Please Report Your Bug Here, by Josh Riedel

Please Report Your Bug Here, by Josh Riedel, is a mixture of coming of age, social commentary, and fantasy novel. The protagonist is Ethan Block, who has a liberal arts background but is working on a start-up social media site called DateDate. He works with just two other people, known as the engineer and the Founder, until they are bought by The Corporation, a bigger social app that appears to be modeled on Facebook. 

During his employment in social media, Ethan is witness to the dawn of certain technologies, and how, in the pursuit of wealth, this social media platform is willing to expose the general public to potential harm with features that are not completely understood. This is where it becomes part fantasy novel. The author creatively conjures up a possibility that does not seem possible in real life, at least not literally, to drive a plot about social media that is unique.

Ethan is both intrigued and disturbed by what is at first referred to as “the black box bug,” and he and Noma, a young woman who is hired as a contractor at DateDate, start to investigate this phenomenon. Noma contributes mystery to this story, as she has prior knowledge that she does not immediately share with Ethan.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a strong sense about Ethan’s emotional state, or his feelings about others. For example, his one long relationship came to an end, and the thoughts Ethan shares with the reader about this are not enlightening. I thought he seemed like an ambivalent  stranger throughout the story. Noma is a sympathetic and intense character, and I might have related to her more, had she been the focus of this cautionary tale. 

Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable story with an inventive plot, though it was not an urgent read for me. There were times when the dialogue seemed a bit improbable to me, perhaps because of a lack of experience on my part with this particular work environment and culture.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and Henry Holt and Co. for sharing this new novel.

Clytemnestra, by Costanza Casati

Greek mythology is usually fascinating, and this novel lives up to that expectation. I did not remember much of the Greek mythology I’d read, and certainly did not know who Clytemnestra was until reading Costanza Casati’s work. 

Born in Sparta to a ruthless Spartan King, Tyndareus,  and Leda, the intelligent, shrewd queen, Clytemnestra is brought up to be the same. She is trained to fight and to value power and dominance. Unfortunately, Tyndareus’s daughters would all find what is was to be their father’s pawns, traumatic for women who were trained to be strong.

Clytemnestra’s character is imagined with nuanced complexity. She rages with hatred, wanting vengeance for those she has lost, but is also capable of intense love. Clytemnestra is one well-written, solid protagonist.

Her royal family is also depicted in detail, especially Helen, who I’d incorrectly associated with Troy instead of Sparta. There is more than one version of Helen’s story, but now I will forever  think of her as married off to a brute, used by her father for a power alliance. This story did not depict Helen as a demigod, though she was rumored to be the daughter of Zeus.

Ancient Greece is shown to be a harsh world, where Clytemnestra suffers unimaginable losses and indignities, but eventually rises to the top, to be a ruler like no other woman. While reading this novel, I had to remind myself that this is mythology, not history. This chronicle feels real. 

I enjoyed this immensely, Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this opportunity.

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It seems like a long time since I wrote in this space, but then, I did take some time off from Netgalley to read a couple other books, one of them quite long. It's good to be back!