True to form, Asimov wrote a book that actually fits another genre better but takes place in a futuristic setting. This is detective murder mystery novel set set in New York several thousand years hence. Humanity has spread to the starts, yet the people that have remained on earth have turned suspicious of their celestial brethren, seeing them as haughty and elitist. Earthlings generally stay on earth and the one Spacer town, located right next to New York, is called called "Space Town". Yep.. just Space Town. Way to stretch for that one, Isaac.
There has been a Murder in Space Town and New York police detective Elijah Bailey is tasked to solve it with the help of an unusually human looking robot partner R. Daniel Olivaw. The problem is Earthlings not only dislike Spacers, they fear and distrust (but still use) robots. The suspect couldn't possibly be a spacer because they are above such silly things like murder, but humans almost never venture outside of their completely encapsulated giant cave like cities. ..so whodunit?
It's a good book, but nothing terribly moving. I think that's been my reaction to all of Asimov's works. If I give it just a B+ grade is that a sacrilege? Will I be cursed by the Sci-Fi gods forever? Would the Sci-Fi gods see the irony in using such a Fantasy device as a curse? We'll see, I guess..
Introduction
Even as a youngster, though, I could not bring myself to believe that if knowledge presented a danger, the solution was ignorance. To me, it always seemed that the solution has to be wisdom.
p21
The government called it growing pains. It shook it's collective head sorrowfully and assured everyone that after a necessary period of adjustment, a new and better life would exist for all.
P133
"Because the human form is the most successful generalized forem in all of nature. We are not a specialized animal, Ms. Bailey, except for our nervous system and a few odd items. If you want a design capable of doing a great many widely various things, , all fairly well, you can do no better then to imitate the human form. Besides that, our entire technology is based on the human form...
It is easier to have robots imitate the human shape than to redesign radically the very philosophy of our tools."
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
#90 The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock entry 2 of 2
I already posted about the first two books several weeks ago and I really liked them. I couldn't find book 3 and I just finished number 4 - The Vanishing Tower, and number 5 - The Bane of the Black Sword. I think there is another three, but I'm calling it here. No mas.
It took me way too ling to trudge thru those short books (175 and 157 pages respectively) because ot just got to be a chore. Book 4 pretty much caught me up on what I missed in book three - which is the same as books 1, 2, 5 and probably all the rest too. Super powerful dude kills people with super powerful sword and when he is in a bind, he gets help from super powerful elementals and gods and stuff.. over and over again.
The charm of the hero being mighty instead of meek is lost on the rehash of the same old story. If anyone reading this can attest to the notion that it gets better in the later books please comment. If that is indeed the case maybe I'll go read them too.. If not, we're done here.
TVT
p130
The sand rippled as the wind blew it so that the dunes seemed like waves in an almost petrified sea. Stark fangs of rock jutted here and there - the remains of mountain randes that had been eroded by the wind. And a mournful sighing could be heard, as if the sand remembered when it had been rock and the stones of cities and the bones of men and beasts and longed for its resurrection, sighed at the memory of death.
TBotBS
p85
Framed in the doorway stood the King from Beneath the Hill.
The long-dead monarch had been raised by Veerkad whose own blood had completed the work of the resurrection. He stood in rotting robes, his fleshless bones covered by tight, tattered skin. His heart dod not beat, for he had none; he drew no breath, for his lungs had been eaten by the creatures which feasted on such things. But, horribly, he lived..
It took me way too ling to trudge thru those short books (175 and 157 pages respectively) because ot just got to be a chore. Book 4 pretty much caught me up on what I missed in book three - which is the same as books 1, 2, 5 and probably all the rest too. Super powerful dude kills people with super powerful sword and when he is in a bind, he gets help from super powerful elementals and gods and stuff.. over and over again.
The charm of the hero being mighty instead of meek is lost on the rehash of the same old story. If anyone reading this can attest to the notion that it gets better in the later books please comment. If that is indeed the case maybe I'll go read them too.. If not, we're done here.
TVT
p130
The sand rippled as the wind blew it so that the dunes seemed like waves in an almost petrified sea. Stark fangs of rock jutted here and there - the remains of mountain randes that had been eroded by the wind. And a mournful sighing could be heard, as if the sand remembered when it had been rock and the stones of cities and the bones of men and beasts and longed for its resurrection, sighed at the memory of death.
TBotBS
p85
Framed in the doorway stood the King from Beneath the Hill.
The long-dead monarch had been raised by Veerkad whose own blood had completed the work of the resurrection. He stood in rotting robes, his fleshless bones covered by tight, tattered skin. His heart dod not beat, for he had none; he drew no breath, for his lungs had been eaten by the creatures which feasted on such things. But, horribly, he lived..
