Customer Reviews

Android Karenina (Quirk Classic)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My taste in books runs to the ilk of Cold Mountain. I haven't read one single vampire book. I never read the Harry Potter Books and I never could get into fantasy books--including the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings! I guess I'm just a snob! When I began reading Ben H. Winters' mash-up of Android Karenina, my hopes were not high for a quick, light or funny read. Oddly enough, it was all three. Mash-ups are the latest thing in the literary world, mixing classics with new world monsters and demons. It's not really all that new; the music world has been doing it for ages. Mad Magazine used to rewrite the comics "as written by", If Al Capp wrote Brenda Starr and such like.

Tolstoy's Anna Karenina is the original high maintenance drama queen. She falls in love with a dashing soldier, deserts her husband and child for him and complains when he doesn't dote on her every minute of the day. We all know that Russian novels tend to have a gazillion characters, so what does Winters do? He adds more!

The author introduces us to the world of Groznium, which is the essential ingredient for the new classes of robots. There are Class I robots acting as toys, candles and self-extinguishing ashtrays. Class II robots perform the functions of domestics, train drivers and miners. Upon reaching their majority, the upper classes receive a Class III, a beloved-companion robot. That robot is part alter ego, part Jiminy Cricket, part personal valet/maid. They provide a memory bank and communication, as well as protect, groom, mimic, nudge and commiserate with their human counterparts. Eventually, we meet the humanoid Class IV robot, the ubiquitous "toy soldiers".

Count Vronsky's Class III is shaped like a wolf; Anna's is sveltely shaped but still robotic. Anna's husband, Alexei, has a robot that takes form as a partial face, a la Phantom of the Opera. It is quite clear from the beginning that the face will be not only urging but also dictating Karenin's actions. Alexei is extremely important in the Higher Branches of the Ministry of Robotics. He controls all the robots and protects the populace from the UnConSkia terrorists, former state scientists who threaten Russian's utopian way of life.

The true marvel of this mash-up is the way the author flips the events thoroughly and seamlessly from Czarist Russia to something more akin to 1984. The religious enthusiasts are now Xenotheologists who believe "They will come for us in three ways" and those ways are in the form of hellhounds to delight any fan of Star Wars sand creatures. Vronsky's English stallion, Frou Frou, becomes an exterior, a sort of suit of armor, for the cull--a steeplechase in which the contestants must eliminate each other. Anna will still destroy herself, not under a train, but beneath the Grav, which runs on an electrical force across a magnetic field. Ben H.Winters, playwright, librettist and author of the immensely popular Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters connects all of Tolstoy's dots in the cleverly bizarre world he has created and he transforms a Russian novel into a reasonably demented work of science fiction.

I have to admit, I am remiss in my knowledge of Russian literature. To wit: I've never read 'Anna Karenina.' So what happens when the science-historical-fiction version 'Android Karenina' comes out? Dive right in, of course!

I wasn't sure what to expect. Even the previous Quirk Classics I'd read - 'Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters' and 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' - didn't really prepare me for this. I knew the Jane Austen source material of the other two, but I didn't know Tolstoy.

I thought 'Android Karenina' might be funny, based on the others. Injecting zombies and ninjas into Austen's romances of culture was a wacky move, and at first blush adding robots and aliens into Tolstoy's tale of 19-century industrializing Russia would seem to be too. In the end it wasn't funny, but somehow it works.

'Android Karenina' is an alternate-history version of Russia seen through the lens of a vague sort of steampunk science, where the mysterious element of groznium makes advanced technology possible, everything from clean and efficient anti-gravity trains to simple mechanical aides (Class I robots) to semi-intelligent robotic companions (Class III robots). Interleaved with the science-fiction elements is a complex tale of romance and political intrigue involving multiple characters, locations, and walks of life across industrialized and robotically-enhanced Russia. From the dashing Count Vronsky to the sinister Alexei Karenin and his metallic, intelligent Face. From the honorable Levin to the tragic, yet strong, Anna Karenina and her beloved-companion, Android Karenina. From the simple Class Ones to the mythical Honored Guests, who will appear to humanity in three ways. All have their tale to tell, all are represented fairly, all will have their effect on the others, and with a satisfying, even surprising conclusion.

