THE MARTIAN, by Andy Weir (4/5)

http://goo.gl/rkcxay

4.5 stars, really. Would have been 5, but I'm trying to be more selective with my perfect scores.

Anywho, this book was incredible on several counts. First and foremost is the science. Never before have I read hard science fiction so accessible, and the humor went along way toward that, but honestly the scientific applications just felt real throughout. The problems were consistently variable and escalated in intensity, and the solutions were always equal parts genius and digestible simplicity. Does that make any sense? If Andy Weir were writing this review, it probably would.

Quote of the Week for 7/27/15

"Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats."
-Howard Aiken

HOUSE OF CARDS Season 3: Cracks in the Foundation

[WARNING--> SPOILERS AND THE LIKE]

(I don't actually know how spoilery I should get with this thing, so mainly gonna talk about my feelz. There are so many.)

Of House of Card's existing three seasons, this was my second favorite so far. Season Two's plot I found increasingly unbelievable and overwrought, but regardless of my qualms, Season Three picked up where Two concluded, so here we are. Frank is president. How he got there is no longer relevant, because it's a new day, a new election cycle, and the POTUS has his eye on 2016.

"Nazi Summer Camp" by RADIOLAB; or, The Greatest Generation

In this sobering age of killing sprees, racial tension, and the many-headed hydra that is the war on terror, it's so easy to feel weighed down. Humanity fights like a house divided, a Shakespearean tragedy barreling its way toward its inevitable, disastrous end. Depressing, no? 

I've been fighting that sense for a while now, and I can feel it slowly taking hold, depressing my outlook, but that doesn't mean there aren't bright patches to counter the hum-drum. A story I heard over the weekend, for example.

I drive often between Nashville and Winston-Salem, NC, and what fills most of that time for me is podcasts (which I've previously blogged *read:gushed* about here). I recently subscribed to a new one called the Radiolab--the 3rd most popular cast on the internet, according to iTunes--and the first episode I chose was one entitled Nazi Summer Camp.

I'm glad I did. It's the story of the nearly HALF MILLION Nazi, Italian, and Japanese Prisoners of War kept on American soil during WWII, and though that tagline may sound ominous, the truth is anything but. As it turns out, the "Greatest Generation" wasn't just great because they volunteered in droves to fight for freedom, donuts, and the American Way; they were great because they had every right to fight fire with fire, to give into their baser instincts, their pettiness, their justifiable (or not) hatreds, but instead they chose to hold themselves to an ideal of decency and compassion.

Long story short? They treated their enemies well, and continued to do so, though their enemies chose not to return the favor.

Please listen to the podcast, if you're needing a pick-me-up. It's only 30 minutes, and well worth your time. I've included the link both above and below.

http://www.radiolab.org/story/nazi-summer-camp/

And if you'd like more podcast recommendations, just ask! I actually listen to way too many.

TG

Quote of the Week for 7/13/15

"Lord Henry had not yet come in. He was always late on principle, his principle being that punctuality was the thief of time."
-Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Quote of the Week for 7/6/15

"A fine beer can be judged with only one sip, but it's best to be thoroughly sure."
-Czech Proverb

WILD SEED, by Octavia E. Butler (5/5)

https://waynebarlowe.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/wild-seed-copy1.jpg

I get the Butler hype. I loved this book.

In a good year, I read 25-30 books. Maybe one a year serves to capture me the way Wild Seed did, enthralling from the first pages, compelling with its conflicts, fascinating with its magic. The resolution was somewhat unsatisfying in the moment, but only because, for a while, I'd convinced myself that this story was heading toward tragedy, when the beginning had actually promised a love story. I was so afraid Anyanwu would never regain her agency. I thought Doro unredeemable, though I'd started out liking him and felt he cared more than the narration would ever let him properly admit.

I was wrong on both counts, and the finale was so deftly orchestrated that it had me rooting for the "villain," for the sake of what and who he loved. That's how you know you've just read a special book--you want happily-ever-after for all the characters, even the bad guy.

As for the protagonist, Anyanwu, she really didn't need any help winning admiration. In fact, her one flaw seemed to be a distinct lack of flaws (much like Ender Wiggin in Speaker for the Dead by OSC, which I reviewed last year), but I've never been a subscriber to the law that your protagonist must be significantly flawed. Not every superhero needs kryponite, they just need to be human enough to struggle with the obstacles placed before them. It's the author's job to make those obstacles big enough that the reader believes even a superhuman can struggle with them, and that's what Butler has done with this book by pitting the perfect human against her antithesis, the perfect inhuman. A compelling read, from the first page to the last.

Quote of the Week for 6/29/15

"Marriage has many pains, but celibacy has no pleasures."

-Samuel Johnson, The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia