The Devil's Dictionary by Steven Kotler

Published on St. Martin's Press on April 19, 2022

While The Devil’s Dictionary borrows its title from Ambrose Bierce’s 1906 collection of satirical definitions, Steven Kotler’s book is a smart, energetic, and entertaining work of science fiction. The title refers to a scheme to “create life from scratch.” The scheme is the glue that binds the components of a richly imagined story.

Lion Zorn first appeared in Last Tango in Cyberspace. Zorn is an em-tracker. Riffing on ideas that William Gibson popularized, Kotler’s version of empathy tracking is a genetic evolution that enhances the ability to recognize patterns, to feel how cultures clash and blend. Apart from having enhanced empathy for every living part of the environment, em-trackers are “cultural prediction engines,” giving them the ability to sort through trends and make smart guesses about the future.

A pharmaceutical product called Sietch Tabr enhances empathy in a similar way for people who aren’t born with the genetic mutation. It also alters pheromones, making predators sense the drug user as a friend. Developed as a cure for autism, Sietch Tabr (a name that winks at Dune) became a popular street drug because of its psychoactive properties. Lion became famous — a hero to some and reviled by others — when he wrote an article extolling the benefits of “empathy for all.” The article sparked a social movement but sent Lion into hiding after the Splinter, a schism that divides humans who value empathy and those who don’t. The “us against them” theme, like the environmental destruction theme, represents Kotler’s attempt to give the novel allegorical relevance to humanity’s present.

Sir Richard became wealthy marketing Sietch Tabr. He took advantage of his wealth and the sudden spread of empathy to create the Pacific Rim mega-linkage, a long corridor that serves as an environmental refuge, giving animals and plants the chance to roam, countering restrictions imposed by humans. The selfish class — those who reject empathy — have spawned a Humans First movement that opposes attempts to elevate the status of non-human life. It doesn’t bother them that humanity’s insatiable hunger has multiplied the extinction rate of plant and animal life since humans arrived on the scene. In fact, they think human dominion over animals is God’s design. Whether God wanted us to wipe out species by the thousands is a question they forget to ask.

Against that background, Zorn comes out of hiding to search for friends who have disappeared after telling Zorn about a new drug called evo that makes users “trip evolution.” He discovers what might be a plot to hunt down em-trackers and a larger plot to build an AI that, using the genomes of all the animals in the world, can combine genetic data to build life from scratch.

The story sends Zorn on a quest that really can’t be summarized. It involves men who seduce Chinese virgins, deflower them, and encourage them to commit suicide. It involves a tattooed colony of people who developed empathic relationships with bats and occupied the Space Needle. It involves a poly-tribe that grew out of a hacker collective with a shared interest in ecology. It involves flying tree snakes and mechanical polar bears.

Zorn’s supporting cast is not particularly memorable, but Zorn is sufficiently anguished to give his characterization some depth. The story is filled with action, providing a nice balance against the complex plot. Internal plot summaries help the reader hold the plot in memory without slowing its development. While the novel doesn’t feel entirely fresh, Steven Kotler’s ability to weave together familiar science fiction themes and to create a rich background make The Devil’s Dictionary an engaging read.

RECOMMENDED

Scheme by Jeffrey Deaver

Published by Amazon on April 28, 2022

“Scheme” is an Amazon original short story. It might be slightly longer than an average short story, but not long enough to qualify as a novella.

A well-hidden bomb is found in a hospital, so well hidden that a robot can’t get to it. Why do the police believe that a caller was able to spot such a well-hidden “suspicious package”?  We’re never told.

The police conclude that the bomb was planted by a right-wing militia. What evidence supports that hypothesis? Well, some other bomb once was planted by a militia, so this one must have been too. Why does this pass for reasoning? We’re never told.

Somehow the police “tech” unit gets a warrant to search email sent from cellphones that were near the bomb at some point. All email, mind you, most of which will clearly have nothing to do with the bomb. The police managed this feat based on what probable cause? We’re never told because that’s not how warrants work.

The search yields an email containing the phrase “It’s in position,” which the police believe is a reference to the bomb. This leads to an earlier email to the presumed bomber that gives the date of the bombing but not the location. It does, however, include a bad poem. Why do the police think the poem has something to do with the bomb? We’re never told.

When the tech people find a second poem in an email, an English professor at the local college helps them decode it. The professor astutely concludes that the poems suck. The reader will likely agree, but the professor offers an academic perspective to explain why they suck. A third poem is no better.