Is the symbolism of class structure and technology and oppression a little heavy-handed at times? To be sure, it is. Conflicts which might have been rendered with subtlety and nuance are made overt and obvious here, as giant robot armored suits battle for superior rank and metallic worms lurk beneath the ground, to appear in times of strife. But I'm sure that's the point - to take the finer themes of the original work and poke them to see where they hurt. To brings what's under the surface to new light, to give us a new way to look at an old story.

I haven't read 'Anna Karenina,' so perhaps I am a poor judge of the humor or the worth or the value of this book. What I know is that 'Android Karenina' was a tale well-told, and I enjoyed it. The additions of new elements - robots and technology and aliens - were done with care and integrated well. From my perspective, I now find it hard to imagine the same story told without those elements. And that, to me, means they took this one a little more seriously than the others. This one didn't strike my funny bone so much, but it did at times excite the imagination.

But that's me.

What's next for Quirk Classics? 'War and Peace and Werewolves,' perhaps? 'Of Mice and Magic?' Whatever it is, I'll definitely be watching with interest.

Just for the record: I have never read Anna Karenina, or the prior Quirk publication of some fame, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies.

This is a big book, 538 pages with a handful of illustrations. It is too large a tome to spend a lot of time in this forum to go over plot, so I made a challenge to myself. How can I sum up this seven part effort, where any one part is greater in size than many books published today, in a single sentence. Here we go... Android Karenina details lives of Anna Karenina and her sister-in-law Kitty, their men, their families, and their beloved class three robots in an alternate-world Russia of the late 1800's where a wonderful metal called groznium has allowed society to make machines of incredible capacity, centering on the effects of Anna's betrayal of her powerful, and power mad, half-mechanized husband Alexei Alexandrovich when she chooses her lover, Vronsky, over her duty to family.

When I got Android Karenina for review I was skeptical. I pre-anticipated a sci-fi story wedged into a Tolstoy romance and did not foresee anything working well in that admixture, but Ben H. Winters surprised me with a really enjoyable collision of the worlds. In fact, I was enjoying the myriad of robots, the religious faith in aliens, the descriptions of "beloved companion" class three robots like the name sake Android Karenina so much that when the book fell too deeply into the lamentations and joyful reverence about love and loving, I started to miss them greatly. His efforts to keep many sci-fi things vague, like Groznium (we don't know why the metal is so good at making machines, it just is), Smokers (just like in Star Wars, they shoot rays and never seem to run out of ammo), the Moon Cannon (its how you get to the moon base, or the Venus orbiter - it just gets you there, no time for details), or how a little robot can have a reactor inside it that is so hot it can melt bigger robots but yet not melt itself. A sense of humor is required to enjoy this version of Anna Karenina, much as the publisher's name (Quirk) implies.

For me this mandate is summed up in the very first line of the book, which for the Tolstoy only version is so famous I knew it without knowing it came from Tolstoy: "Functioning robots are all alike; every malfunctioning robot malfunctions in its own way." If you find that brings a slight smile to your lips, you are ready for Android Karenina. There is a familiarity in almost all of the sci-fi elements, feeling almost borrowed from popular movies and placed in a really unexpected setting, that I think will serve well if you are trying to get younger male minds (not too young, this book has some grim moments - say 13+) to read literature without thinking they are reading literature.

I was particularly fond of the way Winter's handled Tolstoy's complicated Russian names. It is explained in a foreword that such names have four parts, the given name, the father derived middle name, the family name, and the nick name. Tolstoy bounces around all these names so much that it takes a while to understand that "Stepan", "Oblonsky", "Arkadyich", Stepan Arkadyich", "Stepan Oblonsky", "Arkadyich Oblonsky" and "Stiva" are all the same guy, Anna's brother, Stepan Arkadyich Oblonsky. His class three robot is called "Little Stiva". All class threes are custom built for one person, and should they outlive that person they become "junkers". How to treat these machines that share such emotional weight with their owners is a key part of the story, summed up in a phrase "The Robot Question". All machines of Groznium design, however, have three names as well - starting with their class. This makes for great fun while reading Android Karenina meeting such "things" as a II/Porter/7e62 or using a I/butterchurn/19.

