Very Hard Choices Book

Politics first...

This book is essentially a thinly veiled criticism of America's recent reactionary mindset, especially and specifically to the "very hard choices" that the US government has made post-911.

Written from a very liberal perspective, this book questions the right wing dogma used to justify decisions that make America anything but a shining beacon of hope to the rest of the world.

Homeland Security? What happened to the land of the free?

Torture in Guantanamo? What happened to beating the Nazis by carefully NOT becoming a Nazi oneself?

There are more examples, and in each case the book strives to push Spider's left-wing perspectives. Whether you agree with his opinions or not, you will have to admit that this book comes across as quite preachy - it has an indoctrinatory flavor that may put you off.

But it's also compelling reading, and easy to enjoy. I just wanted to be clear that the politics are not subtle, nor objectively examined.

Spider's basic theme, however, remains compelling. I'll steal the most profound moment for discussion in the items listed here:

1) In your heart, you're convinced that you are a Good Guy

2) To achieve your purpose (as a Good Guy), you reluctantly and pragmatically make some Very Hard Choices

3) You accept that sometimes you have to do what appear in isolation to be bad things in order to promote the overall greater good.

3a) Thus with Machiavellian assurance, you're prepared to get your hands dirty in your effort for Good to overcome Evil.

4) You attempt to enlist a telepath (a mind-reader) to help you.

5) But the telepath refuses! What is that about?

5a) Is he not a true telepath? In your heart, you are convinced you're the Good Guy. Surely a true telepath would read your mind and realize you're the Good Guy, and would help. So perhaps the telepath sucks and is no use to your mission anyways.

5b) Or maybe you're just wrong fundamentally! The telepath can actually read your mind but rejects that you're the Good Guy because you're not acting like the Good Guy. No matter how purely motivated you are to do good in the larger picture, the small items count too, and you should not do wrong even when you hope it will lead to good. So the telepath now won't help you, and you have to reassess if in fact you really are the Good Guy after all...

Ok... Reading back, my synopsis is a bit clunky. Spider does it better, but I've attempted to capture the fundamental question that this book attempts to answer. If my version was not as skillfully expressed as Spider's, chalk that up to the author's art and give him an extra star.

It's an interesting question, but I suspect the majority of readers will approach it from their own mindset, and reading Spider's book may not be enough in itself to sway any particular reader's opinion much.

I'd rate the preachiness of this book to be at least 8.2/10, which is even a bit higher than the first book in this series. (And, yes, this is a case where a lower score would be preferred!)

How about the writing? It's Spider, so it's compellingly readable as always. It's effortless to turn page after page, and enjoyable throughout. His tone is a unique blend of smart (but not snobbish) and witty (but not silly) prose that most readers will find appealing. Despite the politics, I found this book very comfortable to read. The opening 20-30 pages alone are fantastic!

I'd rate Spider's art in constructing prose at a least an 8.8/10, which is very similar to the first book in this series. (And in contrast this is a case where the large score is to be congratulated!)

In plotting, however, I did find something to complain about. Firstly, there's a lot of references to the first book, so read that before you start this one. And for best results, don't let too much time pass after you read the first before you get to this. It's not that you'll forget much, but it's just so close in tone and theme that you'll appreciate the whole work better reading them back-to-back. (And then you'll need a break from Spider for a while... but this pair of books can be read quickly.)

But here my complaint was in plot pacing. Spider seemed to reach the climax too quickly - the book was barely over half and events were already reaching the final conflict. What to do? Run the same timeline sequence twice... well that wasn't so bad. But Spider also chose to fill in with some humorous side stories. It really killed the momentum when the main character is heading for the climactic conflict and decides to travel down memory lane again and again and find funny anecdotes to share. (And not to risk a spoiler, but the resolution of this climactic conflict was unsatisfying to me. I was set up for a battle, but instead saw alliances merging and adversaries being co-opted).

Imagine watching Jack Bauer on a mission with 10 seconds left, and somebody decides to pause the dvd and tell knock-knock jokes. Eventually you know you'll get back to the climactic scene, but you're not biting your nails anymore - you're actually removed from the drama now. And then even worse the drama is revealed to be insignificant anyways...

Sorry Spider, the long walk from the beach was funny but derailed the book's suspense. I'd rate Spider's craft in plotting this book as perhaps a 6.4/10 (where a higher score would have been better).

Final verdict - some profound ideas, and some funny and compellng reading help make this a good read, but preachy politics and stuttering climactic scenes detracted.

Between 2 and 2.5 stars out of 5.