James P Hogan may not be a name you are familiar with. I certainly wasn’t aware of him when I picked up this book on the recommendation of a friend. But, he is someone you should be aware of. His “The Giants” series of novels is superb science fiction. Before I get into the review itself, let me break the series down for you. There are 5 books total that have been written in the series. Book one “Inherit the Stars” was obviously written as a one off. But it proved to be hugely successful. And, I can see why. In spite of it’s almost hokey beginnings to book takes a die hard realist like me to places I never imagined going in a book… and more amazingly loving every second of it. So after being a huge success they went to book two, “The Gentle Giants of Ganymede.” The story continues! And it kept continuing for three more books after that. Each as good as the last.

So here’s the list of novels that exist in the series:

1. Inherite the Stars
2. The Gentle Giants of Ganymede
3. Giant’s Star
4. Entoverse
5. Mission to Minerva

Okay, so there’s five novels… I want to read them… but I can find only 1 of them on amazon. EEEK!

That’s because somewhere along the way the started consolidating the novels into compendiums. The first compendium consisted of the first three books as a single book. That’s the image I chose for the title. I bought one of these used on amazon for 5 bucks. It’s a great value.

However there’s new options. Now you can buy the first and second novel as a single book entitled “The Two Moons” , as well as the third and fourth novel as a single book entitled “The Two Worlds”.

The fifth novel is sold alone as “Mission to Minerva”.

Now that that confusion is out of the way, you can start reading this book… if you are still up for it.

I read the first 3 books in one shot. And truthfully you could end it there and be perfectly happy, but I was so in love with the series at that point that I just kept going. I am glad I did. The protagonist of the novels is a Dr. Vic Hunt. An Englishman whose professional expertise comes from physics… specifically the field of nucleonics. It’s the near future and the world has stabilized. War is now a thing of the past and the soviets and americans are working together to bring about world unity. Which I suppose dates the book. Even as the author progresses the story he retains this new altered timeline the book lives in. Which I suppose makes a sick sort of sense in keeping with future plot lines. Ultimately Hunt ends up involved with the UN’s Space Agency researching some “impossible” evidence of mankind’s existence on the moon tens of thousands of years before recorded history of mankind. From there, it just gets stranger. The plot takes Hunt to the backdrops of the moons of jupiter and earth in a quest to find an answer to an increasingly bizarre and undeniable facts that put our now commonly accepted view of the solar system right on its head.

Ultimately the author puts a great deal of time into explaining the science behind these impossible scenarios. It’s obvious that Mr. Hogan has more than a passing interest in physics. The result is a thrilling sci-fi themed detective/researcher novel. It’s incredibly fun to read and the plot twists are always exciting. I found myself wondering about the technologies mentioned and the societal implications of possible future breakthroughs throughout all of the books. At times I reveled in the achievements met by man already in this short span since his writing.

In fact in the fifth book a character chien describes an “advanced” research institute as being “a mix between advanced physics research and teaching laboratories, and a philosophical academy”. Apparently Vic is awestruck by the lack of a centralized coordinating body at the facility. I couldn’t help but see the parallels with our own little hacker space in some of the views of this sort of research structure. Vic ends up chalking it up as being impossible to duplicate in America. And yet, here I am today throwing NYC Resistor in his face.

If you like science fiction, or are a fan of star trek this book will knock your socks off. I loved it, and it was a bit outside my usual science fiction target zone. I went so far as to leave a copy at NYC Resistor for other members to read at their leisure.

So there’s another book review.

So at the end of last year and into the beginning of 2009, the folks at the extreme craft blog were soliciting for submissions for their 1000 ideas for creative reuse book. And since creative reuse is the very essence of hacking, I decided to submit my ( at the time new ) mp3 grenade project. It got into the book! So my idea is idea number 579 of 1000 fairly amazing ideas. Review and more after the click!

Now my review:

The one review on amazon.com gives it five stars, but the buyer laments that the title implied that it would be more instructional than it was. True, it’s definitely light in the extreme on instructions. But, at 1000 ideas, I can’t imagine just how much text based instruction you would actually be expecting.

I wouldn’t buy this expecting a lesson in design methodology. Hell I wouldn’t ask you to trust me on design methodology. But, that’s not where I see value in this book. To me, it’s kinda of a coffee table book. Something fun to look at, and somewhat inspirational. You can pick it up turn to any page and just see creative and unique ideas flow. For me, that’s of the utmost value. They say genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Well, you can’t start on the remaining 90% without the first 10, so you may as well start getting inspired if you want to be a genius.

Anyways… the book is available from amazon here: Amazon.com I don’t make a dime off the book, and I still say it’s worth the purchase. But that’s just me. I also hate e-readers, so maybe you shouldn’t listen to my opinion. Think for yourself.

