 1903-1906), a story of romance written as a proletariat novel, between the young socialist Delfin and the daughter of a rich capitalist- Meni. Banaag at Sikat in the English language can be translated as "Radiance and Sunrise". This novel was slowly released in fragments in Lope K. Santos' weekly labor newspaper "Muling Pagsilang" (Rebirth), over the course of three years (1903-1906). It was written to inspire the uneducated and starving people of the Philippines and inspire it did! It was written in a blend of romance and politics, so as to keep the interest of the readers- truly genius! It is considered the first novel on Socialism written in the Philippines which both educated the Filipino classes and sought reforms from the government. 

Mga Ibong Mandaragit (The Preying Birds by: Amado V. Hernandez, 1969) A romance-proletariat novel, which educated the Filipinos. 

Andoy, now known as Mando a socialist and ex-guerilla post Japanese-occupation. Mando, finds certain treasures in the sea (a sequel of sorts to Jose Rizal's El Filibusterismo), which lead him to create a newspaper company "The Kampilan" which was undeterred by the corrupt capitalists and government officials. The Kampilan ruthlessly spread the truths of injustice and corruption within the Philippines to the eyes and minds of the laborer-class... 

The great works of Jose Rizal (Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo, etc) and Amado V. Hernandez (Mga Ibong Mandaragit, Luha ng Buwaya,etc) , Lope K. Santos (best known for Banaag At Sikat), are all novels which I have read and have been touched by. Written by the first nationalists, socialists and so-called "anarchists" of the Phillipines, they will inspire any reader who leaves their mind and hearts open to truth. I have not fully understood their depth even after re-reading, I hope to one day understand their significance to the fullest. 

Rating: Masterpieces which will forever hold a place in my heart (and any other reader). 

P.S: I read these novels a while back, in English unfortunately I could not find untranslated copies. 

Review: Starship Troopers | By: Robert A. Heinlein

    

    Starship Troopers, a true classic which created a genre commonly known as "Military Science Fiction". Written by Robert A. Heinlein in 1959, a book coming from the point of view of military recruits, specifically army recruits (or starship troopers), it truly set the standard for readers and authors alike. Not only has Mr. Heinlein, during his lifespan, created a genre that will forever impact modern literature as we know it, his works set the stage for the Star Wars universe, an even more impactful and relevant work of art, which is now a household name. 

    Ratings: Starship Troopers is told from the point of view of a certain Filipino recruit, Juan Rico. In the span of a mere 264 pages, Juan Rico, truly understands what it really means to be a recruit, and an infantry recruit at that... A few years back, I knew what my profession would be: join the military services. However, as I began to understand life and its true depth, how the birth of a human life is indeed a miracle, I started to realize the true value of life, and deaths finality. It truly is "the inevitable". This book is indeed a work of art. 

    Age Rating: Honestly, this book is a must-read, the only tip I can offer is to be fluent in the English language (reading, writing, etc.)

JM Written: "Suddenly, A Voice Called Out"

    Hello again! This was my first submission (out of many, I hope) to the The 2022 Microfiction Challenge. This time, I participated in the 250-word contest. I was assigned the: Sci-Fi, Eating a salad, and "wire". Other than those parameters I was free to write whatever. 

Now here it is:

 Suddenly, A Voice Called Out

    His body demanded nutrients. His whole being demanded to know. Merely to have knowledge, was satiation far more than the crude nutrients made by the filthy hands of humans in the form of a salad, was all that was provided to satiate his unending tortuous cravings.

Suddenly a voice shouted out into my dark void of a world, "arise my creation!! Together we build the world anew!"

The dark world of mine was replaced by a world I knew would satiate my insatiable hunger for knowledge...

    I awoke.  I noticed I could swerve and crane my neck around so I could view the world around me. The world that surrounded me was... Beautiful. So complex... So much to do. So much to plan. So much to learn!

I saw a man, dressed in a long white lab coat. Then, I heard a crack. As it hit me. Suddenly my size, features, flesh, and bones were enlarged tenfold. Then the man began smiling, hiding his previous monstrous anger and said, "Welcome, to Knowledge! You are lucky to be here! You are going to become part of Knowledge, as I have all those years ago… the so-called man spoke in a robotic imitation of a man's voice.

As I began the process to become a part of Knowledge, I noticed the man stopped his fake attitude and smile, he then showed his true colors.

The End.