Monday, July 31, 2017
#72 A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
I definitely liked it better than 20,000 leagues under the sea. He does spend a full two pages talking about how coal is formed, but there's not as much of that as in the other one. Harry, his uncel Professor VonHardwig and the mighty Hans climb up a volcano in Iceland after reading a several hundred year old text someone claiming it lead them to the center of the earth. Hilarity ensues.
Well, not really. It is a bit drawn out in parts but rather good overall. I feel like he hit the mark more with capturing the dramatic episodes in this book. The best part is the crushing loneliness and dark despair when the party gets separated.
P127 Lost! Lost! LOST!!!
Lost at a depth which, to mu finite understanding, appeared to be immeasurable. These thirty leagues of the crust of the earth weighed upon my shoulders like the globe on the shoulders of Atlas. I felt myself crushed by an awful weight. It was indeed a position to drive the sanest man to madness!
I tried to bring my thoughts back to the world so long forgotten. It was with the greatest difficulty that I seceded in doing so.
...
They were before me, but now unreal. Under the influence of a terrible hallucination I saw the whole incident of our journey pass before me like the scenes of a panorama. I said to myself that, if in my position I retained the most faint and shadowy outline of hope, it would be a sure sign of approaching delirium. It were better to give way wholly to despair!
In fact, I did but reason with calmness and philosophy, what human power was there in existence able to take me back to the surface of the earth, and ready, too, to slot asunder, to rend in twain those huge mighty vaults which stand above my head?
p129
I tried to cry aloud, but hoarse, hollow, and inarticulate sounds alone could make themselves heard through my parched lips. I literally panted for breath.
In the midst of all these terrible sources of anguish and despair, a new horror took possession of my soul. My lamp, by falling down, had got out of order. I had no means of repairing it. Its light was already becoming paler and paler and would soon expire.
...
At last, one final trembling flame remained in the lamp; I followed it with all the power of my vision; I gasped for breath; I concentrated upon it all the power of my soul, as upon the last scintillation of light i was ever destined to see: and then I was to be lost forever in Cimmerian and tenebrous shades.
Well, not really. It is a bit drawn out in parts but rather good overall. I feel like he hit the mark more with capturing the dramatic episodes in this book. The best part is the crushing loneliness and dark despair when the party gets separated.
P127 Lost! Lost! LOST!!!
Lost at a depth which, to mu finite understanding, appeared to be immeasurable. These thirty leagues of the crust of the earth weighed upon my shoulders like the globe on the shoulders of Atlas. I felt myself crushed by an awful weight. It was indeed a position to drive the sanest man to madness!
I tried to bring my thoughts back to the world so long forgotten. It was with the greatest difficulty that I seceded in doing so.
...
They were before me, but now unreal. Under the influence of a terrible hallucination I saw the whole incident of our journey pass before me like the scenes of a panorama. I said to myself that, if in my position I retained the most faint and shadowy outline of hope, it would be a sure sign of approaching delirium. It were better to give way wholly to despair!
In fact, I did but reason with calmness and philosophy, what human power was there in existence able to take me back to the surface of the earth, and ready, too, to slot asunder, to rend in twain those huge mighty vaults which stand above my head?
p129
I tried to cry aloud, but hoarse, hollow, and inarticulate sounds alone could make themselves heard through my parched lips. I literally panted for breath.
In the midst of all these terrible sources of anguish and despair, a new horror took possession of my soul. My lamp, by falling down, had got out of order. I had no means of repairing it. Its light was already becoming paler and paler and would soon expire.
...
At last, one final trembling flame remained in the lamp; I followed it with all the power of my vision; I gasped for breath; I concentrated upon it all the power of my soul, as upon the last scintillation of light i was ever destined to see: and then I was to be lost forever in Cimmerian and tenebrous shades.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
#24 2001 A Space Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke
The biggest revelation here is that the book is actually based on the screenplay for the film. Clarke and Kubrick collaborated on this from the start.
And just like the movie, the book almost gets too big for itself. Clarke's other works seem to expand in scope until they reach a point where the mind can't comprehend what is being imagined. I guess that's the point really. To illustrate how really small we are in the vast possibilities of the universe.
Naturally, being married fro the start, the book and the film follow quite closely. I understand the thoughts behind the monolith at the dawn of man. I understand it's prompting of the man-apes to evolve and use the brain.
Then skip the next three million years.
The monolith found on the moon sets in motion the voyage whereon the monolith reaps the bounty of the progress of human intelligence.
Hal is actually not really integral to the overall plot. It is entirely a side story. A good one, but Poole was already going to rendezvous with the monolith, even if Hal didn't wig out.
P xvii
Behind every man now alive stand thirty ghosts, for that is the ratio by which the dead outnumber the living. Since the dawn of time, roughly a hundred billion human beings have walked the planet earth.
