Could a robot uprising happen to you? We take a look at this summer’s bestseller, Robopocalypse By Livia Turnbull ometime in the not-too-distant S future, the war between robots and humans is over. Now all that’s left to do is clean up the wreakage. Told in the form of flashbacks, with occasional notes from the nameless main character, author Daniel H. Wilson’s bestselling sci-fi novel Robopocalypse is a fun—albeit confusing — read. Robopocalypse is set in the middle of post-war cleanup. The humans find an electronic box which, upon closer inspection, they discover contains every memory of the events of the war. Now, it is the humans job to document the events leading up to the robot uprising and its eventual end, so that a similar tragedy will never happen again. There are some points where Robopocalypse is told in third person, which makes sense considering that the protagonist is writing down what occured on that event. However, other times it’s told in first person, and you can see into said ALYPSE . WILSON person’s (which is not the main character’s) mind. Nitpicking aside, this book deserves a read. A step in the right direction Wilco evolves yet again on their latest album, The Whole Love By Kyle Wallis The Whole Love marks Wilco’s eighth studio album. It’s an important one for them—not just because of the success of their last record Wilco (The Album) (2009)— but because it’s the first on their new label, dBpm (decibels per minute). All I can say is, what a start! The first track, “Art of Almost,” comes straight out of the box with a new, electronic sound. The guys are playing around with synthesizers, new guitar sounds, and different time signatures. It’s a fresh sound, and a brave way to start the album. Classic components of Wilco, like country roots (in songs like “Black Moon” and “Open Mind”) and the ever-present sound of Nels Cline’s distorted guitar, are still present in The Whole Love. New elements include synthesizers and a more collective contribution to vocals (“Dawned on Me”). Songs like “Standing O” and “I Might” showcase the band’s ability to move feet, while songs like “Rising Red Lung” provide the listener with a chance to hear some relaxing acoustic guitar melodies. Above all, The Whole Love is a shining example of Wilco’s versatility. The songs range from in-your-face grooves to sonic toe tappers, with lots of quirky variations in between from the keys, effects, and guitars. I think this album is a bold step for the band, and one that pays off. Watch out, here | come Travel back to the 80s with UBC theatre production, The Trial of Judith K. By Julia Siedlanowska, Arts Reviewer am always open to pleasant surprises when attending theatre productions, and before I lose hope, they always come along. Speaking of which, I recently had the pleasure of attending The Trial of Judith K. at the Frederic Wood Theatre at UBC. This was a completely fresh approach to an equally fresh script. Written by Vancouver playwright Sally Clark, published in 1991, the play is based on Franz Kafka’s The Trial (1925). The story follows the life of Judith K. (originally Josef K.), an ambitious, independent, high-strung lady whose life gets turned upside down. One morning Judith wakes up to at the bank, the apartment of Theadora (prostitute turned lawyer; played by Christine Bortolin), and a church, among others. The entire play seems to be set in the 1980s, which is just far enough removed from my life for me to see it as the surreal and obscure time that it was (at least in fashion). The setting serves the play well, with romances set to lovely eighties porno sax, and transitioning with electronic hits like Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus.” The lighting matched the unexpected take on costumes and music, with colourful flashing lights making us feel like we should be out of our minds, clubbing with Billy Idol. The actors all did a fantastic job, changing their physicality drastically to “The play is truly Kafkaesque—we are disoriented throughout and left trying to find meaning in the seemingly senseless world of Judith K.” two random men in gas station attendant uniforms, claiming to be government agents. She is told she’s been charged (with what, we never find out, and neither does Judith) and she is to attend a trial in Surrey. “Surrey?” she gasps, horrified (this joke falls rather flat— we’ ve heard all the “Slurrey” jokes before), but the rest of the show was downright hilarious. The play is truly Kafkaesque—we are disoriented throughout and left trying to find meaning in the seemingly senseless world of Judith K. The staging was effective, with three rotating set pieces depicting Judith’s office play up to five different characters. They made brave and effective choices fulfilling the comedy in characters like Ted (Scott Button), the sleazy yet irresistible serial killer, DeeDee (Melanie Reich) the trailer trash sister-in-law, and DeeDee’s terrible kids. We recognize them as modern stock characters, but the actors portrayed them so well that they didn’t lose their comedy nor charm. In the end, we hear the fable of “the man and the doorkeeper,” about a man who lives his entire life waiting for the doorkeeper to let him pass. The man never tries to go through the door, as the doorkeeper told him he would only find hundreds more doors and keepers. As we listen, we wonder, why wouldn’t he simply jump past the keeper to see what would happen? As we watch Judith trying to make sense of her trial (the terms of which are constantly changing and never really known), we wonder, why does she try? The saucy existentialism really works in this production. This is a school project to be proud of. What: The Trial of Judith K. by Sally Clark Where: Frederic Wood Theatre @ UBC When: September 29—October 8 @ 7:30 p.m. Cost: Adult $22/Senior $15/Student $10