The House of the Scorpion: It's Not Easy Being A Clone

Science fiction novels are a little like bats; elusive, somewhat grotesque, and often misunderstood. Bats aren't vampires. They won't suck your blood and turn into hedonistic bourgeoisie after dark. They're just little sight-challenged mice with wings, a whimsical combination of mammal and bird. What's not to love? It's the same with science fiction books. They're not über technical. They won't turn you into a Trekkie with bad acne and no social life. Most of the time, they're stories that take an idea, whether it be scientific, social or economic, and asks "What if?" In 2001: A Space Odyssey, Clark starts with the question, "What if the human race only evolved because of the influence of an alien race?" and goes on from there. In 1984, Orwell asks "What if communism got so out of hand that we were eventually ruled over by a complete dictatorship?" And of course, in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams asks, "WTF is wrong with everyone?"

In Nancy Farmer's young-adult, sci-fi powerhouse The House of the Scorpion, she asks, "What would it be like to be a human clone?" But it isn't this question--asked by many other writers--that makes her book so unique. I've had the pleasure to consume two of Farmer's other books, The Ear, the Eye and the Arm, and A Girl Named Disaster (both of which, like Scorpion are Newbery Honor Books) and all of her work shares a remarkable characteristic. Farmer has the ability to combine foreign, ultra-traditional locales with a distinctly futuristic timeframe and setting. In The Ear, Farmer transports the reader to Zimbabwe, 2194, where she elegantly combines sleek, technological innovation with traditional African symbolism and ritual.

In Scorpion, we follow the life of Matteo Alacrán, the only clone given the gift (or curse) of a perfectly working brain. Matt lives in a country called Opium, a thin strip of land stretching across the United States/Mexican border. Opium was created when the US and Mexican government agreed to give the land to the powerful drug lords in exchange for their protection of the borderlands from illegal immigrants. (Hey, it's possible.) The most famous of all the drug lords, known as El Patrón, paid heaps of money to develop the technology to create clones of himself...among other things. Matt is that clone.

So yeah, it's a pretty complex story. But as you can see, amazingly ambitious for a young adult novel. It has enough social, political and psychological significance to keep any adult reader invested, and plenty of action, mystery and intrigue for the younger reader. Unfortunately for me, there really isn't anything funny about it. It's just good. Really, really good.

And I guess science fiction novels aren't really like bats. Sigh.

Tastiness: Mmm....tastes like cloned deliciousness...the same as regular deliciousness.
Special Sauce: A good ol' enchilada just like Mamacita used to make...except from the future.
Recommend: Si.

The Book of Three: Frodo--er, Taran, Go Back to the Shire!

I am almost embarrassed--as a Children's Literature person who especially enjoys juvenile fantasy--to say that this was the first time I had ever read Lloyd Alexander's The Book of Three, the first in his famous Prydain series. I aim to read the rest, and even watch Disney's sure-to-be-horrifying adaption of the second book The Black Cauldron, when I get a chance.

I think that perhaps some of my reaction to this book is due to the fact that I didn't read it when I was young, and have effectively read many, many other young fantasy books published before and after this one. Because although the book kept my attention, everything that happened in it felt extraordinarily cliche. Tasty, yes, but nothing special. This is not because I have no respect for high-fantasy, mind you, but it seemed to me that this story had all the trappings of great high-fantasy--dramatic, active writing, strong characters, magic and magical realms and creatures, a mighty quest--but without any of the originality. Let me lay it all out on the dinner table for you...

• Main Ingredient: Young Hero, Has A Lot To Learn, But Proves Himself In The End. (Taran, check)
• Side Dishes: Love Interest (The Princess, check), Quirky But Valiant Companions (Fflewddur and Gurgi, check and check), The Obligatory Surly Dwarf (Doli, check), A Couple Weird Animals (Hen Wen the Pig and that flappy thing, check and check)
• Other Servings: A Wise Old Man, Preferably A Wizard (Dhalben, check), A Real Deal Hero (Gwydion, check, remember, this is for Young Fantasy...in Adult Fantasy this guy might be the main ingredient, or an underdog of some ilk) and of course, An Evil Scary Villain With Something Covering His Face (Horned King, check) Preferably on a Black Horse (check)
  
• Preparations: Hero Must Be Thrown In A Dungeon At Some Point (check), Hero Must Visit The "Fairy Folk" or "Dwarves" at Some Point (check), Hero Must Encounter An Enchanted Item (the sword, check), Hero Must Encounter Villain in Utterly One-Sided Final Fight Where Against All Odds Some Magical Thing Happens That Saves Him (check) After Which He Faints And Wakes Up In A Room Filled With Light And Surrounded By All His Friends (check)

So there you have it. Now, this little recipe can be easily applied to many fantasy books, including the best ones. Take Lord of the Rings, for example. Let's take a look.

