Peter Apps

I started reading this when I purchased it, and then stalled because it hurt too much to read. But it is such an incisive analysis of what happened, so humanely told to centre the experiences of (some) of those directly affected.

On 14 June 2017, a 24-storey block of flats went up in flames. The fire climbed up cladding as flammable as solid petrol. Fire doors failed to self-close. No alarm rang out to warn sleeping residents. As smoke seeped into their homes, all were told to 'stay put'. Many did - and they died. It was a disaster decades in the making. Peter Apps exposes how a steady stream of deregulation, corporate greed and institutional indifference caused this tragedy. It is the story of a grieving community show more forsaken by our government, a community still waiting for change. show less

Pretty good short book (Kindle Single) focused on Churchill's time in WW1 -- after the Gallipoli disaster, where he was forced out of government. He went to France and was commander (as a Lt Col) of an understrength battalion (6th Bn of the Royal Scots Fusiliers) while continuing to agitate politically in the UK by letter, by using his wife as proxy, and when on frequent leave. What struck me was just how little effort a unit commander could put into running his unit at the front, and how show more this was apparently tolerated; I'm happy we have a professional officer corps rather than political appointees in the modern US military. It was apparently really weird even then to have someone as famous and politically powerful as even a disgraced Churchill serving as a field grade officer, though, to the extent that his men often assumed he was a General (as he wore civilian clothes, maybe it was more plausible). show less

BOOK BLURB:
Space heroes are usually macho and clever enough to discover an alien’s weak point before zapping him into oblivion. Stuart, on the other hand, is a school dropout destined to spend the rest of his life laying carpets. Until, that is, he stumbles across Brian and suddenly finds himself with a new job ~ exploring a distant galaxy. But will his adventures saving an alien race give him the courage he needs to overcome his inhibitions? And will he ever be able to tell Brian how he show more really feels about him?

BOOK REVIEW:
Take a foundation of old-school "Doctor Who," add some Douglas Adams, a dash of E.M. Forster's "Maurice," a generous sprinkle of "Star Trek" optimism, and stir ~ Peter Apps first novel reads a little like the old-fashioned British sci-fi I used to devour from the library as a teen, except I don't remember any of those having two gay leads.

Maybe old-fashioned isn't the right description, given the queer protagonists and some of the science, but it's a lot more science based than the character-driven sci-fi I tend to read these days. It took me a few chapters to settle into the very masculine, logical style, and it's striking how little dialogue there is. Despite that, the story is engaging, and the main focus follows Brian and Stuart between 'real' life on Earth, and the alien planets they discover.

The alien worlds is really where the "Star Trek" and "Doctor Who" vibes came to the fore, as the book focuses on two basically-humanoid planets with opposing planet-wide histories that deliver a clear lesson about where humans might be heading if we don't get a grip on global violence and power plays. The author's evident belief in human potential sits a little oddly, particularly with many of the decisions Brian makes. The reclusive self-taught genius who brings the science to the story, has strongly negative experiences of the mainstream scientific community, and convinces everyone else involved that if politicians or the military were to find out about his inventions, they would be used only for ill. It's not that I think Brian's wrong about that ~ it's just that other parts of the book are so determinedly optimistic they were working against each other at times.

The story isn't particularly character driven, but Apps does a solid job of juggling the changing relationship dynamics between Brian and Stuart, between Brian and the village locals, between Stuart and his father, and Stuart and his friends.

It's good to find sci-fi where the main character's orientation matters but isn't the sole driver of the plot, and the sexual tension is nicely handled. When Stuart stumbles ~ literally ~ into Brian's experiments and is recruited as Brian's assistant it makes perfect sense that he'd be cautious about revealing his crush on his boss, whilst Brian ~ quite reasonably ~ worries about taking advantage of his position, and about what Stuart might think if he were to proposition his attractive young assistant. All together it makes for a much more convincing 'we both like each other but can never tell each other' situation than many romances where that's the whole of the plot, and the resolution is similarly soundly handled.

Overall, it's a little patchy, and the distancing style keeps it from fully living up to it's humorous, action-packed blurbs, but this is a thoughtful and interesting read.

(Originally reviewed for Rainbow Reviews : http://www.rainbow-reviews.com/?p=6186) show less