The plot allows Deaver to give the reader an introduction to poetry, something that might be useful for readers who didn’t attend high school. The cop who works with the professor pays more attention to her “sparkly eyes” than her lectures about rhyming schemes, which leads to the cop showing his scars to the professor, which leads to … well, you know.

Meanwhile, other cops made a big drug bust that involves “the mob.” Since we hear about it three or four times, it will obviously tie into the poetry slam bomber at some point.

The story seems bizarre until it takes a twist at the end that explains the poems. The twist is also bizarre, but it at least forces the protagonist detective to admit that he was a fool for not asking obvious questions that readers will surely ask. The ending is meant to make readers feel good about some seemingly bad people, but it is so contrived that I felt bad for wasting my time.

The story ends with an information dump that is not the stuff of compelling fiction. Readers who like contrived stories about dull and moronic protagonists might get into “Scheme.” The rest of the reading world will lose nothing by giving it a pass.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Targeted by Stephen Hunter

Published by Atria/Emily Bestler Books on January 18, 2022

Targeted is a novel of extremist paranoia, a work of propaganda that pushes all the far-right buttons, from “they’re coming to take away our guns” to “fake news” invented by mainstream media reporters (one of whom is described as “vagina-faced”). After reading Game of Snipers, a decent thriller with a minimal injection of politics, I expected better from Stephen Hunter. My expectations weren’t worth the paper the book was printed on, particularly the paperless digital edition.

A congressional subcommittee made up of “leftists” in Washington is investigating Bob Lee Swagger because they don’t have anything more important to investigate. Maybe Hunter wrote this novel before January 6, 2021; maybe he means to distract from it. Ruled by an evil leader who is clearly a stand-in for Nancy Pelosi (variously referred to as “the crazy lady,” “dragon bitch,” and “Mother Death”), the “leftists” (including a Democrat identified as “the mewling baby man”) are out to get Bob Lee Swagger, not because of his silly name, but because he is a true American hero who loves guns and isn’t afraid to use them. Sigh.

The novel’s tired premise is that the left hates heroes who use guns and wants to hamper the efforts of patriotic cops who are just trying to protect American citizens from suspicious people with dark skin. What better strategy could the “leftists” concoct than to investigate Swagger and have him prosecuted with the expectation that police officers will be crippled by the fear of similar consequences and will never again use force to protect white people from the criminals who terrorize them? The investigation is supposedly based on Swagger’s use of “unauthorized ammunition” (Swagger’s special recipe), a charge that will hardly dissuade the police from using conventional ammunition. Sorry Hunter, but nobody on the left would be stupid enough to think this investigation makes sense. Prosecuting Swagger would make him the poster boy for the next Blue Lives Matter campaign. Who needs that?

In the real world, the Justice Department isn’t going to indict the man who (in the previous novel) saved Obama’s life (and was prepared to save Trump’s) from a terrorist sniper because he did so by using “unauthorized ammunition.” Nor would Democrats vote to investigate a war hero in a wheelchair. Nor would a judge allow the case to go forward, since shooting a killer with “unauthorized ammunition” as the killer is lining up a shot to take out an ex-president doesn’t remotely constitute wanton endangerment, which (at least as described here) isn’t even a federal crime. The idiotic concept of Targeted is jaw-dropping. It’s also ridiculous to think that cops would care whether Swagger is prosecuted for using ammunition that they don’t use, given that the prosecution of Derek Chauvin didn’t deter other cops from kneeling on the necks of unarmed suspects.

Swagger is insufferably self-righteous as he feigns humility. His philosophy is simple, to match his simple mind: liberals weak, rough man strong. Hunter portrays everyone on the left as ignorant because, unlike the virtuous Swagger, they couldn’t possibly understand the crucial distinction between a bullet and a cartridge. At several points, the novel suggests that education is useless unless it relates to guns and killing. Swagger’s poor grammar is apparently intended to convey that “book learning” don’t mean nothing compared to knowledge of firearms. Oddly, Swagger likes to read histories of war but his reading ain’t improved his grammar none. When he isn’t crafting Swagger’s dialog, Hunter at least manages to construct sentences with pain-free grammar. Gosh, did Hunter acquire a dangerous education somewhere?

