Plot or Premise

People from the future are reaching back again into a version of their past.

What I Liked

When I read Peripheral, I had no idea it was part of a trilogy or that there were other books in the series. I just knew that I enjoyed Gibson’s writing and looked for other recent books by him. I found Agency, and initially thought it was a similar theme to the previous book, not that it was actually in the same universe. A young woman is hiding from the paparazzi because of a relationship she once had with a very famous guy and takes on a computer-related job to pay the bills. She is to interact with a virtual assistant / pseudo game-AI and see how lifelike it can appear, and whether it displays signs of self-agency. The company intends to monitor all of her interactions with the program, use it to improve it, etc. Except the program doesn’t like that, and becomes more self-aware. Everyone involved realizes the program is more than they thought, and the woman is now in danger from the people who hired her who want to shut everything down, others who want to access the program, etc. It’s a race to the end where no one but the program knows the finish line.

What I Didn’t Like

There is a nebulous connection between this reality and the previous book, but it seems to be further back in time. Yet some of the other characters from the slightly later past end up getting involved too, without much explanation if they are crossing old timelines or not. Plus, while the series is called Jackpot, you never find out really what the Jackpot is or why it’s named that…at some point in the future, a series of lines of societal degradation finally reach a tipping point, much of the world’s population gets eliminated, and you end up with a huge divide between the rich and poor — all after the “Jackpot”. Maybe it will be explained in Book 3, not yet announced. The socio-economic manipulations are not quite as prevalent, but some societal stuff happens in the background, far enough back that you are now in the recent timelines of our own society, yet way beyond what we can do even now.

The Bottom Line

More like books set in the same universe than a trilogy

Plot or Premise

Michael Wernick is a former Clerk of the Privy Council in Canada and his book provides advice on the “tradecraft of politics” i.e., what Prime Ministers or Ministers do or should consider doing while in office…or at least the “how” of a given day.

What I Liked

The opening was quite strong, I felt, with some good information on life from the view of being the Clerk. It had a very down-home, practical feel to it, and I was excited to see where it was going to go. I particularly liked that it was not about reform or how things “ought” to be, but stayed pretty focused on “how it (currently) works”. As Wernick notes, there are lots of other books out there that talk about reform or changes in general or comparisons of how certain leaders have governed. While much of the book is about the decisions of PMs or Ministers, I was more interested in the elements around the roles, behaviour and attitudes of political staff, as well as the operational aspects of being a DM. I particularly liked his insights into the structural imbalance that “…political offices tend to underestimate implementation risks and costs and to be impatient about timelines, whereas departments tend to be overly cautious and are likely to go to what they are familiar with as a solution.” There were also some good insights into the way Comms people view announceables or deliverables from the political side (short-term, pointed) and departmental side (potentially longer-term, incremental).

What I Didn’t Like

The middle section of the book lagged for me. What started off as down-home guidance that would benefit anyone started to read more like a memo to the PM or a Minister for a transition note. At times, it even veered somewhat into Machiavelli’s The Prince, minus the advice that it is better to be feared than loved. Yet much of that detailed or pointed behavioural advice is likely of little interest to the average reader, and I felt my interest dropping with each passing page until the DM section started.

Disclosure

While I do not know the author, I have worked closely with his sister and respect her immensely.

The Bottom Line

Great insights into the hidden world, with just a twinge of memo language.

Plot or Premise

A new police officer in London is about to get a dull desk job when his career gets a boost — he meets a ghost who witnessed a murder.

What I Liked

Originally called Midnight Riot, the book focuses on Peter Grant who is about to get his first assignment as a police constable in London. When he meets a ghost who witnessed a bizarre murder that involved a beheading, he’s not sure if he’s going crazy or has just been handed a career opportunity. Much of the book is about him learning about magic being real, and there are lots of fun cultural cross-references to other magical books or shows. In Harry Potter land, he’s a Muggle who just got his letter for Hogwarts, except the training ground is a division in the police force made up of one Inspector who investigates the “funny” cases. Called The Folly, apparently they have been policing for years, but there isn’t much happening, so they have an arrangement with magical folks to have one wizard on the payroll. Now two, as Peter joins him.

I love the efficient leaps in explanations that magic is real and how it works. Rather than going into really long boring backstory, they might say, “Hey, some of the magical folk would like a Ministry of Magic”. Short, pointed cross-reference, and the story moves along. I was fascinated in book 1 of the series with the focus on how all the rivers are goddesses and minor goddesses, and how the stronger ones can use glamour to compel the weak-minded to do their bidding. Jedi mind tricks without the midi-chlorians. And it is the world-building that drives the beauty of the first book more so than the mystery.

What I Didn’t Like

There are two scenes in the book that are a little out of character with the rest of the book. One is a huge elongated action scene involving an opera company, a pretty broad swath of people being controlled, etc. All of it way beyond what the “magical antagonist” should be capable of doing. It reads almost like satire or spoof at that point, something more akin to Douglas Adams than JK Rowling. The second scene is the near finale that suddenly has Peter pursuing a suspect through magical happenings that also have not really been party to the story up to that point. Almost as if Hans Gruber in Die Hard was falling to his death and suddenly had the ability to sprout wings. I don’t want to spoil things any more than that, but it’s almost like, “Oh, I forgot to mention I can do this.” It detracts a bit from the amazing world that has been built.

The Bottom Line

Great opener, but a little uneven