Now that is an interesting number, for by a curious coincidence there are approximately a hundred billion stars in out local universe, the Milky Way. So for every man who has ever lived, in the Universe there shines a star.
P107
Sometimes, during lonely hours on the control deck, Bowman would listen to this radiation. He would turn up the gain until the room filled with a crackling, hissing roar; out of this background, at irregular intervals, emerged brief whistles and peeps like the cries of demented birds. It was an eerie sound, for it had nothing to do with man; it was as lonely and as meaningless as the murmur of waves on a beach, or the distant crash of thunder beyond the horizon.
And just like the movie, the book almost gets too big for itself. Clarke's other works seem to expand in scope until they reach a point where the mind can't comprehend what is being imagined. I guess that's the point really. To illustrate how really small we are in the vast possibilities of the universe.
Naturally, being married fro the start, the book and the film follow quite closely. I understand the thoughts behind the monolith at the dawn of man. I understand it's prompting of the man-apes to evolve and use the brain.
Then skip the next three million years.
The monolith found on the moon sets in motion the voyage whereon the monolith reaps the bounty of the progress of human intelligence.
Hal is actually not really integral to the overall plot. It is entirely a side story. A good one, but Poole was already going to rendezvous with the monolith, even if Hal didn't wig out.
P xvii
Behind every man now alive stand thirty ghosts, for that is the ratio by which the dead outnumber the living. Since the dawn of time, roughly a hundred billion human beings have walked the planet earth.
Now that is an interesting number, for by a curious coincidence there are approximately a hundred billion stars in out local universe, the Milky Way. So for every man who has ever lived, in the Universe there shines a star.
P107
Sometimes, during lonely hours on the control deck, Bowman would listen to this radiation. He would turn up the gain until the room filled with a crackling, hissing roar; out of this background, at irregular intervals, emerged brief whistles and peeps like the cries of demented birds. It was an eerie sound, for it had nothing to do with man; it was as lonely and as meaningless as the murmur of waves on a beach, or the distant crash of thunder beyond the horizon.
#90 The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock 2 of 8
Now THIS is high fantasy. I haven read a book quite like these. It is fast moving, grand, and epic in every aspect. It only take a few pages for you to understand Elric and his surroundings. He is the emperor of a nation that ruled with ultimate and fierce authority over all of the world for time out of mind. But he is the lesser son of a not as great father of a line that is failing of a society that has gotten complacent. He is a warrior with magic armor and sword. He is a wizard with powerful potions and control of the elements.
He is everything that the meager "little guy" heroes of all the other fantasy books are not. And that's nice for a change.
The story sweeps right along as he vies with his would be usurper cousin who is after his throne. He sails his fleet of gigantic golden ships out to destroy raiders. He speaks with elementals. He comes back from the dead. All in 180 pages!
In the second book he cavorts with more elementals, sails to wondrous new planes of existence, merges with other powerful warriors to destroy a pair of minor gods, resurrects the soul of a colossus that his ancestors once fled from before they became rulers of the rest of the world.. in a mere 160.
Some books you are barely getting to get acquainted by page 340. I lipke it!
P19 - book 1 Elric of Melinbone
"He will not be happy until you are destroyed, Elric."
"Or is destroyed himself, Cymoril... Your brother is inclined to absolutes, is he not? How the weak hate weakness."
P45 book 2 The Sailor on the Seas of Fate
The sword flung back, its blade slicing through tens of thousands of dimensions and drawing their power to it. Then it began to swing back. It swung and black light bellowed from its blade. It swung and Agack became aware of it. His body began to alter. Down toward the sorcerer's great eye, down towards Agack's intelligence pool swept the great black blade.
He is everything that the meager "little guy" heroes of all the other fantasy books are not. And that's nice for a change.
The story sweeps right along as he vies with his would be usurper cousin who is after his throne. He sails his fleet of gigantic golden ships out to destroy raiders. He speaks with elementals. He comes back from the dead. All in 180 pages!
In the second book he cavorts with more elementals, sails to wondrous new planes of existence, merges with other powerful warriors to destroy a pair of minor gods, resurrects the soul of a colossus that his ancestors once fled from before they became rulers of the rest of the world.. in a mere 160.
Some books you are barely getting to get acquainted by page 340. I lipke it!
P19 - book 1 Elric of Melinbone
"He will not be happy until you are destroyed, Elric."
"Or is destroyed himself, Cymoril... Your brother is inclined to absolutes, is he not? How the weak hate weakness."
P45 book 2 The Sailor on the Seas of Fate
The sword flung back, its blade slicing through tens of thousands of dimensions and drawing their power to it. Then it began to swing back. It swung and black light bellowed from its blade. It swung and Agack became aware of it. His body began to alter. Down toward the sorcerer's great eye, down towards Agack's intelligence pool swept the great black blade.
