Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut

Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut
⭐⭐⭐

In Player Piano, Kurt Vonnegut imagines a society that is completely controlled by machines, and the average man seems to have lost his place and sense of purpose in the world. After several devastating wars take place, the need for Army recruits and devoted soldiers becomes terrifyingly dire. To satiate this necessity, two Industrial Revolutions take place, where machines are developed to replace humans in almost every way. Society becomes broken into a hierarchy of two classes, the elite and the lower class. Due to the lack of jobs, the lower class (who are uneducated, unskilled, poor, and belonging to average families) are forced to choose one of two careers: become a Reeks and Wrecks worker (basically a repairman/garbageman/mechanic) or join the Army. Our main character Paul is the son of one of the founding engineers of this new society, but he doesn't feel satisfied following in his father's footsteps. Player Piano is Vonnegut's attempt to describe a civilian uprising and whether or not it would be successful. 

Player Piano is Vonnegut's first book, and being fully transparent, he is one of my favorite authors so I knew I would enjoy this story. What I didn't expect was how progressive some of the ideologies Vonnegut highlights throughout the book would be. This is a story about capitalism, humanism, class war, rebellion, privilege, and how the democracy our country is built on is not quite the democracy that we are being sold. There are a lot of examples of these themes, but I am specifically impressed with how Vonnegut dealt with the ideas of needing to dismantle a society/government in order to build a new one, and false saviorism. Actually - one of my favorite parts of this story is that Paul decides that he is the Messiah that the lower class is needing, and so essentially, he is moving from a position of power to ANOTHER position of power (which directly sheds light on the regularity of nefarious intentions, even if someone's heart is in the right place). 

I rated this three stars only because you can tell it's his first book! There were some moments that could have been edited out. You can tell that Vonnegut wanted to include every idea and criticism he had and at times, the story kind of jumped all over the place. I also wasn't a fan of the ending. I felt that it kind of defeated the purpose of the whole book, but you would have to judge for yourself! I also would have enjoyed a more thorough ending, something that we could have experienced just as we experienced the rest of the novel, but unfortunately, we only see the results of what takes place, not the actual events. 

All in all, this is classic Vonnegut! He's funny, witty, and his politics are mostly always on point. I enjoyed Player Piano a lot - it just wasn't my favorite book of his that I've read. I would definitely recommend reading it if you enjoy politics or satire or are looking for an introduction to more classic literature. Kurt Vonnegut writes Science Fiction like no other! 

Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert 
⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Dune series has continued to awe me with Frank Herbert’s ability to imagine and create a future world that is not altogether an unrealistic prediction whilst currently in the twenty first century. The world is demanding, dangerous, has themes of segregation, and overall is incredibly realistic considering the Science Fiction/Fantasy aspect of these novels. Most importantly, however, Herbert has excelled at writing stories about people - people in power, people who are oppressed and marginalized, people who are lost in their power, and people who are fighting for power. 

Dune: Messiah picks up years after the first story concludes. Paul Atreides is now deep into his emperorship, and we are beginning to see the long term effects of his rule on society. Paul struggles with his morality in this story; has he helped his world or has he hurt it?

Messiah was a much shorter book than the original, which caused the story to feel a bit rushed. At first, I really did not feel inspired by the story or the events taking place. I felt as though I was missing all that took place between these two books and really would have enjoyed a deeper look into that empty history. I found myself enjoying the insights into the people and the corners of this world, that previously were not shown to us, than the actual story being told. Thankfully, however, those feelings changed once we reached the second half of the novel. 

The conflict and resolution of Dune: Messiah hooked me and left me breathless when the absolutely unexpected happens. This story left me with the impression that Frank Herbert knew exactly what he was doing and where he was taking this story and its characters. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series!

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H.P. Lovecraft

 * TRIGGER WARNINGS * major themes of racism, misogyny, and gore

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward 
by H.P. Lovecraft
⭐⭐⭐⭐

H.P. Lovecraft is a legend but there are definitely some trigger warnings that are needed with almost all of his novels and stories (as stated above). Not only is there frequent misogyny, but Lovecraft was a well known and raging racist. Both of these themes can frequently be found throughout this book. Also, this story is about vampires, so gore is often mentioned as well. Please be aware of these warnings if ever you want to read this story!

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward was a very unique reimagining of the typical vampire story. Charles Dexter Ward is intelligent and has a very bright future, until he happens upon the story of one of his ancestors. This ancestor has an air of mystery and the rumors that surround his life are extremely disturbing - so much so, that most paperwork, letters, and any kind of files related to the existence of this ancestor have been completely destroyed. Charles falls deeply into a metaphorical pit of darkness, obsession, danger, and pure horror. 

In this story, Lovecraft weaves together a frightening and unique tale that holds your attention until the very end. Honestly, the main criticisms I have of this story is the misogyny and racism. It is so frequent in these pages and to put it simply - it was very unpleasant. 

This was a great horror novel and it was completely one of a kind, like most things that came from Lovecraft's mind. The descriptions were so vivid that I could literally almost smell this book. If you're interested in vampires or the twisted brain of Lovecraft, this is a really cool book that is worth reading!