Review of Makers by Cory Doctorow

Makers by Cory Doctorow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The books that really impress me are those where the author has created something unique - a totally new reality, idea or technology that I haven't read or seen before, but that is still based in reality enough to be believable. (I'm not much for the Fantasy/Magic genre) This story accomplished exactly that, many times over.

In fact, there was not just one totally radical idea but many throughout the book, and they just kept coming. The inventions, the new type of business organization, the new ways to live in a community, the "fatkins" treatments (you have to read it to understand that one), the future Disney incarnation - all of it. Really captivating, never boring.

The idea of the future in this book is just plausible enough that I could go along for the ride without much belief suspension needed. And all this uniqueness did not distract from the depth of the main characters, who were so well described that I really felt like I knew them each personally, knew what they would say and feel in a situation.

The business aspect of the story reminds me of the "dot-com" bubble where everything moved so fast and had so many positive features, but like all bubbles, it had to burst - and as a reader, you knew it inside, but yet did not want it to be so.

The only part I had an issue with was the end, but I think I was just hoping for a different ending in the characters' lives. In any case, I recommend this book!

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Review of Lockdown (Escape from Furnace #1) by Alexander Gordon Smith

Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book fascinated me from the start and the action never stopped, beginning to end. I don't think there was any point in the book that was slow or dreary. That said, I did feel that the aspects of the story were a bit too juvenile for me (I know it is intended for YA audience and I am not a YA!) and even a little silly (the descriptions of some of the characters with swirling eyeballs for example just struck me as too fantastical). Other than that, great book, I'm off reading the next installment in the series!

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Review of Quantum Lens by Douglas E. Richards

Quantum Lens by Douglas E. Richards
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

The story line is o.k. (if unbelievable), the character development is poor, the plot is unique, BUT I can't get past the unnecessarily cruel way the female protagonist was treated in this book.

In science fiction novels, I expect to have to suspend disbelief, but a great author such as Crichton (whom I've seen Douglas Richards compared to, but I don't see the similarities personally) is able to get you to do that in a way that does not require you to CONSCIOUSLY keep turning off the part of your brain that is saying "this is really impossible" or "there is no way this could happen" (e.g. humans flying and heating the air around them using zero point energy).

The story had many holes as well. Here are a few:

1.) Why can some people harness this zero point energy and others can't? Not really explained well. I think it is some form of intellectual snobbery actually - only the REALLY smart can do it or maybe it is a religious theme - only "true believers"?

2.) Why did Craft need hypnosis to strengthen his powers? This seems to me to be an underlying theme of religious "believers" vs. "non-believers". At times it seemed they were just inventing reasons for Alyssa's character to be in the novel.

3.) Why would Omar Haddad believe in the quantum mirror device? It was not demonstrated and he was only going off of his arch nemesis' word. Very unlikely that a megalomaniac with immense powers would trust the "devil" (Craft) based on his word.

But my main gripe with this book is the treatment of the female protagonist, Alyssa Aronson (note the name). Not only was she captured, tortured, tricked, lied to over and over, and objectified throughout the book, but, for good measure, she was made to be Jewish, for (seemingly) the sole purpose of being able to have Omar Haddad call her a "Jewish whore" over and over. Really, Mr. Richards, how did her religion contribute to this novel? Her faith was never mentioned until Haddad said she was a Jewish whore (by the way, how did Haddad know she was Jewish? In the melting pot of America, names are a poor way to determine one's religion).

Sorry, but with the plot holes, undeveloped characters, fishy and unexplained scientific miracles, and helpless, objectified, anti-semitic personification of the only female character, this novel lost my vote.

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Review of Pandemic by Scott Sigler: 4 out of 5 stars **MAJOR SPOILERS**

Pandemic by Scott Sigler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

** MAJOR SPOILERS ** Well worth the wait! I have to say, most "third" books in a series disappoint, often in multiple ways. Pandemic was an exception to the rule. Mr. Sigler found a way to re-invent the whole alien virus in new and interesting ways, add some key characters, and add new twists and turns. In addition, the shocking infection of certain key characters allowed the readers to experience the new virus similar to the first-person experience with Perry Dawsey and the triangles that spoke to him. I missed Perry in this book (and noticed a lot fewer swears!). I did appreciate the few flashbacks to the old characters since it had been awhile since I read the previous books in the series. I also enjoyed the introduction to a character from the Ancester book, which will probably be added to my future reading list. This book kept me awake and reading when I should have been sleeping on a flight from the U.S. to Europe!

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Dust by Hugh Howey Review (*SPOILER ALERT*)

Dust by Hugh Howey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Phew. After the previous installment in the series, which I was highly disappointed in, this one was Hugh Howey back in spades.

First, the minor negatives. No matter what the author did, I still had a tough time finding a connection with Charlotte's character, even at the very end. Second, there were a few scientific holes (minor) that I didn't think were explained enough (mostly the stuff having to do with the fake "argon" and the "poisoning" of the air with the nano-machines that rip human cells apart, etc.) Why didn't the nano-machines fly around the earth on the wind? How long can they stay operational? How can they be destroyed? Why do they make the sky and earth grey? So they attack other things other than humans? Why not the fabric of the suits, or the silos themselves? Or the dirt?

