Babylon Babies [Paperback]

I read this book after seeing the movie Babylon A.D. I knew it was going to be a "different" read after getting it through interlibrary loan and finding it published by semiotext(e) under the MIT Press. Just Google semiotext and have a look at their eclectic offerings.

The movie is only okay - it really seemed to be lacking in story and character development. I happen to like Vin Diesel and can be satisfied sometimes with mediocre sci-fi movies so it was fine for me.

As a fast-paced tome of more than 500 pages employing a high-level vocabulary, I quickly found that the book has a lot more to say than the movie, which is only a shadow of the book and deviates from it quite a bit.

As for the book, I was drawn in instantly even though I had no prior conception that I'd actually like the book - unlike some books where it takes me a few chapters to decide if I'm going to like it or not. With this one, you'll probably know right away, and your reaction will probably be pretty strong one way or the other.

I found Cornelius Hugo Toorop to be an interesting and engaging character, and I'd be happy to read a whole series of books about him - an aging dope-smoking almost-Muslim intellectual mercenary killer of Central Asian wars with the strategic brain of a general but without the ambition or coldness of a warlord, who is drawn into a vision quest that leads him to improbable yet sentimental fatherhood.

As for the big plot, even though you can tell what's coming if you pay any attention, it draws you along and keeps you turning pages to find out how things will play out to their conclusion. The level of drama and revolution in the climax for the characters doesn't translate fully to the reader - but it remains satisfying. The most satisfying element for me was the evolution of the main character to his next stage of life, coinciding with the next stage of human evolution itself, although I felt somewhat dissatisfied with the psychotropic vision quest of Toorop - it fits well in the world created by Dantec, but it seemed a bit stunted and slightly artificial as a vehicle for Toorop's evolution.

And while some people surely hate it, I liked Dantec's technobabble acid-trip-esque writing style, to a point - it carried me into another strange parallel world that was sci-fi, cyberpunk, and tripped-out. The impatient, conventional, or fledgling reader will likely find it indigestible. If you liked Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange, you might like this.

There were too many pages spent on characters too strange or flat to connect to, although they seemed to exist only as vehicles for advancement of story and not so much in interest for them. Also a bit too much writing was spent in trying to explain or describe the inexplicable/indescribable just so you get a sense of how inexplicable/indescribable it is supposed to be without really believing it.

Sexuality is a central theme, as is post-apocalyptic destruction by religious sects, motorcycle gangs and other strange chaotic denizens of Dantec's weird creation. Oh, and graphic language exists throughout - so this is probably not the best choice for a junior high reading circle.

Originally written in French several years ago, this novel does seem just a bit dated as it is finally released in English in 2005. Many of the flashbacks are to time periods that have already passed and that serves to break the reader out of the illusion at a few points. Other than that this was an enjoyable read.

The cloak and dagger form of other cyberpunk is evident here except it is metted out at a more measured pace. Dantec creates a unique cast of characters who evolve over the life of the story. The unusual locations (at least for most American fiction) like ex-Russian states and China set the novel apart from similar titles.

The central mystery slowly builds to a satisfying conclusion wrapping up the major plot points while leaving open the otion for a sequel. It would be interesting to see what the author would do in a sequel further expanding on the fascinating philosophy of evolution just touched on at the end of the novel.

I saw the movie a few days after Hurricane Ike came through Houston leaving power out of commission for just about everybody in the city except for a movie theater nearby. I had no big expectations for this movie since Vin Diesel was playing "Mister Toorop" and the name changed to Babylon A.D. Instead, I left the theater sort of scratching my head thinking, "okay, that was pretty good". While being a typical Sci-Fi movie with explosions and one-liners flowing from Vin D's mouth the movie did leave me wanting to know more about how his world came to be, what's the story behind the girl, and what's so special about the Babies. The Babylon Babies that is. So I bought the book. Still reading it, so far so good. Most of my questions were answered. In reflection though, the book is far more graphically detailed than the movie. Vin D. should not have played Toorop. More attention should have been given to the end of the movie instead of their journey from the Mountains because that's where the reading is non-stop. I must be reading chapters each night without noticing. Yes, this is a book worth reading. After all, it's only about $6. I paid more than that for an hour and a half at the movies. This book will last you a few days.