Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Cherokee America
Sunday, December 29, 2019
Lost and Found
One day a cop asks him to help out on a missing-child case. He is not able to find "people" because they are not "lost". (He is offended when people talk about his mom being "lost". She isn't lost. She died in a car crash.) However, he can use the "lost" objects of people to find the owner. Through this involvement he helps bring down a child pornography ring that also sought his friend.
There is not a lot of heavy drama in this book. The events tend to just unfold quickly as you would like. However, the story an exploration of powers makes it something difficult to put down. The micropower support group is especially fun. It is led by a researcher who has the power to determine if somebody has an "innie" or "outie" belly button. There are also participants who can mask smells and make people yawn. These powers are difficult to control, and even more challenging to utilize positively. They all provide a lot of fun to explore. What would be the positive use of a bizarre power? Do these "micropowers" really differ very much from the "powers" that people have today. Isn't being naturually good at basketball or math also a form of micropower? It just doesn't stand out because it is normal.
Saturday, December 28, 2019
The Light Princess
Thursday, December 26, 2019
The Fates Divide
Some parts of the world believe in oracles. Others do not. One side also wants the oracle prophecies made public. This, however, leads to people trying to tempt fate. Alas, we find out there were some babies switched at births that somehow manage to "beat" the prophecy by meeting it. There are wars and battles, and people killing other family members in the name of planetary peace. There is also political drama, with the urbanized planets treating the oracle-believing snow-world as a backwater. It makes for a nice dose of teenage drama and modern politics all set in space.
Night
The book has a feel somewhat like Schindler's list. The concentration camps were part of the "coming of age" of a youth. It was the horror he lived through. He feels some regret about the poor decisions he made, as well as guilt about being a survivor when others did not. He was deeply involved in religious training before. He desires that we acknowledge the history to prevent it from happening again. It didn't seem possible when it happened. We should be careful to spot the signs before they happen again.
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
The Book Thief
They live through the rise of Hitler and World War II. The family hides a Jewish friend. The son of her foster-parents is an avid Nazi, who falls in Russia. Father eventually gets his Nazi party membership, along with a draft notice into the army. Through some luck he ends up coming home. They all suffer when the city is bombed.
The book provides a child's perspective growing up in Nazi Germany. There are many "bad" things going on. However, when that is all you know, it is hard to get too upset. She comes to the realization that Hitler has caused bad things to her birth family. However, she is resigned to know there is nothing she can do. She also sees the bad experience of the Jew hiding in her basement. She is friendly with him and realizes his poor condition, yet does not seem obsessed with it. She is living her life. Stealing a book from the mayor's wife is a more significant action in her life than the events of World War II. Hitler was simply a leader that everyone had to follow.
Erak's Ransom: Ranger's Apprentice, Book 7
Will loses his horse in a sand storm, and then goes to find it, only to lose his way due to the iron deposits in the landscape. Eventually, he ingratiates himself with a local tribe and helps to rescue others.
There are plenty of twists and turns. Just when you think the book is going to end, something goes wrong, causing more adventure. There is also a strong sense of protocol and order. It is important for the different cultures to adhere by their standards. One must work through the norms of a culture to get what one needs. (Will could not just claim his horse. However, he could get him back with a race.)
Monday, December 23, 2019
Magyk: Septimus Heap, Book One
The narrative was quick and compelling, and full of dry humor. I also loved the end where the other provided details of the fates of all the minor characters. I can think of many cases in other works where I have wondered how these events may have impacted this minor character. Here, the author seemed to have a lot of fun doing just that.
Ship It
One message the book asks is for media to have more characters that "look like me". Alas, this is a double edged sword. If the entire US population is targeted, then the characters should all be white to appeal to the majority. If the world is targeted, perhaps one white and one Chinese. Only with large ensembles would other racial groups start to appear. However, even these get tricky. How would somebody identify themselves to "see themselves" in the show? If the identify as human, then great, anybody can represent them. If they identify as 5% Cherokee, 20% Kenyan, 40% Portuguese and 35% Northern European, then it will be much harder to achieve the exact representation. And that only touches external race. What about religion or home country? Sexuality also opens up a whole new can of worms. The focus on this book is "queer" vs. "straight". But what about attraction to other physical characteristics? As audiences attempt to divide themselves into greater numbers of subgroups, it becomes more and more impossible to find the perfect subgroup that matches them.