The point of this novel is not to tell a realistic story. The point is to push the intended audience’s propaganda buttons by demonstrating how, consistent with the fevered imaginations of conservative extremists, “leftists” hate cops and guns. This isn’t a fair-minded discussion of whether cops should be screened for racism and sadism or whether guns should be regulated. It’s a full course red meat dinner for readers on the far right who live in a fact-free echo chamber, readers who believe that “rough men” who use violence to protect us all must be free from criticism when they turn their violence against people who are armed with nothing but dark skin. Swagger gives a tedious speech about the long line of “rough men” in his family who preceded him and how we all love them when we need them. Dull stretches of this dull novel even follow one of his ancestors in 1780, apparently to make the point that “rough men” have always been vital to American life. And perhaps to suggest that a facility with guns is hereditary.

This nuttiness takes up the first half of a slow-moving story. Hunter tries to pick up the pace in the second half by introducing Chechen prisoners who steal a prison bus and perform the miraculous task of crashing into an otherwise impregnable high school auditorium where the congressional subcommittee is holding a hearing on Swagger. Why are members of Congress convening in a high school auditorium in Boise? Well, they thought it would be wise to meet Swagger on his home turf rather than Washington. Seriously? The real reason is that prisoners can’t easily drive a stolen bus into the Capitol — only insurrectionists on foot can manage that invasion.

The Chechens terrorize the “soft” liberals and guess who comes riding to the rescue? Hint: he’s riding a wheelchair. In fact, he’s zip tied to the wheelchair and (spoiler alert) has apparently been stabbed to death, but that doesn’t stop him from fighting armed terrorists because righteous tough guys always prevail. Unlike all the rough men wannabes who regularly threaten Nancy Pelosi from their parents’ basements, the true patriot knows that his job is to protect women, even the ones for whom he feels contempt. Mind you, Swagger makes clear that he wouldn’t mind if Pelosi were killed, but he’s willing to sacrifice himself to “make a point,” which apparently has something to do with the moral superiority of rough men with guns.

Unfortunately, every time the novel seems to be moving forward, Hunter takes a break to give us another diatribe, in one instance imagining a New York Times reporter dictating policy to the government’s hostage team, insisting that they use no violence because “the day of the heroes is over” and lamenting that Swagger might ruin the story by doing something heroic. The Times reporter, of course, doesn’t know the difference between Utah and Idaho. At other times, Hunter pauses the action to show us how bureaucrats, unlike rough men with guns, can’t get anything done. Hunter even takes a shot at Stephen Colbert, mistaking the comedian for a “political analyst,” likely because Hunter has no sense of humor.

The simple-minded mentality of Targeted comes down to the superiority of Men With Guns to Men Without Guns — not just superiority at shooting guns and killing people (although those are the only things that really matter to the celebrated Rough Men), but superiority at all things: making policy, raising kids, teaching history to white children. They probably bake better brownies; you can’t go wrong with Men With Guns. Put them behind keyboards, however, and you can’t count on them to produce compelling fiction, unless you need loving descriptions of guns to make your day.

NOT RECOMMENDED

The Patron Saint of Second Chances by Christine Simon

Published by Atria Books on April 12, 2022

Readers might find themselves yearning for a book that distracts them from the muddy reality of modern life, the kind of book in which a happy ending, however unlikely, is guaranteed. The Patron Saint of Second Chances is a charming story of the old world’s stubborn resistance to the new world’s encroachment. Eccentric characters populate Prometto, Italy, a sleepy village of 212 residents. Prometto is fortunate in that one of its residents leaves or dies when a new child is born, saving it the trouble of amending the population statistic on the village sign.

Giovannino Speranza is the mayor of Prometto. His wife inherited a hotel and he inherited his father’s vacuum cleaner repair business. The hotel has no guests because nobody has any reason to visit Prometto. A steady customer who regularly vacuums up Legos keeps Speranza in business.

Speranza is anguished by the apparent inevitability of the village’s demise, as the water authorities have given the village two months to replace its pipes (currently patched with bubble gum) before its water supply is shut off. Villagers are behind on their taxes and the village only has 200 euros, well short of the 70,000 required to make the repairs. The water authority will not authorize a payment plan because it is clear that Prometto will never have money.

Speranza is inspired after learning that a property owner in another village elevated local property values by spreading the rumor that George Clooney was about to buy a villa. The village economy went wild. Speranza attempts his own version of the scam by dropping the name of Dante Rinaldi, an Italian actor he’d never heard of until his adorning daughter talked about him. A rumor takes hold that the actor will be filming a movie in Prometto. Speranza only needs to find an investor to fund the movie and then divert the investment to pipe repairs. The fact that towns do not produce movies never occurs to Prometto’s residents, who have no experience in such things. Nor would they care, given the life that the rumor breathes into their dying village.