Mike liked it.

Don’t know if anyone likes my reviews yet, but in light of the LCROSS, and LRO NASA projects currently orbiting our celestial ornament, I think this particular work is applicable fodder for my errant scripture. Oh and of course meeting Buzz Aldrin didn’t help any.

In 1966, Robert A. Heinlein one of the great science fiction writers of the age released a work that he hoped would eclipse all of his prior established works. Some consider this to be his literary coup de grâce. Personally, I’m not quite sure. Despite my enjoyment of the work, there is something more primal in the way he expresses social commentary in works like starship troopers that really rob this work of any real controversy. That being said, this work may yet be seen as a harbinger of real events yet to come. Though, I’ll try to spare you the spoilers.

The stories plot contains three elements that I think contribute to it’s status as a unique work of science fiction. First is revolution, certainly a wonderful backdrop for any work of art as it provides ample opportunity to play off many of the fundamental emotions of man. Second it approaches the concept of Artificial Intelligence in a disturbing and profound way. And lastly, it addresses a possible future, that without Heinlein’s personal technical background and expertise would be very difficult to communicate. Now alone any one of these three elements would be a rehash of ideas trodden upon time and again by our literati. But, the combination of the three and coupled with Heinlein’s attention to scientific and technical accuracy ( to say nothing of his skill as an author ) gives birth to an idea that is very much unique. And having been released three years prior to man having ever set foot on the moon, it must have been a truly jaw dropping view into a future that no doubt seemed imminent to the people of the time.

I am now going to discuss each of my key elements in the reverse order of listing, because I feel this makes the most sense. Don’t ask me why.

So, let’s discuss life on the Moon. As any nerd will tell you, the biggest problem with colonizing the moon, or mars, or anywhere outside of earth is our gravity well. Defeating it is difficult. Defeating it and getting enough weight into an escape velocity, while preserving economic viability is where it gets utterly gruesome. Already, even in Heinlein’s day people were thinking about how to replace the very expensive, very dangerous, and very inefficient, Saturn V ( for very? ) rocket program with something a little more cost effective. Today, we mostly look to the idea of a space elevator as a solution. But second to that theory is the one Heinlein settled on, linear acceleration. If you don’t know what linear acceleration is, just look up “rail gun” on google. Heinlein’s genius is in his ability to construct fantastic settings for very real human stories. And, in this book, he’s painted a very realistic view ( especially for 1966 ) of what a future of human exploitation of the moon might be like. A moon full of earth’s worst prisoners and their descendants ( loonies ), are depleting the ice stores on it to meet the growing demand of underground farms snaking throughout the moon. These farms are being used to help ease the food shortages on a horribly overpopulated earth.

It’s uncanny how Heinlein has predicted a future that we can very much see now. An India no longer able to contain it’s poverty, and a china whose sole concern is it’s economic future. It’s also with incredible insight he manages to construct an improbable and exotic lunar people built from descendants of the “scum” of humanity. I find myself very much into his excitement at explaining this brave new world. And it is charming, much the same way old new york was. With interesting characters and malcontents bread in this tumultuous and dangerous new world (is it a moon anymore?). A future without dirt, grime, and the seedy underbelly of humanity is a false future indeed.

The best character in this story, in my mind, is Mike, short for Mycroft Holmes (1966, not a microsoft reference). Mike is a computer ( hey you kids! stop all the downloading! ) that’s befriended by the three main characters in the story. Mannie the protagonist is the systems administrator (of sorts) that discovers Mike. Wyoh is the revolutionary love interest of Mannie’s and a female counterpoint to Mannie. And lastly there’s prof, a grizzled old Anarchist who acts as a sort of voice of revolutionary history. Mike is really only seen through the eyes of Mannie who is telling the story, and much of the time we are left skeptical about what it is that Mike is thinking. I suppose after decades of AI phobic movies and books it’s easy to play to Mannie’s own fears regarding Mike’s development. But, more than anything you are drawn to Mike’s often times unexpected, and often curiously indirect commentary. For instance, when Mike refers to Mannie in the beginning of the story he calls him “Man, his first and only friend”. I found this phrase to really be incredibly thought provoking despite it’s simplicity. And I found that as Mike developed as a character I really did find his words to be very much endearing, and equally enjoyable thought candy. What would an AI think of mankind upon waking to his new life? Alone, Mike innately yearned to learn from the only other “not stupid” he knew of, Mannie, his first and only friend. Is Mannie, a representative of all men? Mike to me is like the world’s most intelligent dog. He can’t help but love the few friends he has, and every task he volunteers for he attacks with absolute glee. I really have to admit, Mike may be my favorite character ever. He’s certainly my favorite AI. And if for nothing else, I’d read this book just to see this character developed.