• Main Ingredient: Young Hero, Has A Lot To Learn, But Proves Himself In The End. (Frodo, poor dear)
• Side Dishes: Love Interest (Sam. Oh, and I guess Arwen...), Quirky But Valiant Companions (Legolas and Gimli), The Obligatory Surly Dwarf (Gimli), A Couple Weird Animals (Merry and Pippin)
• Other Servings: A Wise Old Man, Preferably A Wizard (Gandalf), A Real Deal Hero (Aragorn) and of course, An Evil Scary Villain With Something Covering His Face (Mordor, and he has no face,so yes.) Preferably on a Black Horse (Mordor's big guy does, so yes.)
  
• Preparations: Hero Must Be Thrown In A Dungeon At Some Point (Frodo is, after he's sucked dry by Shelob), Hero Must Visit The "Fairy Folk" or "Dwarves" at Some Point (Yup, meets the elves in Fellowship), Hero Must Encounter An Enchanted Item (Um...the ring?), Hero Must Encounter Villain in Utterly One-Sided Final Fight Where Against All Odds Some Magical Thing Happens That Saves Him (The Fellowship, in the battle right before Frodo drops the ring into Mount Doom) After Which He Faints And Wakes Up In A Room Filled With Light And Surrounded By All His Friends (Who Could Forget, sniff sniff)

Right. So, obviously it's okay if the story follows this pattern. But the difference between the two is, Lord of the Rings (aside from being the first to really DO this) has something else that makes it stand out. It's hard to put my finger on it, but it's there. And I didn't see it in The Book of Three. That isn't to say it wasn't enjoyable, it just wasn't a gem. I'll read the rest anyway; maybe I'll change my mind.

Tastiness: Nice, not thrilling, but nice. A lot like a piece of baked chicken. It's good, but you know, it's chicken.
Special Sauce: Yeah, that's the problem.
Recommend: Eh.

Rendezvous with Rama: It's a Tube! It's an Ark! It's...Oh, that's the last page.

Welcome to Meech Eat Books' premier literary meal! Where we roll up our proverbial sleeves and chow down on some serious fiction goodness. On the menu for today is Arthur C. Clark's Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning Hardcore Sci-Fi Orgy Rendezvous with Rama. Bon Appretit!

Rendezvous with Rama was first published in 1972, to the ecstasy of all the pimple-faced teenagers who had previously blown their intellectual loads reading Clark's famous 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968. Due to all the fervor with men landing on the moon and such things, science fiction was as hot as Murcury's terrestrial surface. After it's release, Rama became an instant classic, and is still considered a cornerstone of the genre.

In Rama, we join the valiant crew of the spaceship Endeavor in their quest to discover the secrets of Rama, a giant metal phallus that has mysteriously invaded the virgin skies of our solar system. A lot of the allure of this book is the authenticity of the exploration experience; there's very little melodrama involved, so the excitement of the many discoveries is realistic and intense. Just being able to visualize the world within Rama--which is constructed along 360 degrees of an enormous tube, where the "Cylindrical Sea" extends, essentially, up and around the wall onto the ceiling--is kind of an experience within itself. For those who need constant action and intrigue in their novels, this isn't really one for you. One could see the pace as pretty plodding at times, but that isn't really the point. This is a book that poses questions, but doesn't necessarily answer them.

But, Clark does put in some zingers to keep you on your toes. The entire exploration period is on a ticking clock, being that Rama is on a crash-course towards the sun, so Endeavor only has a certain amount of time to discover all they can before jetting it out of there. Also, back on the Moon, the United Planets (an outer space version of the United Nations, complete with the heroic Americans (Earth) and the quirky, homocidal foreigners (Murcury)) are discussing every tidbit that comes back to them from Endeavor, and eventually the Hermians (from Murcury), decide that there's a chance that Rama just might pop an intergalactic cap in their asses so they shoot an big f***-off nuclear warhead at it--just in case. You can find out how that turns out on your own.

Probably the most hair-pulling, frustrating, yet brilliant part of this novel is that by the end, you are left with almost nothing to go on except some three-legged eyeball things and miscellaneous junk from an alien Self-Storage bunker. The puzzled crew of the Endeavor leave Rama pretty much like this:

Captain: So guys, what do you think that was all about?
1st Mate: No flipping clue, Sir.
2nd Mate: Beats the shit out of me, Sir.
3rd Mate: Sir, I think that it was an intergalactic ark, sent from Jesus to take aboard all the saved souls and transport them to his paradise in another galaxy, far, far away.
(pause)
Captain: Really?
3rd Mate: Ah hah ha...no, not really.
Captain: Oh.
(pause)
Doctor: OMFG! Soylent green is PEOPLE!

Okay, so that last part didn't happen, but something similar does. Kind of. Anyway, Rendezvous With Rama is definitely worth the read, not only because it's a sci-fi classic, but it's a thought-provoking book that follows all its own rules.

Tastiness: Mystery meat. Tastes good, but I don't know why...
Special Sauce: Originality, mind-bending visuals, philosophical quandries.
Recommend? Yes.