A Jack Reacher Novel
Lee Child
Reacher is sitting at a coffee shop. Drinking coffee. How could this turn into anything, right? Well, a few minutes later a couple ex-special forces types come into the shop to ask Reacher a few questions about what he saw. He goes with them, meets the boss, gets hired as security (after showing that the current security guys missed everything). The setting is that the boss's son was kidnapped and ransom is demanded. Reacher is interested in "helping out" since he realized that the boss is a big time gun runner with ties to another gun runner that Reacher has a grudge against. So he must solve the kidnapping crime, save the boy of the gun runner to get in with him and have a shot at taking down a bigger gun runner. No problem.
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Sunday, August 14, 2016
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Saturn's Run
John Sandford and Ctein
The ultimate space race. An overlooked grad student in a Caltech astronomy program inadvertently discovers some strange data around Saturn. Something has just entered the solar system, slowed down and stopped. Fire up the planetary race to Saturn. What is it (clearly alien) and how can it be used to solidify my political power on earth. This is a fascinating story of pure science fiction, layered on top of the political ministrations of governments seeking a competitive edge, balanced by the scientists who are actually in the field (i.e. at Saturn) making decisions based on science and not on political goals. One of the best books I have read this summer.
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The ultimate space race. An overlooked grad student in a Caltech astronomy program inadvertently discovers some strange data around Saturn. Something has just entered the solar system, slowed down and stopped. Fire up the planetary race to Saturn. What is it (clearly alien) and how can it be used to solidify my political power on earth. This is a fascinating story of pure science fiction, layered on top of the political ministrations of governments seeking a competitive edge, balanced by the scientists who are actually in the field (i.e. at Saturn) making decisions based on science and not on political goals. One of the best books I have read this summer.
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Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Amped
Daniel H Wilson
Owen is a school teacher with a famous neuro-scientist dad. We are in a world where neural implants are becoming more common, used to treat everything from epilepsy to ADD. Originally developed by the military for enhanced sensory features, the public has become more and more wary. This novel opens with the US Supreme Court classifying those with neural implants as no longer a protected class. This means that you can legally discriminate against anyone with an implant, and that those with implants are not allowed to enter into contracts (they are too smart and can take advantage of normals). This sets up an inevitable battle of us vs them, loosely around civil rights, but more so about power and entitlement to control. Owen was an early recipient of an implant to control his severe epilepsy and is thrust into the center of the conflict. This scenario turns on its head the thinking about civil rights and any potential limits. Should civil rights be afforded to a minority (but dominant) class? Push this idea to the current day, what would happen if the 1% had their civil rights revoked?
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Owen is a school teacher with a famous neuro-scientist dad. We are in a world where neural implants are becoming more common, used to treat everything from epilepsy to ADD. Originally developed by the military for enhanced sensory features, the public has become more and more wary. This novel opens with the US Supreme Court classifying those with neural implants as no longer a protected class. This means that you can legally discriminate against anyone with an implant, and that those with implants are not allowed to enter into contracts (they are too smart and can take advantage of normals). This sets up an inevitable battle of us vs them, loosely around civil rights, but more so about power and entitlement to control. Owen was an early recipient of an implant to control his severe epilepsy and is thrust into the center of the conflict. This scenario turns on its head the thinking about civil rights and any potential limits. Should civil rights be afforded to a minority (but dominant) class? Push this idea to the current day, what would happen if the 1% had their civil rights revoked?
Read
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Make Me
A Jack Reacher Novel
Lee Child
This is a new release (2015) and Reacher is the itinerant wanderer. He happens by a small grain town with one train stop and is intrigued by a couple of locals who seem to be looking to meet someone. Intrigue is all it takes to get him to stick around for a couple days, expecially when as he sticks around, he is asked to leave. Short answer - "No". One thing leads to another and Reacher's unofficial investigation leads to the discovery of a couple farmers running an illicit video business. A little bit of subtlety, a little bit of brute force, a little bit of patience. Classic Reacher.
