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Given
the subject matter of The Calendar, and who’ll be impacted if there’s an
impact by Goliath the asteroid, it makes sense that Gunn includes a huge cast
of international characters, and multiple languages are sprinkled throughout
the story, lending authenticity to the overall plot and premise. While there are a few main
characters, including the Aggie (Gig 'em!) president of the United States who is an
absolute treasure, there is a multitude of minor characters as well. Readers
pop in on the lives and thoughts of all of them, and we get peeks at how all
walks of life might deal with a crisis of this magnitude. Especially given the
division of the times we are in now, I appreciate that the author sided with
goodness and kindness as how most of us humans would ultimately react. I’d like
to think that’s not fiction.
The
setting seems contemporary, but in the story, they use cell phones, but emergency
alerts aren’t sent out via them, and we’ve been enjoying that ten or fifteen
years now. However, a song lyric from 2003 was quoted, so I’m guessing The
Calendar is set somewhere in the 2000-2010 range. I would have liked this
to be clearer so I didn’t have to sleuth so much to figure it out, but admittedly,
I may have missed something that gave more specificity.
Most
of us have surely given the end-of-times concept a thought or two, but I was
impressed with the societal and logistical issues that Gunn conceived and
explored. Fascinating brain fodder, which days after finishing the book,
is still noodling around in there. Not only will readers find The Calendar thought-provoking,
for this reader it evoked a number of feelings including some that really
hurt my heart and others that made it swell with joy. I always give credit to
authors who can make a reader feel, and Gunn has this gift.
The
science of The Calendar – especially at the conclusion – would indicate
that Gunn has done an enormous amount of research to be factual. I recognized a
smattering of terms I learned over my schooling years, but whether or not the
science is accurate doesn’t really matter. It is believable, it works, and
honestly, that is enough for me. Similarly, the author has clearly researched world
military and politics, as there is a lot of precise detail given – a little too
much for my liking, and I found myself skimming when all the rankings and
titles and weapons models kept popping up again and again.
Gunn
adds a few touches that make this book even more appealing. The book is
organized as a countdown, January to December, to the anticipated arrival of
the asteroid, and each chapter has an engaging graphic of that month’s calendar.
It enhances the doomsday feeling. Also, within each chapter, Gunn includes
snippets of song lyrics apropos to the mood and then provides the full list and
snippets again in the Musical Acknowledgments section at the end of the book.
The artists range from Jim Croce to Johnny Mathis to Muse, with lyrics penned
from 1931 to 2003. It’s quite an eclectic collection, and I’d love to have this
playlist built on Spotify.
From
an editing perspective, repetitious sections are one of more than a few issues
in The Calendar. For a final copy, there are also too many typos, errors,
and awkward passages for me to be able to give the book my highest rating, and I'd probably rate the book three stars on execution. If
you’re a regular reader of my reviews, you’re aware that blessing or curse, my
eye is drawn to errors, and I'm persnickety about that. Many readers don’t notice or care, and I want them to know The Calendar is a really good novel, but a thorough professional edit would
make it a top-notch one.
Despite my desire for more editing, in The Calendar, Gunn’s writing is provocative and inventive enough that I’ll read more of his work. He is a talented writer, and I want readers to get acquainted with him – myself included. In fact, I’ve just purchased his novella, Holmes, Moriarity, and the Monkeys (KU or $3 on Kindle) to get another taste. WM Gunn is an author worth watching.
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