The last book you will ever read
So I've been thinking about this for quite some time now, and I figured today was as good as any other day to blog it. This may be a rather morbid blog post, but I'd be willing to bet I'm not the only one here who has thought about what I'm about to say.
Book Review: The Intellectual Devotional: American History
I was browsing Target of all places when this book caught my eye. The Intellectual Devotional is similar to those religious books which provide a daily scripture reading. This book focuses on American history (there is an earlier book which is more general and provides a daily reading in various areas. So one day may cover early American literature while another will cover military history. This is one of the coolest books I've ever picked up. Each reading takes less than five minutes but gives you a good understanding of the topic. I've especially liked the pages on early American writers, something I've wanted to learn more about for a while. If I were a bit indelicate I'd say it's the perfect bathroom book. (Ok, I'll say it.) Anyway, I'd definitely recommend picking it up!
Top 100 Sci-Fi Books
My buddy Scott sent me this link: Sci-Fi Lists - Top 100 Sci-Fi Books. It is a pretty good list of the best books of the genre, although I'm sure people could argue about the order (and what's included or not included). As much I liked Dune, I'm not sure I'd consider it #1. 1984, for example, is a much more important book, although it tends to get all the attention for dystopian literature. For an alternative to 1984, check out We.
My recommendations from this list, in no particular order, would be:
- Ender's Game (my #1 probably)
- Any of the Neal Stephenson books, especially Diamond Age. I know Snow Crash is cooler (and I'll never forget the scene with the rail gun), I just felt like Diamond Age was neater.
- Lord of Light - which I've never read, but heard is very good. I was a huge fan of Zelazny's Amber series, which I hear is crap compared to Lord of Light.
- A Canticle for Leibowitz
- The Handmaid's Tale -feminism and sci-fi, interesting mix
- Flatland
- Neuromancer - I still like to think of security in terms of "ice"
- While not "high art", many of the Star Wars novels are pretty good, especially the Thrawn trilogy.
And while not a book - A Mind Forever Voyaging is the single best sci-fi game ever made.
The Circle is Now Complete - CFWACK B3 in the house...
The title says it all. I just got shipment of book 3 of CFWACK, as evidenced by the cool photo below (I have the photography skills of a drunk paparazzi):
Enjoy folks.
Review: The Sunrise Lands
As much as I tend to complain about S.M. Stirling and his fascination with nature - I do enjoy his stories and try not to let myself get bogged down by his writing. I was very surprised by how well his Island in the Sea of Time series was, so I knew he could write well. Last year I read his Dies the Fire series (reviewed here). The basic premise was that a 'Change' of some sort occurs that makes all technology from gunpowder on stop working. As most of the world dies off due to food shortages, a few bands of people group together to try to survive. The series was decent enough (again, ignoring his fascination with spending paragraphs on trees and grass) but not great.
The Island in the Sea of Time series is loosely linked up to the Dies the Fire series. In the Island in the Sea of Time, the island of Nantucket is sent back a few thousand years. The world they leave behind is the world of Dies the Fire.
Stirling has now started a new trilogy with The Sunrise Lands. This book takes place a generation after Dies the Fire, and focuses more on the children of the main characters from the earlier series. Even more interesting, it begins to tie together the world of the Change and Nantucket. Without giving away too much - we get a glimpse of Nantucket and a small idea of what may have really happened, but what I really liked about the book was how well it was written. The action was non-stop, and we finally get a look at what is going on in the rest of America post-Change. I was really reminded of the ISOT series in how well the book read. I can definitely recommend picking up the book - although you probably should read the original trilogy first.
CFWACK TOC
How is that for a incomprehensible entry title? Ben Forta has posted the table of contents for the CFWACK books. I guess I better finish my chapters, eh?
Amazon shows new WACKs
I love that title - for those who don't get it - WACK = Web Application Construction Kit. The blog Philosophy Me just released an entry talking about the new books, so I thought I'd link it up here as well. I think the cover design is pretty darn cool.
Finally reading some book about a kid wizard - maybe you've heard of it?
So unlike what seems to be the entire rest of the world, I was never a big fan of Harry Potter. I never read the books, and while I picked up all the movies on DVD, none of them really did anything for me. I've seen the first four movies, and I couldn't tell you what happened in one movie versus another. They were all just... meh.
Two weeks ago I decided to give the books a try. I figured since all seven books were released that if I did end up liking it, I could blow through the entire series without waiting.
A few days ago I finished book one, and I have to say - I'm really surprised. The book was wonderful. Not only was the book wonderful, I watched the first movie again and I'm impressed with how good of a job they did. I definitely appreciate the movie more now that I've read the book. As for the book itself - there is something just... I don't know - innocent about it - that makes for great reading. In fact, that's my only real concern with the series. I hear that it gets much more dark and intense as he grows (which is to be expected), and I just hope that some of the charm that I loved from the first book isn't completely lost.
Review: I Am Legend
Last week I saw the trailer for the new Will Smith movie, I Am Legend. I thought it looked pretty cool, so I did some digging and discovered that it was based on a book by Richard Matheson. The concept sounded pretty interesting, so I ordered it via Amazon. Let me just say - there is no way in heck that Will Smith will be able to pull off this movie anywhere near as cool as the book was. The basic premise involves a man who is the sole survivor of a plague that has turned the world into vampires. What makes this story so darn interesting (and frankly blows away Ann Rice's yawnfest) is how deeply you get into the mind of the main character.
Here is a guy who - as far as he knows - is the last person left alive. Every night his house is surrounded by the undead who try to convince him to come outside. The desperation, loneliness, and anger is completely believable. Unlike many of the books I've read lately, this one is short (170 pages or so) and incredibly intense. There is no "bloat" at all to this book. There are scenes in this book that I will never forget (and I'd bet won't even come close to making it on screen). If you are looking for a "different" vampire tale (and a truly different "End of the World" type book as well), then I'd heartedly recommend "I M Legend."
Review: Island in the Sea of Time (Series)
A few weeks ago I finished the "Island in the Sea of Time" series. This is a trilogy by S. M. Stirling. If you read my review of "Dies the Fire", then you know that I enjoy his stories but find his writing a bit lacking. What is interesting is that this series, which is older than the other books I read by Stirling, is much better written than his newer books.
The premise is rather simple. Some event engulfs the island of Nantucket and sends the island (and all it's inhabitants) back in time three thousand years. The series details how the islanders survive and begin to deal with the world around them. Unlike Stirling's other books where he seems to spend pages upon pages talking about grass (seriously), this series has a great deal more action and excitement to it.
Without giving too much away, the technology and knowledge of the islanders allows them to gain quite a bit of power in the ancient world and history is forever changed by their impact.
I'm a huge fan of alternate history books, and I really enjoy how Stirling writes in this genre. For example, Conquistador deals with both our world and and a world with an alternate history. Despite what I think of his newer writings, I'll probably pick up all his books over time.
One last note. In "Dies the Fire", something happens to make all technology stop working. This series deals with the world that Nantucket left behind in the other series. Outside of that though there is no other connection between the two series.