#51 Hyperion by Dan Simmons
It was OK. Good but not great.
Your stereotypical semi-retired space captain has to come out of retirement to accompany a group of grudging pilgrims as they head to the dangerous world of Hyperion. There is a god on Hyperion - the Shrike - who is entwined in the stories of all seven of the group of which The Council is one. The council has a name too somewhere, but nobody ever calls him by it. He goes solely by the odd title of council. Maybe he's not so much of a "captain" but more of a public servant of some sort... I didn't really get his backstory and it didn't seem to matter. It was probably there, but I don't honestly feel like I missed much. Apparently it wasn't all that gripping..
On the voyage to the planet and the march thru the dangerous wasteland haunted by the Shrike they take turns telling their stories as to why they need take this perilous journey in the first place. The priest's story is the best, but It's not even HIS story. He id following in the footsteps of another priest who came as a missionary previously. Why THIS guy needs to come himself.. I don't really know.
The Corporal's story is interesting too. I think he is haunted by the ghost of an ex lover or something. Again, I think I missed something there.
The poet's story makes more sense. He used to live on Hyperion and his writing has some connection with the Shrike slaughtering people. I don't know why he in on the journey, but at least I see the connection.
The private detective; I cant remember why she is involved either. She fell in love with a computer reincarnation of WB Yeats. Neat concept. Pertinent how?
The ship captain just seemed to be along for the ride.
The best story - and the one that firs best for plot - is the professor and his daughter. His baby used to be a scientist investigating mysteries on Hyperion when she was exposed to something that makes her age backwards and forget everything of the days she has lost. It's actually a really cool part of the story. She is an infant now and soon she will progress back to before she was born and ..die?
All in all I think I missed a lot, but I don't feel inspired to go back and figure it out.
Eh.. oh well.
P155
He thought briefly that such an anticlimax would be the universe's fitting verdict on his martial pretensions: the brave warrior floating off in to near-planet orbit.. He would end his life as useless and harmless as a child's runaway balloon.
P192
"Words are the only bullets in the truth's bandoleer. And Poets are the snipers."
P249
Another friend, a child psychologist from the college, once commented that Rachel at age five showed the most reliable indications of true giftedness in a young person: structured curiosity, empathy for others, compassion, and a fierce sense of fair play.
Your stereotypical semi-retired space captain has to come out of retirement to accompany a group of grudging pilgrims as they head to the dangerous world of Hyperion. There is a god on Hyperion - the Shrike - who is entwined in the stories of all seven of the group of which The Council is one. The council has a name too somewhere, but nobody ever calls him by it. He goes solely by the odd title of council. Maybe he's not so much of a "captain" but more of a public servant of some sort... I didn't really get his backstory and it didn't seem to matter. It was probably there, but I don't honestly feel like I missed much. Apparently it wasn't all that gripping..
On the voyage to the planet and the march thru the dangerous wasteland haunted by the Shrike they take turns telling their stories as to why they need take this perilous journey in the first place. The priest's story is the best, but It's not even HIS story. He id following in the footsteps of another priest who came as a missionary previously. Why THIS guy needs to come himself.. I don't really know.
The Corporal's story is interesting too. I think he is haunted by the ghost of an ex lover or something. Again, I think I missed something there.
The poet's story makes more sense. He used to live on Hyperion and his writing has some connection with the Shrike slaughtering people. I don't know why he in on the journey, but at least I see the connection.
The private detective; I cant remember why she is involved either. She fell in love with a computer reincarnation of WB Yeats. Neat concept. Pertinent how?
The ship captain just seemed to be along for the ride.
The best story - and the one that firs best for plot - is the professor and his daughter. His baby used to be a scientist investigating mysteries on Hyperion when she was exposed to something that makes her age backwards and forget everything of the days she has lost. It's actually a really cool part of the story. She is an infant now and soon she will progress back to before she was born and ..die?
All in all I think I missed a lot, but I don't feel inspired to go back and figure it out.
Eh.. oh well.
P155
He thought briefly that such an anticlimax would be the universe's fitting verdict on his martial pretensions: the brave warrior floating off in to near-planet orbit.. He would end his life as useless and harmless as a child's runaway balloon.
P192
"Words are the only bullets in the truth's bandoleer. And Poets are the snipers."
P249
Another friend, a child psychologist from the college, once commented that Rachel at age five showed the most reliable indications of true giftedness in a young person: structured curiosity, empathy for others, compassion, and a fierce sense of fair play.
Thursday, April 20, 2017
NOT ON THE LIST The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
I didn't find this book at all odd until reading the author's notes in the afterward. He points out how there is just ONE character and one of the main things she accomplishes in the book is making soap. The soap covers about 8 pages.