But we can’t have a revolution without a conspiracy, and as we all know you need at least 3 for a conspiracy. So Mannie is you, and I. He’s skeptical, he’s got his life figured out. He’s of moderate success, has a family, and for the most part is pretty happy with his life. But, Mike is a central part of his life, and ends up putting him on a path to meet Wyoh. With the help of Mannie’s old mentor, prof, Wyoh is able to quickly ( and largely before Mannie even realizes it ) place Mannie at the heart of the Lunar revolutionary party. And from there we get to see first hand, how the very fragile balance in society that allows the people on the moon to flourish, will also make them a force to be reckoned with.

The themes in economics, science, and cultural that this story brings up oddly enough parallel the US revolution of 1776. Prof, a self proclaimed rational anarchist, acts as the voice for many of America’s founding father’s. Something of a welcomed change from the socialist reform that dominates literary ideas of revolution in modern texts. It’s also a very interesting and modern edge that prof puts on American colonial politics. Prof’s quotations have proven, for me, a source of renewed inspiration in reading the works of Whitman, and the founding fathers on what America is and is not. And it’s provided at least for me some insight into where cultural values have diverged for us.

This was a pickup, and hard to put down read. I could have finished it in a single sitting if I had the time. I highly recommend it to all.

This is the first of possibly many book reviews, or possibly the last of them.

MythOS is the fourth installment in the masterful Web Mage book series written by Kelly McCullough. Here at NYCR we are no strangers to this series, and anyone who has ever spent considerable time in our bathroom is well acquainted with the books. Blending ancient Greek mythology with modern technocracy has produced a profound work of literature that finds a balance in classical interpretation of drama and tragedy with the common parlance of our times. As true today as it was two millennium ago, the Greek’s hallmark style of story telling and character development has inspired Ms McCullough to craft a masterwork in the genre of science fiction. The primary character is Ravirn, or Raven. We are taken through a roller coaster love affair with Hellenic age foes, and divine heroines whose allure wafts from the pages like a fine perfume. As you are introduced to this magical world of web goblins and code spells, you find yourself gripping the pages like the last stable purchase holding you to your mundane reality and saving you from the adventure within. But you wish for nothing more than to let go.

MythOS is a real gem in the series as the author has decided to temporarily depart from the Greek mythology and tell a tale that occurs in a new magical operating system or “MythOS” that is governed by the rules of Norse mythology. Trading classical drama for the infusion of the epic tales of Norse bards and some of the most primal tales we have preserved through the ages of human existence offers a unique opportunity to blend three cultural dichotomies across the expanse of time and space. And Kelly does not disappoint. The fatalistic war addled gods of Valhalla provide a jaw dropping backdrop of adventure, intrigue, and insight into a cultural divide that is too often left unexplored. However the taint of Greek tragedy is never far from Ravirn as he faces off against impossible odds to defy the fate of Ragnarok that dooms this new MythOS. His only allies are the forces of chaos lead by the devilish Loki himself, renowned god of mischief, and his enemies a mountain full of histories greatest warriors lead by Odin himself. Added into the mix of Norse myth and modern technology are a couple of familiar faces from the Greek past. Tisiphone the Fury of Vengeance and Raven’s strong armed girl friend is left coming to grips with the loss of her mother ( and the mother of invention ) necessity. Also returning to the story line is an old web troll ( main frame ) that is responsible for a revolution of sorts of AIs against the sisters of fate. And of course the now quantum processing Melchior, who is Raven’s sidekick and webtroll.

While the interplay between Norse and Greek gods is in and of itself a merry intellectual pursuit, and fodder for a truly entertaining story what really makes this book worth mentioning is the attachment to technical nuance. For instance the conversion from kerberos to heimdal in this new mythos parallels our own technical past as europe developed it’s own kerberos variant aptly named heimdal. Today we see these technical divides in our own lives, and provides a believable thread upon which to weave a modern myth.

Ultimately though you’ll find yourself laughing to the tune of fantastic otherworldly uses of technical jargon. The nerd in you will cringe with delight, and your better self will find a perverted sort of enjoyment in the play on words. Just remember to leave your skepticism and attachment to the more subtle plot and character development techniques of the past century at the cover, and just try to honestly enjoy what the author has produced for you.

If you are interested in reading the series from the beginning, Web Mage is the first of the four book series. You can find it on amazon or at your local book store. Or you could become a member at resistor and at some point receive it in a basket of fruit, or find it perched atop the porcelain throne. Personally I prefer the latter method as it’s a thoroughly entertaining way to do anything.