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Lee Child
This is a new release (2015) and Reacher is the itinerant wanderer. He happens by a small grain town with one train stop and is intrigued by a couple of locals who seem to be looking to meet someone. Intrigue is all it takes to get him to stick around for a couple days, expecially when as he sticks around, he is asked to leave. Short answer - "No". One thing leads to another and Reacher's unofficial investigation leads to the discovery of a couple farmers running an illicit video business. A little bit of subtlety, a little bit of brute force, a little bit of patience. Classic Reacher.
Read
Friday, July 29, 2016
The Enemy
A Jack Reacher Novel
Lee Child
In 1989, an Army general is found dead in a seedy hotel, and Reacher is the MP investigating his death. When the general's briefcase is discovered to be missing, his wife discovered to be dead, and Reacher finds an unnecessary force complaint filed against him, something is up. As the investigation proceeds, there are special forces generals and navy admirals, and politicians all jockeying to protect their budgets and influence in the new post-cold-war world. Reacher (of course) gets to the bottom of things.
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Lee Child
In 1989, an Army general is found dead in a seedy hotel, and Reacher is the MP investigating his death. When the general's briefcase is discovered to be missing, his wife discovered to be dead, and Reacher finds an unnecessary force complaint filed against him, something is up. As the investigation proceeds, there are special forces generals and navy admirals, and politicians all jockeying to protect their budgets and influence in the new post-cold-war world. Reacher (of course) gets to the bottom of things.
Read
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Codex
Lev Grossman
Loved The Magician series by Grossman. This was OK. Maybe I was expecting magic. Instead, this is a pretty good mystery. Investment banker Edward is on a two week vacation before his promotion/transfer to London kicks in. He uses the time to get entangled in a wealthy clients search for a ancient text. Turns out, things just get weird. The book is somehow related to a super-realistic computer game he has just began playing. And a stuffy, Columbia grad student, expert in medieval literature becomes his unlikely partner in the search. Moving along at a quick pace to make sure we are never bored, but not enthralling like I want a mystery to be. Maybe if I hadn't been expecting magic...
Wait
Loved The Magician series by Grossman. This was OK. Maybe I was expecting magic. Instead, this is a pretty good mystery. Investment banker Edward is on a two week vacation before his promotion/transfer to London kicks in. He uses the time to get entangled in a wealthy clients search for a ancient text. Turns out, things just get weird. The book is somehow related to a super-realistic computer game he has just began playing. And a stuffy, Columbia grad student, expert in medieval literature becomes his unlikely partner in the search. Moving along at a quick pace to make sure we are never bored, but not enthralling like I want a mystery to be. Maybe if I hadn't been expecting magic...
Wait
Monday, June 27, 2016
Redshirts
John Scalzi
Fast, fun sci-fi. Scalzi introduces us to characters aboard the Universal Union's flagship spacecraft The Intrepid. Turns out to be remarkably similar to a bad version of the original Star Trek series. The redshirts of the title refers to the "expendable" crew member that always seems to accompany Kirk, Spock, Bones, etc. on an away team, and our protagonists are all redshirts. This is a fun novel that plays on the oft-discussed cheesy plot lines and ridiculous non-science that pops up in supposedly science fiction. Scalzi is able to integrate reminiscing about our favorite first sci-fi show with a story that actually capitalizes on both the good and bad of those shows. There is (probably intentionally) no serious depth of character here, but the story is clever. And while talking about breaking the 4th wall, Scalzi takes it one step further by breaking the 4th wall while talking about breaking the 4th wall. All very meta...
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Fast, fun sci-fi. Scalzi introduces us to characters aboard the Universal Union's flagship spacecraft The Intrepid. Turns out to be remarkably similar to a bad version of the original Star Trek series. The redshirts of the title refers to the "expendable" crew member that always seems to accompany Kirk, Spock, Bones, etc. on an away team, and our protagonists are all redshirts. This is a fun novel that plays on the oft-discussed cheesy plot lines and ridiculous non-science that pops up in supposedly science fiction. Scalzi is able to integrate reminiscing about our favorite first sci-fi show with a story that actually capitalizes on both the good and bad of those shows. There is (probably intentionally) no serious depth of character here, but the story is clever. And while talking about breaking the 4th wall, Scalzi takes it one step further by breaking the 4th wall while talking about breaking the 4th wall. All very meta...
Read
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