That also brings up the "demonizing" of other subgroups. In the book, the "queer" subgroup is attempting to show their mark on the show. However, to do that, the group of masculine gamers is demonized. They are portrayed as homophobic thugs who don't want to have anything to do with the actor after he shows a sympathy to queer passion. Once a formerly oppressed subgroup gets their is a natural tendency to take it out on the others. Our societal harmony depends on not doing that and respecting the views of others even if they don't agree with ours. The does a good job in showing the fluidity of "queerness". A straight character can engage in a same-sex kiss, while one can be queer and engage in a positive heterosexual relationship. However, the focus is on giving in to passions. This sets up conflict with the "me too" movement and a legal code. There still needs to be restraint in place, even if chemistry appears to be present.
Seeing What Others Don't: The Remarkable Ways We Gain Insights
Later chapters deal with what blocks us from making insights and what we can do to make more insights. Computer systems fit squarely into the "block" category. They guide us to a specific way of doing things. This constrains our ability to think outside the box. We also need to spend effort to meet the demands of the "tools". Presentations and diagramming tools are some of the simplest examples. It takes so much effort to get an idea into an electronic form. Even a simple improvement to a process may be weighted down by the effort of showing it on the diagram. Many other systems can be even more nefarious. We may not be able to do something better because our software wont let us. Business processes can also be a problem. If we want to avoid error, we must stick by the process. However, the process reduces our chances of getting insights that can help improve the process. Is somebody showing insubordination, or are they gaining a new insight? Leadership needs to facilitate risk taking and experimentation in order to gain new insights. Cross-collaboration can be helpful. (The story is given about Steve Jobs wanting only a single set of restrooms for Pixar in order to force employees to meet.) However, it is difficult to force insights. It is more important to not trample on the insights and the situations that allow them to be acted upon. A culture most allow insights to be acted upon, but not overwhelm with too many insights.
On interesting point made was on heuristics. These rapid assumptions because they can lead to biases. However, these are also an important factor in obtaining rapid insight. Studies typically have focused on their "negative side". However, very little has been done on the positive side. We should not throw them out because they can sometimes lead to bad. Like many other things, the quest for reliability often helps quash the needed future insights.
What is best for society? Large organizations crave predictability. It is difficult for them to encourage insights, even when they try. Efforts to encourage that behavior is beneficial. However, it will most likely be the loners and the smaller organizations that innovate.
Saturday, December 21, 2019
Carve the Mark
I often found myself confused with the many different supporting characters involved. The book wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible either.
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Electric Universe: How Electricity Switched on the Modern World
The book tells the story of Hertz in his own words. It also has a number of stories from world war two. Britain had radar first, but Germany had an improved system. However, due to German culture at the time, they lacked skilled operators that could make quick alterations. Britain used this to their advantage by dropping "chaff". Programmable computers also gradually came about during the war, only to really kick off afterwards.
The story of many of the "big players" in electricity are tied together nicely in the relatively short book.
Monday, December 16, 2019
The Dark Is Rising: Book 2 of The Dark Is Rising Sequence
Saturday, December 14, 2019
Over Sea, Under Stone
Rebel: Legend, Volume 4
While the first three books dealt with the overthrow of a corrupt system, this book focuses on change within. Both the American and Antarctic systems were put in place to help improve the lives of people. However, they morphed into a system that brutally separated the haves from the have-nots. The struggle is now to ensure the have-nots can more fully participate without alienating the haves. How do you prevent crime without unduly cursing the criminals and their families?
MILA 2.0: Redemption
The Wolves in the Walls
The Secret History
The character of Bunny is perhaps the most negatively portrayed. He comes out as a stupid oaf, who almost begs to be killed. Yet, the characters are all friends with him. He is somehow in the ancient Greek class with them. He comes from a wealthy family, yet they give him nothing and he manages to mooch off everyone else (despite his elitist tastes.) The others, for the most part, come from wealthy families and just expect to have everything on a silver platter. The protagonist is an almost dispassionate observer, who is from a working class northern California home. He is remote from the east coast culture in both distance and temperament, yet gets sucked in to the whole adventure.
Endling #2: The First
Power Ambition Glory: The Stunning Parallels Between Great Leaders of the Ancient World and Today...and the Lessons You Can Learn
Corporate leaders also feel like better comparisons than political leaders. The "path to the top" of many of the ancient leaders seemed to more closely resemble what is needed to get to the top of a major corporation. Empire building and conquests was also a key part of the activities of ancient leaders. This is done much more in business than in countries these days. The important of "employees" vs. mercenaries is also a key concern. (However, you can also see many similarities between Agustus and pandering to the masses and current populism and Trumpism.)
