The Sound and the Furry: A Review

I think I was half-way through this book before I realized I was saying the title wrong. The word in the title was “Furry” and not “Fury.” This is the first book I have read that is in the Chet and Bernie mysteries by Spencer Quinn. It is not the first book in the series, (it is actually the sixth) and after having read it, I can say that I don’t think it made any difference to me that I had not read the earlier books. I was able to grasp the characters and their relationships just fine.

The book is narrated in first-person by Chet. Chet is Bernie’s dog. He has many characteristics you would expect in a dog. He is fiercely loyal to Bernie. He experiences things through his nose and his ears to a degree that humans can’t begin to fathom. Chet can understand English words quite well (he would have to if he is the narrator) but metaphors and figures of speech throw him. Check out this example when Bernie is counting out money:

“Three grand on the nose,” Bernie said, although he didn’t put it anywhere near his nose.

After a few of these, I was thinking that this shtick might get annoying before I got to the end of the book. It actually grew on me, and I found I didn’t mind it so much. We see Bernie (as we see the world) through Chet’s biased eyes.

The mystery itself gets as convoluted as the bayous it takes place in, and I am not sure it completely wrapped up all the loose ends, but it seems to more or less come together in the end. It is entertaining and I will probably read more in the series.

Star Liner

Comments

All That We See or Seem by Ken Liu

My first experience with cyberpunk as a genre of science fiction was Neuromancer by William Gibson. Neuromancer was one of the early works that defined the cyberpunk genre. It was insanely influential. It won the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award. But for me, it just did not resonate. I had a hard time visualizing the concepts. It left a bad taste in my mouth for cyberpunk. I mostly avoided the genre. Then a couple of years ago I read Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson which is cyberpunk (although some people say it is a parody of cyberpunk). Whatever, I liked it. I recently picked up All That We See or Seem by Ken Liu and it immediately became apparent to me that this was cyberpunk. Julia Z is the main character, and I think this is going to be the start of a series following her. She is a hacker (hence cyberpunk). She has got herself in trouble and so she lives on the margins, barely making it. Then a lawyer asks her for her help. His wife has been kidnapped. The ...

The Linear Nature of Time

Go Go back Go back to the time before Before you did it Before they did it Before it was done to you Before the toast fell on the floor Before the catastrophe Before the mistake Before time’s scars Before Go Go back Redeem it Rework it Fix it Go back No you cannot Go back Star Liner

Um . . . Maybe We Shouldn’t Be Here

Art by Mollyroselee Way back in ancient times when I was in high school, I had a girlfriend. I lived in Eugene and she lived in a little community, about 10 miles away. Being as we were teenagers, finding places to “make-out” was high on our priorities. This was my first serious girlfriend and neither one of us were very experienced at having a relationship. Just to be clear, our make-out sessions did not advance to the ultimate step. But it was not easy to find a place to have some privacy. D...

A speculative mind

Search This Blog