Hell’s Angels by Hunter S Thompson is an amazing piece of actually quite traditional journalism.
The guys who made The Witcher video games did not consult the guys who made The Witcher audiobooks on how to pronounce things.
Started the Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin today.
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You guys will think I’m dumb but I decided to try and read Armada. Despite my ambivalence towards Ready Player One, once it got most of the references out the way I enjoyed the story (minus the arc where he basically stalks this girl).
Anyway decided to read Armada because I thought it might be similar. I’m about two chapters in and the author was like “what if I turn the references up to 11?” It’s so unbearably referentially nerdy in that sort of Big Bang Theory way. But almost literally every action and observation so far has been linked to some general pop culture nerd reference.
Gonna see if I can return it to Kindle.
I read Ready Player One all the way through, and I don’t think I could, for the life of me, remember a single major plot point outside of the time he re-enacts an entire John Hughes movie.
I remember the Jousting with Ascerak, the pac man 1 up coin, the giant mecha battle.
Ascerak because he’s oldschool D&D famous and I played in a game that featured that character years ago.
The pac man coin because it was “Not one of the keys” but was the chekov’s gun.
And I like mecha stuff.
The mech fight was the one reaosn I considered watching the movie, but still haven’t bothered.
THough I do feel like it might be better as a movie than a book.
He re-enacts Monty Python as well. And Wargames.
Ernest Cline is one basic ass geek.
Currently reading How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin. An excellent short story collection.
Audiobooking The Red Knight. Honestly easy relaxed reading compared to my usual fair. I do really enjoy the quasi-conceivable fantasy advantage of armor, melee, siege tactics, etc. Definitely a nice change of pace from Malazan, etc. Different strengths and weaknesses.
Over the weekend I finished the original Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov.
I had read the original Foundation over 25+ years ago back in middle school, but never read the other books in the trilogy. Considering that the Foundation Trilogy is one of the pillars of science fiction, I thought I should go back to it and finish the trilogy.
Having finished all three books, my opinion is pretty mixed. The biggest thing is that you always have to remember that these books were written in the early 1950s. As a result, they’re extremely dated and their concept of the future and technology is very out of date. That being said, the concept of the Foundation Trilogy and of the Seldon Plan, is pretty timeless and still holds up.
The books are not without their flaws though. Because the entire trilogy takes place over hundreds of years, there is very little characterization as the very nature of individuals playing an important role on history is against the premise of the books. Even so, there are almost no women characters, and the few there are tend to be naggy and annoying, not playing significant roles in the story.
Additionally, the idea that science and mathematics can accurately predict the future and that objective truth is possible seems incredibly quaint by today’s standards.
Having finished the trilogy, I’m very curious how Apple is going to adapt the series for its forthcoming streaming service. Without wanting to give away too many spoilers, so much of the Foundation Trilogy is passive reaction to events, that history is a forgone conclusion so the “heroes” don’t need to act because Seldon has orchestrated things to follow his Plan.
Overall, I’m glad I read the trilogy, but I’m not sure if I’d recommend the books to someone who isn’t already interested in them.
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I listened to the BBC Radio Play over one thanksgiving after geeknights did the bookclub for it and I really liked it. Would highly recommend it(the radio play).
Finished Reamde by Neil Stephenson a few weeks ago. Goddamn does that man know how to write a romp. Its starts with Chinese hackers in an MMO. Then Islamic terrorists show up. Then things get wild. There are the usual chapters of “and now I shall veer hard into the technical detail of something”, but honestly, his writing is so energetic that I never mind them. Highly recommend if you enjoyed Cryptonomicon.
Also read the first volume of Tesuka’s Pluto while lolling about in an Adelaide hotel room with a bad cold. I need to get my butt down to the comic shop and grab some more. I hadn’t really engaged with much of his stuff before and had always had the impression the art would be simple. I was misinformed; the man is a master of subtle facial expressions. I realise that this is pretty much akin to saying “hey folks, did you know The Beatles are good?”.
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The sequel to Reamde should be out in a week our two.
I think it is actually out already. I saw " *Fall, Or Dodge in Hell" which had the same characters in my local bookstore on Friday so that must be it.
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That’s because the art is by Naoki Urasawa, not Tezuka.
I read all of Pluto in college; that series was fantastic
Finished “Antifa - The Anti-Fascist Handbook” by Mark Bray, which is an exploration into anti-fascist movements in Western Europe and America. The first half of the book summarizes anti-fascist history from the interwar period to the present, followed by a debunking of the main criticisms made against Antifa organizing and tactics by liberal commentators in the second half, concluding with commenting on Anti-fascist organizing, the issue of machismo, and the incorporation of feminism into the movement.
In particular, I appreciated the argument made against the notion of how Antifa tactics infringes on the free speech of Nazis or people with fascist leanings and the exploration of how punk movements organized to get Nazis out of the punk space. Lastly, I found the book helpful on understanding the practical application of anarchist organizing and how it looks in the real world, as it’s the political ideology I know the least about. Good book that I would recommend to anyone interested in the topic.
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The latest Neal Asher book in his Gridlinked series.
I’ve got a long way to go to catch up with that entire series so I’ll tell you what I think of this one in three to four years.
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