The village’s only wealthy resident, a butcher named Maestro, agrees to make a large investment in the movie, but only if one of his many sons will appear in the film. Speranza sees no choice but to simulate the filming of a movie to satisfy the investor.  One setback follows another as Speranza collects and loses money, always ending up short of the 70,000 the village needs to continue its existence. At some point, Speranza must confess to the village priest, who not only forgives Speranza but joins the scheme to save the village.

The Patron Saint of Second Chances is quirky, silly, and very funny. The story follows its own mad logic, making it easy to suspend disbelief in the unlikely plot. Speranza makes an enemy of Maestro, who keeps a wary eye on his investment, making a romance between Maestro’s son and Speranza’s daughter a Romeo and Juliet story. Another love story involves Smilzo, the only character who knows anything about making movies, and the woman he worships, who thinks she is playing the female lead and eagerly awaits the promised appearance of Rinaldi. An ongoing joke involving the world’s largest Pomeranian and the miniature schnauzers who harass him blends with another ongoing joke about real and simulated flatulence. What more could a reader ask from a comedy? The Patron Saint of Second Chances is just about perfect for readers who need an escape from the relentless crush of bad news.

RECOMMENDED

The Investigator by John Sandford

Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on April 12, 2022

John Sandford has never been a friend to readers on the far right. Some readers made that clear in Amazon “reviews” of Lucas Davenport novels in which Davenport prevented the assassination of a female Democrat who was running for the presidency and tackled threats from white supremacists. The “reviews” portrayed Sandford as a propogandist for the far left despite his love of guns, the value he places on law enforcement, and his apolitical approach to p4otagonists. Readers who value thrillers that paint everyone from the Middle East as evil incarnate while pretending domestic threats only come from “antifa” will probably want to stay away from Sandford, notwithstanding (or because of) the political centrism he brings to his novels.

The Investigator is the first novel to star Letty Davenport. Letty is Lucas’ adopted daughter. She has many of Lucas’ traits. She loves guns and isn’t bothered when she kills people, although she doesn’t kill them indiscriminately. She’s not much interested in most people who don’t work for law enforcement. She’s really not fond of violent extremists.

Letty is working in an internship for a senator who assigns her to work as a Senate investigator attached to Homeland Security because of her unique skills, including her willingness to conduct searches for which the police would need a warrant. She works with a former Delta, now a Homeland Security agent, to track down a threat posed by multiple militias in Texas. The militia leader, Jane Jael Hawkes, has a problem with migrants. Hawkes' own militia sometimes kills “illegals” rather than helping the Border Patrol take them into custody. Now she’s purchased stolen C4 and has teamed up with other militias to do something nefarious. It is clear to the reader that the nefarious act will have something about a caravan that is moving through Mexico on its way to a town in Texas that might offer refugee status to the travelers. Hawkes and her followers brand any political leader who would allow refugees into the country as "traitors."

The Investigator is chilling because the story’s foundation is convincing. You only need to dive into the comment sections of any mainstream news site/blog to understand how many people in this country prefer lies to facts, bigotry to tolerance, and guns to reason. They blame everyone but themselves for their circumstances. While their complaints about “elites” or “rich people” might be founded in the real world, they expand their grievances to include powerless individuals, including migrants, who cause them no harm. The powerless are easier to threaten or beat or kill than the powerful corporate leaders who ship jobs overseas while convincing workers that unions will somehow make their miserable jobs worse. People harboring irrational grievances who believe problems can be solved with guns are easily manipulated. The Investigator illustrates how easily manipulation might lead to tragedy.

Sandford’s fans know that Lucas Davenport novels can be dark while Virgil Flowers novels tend to be a bit lighter. The Investigator is on the darker side. Sandford’s dialog is always characterized by characters taking friendly shots at each other. Letty and her DHS partner do the same as they bond, but that dialog offers the only humor in a novel that takes the threat of domestic terrorism seriously.

Letty’s initial investigation give the novel the feel of detective fiction. The story gradually transitions to an action novel as Letty and her Homeland Security sidekick, without any of the superhuman antics of tough guy thriller heroes, take on the militias that have invaded a Texas town. The combination of investigation and action has served Sandford well. It is particularly effective in The Investigator. High-octane action and smart plot combine to make The Investigator one of my favorite Sandford novels. Sandford can probably make any character carry a series, but Letty clearly has what it takes to star in future novels.

RECOMMENDED