Stepping onto the Neuropath

Some 20 pages into R. Scott Bakker's Neuropath, I've already found his characteristic grit.

Of course, the nature of the story - a brutal killer who forces people to do whatever he wants them to via brain manipulation before offing them - lends itself to this grit.

Also on display is the same minimalistic quality found in Bakker's the Judging Eye. On my way through that tome what struck me most is that its prose was very pared down. Compared to G.R.R. Martin, Bakker's writing just has some of the fat cut away.

As a direct comparison of the two styles, Bakker's description tends more towards the internal, whereas Martin's focus is more on the external. It's been just 20 pages, but proportionately, there isn't nearly as much description of characters' clothes in Bakker as there is in Martin. It's a curious thing to notice, but I really do think that it's a major marker of Bakker's style. External details are sacrificed for the sake of internal ones.

As per the story so far, I'm intrigued by the premise, and all of the hype to be found in the blurbs all over the back, the front, and the inside. It sounds like a perception changing story, and I'm excited to read such a thing for myself.

A Quick Rinse for the Emptied Jar

Alright! I've finished Jam and am, for the most part satisfied.

The characters are what brings it through for me. And I think that a large part of that is the first person perspective. Looked at as a whole, the story isn't overly intricate, and just as there are hordes of zombie scripts pouring into the remaining characters' laps at the end of the book, the book's overall plot is really nothing special. It follows a standard three act structure, and involves the general range of character types that are often found in survival horror movies.

However, those characters have unique motivations, and that's what makes them interesting. Even from the first person perspective of Travis, we still get a very strong sense of just who and what Angela, Don, Tim, and X are, along with the ancillary characters Deirdre, et cetera.

Plus, though sparse, Croshaw really writes action sequences well. There's no faffing about with single line paragraphs or shorter sentences. The way he writes his fights is kind of like a written form of bullet time, wherein each action is detailed in a sleek and direct form, giving readers a very clear delineation of what's going on while also being quick about it.

So, overall, is this a book that I'd recommend? Is it a book I'd advise to a friend? Yes. Yes it is. The strength of the writing wanes near the end, and the analogies wear on you if you try to tackle the book in fewer than five sessions, but the characters carry it through.

In a world inundated by a multitude of very similar plots, having an expected, yet diverse cast is essential, and Jam delivers on this end.

I Know Strawberry Jam when I smell it!

So, who can call it? This guy can!

Well, sort of.

My theory about the jam climbing the Hibatsu building because it's attracted to the processes of growth and decay is sort of right. As it turns out, the jam's drawn to all organic matter, but can only really sense that matter when it's gathered together. So, since the Hibatsu building is really hopping right now and it has a rooftop garden, the jam is being drawn there.

At this point in the book I am starting to get a little bit weary of Croshaw's narrative voice with its frequent analogies and mild zaniness, but that's to be expected when marathoning a book.

Yet, at the same time, this fatigue does speak to a lack of variety in the book over all. I recently find myself wondering if I can go on as a fiction author after reading this, partially because it's been published and picked up by a brick and mortar publisher, and partially just because reading anything that's interesting and captivating makes me wonder about my ability to manage to do the same.

The plot's been moving along steadily - like, of course, the flow of non-sentient jam down a non-apocalyptic highway - but at this point the contours are showing.

It's clear that Jam was written more as a means of working within a genre than really shaking things up plot wise. Of course, there are another 60+ pages of the book left, and all of my encounters with first person have lead to one turn after another, so I may yet be surprised by something truly unexpected.

As Silent a Protagonist as a Book can Have?

After another 100 pages of Jam, the story has gotten much more interesting.

I have noticed, over these last 100 pages, however, that Croshaw starts to either get lazy or just a little lax and begins to mix in the third person omniscient perspective. It's only a paragraph here and there, but it's noticeable when you come to it, and a little jarring if you stop to think about it. After all, he's got the character of Travis to work with, and that's been enough so far.

Though, it must be said that Travis doesn't seem to have much character or personality. We're only infrequently treated to his deep thoughts and see much more of his actions. Though keeping the Goliath bird eater with him does say something - even more is said by his naming it "Mary."

It also needs to be mentioned that Croshaw's background in/vast experience with video games could be showing through in his main character.

Travis' apparent lack of any colourful or powerful personality might just be a reflection of so many video game heroes that have the minimum allowable personality so that players can relate to them and use them as a proxy in the world of the game. Though, speaking personally, I can also relate to Travis' indecision and tendency to drift from one situation to the next in the same way that most Millennials are likely to be able to.

The plot continues onwards with very little stoppage, and the characters interact in such a way that is, for the most part, natural.

Travis and Don are currently at the Hibatsu building, where they've just been assigned to work as reconnaissance agents for the people there, their job being infiltrating the mall and letting Hibatsu know what's going on over there.

The way that the jam sought out the apple when Travis was wading through it earlier, and how it seemed to ignore him while doing so, along with the note about the jam crawling higher up the Hibatsu building than any other suggests that it doesn't just feed on organic matter, but it's also drawn towards it as it grows or decays (as was the case with the apple). Blocking rooftop gardening as a prospective survival method because of this attraction to growth would throw the story for a real twist, but I'm not going to find out about that for another 100 pages, I'm sure.

Also, X and Y seem to have some sort of agreement with someone, possibly the people at Hibatsu. We'll soon see.

Getting into a Jam

I've started to read Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw's Jam.

I'm currently just over 100 pages in, and it's been a fine read thus far. The most notable thing however, is that he uses the first person perspective. Normally this would only be worth a minor note, but Croshaw handles the perspective gingerly enough to keep it from getting exhausted.

His analogies however, are somewhat scatter shot. And maybe this is only because I'm not from Australia, but some of the references and slang just don't click with me. Hell, if I wasn't an avid Doctor Who viewer, I'd probably not have automatically known what bin liners are.

So far the story's been more than what I had expected.

It starts in media res, like you do, and develops not because of plot alone but because of various of the characters' desires and the apparent needs required to survive. Though, to be fair, whether or not these characters' survival is important or not has yet to be seen.

Mary, the Goliath bird eating spider, is a curious cast member, but since the jam was repelled by Travis' mouth, I'm guessing that the spider's saliva or some such is going to be important down the line. Or maybe the spider will just be let loose in the shopping mall so as to terrify the people masquerading as "plastic men."

The introduction of the "plastic men" was very effective, though. And honestly, for a book about semi-sentient carnivorous jam destroying at least one Australian city, the story hasn't gone over the top yet. Travis seems to just be drifting, Tim is desperate to be the survivalist, Don only wants the build of the game he was working on, and Angela merely wants to chronicle things as they happen to launch her journalism career (I guess). The ancillary characters, X and Y, seem like your standard military types throughout the first 100 and some pages, but I'm not really expecting that to change any time soon.

Croshaw's writing style is all right so far. Nothing's really jumped out at me just yet, aside from the scatter shot analogies. Though, to be fair, he makes frequent use of similes, and this seriously contributes to my feeling that they're a little unfocused. Not unlike the character of Travis, who just so happens to be our humble narrator.

I'm waiting for an awesome twist, and glad that the Mogworld reference has come and gone, but unless there's a major upset down the line, Croshaw's writing style alone isn't going to win any accolades from me. The first 100 pages are just competent, with a few good sprints thrown in.