The last time soap making was an activity in anything consumed for entertainment purposes was Fight Club. Tyler Durden and Auri. That's a more fun compare / contrast than I realized until I typed that just now. One quietly sets the world right, the other seeks to upset every apple cart ever made. Perhaps if Auri never found solace in the Underthing she might have gone that direction.
The preface is a warning by the author almost telling you NOT to read this book. It is a warning that - if you do - you should first read his other books (Kingkiller Chronicles) or you might be a bit lost jumping right into Auri's story. I did happen to have come to this book after having read the other two, but I almost wish I could see what I thought if I hadn't. I think I would have enjoyed it on a whole different level. Would I have been more shocked and impressed to find out that she is a gifted intellectual? How would I have pictured her expectant visitor? Would I have thought that the name she dropped was that of an esteemed Professor? Would I have placed the story in modern times? Or olden days? Or a fantasy realm? I wonder..
Auri puts so much personality into the object that she collects that these "things" take on a person-hood. She worries about their feelings of her blanket. She wants her leaf to be comfortable. She wants a cup to not be lonely. Once she finds the right place to set the broken cogwheel (that she almost drowns trying to rescue) it balances her world so much that she names it Fulcrum. She is too selfless to taker care of herself so she imbues items with her own emotions.
Patrick says that he didn't write this book to publish and sell it. He needed to get the story of Auri out of his head. He needed to explore more about her and find out who she really was. He did it mostly for himself not ever really intending or needing others to read it. ..kinda like this blog. I write it for me. If YOU like it, that's great. I just want to be able to remember what happened in all of these books.
My friend Michael Mallen wrote a review of this book too. He is a professional psychologist. His review - and the recommendation of everyone that has read the book - made me add it to the 100 book list. I'm really glad I did.
Pat says that : "This story is for all of the slightly broken people out there. I am one of you. You are not alone. You are all beautiful to me." It reminds me of the Police song Message in a Bottle. 100 million bottles washed up on the shore. I guess no one is alone in being alone. ..good luck trying to tell that to someone who feels alone though.
p30
Some places had names. Some places changed, or they were shy about their names. Some places had no names at all, and that was very sad. It was one thing to be private. But to have no name at all? How horrible. How lonely.
p116
She looked down at her shaking hands. Was she all full of screaming now? Again? No. No no. It wasn't her. Not just. It was all everything. All everything unravelding and thin and tatter. She could not even stand. The light was jagged, scraping like a knife against her teeth. And underneath it was the hollow dark. The nameless empty everything was clawing at the fraying edges of the walls. Even Foxen wasn't even nearly. The stones were strange. The air. She went looking for her name and couldn't even find it flickering. She was just hollow in. Everything was. Everything was everything. Everything was everything else. Even here in her most perfect place. She needed. Please she needed please..
One last thing..In the end note Pat points out that the name of his world is Temerant and asks "Did you catch that?" I hadn't at first but now I wonder.. Kvothe knows the name of the Wind. Does Auri know the name of the World? I have to go back and find it now..
The last time soap making was an activity in anything consumed for entertainment purposes was Fight Club. Tyler Durden and Auri. That's a more fun compare / contrast than I realized until I typed that just now. One quietly sets the world right, the other seeks to upset every apple cart ever made. Perhaps if Auri never found solace in the Underthing she might have gone that direction.
The preface is a warning by the author almost telling you NOT to read this book. It is a warning that - if you do - you should first read his other books (Kingkiller Chronicles) or you might be a bit lost jumping right into Auri's story. I did happen to have come to this book after having read the other two, but I almost wish I could see what I thought if I hadn't. I think I would have enjoyed it on a whole different level. Would I have been more shocked and impressed to find out that she is a gifted intellectual? How would I have pictured her expectant visitor? Would I have thought that the name she dropped was that of an esteemed Professor? Would I have placed the story in modern times? Or olden days? Or a fantasy realm? I wonder..
Auri puts so much personality into the object that she collects that these "things" take on a person-hood. She worries about their feelings of her blanket. She wants her leaf to be comfortable. She wants a cup to not be lonely. Once she finds the right place to set the broken cogwheel (that she almost drowns trying to rescue) it balances her world so much that she names it Fulcrum. She is too selfless to taker care of herself so she imbues items with her own emotions.
Patrick says that he didn't write this book to publish and sell it. He needed to get the story of Auri out of his head. He needed to explore more about her and find out who she really was. He did it mostly for himself not ever really intending or needing others to read it. ..kinda like this blog. I write it for me. If YOU like it, that's great. I just want to be able to remember what happened in all of these books.