The last two parts of the seven part book are shakey - suddenly we are rushing when we never rushed before - but the overall effect of this blending of Sci-Fi and Lit should appeal to anyone fond of robot stories, those into the steam-punk world (substitute Groznium for the steam), and any Tolstoy fan with a sense of humor. A very delightful read.

I first became interested in Quirk Classic when like many others I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I instantly became a fan after reading the second book published by them, PPZ "Dawn of the Dreadfuls". My biggest flaw with the original PPZ was that it was very obvious where parts were added into the original text.

Android Darenina very easily blurs the line between the original and the newly added robot version. The two stories blend flawlessly making a very interesting tale of a modern Russia filled with robots, affairs, and rebels seeking scientific freedom. The story flows and keeps the readers attention easily, despite a rather long list of complicated Russian names which the author constantly switches between first, middle, last, and nicknames. The name scheme would be my only big complaint. However this book brings a classic back to life in a relatable way so that a new generation can be introduced to a historic novel. If you are a fan of Quirk Classic this is a must buy!

The title of this parody was as impossible to resist as the question of whether anyone could successfully integrate robots into Tolstoy's era.

The placement of the robots is perfect: each is a servant and confidant to one of the main characters. The detailed descriptions give the robots distinct personalities, making them seem almost human. The robots' tasks and capabilities are futuristic, but not excessively so--they're more steampunk than Star Wars. It doesn't take much before they start to seem right at home.

And yet, with the story's wonderful setup, I hardly made it more than a few chapters into this book.

This parody gives the impression of having been lovingly crafted by someone who knows and adores Tolstoy. Unfortunately, for the casual reader, that also leads to the book being difficult to read.

First, the length itself is Tolstoyan, at 500-plus pages. That's simply much too long for a parody. Second, the style is as Tolstoyan as you would expect, with frequent detours into background description and a tendency to reference characters by ever-changing designations (given name, diminutive nickname, patronymic, and noble title and lineage). The descriptions make the plot maddeningly slow, and the naming conventions make distinguishing between new and recurring characters very difficult.

The language itself has the warm, cozy feeling of Tolstoy, but other parts of the style bog the reader down.

I gave up on the book before Android Karenina even appeared, and I fear this parody will be a misfire for many. Those who love Tolstoy are sure to admire the writing technique and effect, but may have little patience for the notion of parodying this famous novel. Those who love parody may find, as I did, that any joke wears thin when it is dragged out too long. I would have loved to read a 200-300-page version of this same idea, but at its current length I am doomed to miss out on any genius that might be waiting farther along.

Somehow, you can almost see Lev Nikolayevich looking out over the pond at Yasnaya Polyana and spinning out this line:

"The young princess Kitty Shcherbatsakaya was eighteen. It was the first winter that she had been out in the world, and shortly she would at last receive her very own beloved-companion robot."

Almost.

In this aridly funny mashup of what many have called "the greatest novel ever written," the timeless tale of infidelity and social mores has been infused (like a fine vodka, perhaps) with groznium - a miracle metal that has allowed Russia to create a Rube Goldbergian mechanized society on the backs of robot servants.
Tolstoy's tale has been spiced up with loads of sub-plots, including renegade scientists and alien invaders, terrorists and the hellacious fury of a scorned cyborgian husband. And in what may be a tip of the hat to Phillip Pullman, the heroes' personal robots take on the characteristics of their human masters, giving the twisting plot something of a double'edged helix.

As if a send-up of this sacred text in the classic canon is not enough, there is the hilarious "Reader's Discussion Guide," which takes aim at the popularity of book clubs. Question 4:

"Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin's `Face' is a trusted technological device that slowly takes over his brain and makes him evil. Was Tolstoy merely creating an interestingly dichotomous villain, or anticipating people who check their messages too much? How often do you check your messages?"

Put this one in the guilty pleasure column and enjoy.

As reviewed in Russian Life

I have rated this three stars since I did not get far through this book and don't feel qualified to give it anything other than a neutral review. It is as dry as any other piece of classic literature from this period, and the inclusion of sci-fi elements did little to make this interesting to me. Five chapters in, I checked the number of pages remaining and cut my losses. I felt like I was reading the equivalent of a parody cover song which was simply not funny without knowing the original word-for-word. This is only the second book I have not completed in the last three years, but it just wasn't for me.