Now, the great: in Dust, we got a lot more understanding of how "Tower 1" operates and its purpose. The pace was just right - I did not feel like it dragged anywhere. We understand what is going on with Donald's health, and more about the overall plan for Earth. Several major plot reveals did not disappoint either! I continued to enjoy Juliette's character as well as a few others. (I was kind of glad Solo did not have as big of a role in this book, I found his previous long monologues distracting.) The discovery of the diggers was major. The ending was perfect also, nice to have an ending that ties up most things and provides hope for the world.



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Motes, Utility Fog, Smart Dust & Climate Change

I've been fascinated by the idea of Smart Dust (also known as Motes) since I started doing research on how researchers calculate the global average temperature and thus decide if we are going through a period or trend of global warming or cooling. The past (and current as far as I know) method for calculating these global temperature averages involve data from land based weather stations combined with satellites in the lower troposphere and marine reports (among other methods).  

This methodology has many weaknesses:

• The land based weather stations are sprinkled around the globe but not evenly and in some cases, very far apart from one another;
• Different weather stations use different equipment for measuring temperature (some use older technology, for example);
• Not every location on the Earth even has weather stations and/or shares that data;
• There is no universally accepted "normal" temperature for Earth, yet climate data is generally reported as a departure from "normal";
• The weather stations, satellites, and ships are all at different elevations, wind conditions, latitude and longitude; adjustments for these factors are imperfect at best;
• There are dozen of different weather organizations (NOAA, NASA, EPA, GOAA, etc.) all measuring average global temperature with different results!

If you are interested in learning more, there is a great related article from NASA:

The Elusive Absolute Surface Air Temperature (SAT)

Now, some very cool reading on the topic of SmartDust and related technology:

SmartDust communication systems in the future world

The Inevitability of SmartDust
Graphene-based nano-antennas may enable cooperating smart dust swarms

In a very generalized nutshell, SmartDust or motes are teensy-tiny computers that have the ability to network. They are part of the now much-talked-about "Internet of Things". These tiny computers could in theory be programmed to check anything, weather/temperature included. 

I see huge possibility in terms of more accuracy with climate trends and even weather predictions.  With networked capability, and even the capability to fly or swim, they could reach areas of the Earth for temperature readings that are currently not possible or practical, such as the bottom of the ocean or the top of a mountain. SmartDust could be sprinkled in a much broader swath of Earth, Sky and Water, even maybe underground in caverns.  

Since these tiny computers could be programmed remotely to use the same methods of temperature measurement, be directed to migrate to the same exact elevation at the exact same time, synchronize data collection rates, or even travel an entire area in a swarm checking temperatures at various spots and various levels to get a more accurate average temperature, it would seem we could get a more universal, real-time weather trend than is possible today.

This is exactly how a major character in my novel does her climate change predictions! 

Review of The Neighbor by Ania Ahlborn

The Neighbors by Ania Ahlborn
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Well, what can I say? I bought this Kindle book with one of those Amazon promotions for books for $1.99 or such and I didn't read any reviews first. Despite that, it was a fast read and I finished the entire thing, which is not something I usually do for books that I end up giving only 2 stars to, so kudos to the author for somehow keeping my curiosity going until the very end! That said, I can't even recall any of the characters names off the top of my head and I just finished it last week - that says something...not something good.

** MAJOR SPOILERS ** NO POINT IN READING STORY AFTER YOU READ MY REVIEW!

Here are the main challenges with the book as I see it:

1.) THIN PLOT: Very thin plot that made little sense (leaving home due to mother being alcoholic and agoraphobic) and going to live in a dump with a childhood friend just 1 town away? Quitting job at supermarket that is so close by, only to apply at other supermarkets 1 town away and get rejected because he left the other job without 2 weeks notice. Really??

2.) THE NEIGHBOR: Crazy but beautiful 40-something woman as serial seducer and killer of young boys (for decades undetected!) Reason? To "replace" her son that she also killed, due to her childhood sexual abuse by her religious priest father and mother killed by a rapist? I don't even know where to begin with this one - I mean, really? It was like the author just decided to toss in every cliche reason for serial killing;

3.) THE NEIGHBOR HUSBAND: The husband just stands by, knowing everything, after his wife molests their son, eventually kills him and continues the pattern for decades. Then - suddenly! - at the end, he gets a pair of you-know-whats and stands up to her because he thinks she is falling in love with her latest boy-toy, the main character? I just wanted to poke him in the eye and find out if anyone was actually in there.

4.) DISMEMBERMENT AND MISSING BODIES: The underground bunker for chopping up her prey after killing them, carried out by the childhood friend who lives next door? He then drives the bodies "somewhere" and dumps them. None have ever been found after DECADES of this? Seems highly irregular, though I guess Jeffrey Dahmer got away with it for a long time...

5.) MOTHER COMPLEX: The whole mother-figure-sexual-attraction with the 40-something neighbor was just weird; his excitement over cookies and pancakes was overdone. At times I felt like the book was actually written by a teenage boy, but a crazy one. Maybe that is a point for the author if that was the goal!

6.) MIRACLE CURE: And the final insult...when the main character returns home to his real mother after the whole incident and she miraculously gets over her agoraphobia and alcoholism, and shocker, the house is even clean!

The more I write this review, the more I wonder why I was compelled to finish it. Oh well, on to a new book!

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