My friend Michael Mallen wrote a review of this book too. He is a professional psychologist. His review - and the recommendation of everyone that has read the book - made me add it to the 100 book list. I'm really glad I did.
Pat says that : "This story is for all of the slightly broken people out there. I am one of you. You are not alone. You are all beautiful to me." It reminds me of the Police song Message in a Bottle. 100 million bottles washed up on the shore. I guess no one is alone in being alone. ..good luck trying to tell that to someone who feels alone though.
p30
Some places had names. Some places changed, or they were shy about their names. Some places had no names at all, and that was very sad. It was one thing to be private. But to have no name at all? How horrible. How lonely.
p116
She looked down at her shaking hands. Was she all full of screaming now? Again? No. No no. It wasn't her. Not just. It was all everything. All everything unravelding and thin and tatter. She could not even stand. The light was jagged, scraping like a knife against her teeth. And underneath it was the hollow dark. The nameless empty everything was clawing at the fraying edges of the walls. Even Foxen wasn't even nearly. The stones were strange. The air. She went looking for her name and couldn't even find it flickering. She was just hollow in. Everything was. Everything was everything. Everything was everything else. Even here in her most perfect place. She needed. Please she needed please..
One last thing..In the end note Pat points out that the name of his world is Temerant and asks "Did you catch that?" I hadn't at first but now I wonder.. Kvothe knows the name of the Wind. Does Auri know the name of the World? I have to go back and find it now..
Sunday, March 5, 2017
#18 The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss (2 of 2..waiting for 3rd)
The Name of the Wind
This is a great story. One of the best I've read in a while. It is sorry of Kvothe dictating his life story to a man that is referred to primarily by title - Chronicler. Kvothe (Quothe) was a gifted child that could almost instantly learn anything very quickly. His wonderful life as the son of the leader of a band of traveling entertainers take a bit of a turn for the worse when his entire troop is murdered by a demon that is supposed to only exist in a storybook. This first book in the series him telling the story of his childhood to about age 15 or 16. Life alone in the woods, on the streets of Tarbean and eventually at the University. The recounting of the tale is punctuated by breaks in the conversation that flash forward to present time sitting at his inn - The Waystone - where he is in hiding under an assumed name. The very little bit of the story that takes place in the present is full of action at the very beginning; calm and colorful narration thru the body of the book; and shocking and intriguing at the very end.
AS SOON AS I FINISHED IT, I ran out - while hungover - to buy the second book : A Wise Man's Fear.
I literally can't wait to start it.
p114
Ben took a deep breath and tried again. "Suppose you have a thoughtless six-year-old. What harm could he do?"
I paused, unsure of what sort of answer he wanted. Straight-forward would probably be be best. "Not Much."
"Suppose he is twenty and still thoughtless, how dangerous is he?"
I decided to stick with the obvious answers. :"Still not much, but more than before."
"What if you give him a sword?"
p203
"All storied are true." Skorpi said. "But this one really happened, if that is what you mean."
He took another slow drink, then smiled again, his bright eyes dancing. "More or less. You have to be a bit of a liar to tell a story the right way. Too much truth confuses the facts. Too much honesty makes you sound insincere."
p281
Plainly said, he was giving me enough rope to hang myself with. Apparently he didn't realize that once a noose is tied, it will fit one neck as easily as another.
p422
Go out in the early days of winter, after the first cold snap of the season. Find a pool of water with a sheet of ice across the top, still fresh and new and clear as glass. Near the shore the ice will hold you. Slide out farther. Farther. Eventually you'll find a place where the surface just barely bears your weight. There you will feel what I felt. The ice splinters under your feet. Look down and you can see the white cracks darting thru the ice like mad, elaborate spiderwebs. It is perfectly silent, but you can feel the sudden sharp vibrations thru the bottom of your feet. This is what happened when Denna smiled at me.
p484
I smiled, "Deoch, my heart is made of stronger stuff than glass. When she strikes it she'll find it as strong as iron bound brass, or gold and adamant together mixed.. It's she who should take care, for when she strikes, my heart will make a sound so beautiful and bright that it can't help but bring her back to me in winged flight."
p716
"It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story"
The Wise Man's Fear
You tried to warn me.. Where's the next one, dammit?? Please, Pat, WRITE!!
This is one of the best new things I have read since I started on this list. Totally wow.
The Dungeons and Dragons nerd in me is in full on natural 20 RPG dork overload here..
Kvothe the MULTICLASS! He starts the first book as Bard level 1 at least, then picks up 1st level in
Wizard from Abenthy. Hiding in the woods doing nothing but playing the lute immediately after his troop is killed must be worth a level in Bard or two. Then three years on the streets of Tarbean gets you a couple levels in Thief. At least two more levels in Wizard at the University. Two more Bard levels at the Eolian and Anker's. Level 1 Ranger from tracking bandits in the Eld and finally level 2 Fighter from the Adem. So.. Bard 6, Wizard 3, Thief 2, Ranger 1, Fighter 2.