Android Karenina, the newest in the "literary mash-up" trend from the publishers of the original mash-up, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, is not just one silly book in a series of silly books. In fact, it's not silly, apart from the Reader's Discussion Guide--not that the two Jane Austen mash-ups were necessarily silly either, but this review is about Android Karenina. And if it's not a silly fad what is it? It's a really good book.

All the drama and tension, as well as the hope and joyousness, that one could ask for in a great book are there. The characters are deep (or shallow, as the case may be, but real), and rounded, and very human--even, and sometimes especially, the robots. And the story is interesting and exciting as well as suspenseful and heartbreaking. The wording of the message in the book may have changed, but the themes and ideas remain. The new elements of the world of Android Karenina blend pretty seamlessly with the old, as does the writing between the co-authors.

Leo Tolstoy's and Ben H. Winters' story does not always feature humans and humanity at their best, at their most likable or respectable, and as a result they may not always be very sympathetic characters. But being human does not necessarily mean being sympathetic (in fact, it often doesn't). Many of the humans in this story are not, in fact, very sympathetic, but many of the robots, on the other hand, are. And whether they are or not, it is hard not to become emotionally invested in what is happening to them.

I LOVED the inventiveness of the way the Russian society had adapted with the help of robots and the advancing technology. Improvements in the efficiency of travel and hard labor are obvious places to go, and Ben H. Winters did indeed go there, but he also had incredible ideas of cultural changes as well. The creativity of these changes blew me away.

Once started, I had a very hard time putting this book down. I read instead of doing things I needed to do--because I could not hold myself to my constant promise of "just one more chapter." Its length is considerable, but the desire to always keep reading on made it go pretty quickly.

Oh, and for those who were hoping for silly, there is a little bit of that too. My favorite silly quote, which I can't stop laughing at: p. 499 "The knock was not from the door, however, but from the windowpane. It shattered violently and an Honored Guest burst into the chamber and flew across the room toward her, shrieking horribly, its dozens of grimy yellow eyes flashing, its razor-sharp beak aimed like a dagger at her breast." This makes sense in the context of the story, but I love the sound of an "Honored Guest" bursting in through a window and attacking.

I got this book in a first reads giveaway.

As long as its inspiration, Android Karenina is not a book for the weak of heart. It demands an iron clad motor.

Set in an alternate universe where a mysterious new element allows a steampunk-esque society in 19th century Russia, writer Ben Winters manages to infuse Tolstoy's classic story with a silly yet modern twist. Tolstoy has always been a writer interested in social class tensions and societal upheaval - the best of his works are as much commentaries on a particular period of Russian history as they are stories - and Winters keeps Tolstoy's subtle finger pointing alive throughout the story. With one of the world's finest authors providing a solid skeleton, Winters fills in the body with wires, clamps and a metal exterior.

To that extent it is a steampunk creation - many conventions of the 19th century still exist, in all their organic and mechanical glory, devoid of the digital age - complete with mad scientists, butler-bots, giant robot suits and the ilk. It is a fun and fascinating read, faster than expected. In terms of updating the classics, Winters does a great job making a daunting original into a funny modern piece.

I bought Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for someone else and ended up reading it myself and loved it - I like the idea of the mash-ups, I like steampunk and Tolstoy, so this was a no-brainer. It was mostly fun, but I don't know that it was necessarily worth the ages it took me to plow through it.

The basic plot stayed the same - you really, really need to have read the original or you'll be lost within minutes since this IS Tolstoy with a bunch of extra bits thrown in at random that mess with your head. There's the addition of bizarreness in the form of companion robots to each character and their interaction with their owners/other halves, aliens, a planned robot revolution and a cyborg. It's all great fun..for that audience. If you love the mash-ups, "get" the kind of humor that these books contain, then you'll love this. It's seriously rollicking. It's also long, so settle in.

If you're a serious Tolstoy fan though, you may want to skip this. Tolstoy-steampunk on groznium loses some of the romance and passion of the original Anna Karenina even when it's laugh-out-loud funny sometimes.