Friday, December 06, 2019
The Lord of Opium
He gradually learns more details about how people are "enslaved". He is never able to free waitress, but he does manage to stumble upon the way to free others, but with a sacrifice to a space station. The novel spends just a few paragraphs covering what would be the very difficult task of repatriating this zombies into society.
The characters in the book are all quite complex. It is not a case of clear-cut good guys vs. bad guys. Instead, there are different characters with different values. There are often trade offs with many problems not having a clear-cut best solution. There are also plenty of coincidences that are needed to make the book move along. The ending is almost too "happy". The drug empire was essentially a garden of eden for the rebirth of the ecosystem after the ravages of humanity elsewhere. Oh, we could dream.
Thursday, December 05, 2019
The Battle for Skandia: Ranger's Apprentice, Book 4
The Battle for Skandia: Ranger's Apprentice, Book 4 by John Flanagan
In the series, the author occasionally drifts into technical discussions about various phenomena or tactics. I wonder if he is knowledgeable in the specific fields, or is just making things up. I guess it really doesn't matter, since this is his fictional universe, and he can choose how things should be.
The book starts out with a number of different narratives that quickly intertwine. Holt and Horrace are trying to find Will and Evelyn. Evelyn gets kidnapped by another group and Will goes to find her. One of the Skandians goes out to collect taxes. Eventually they all join up and uncover a giant army set to invade Skandia. Holt contributes tactics to the Skandians and helps them to battle the invaders.
The story is action packed, though there are plenty of lucky breaks that occur in order to have things happen properly.
The different groups have parallels to historical groups. The Skandians are Scandinavian vikings. They invaders are Mongols. There were also French group.
The Last: Endling, Book 1
Humans get a bad rap in this book. They are the cruelest of the many sentient species. They are cunning and purposely kill off other species. The dairne ability to identify lies is extremely dangerous for people in power. However, if only one group controlled them, they could be very valuable. Other animals also don't understand why women humans are limited in their roles in society. This book follows the typical fantasy pattern of a "group of different beings assemble together to go on a quest." However, it keeps magic to a minimum and is more accessible than typical fantasy.
Sunday, December 01, 2019
I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863: I Survived, Book 7
The House of the Scorpion
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
It took me a little while to figure out what was going on in The House of the Scorpion. The protagonist, Matt, gradually finds out more about his existence. He lives in the world of opium fields between the United States and Mexico. The inhabitants here are a motley bunch, including "eejits" who are laborers that have their intelligence removed (and are treated like as less than human) and a security patrol consisting mostly of men wanted for crimes in other countries. This land of Opium is ruled as an independent country by the ancient "El Patron", who is many decades past his 100th birthday. He likes to consider himself a near diety, similar to ancient Egyptian Pharaohs. We discover that Matt is actually a clone of "El Patron". We later learn that the purpose of these clones is to harvest organs for El Patron. (This is how he has lived to be so old.)
Matt hits puberty as El Patron has heart issues. As he is about to become an unwilling donor, one of his caretakers mentions that she has been feeding him just enough arsenic to make his heart useless for El Patron. This is too much for El Patron, and he dies. In the commotion, some of Matt's friends help him to escape. Matt sneaks across the border and then joins up with a group of other orphans forced to live in a pseudo-Marxist work camp of "the Keapers". He helps expose some hypocrisy of the organization and gets out. He is able to reach the convent where his "girlfriend" is staying. They are able to bust the keepers and then he is sent back to help find out what is wrong with his homeland. He discovers that El Patron had plotted to have the leadership die when he died. The land is in chaos, leaving things set up for a sequel.
There is an elaborate world created in the novel. Alas, the pieces we see don't give us a clear picture. What is the purpose of the "keepers"? Why do people let them exist, while despising them? And why are they busted for drug use, while at the same time El Patron's drug empire is allowed to thrive? What do regular people do? If people can have their intelligence removed to become "dumb laborers", why would regular jobs remain? Could a clone really be made to have the same fingerprints and other identifying markings? (If a clone is such an accurate identical copy, shouldn't we be concerned that Matt will be a megalomaniac dictator like El Patron?)
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Gunner Skale: An Eye of Minds Story: The Mortality Doctrine
This story opens up more questions than it answers. Who were these people that created the "mortality doctrine"? How did the virtual world know that it was something valuable that could be taken? How could virtual creations so easily "kill" real world creations? You wonder if the author had some ideas for the background but just couldn't quite flush them out.