There may be some levels in other things too with the training he got in the Fae.. ifyaknowwhatImean.
Speaking of the ladies, I'm not so sure I like Dena. He needs to get over her. They didn't pay off the mention they made in the first book that Bast saw her once. Of course she is tied to this big event they are leading up to that shakes up the whole world. I assume at some point that Kvothe kills the king. Its probably Kvothe's mistake directly involving Dena. Has to be..
That's one of the things that resonates so well with this story. Kvothe - for being a level 14 Genius - is sure a fuckup. For all of his patience he is still hasty. For all of his care he is still reckless. For all of his appreciation of what he has gained he still tempts fate. As a character he is very well flawed.
I also must write down my thoughts on the Adem culture. It is brilliant, really. A warrior culture, where every child learns how to fight is going to have some major differences. Females fight as-well-as or better than men. This means the culture knows no rape. They have no nudity taboo. All sex is casual. Their society has not even worked out medically that babies come from sex. They think that a woman naturally ripens. There is no sense of "paternity" at all. ..just wait till Kvothe's girlfriend Penthe has a red haired baby. There must be some element of their society that understands mating.. no livestock are ever described but they do eat meat. A farmer would know for sure. I suppose it could all be imported or hunted. Nit picky rambling over. Sorry Patrick.
From a Q & A session with Mr Rothfuss in Feb 2017: Describe book 3 in one word: SOON.
p247
"Eld Vintic poerty is thunderous. It pounds at you."
"Sought we the Scrivani word-work of Surthur
Long-lost in ledger all hope forgotten.
Yet fast-found for friendship fair the book-bringer
Hot comes the huntress Fela, flushed with finding
Breathless her breast her high blood rising
To ripen the red-cheek rouge-bloom of beauty.
"That sort of thing," Simmon said absently, his eyes still scanning the pages in front of him.
I saw Fela turn her head to look at Simmon, almost as if she were surprised to see him sitting there.
No, it was almost as if up to that point, he'd just been occupying space around her, like a piece of furniture. But this time when she looked at him, she took all of him in. His sandy hair, the line of his jaw, the span of his shoulders beneath his shirt. This time when she looked, she actually saw him.
p541
Most secrets are secrets of the mouth. Gossip shared and small small scandals whispered. The secrets long to be let loose upon the world. A secret of the mouth is like a stone in your boot. At first you're barely aware of it. Then it grows irritating, then intolerable. Secrets of the mouth grow larger the longer you keep them, swelling until they press against your lips. They fight to be let free.
Secrets of the heart are different. They are private and painful, and we want nothing more than to hide them from the world. They do not swell and press against the mouth. They live in the heart, and the longer they are kept, the heavier they become.
p549
It's like Tecam said, nothing in the world is harder than convincing someone of an unfamiliar truth.
p853
"Vashet," I said. " It occurs to me it would be nice to fight someone whose ability is somewhat closer to my own."
Vashet laughed, shaking her head. " That is like throwing two virgins into a bed. Enthusiasm, passion, and ignorance are not a good combination. Someone is likely to get hurt."
The Wise Man's Fear
You tried to warn me.. Where's the next one, dammit?? Please, Pat, WRITE!!
This is one of the best new things I have read since I started on this list. Totally wow.
The Dungeons and Dragons nerd in me is in full on natural 20 RPG dork overload here..
Kvothe the MULTICLASS! He starts the first book as Bard level 1 at least, then picks up 1st level in
Wizard from Abenthy. Hiding in the woods doing nothing but playing the lute immediately after his troop is killed must be worth a level in Bard or two. Then three years on the streets of Tarbean gets you a couple levels in Thief. At least two more levels in Wizard at the University. Two more Bard levels at the Eolian and Anker's. Level 1 Ranger from tracking bandits in the Eld and finally level 2 Fighter from the Adem. So.. Bard 6, Wizard 3, Thief 2, Ranger 1, Fighter 2.
There may be some levels in other things too with the training he got in the Fae.. ifyaknowwhatImean.
Speaking of the ladies, I'm not so sure I like Dena. He needs to get over her. They didn't pay off the mention they made in the first book that Bast saw her once. Of course she is tied to this big event they are leading up to that shakes up the whole world. I assume at some point that Kvothe kills the king. Its probably Kvothe's mistake directly involving Dena. Has to be..
That's one of the things that resonates so well with this story. Kvothe - for being a level 14 Genius - is sure a fuckup. For all of his patience he is still hasty. For all of his care he is still reckless. For all of his appreciation of what he has gained he still tempts fate. As a character he is very well flawed.
