Writers Unaware

Card, Orson Scott, and Aaron Johnson. Earth Unaware: The First Formic War. New York: Tor, 2012.Cover courtesy of Library Thing

As a long-standing fan of both Orson Scott Card and the Ender series, Earth Unaware was a heartbreaking disappointment. Delegating a beloved series seldom works unless the primary author's goal is to kill off that series. If that was the goal, Earth Unaware is a resounding success. If I were not already aware of Card's brilliance, I would never attempt another book in the series. In deed, if not for the misguided belief that “the whole thing can’t be this bad,” I would never have finished this….

Aaron Johnson states Earth Unaware evolved from a comic book project to provide backstory for Ender’s Game. Unfortunately, the book does not make it past the comic book level. In fact, it is not so much a novel as an extended slice of life that rambles form the Kuiper Belt to Earth’s moon with only a vague sense of direction. There is a saying among writers: “Novels are never completed, only abandoned.” EU was not abandoned; it was amputated.

Worse, the two collaborators never achieve a common voice. They do not even seem to be telling the same story. One (I assume Card) paints detailed technical panoramas in smooth technical prose. The other vainly attempts sophomoric character interactions that are as shallow and moving as a mosquito bite using descriptions dictated by a Flesch-Kincaid algorithm. Perhaps this level of character development is appropriate to a comic book. It is too banal for a novel. I frequently found myself skimming/skipping any number of pages until I found another section where I would be drawn back into the story rather than bludgeoned with sixth grade sentimentality.

The collaborators compensate for this failure somewhat by switching character perspective, but the stylistic dissonance continuously knocked me out of the story. When writers force the reader to think about style, they fail to create the illusion of the universe they are trying to build. Few writers are stylistically brilliant enough that linguistic excellence is its own end. Neither collaborator achieves such stratospheric writing in this book.

Further, I could not believe in any of the characters, except Concepcíon, the free minor ship captain. She was the only character in the novel capable of demonstrating character. For all the others, we were simply told they had character, what I call the Republican approach to character development.

I can say this much positive about First Formic War:

• Card’s explanation of the technology underlaying the characters' lifestyle was clear, intriguing, and unobtrusive.
  
• The book inspired me to take Suna shopping for bath towels—I think primarily as the escapist activity I had hoped the book would provide.

Another Invasion!

Crazy ants earn their name from their apparently erratic movements. Photo source: Wikipedia

Texas is being invaded again. This time the invader is an untaxonomized species of ant called the crazy Rasberry ant² after Tom Rasberry,¹ the Pearland exterminator who first identified them. These ants may be related to the Caribbean crazy ant that is found in the Southeast US and, crazily enough, the Caribbean. Because they were originally found near the Port of Houston, they may have arrived by ship.² Supporting this theory are claims that they have also been found near ports in Florida and California.⁴

The Wall Street Journal article also claims that the ants are already so widely dispersed that it would be practically impossible to eliminate them. Even though Rasberry estimates there may be as many as 50-million crazy ants per acre in Southeast Texas, he laments that funding to study these pests is negligible. The EPA has expanded the use of a fipronil, a pesticide available only to licensed professionals, to fight the ants. Fipronil can now be used within 10 feet of a structure. Previously, it could only be used within one foot of a structure. The expansion was granted because the crazy ants breed so fast, having multiple queens per colony, that they could do thousands of dollars of damage to homes before the pesticide took effect.³

The ants are called “crazy” because they seem to wander randomly, instead of in regimented lines like other ants. They also move very quickly.

One of the most disturbing aspects of the ant, other than they rapacious reproductive habits, is their tendency to eat electronics. They can also overwhelm and kill small rodents and birds. But on the bright side, they eat fire ants!

References

1. Ayres, Chris (16 May 2008). “Billions of electronic-eating ‘;crazy rasberry ants’ invade Texas.” The Times Online. Accessed 3 July 2008.
2. Center for Urban & Structural Entomology (ND). “Exotic Texas Ant, Paratrechina sp. near pubens.” Texas A&M University, Department of Entomology. Accessed 3 July 2008.
3. Lukefahr, Nathaniel (2 July 2008). “EPA makes exemption to battle crazy ants.” The Facts. Accessed 3 July 2008.
4. Wall Street Journal (16 May 2008). “Houston Suffers Attack of ‘Crazy Rasberry’ Ants. Accessed 3 July 2008.

Yard Work and Cardinals

Of course, I’m not the only one working in the garden. Photo by: Beccano

I have been busily trimming the big oak, spraying the wounds to help prevent oak wilt, and shredding the trimmings. Several weeks ago, I bought a used Troybuilt chipper/shredder, and once I figured out that I had to use starter fluid to get it running, I have been very happy with it.

I’ve been taking the shredded branches and spreading them over the flowerbeds as mulch. Even with the cost of gasoline, that is much less expensive than buying mulch, and I get the satisfaction of recycling the biomass in the yard. Mulching in this manner has been shown to keep plants healthier by protecting them from the sun and reduce water consumption. (We are currently under voluntary water rationing, but that will become mandatory as summer progresses.)

I took a break from that activity this afternoon to work the compost pile. It had gotten slightly out-of-balance and taken on that sickly-sweet smell that comes just before going completely anaerobic. Working the pile gives it a complete turning and should enable it to regain balance. Of course, it yields a nice crop of compost for me to distribute among my hungry, deserving plants.

The double impatiens seem to have survived the division and massive root pruning. Hopefully, they will be happier with more room to grow again—not to mention fresh soil.

Double Impatiens

I used the opportunity to repot a could of sickly things that I don’t remember what they are. (Suna, my consulting taxonomist, informs me that they are double impatiens.)

When I depotted them, I found that they were completely root bound. Their roots had become a solid mass that retained the shape of the hanging basket. To make matters worse, both baskets had ant colonies.

I shook the ants out into the freshly turned compost pile. I figured they could battle it out with the ants that were already living in the pile. Or since they were different species, they might find their way back into the tree. I count at least four different species of ant living in the yard. No wonder they keep coming into the house.

Then I went to work dividing the impatiens. From the two baskets, I was able to:

• Replant the original baskets
• Pot up an 8” container
• Plant two more groups in the front flowerbed expansion

All of these should be healthier and more vigorous with more room and fresh soil. I do worry that the front yard may be too hot for those I moved there. But I planted them in the back of the bed where they should get very little direct sun. They are in the shade of a rosemary bush that has been happily growing since before I moved in.

Although they weren’t labeled, I think they closely resemble Caladium bicolor (Florida Sweetheart). You can see the shredded oak mulch.

Caladiums

I also potted two red-leafed caladiums (Thanks again, Suna.) in a recycled pot that held the New Guinea impatiens I put in the front of the front flowerbed expansion. These went on the green garden table, next to Beccano’s pineapple.

Potting Mix

For planting, I use a 50-50 mixture of potting soil and compost. I had enough compost left to give all of the plants a nice top-dressing and spread some in a troubled patch of lawn. It sure feels good to give this back to Nature. All of the materials in the compost pile would otherwise had ended up in a landfill or down the disposal.