I also must write down my thoughts on the Adem culture. It is brilliant, really. A warrior culture, where every child learns how to fight is going to have some major differences. Females fight as-well-as or better than men. This means the culture knows no rape. They have no nudity taboo. All sex is casual. Their society has not even worked out medically that babies come from sex. They think that a woman naturally ripens. There is no sense of "paternity" at all. ..just wait till Kvothe's girlfriend Penthe has a red haired baby. There must be some element of their society that understands mating.. no livestock are ever described but they do eat meat. A farmer would know for sure. I suppose it could all be imported or hunted. Nit picky rambling over. Sorry Patrick.
From a Q & A session with Mr Rothfuss in Feb 2017: Describe book 3 in one word: SOON.
Please Hurry. I'll slide the non-Kingkiller Rothfuss book in next even though it is not on the list. Slow regard of silent things: here I come.And then I’ll follow that up with the Aslan quote: “I call all times soon.”
p247
"Eld Vintic poerty is thunderous. It pounds at you."
"Sought we the Scrivani word-work of Surthur
Long-lost in ledger all hope forgotten.
Yet fast-found for friendship fair the book-bringer
Hot comes the huntress Fela, flushed with finding
Breathless her breast her high blood rising
To ripen the red-cheek rouge-bloom of beauty.
"That sort of thing," Simmon said absently, his eyes still scanning the pages in front of him.
I saw Fela turn her head to look at Simmon, almost as if she were surprised to see him sitting there.
No, it was almost as if up to that point, he'd just been occupying space around her, like a piece of furniture. But this time when she looked at him, she took all of him in. His sandy hair, the line of his jaw, the span of his shoulders beneath his shirt. This time when she looked, she actually saw him.
p541
Most secrets are secrets of the mouth. Gossip shared and small small scandals whispered. The secrets long to be let loose upon the world. A secret of the mouth is like a stone in your boot. At first you're barely aware of it. Then it grows irritating, then intolerable. Secrets of the mouth grow larger the longer you keep them, swelling until they press against your lips. They fight to be let free.
Secrets of the heart are different. They are private and painful, and we want nothing more than to hide them from the world. They do not swell and press against the mouth. They live in the heart, and the longer they are kept, the heavier they become.
p549
It's like Tecam said, nothing in the world is harder than convincing someone of an unfamiliar truth.
p853
"Vashet," I said. " It occurs to me it would be nice to fight someone whose ability is somewhat closer to my own."
Vashet laughed, shaking her head. " That is like throwing two virgins into a bed. Enthusiasm, passion, and ignorance are not a good combination. Someone is likely to get hurt."
Sunday, January 22, 2017
#16 I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
I was TWO pages from the end of the book (..like, just a few minutes ago from reading to typing) and I was going to give it a solid "Meh.." review. It was interesting, good in parts but dragged in other spots. Good, but not great.. but then.. Asimov ties it all together right at the end. I shouldn't have doubted you Isaac. Wow.
Clearly you were building up to this the whole while. Maybe I should have seen it, but I didn't. I needed you to explain it to me.
The whole story is set up as a series of interviews with 80 something year old robotics expert Susan Clark. She tells the interviewer how we got from the beginning of robotics -in the early 1980's- to someplace totally different - in 2064. Asimov was a little optimistic on his predictions on our advancements. He saw us go from the Wright Brothers in 1903 to Chuck Yeager in 1947 so, naturally, he thought we would be mining asteroids with robots by now. It is odd to read a story that is set in the present time-span but is totally futuristic.
The basic premise is that we make better and better robots to make things easier and easier for ourselves. Our robot "servants" discover that the best way to serve us is to save us from.. ourselves.
It is a memoir of the person that best understands the robot brain - Dr Susan Calvin, robot psychologist. .. NOT Will Smith. I see no character in the book for Will Smith to have played. I have not seen the movie, but I imagine it is TOTALLY different.
introduction xiv
"Then you don't remember a world without robots, There was a time when humanity faced the universe alone and without a friend. Now he has creatures to help him; stronger creatures than himself, more faithful, more useful, and absolutely devoted to him. Mankind is no longer alone. "
p177
"Now a human caught in an impossibility often responds by a retreat from reality: by entering into a world of delusion, or by taking to drink, going off into hysteria, or jumping off a bridge. It all comes to the same thing - a refusal or inability to face the situation squarely. And so, the robot."
p197
Something broke loose and whirled in a blaze of flickering light and pain. It fell - and whirled - and fell headlong - into silence! - into death! It was a world of no motion and no sensation. A world of dim unsensing consciousness; a consciousness of darkness and of silence and of formless struggle. Most of all a consciousness of eternity.
Here was a tiny white thread of ego - cold and afraid.
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