After finishing Shift, I had to wait almost seven months for Hugh Howey to finish the conclusion to his Silo series, Dust. It was a long seven months, but it was worth the wait. Dust is just as good as Wool and Shift, and Howey brings the Silo story to an end that fills in the holes and questions that were raised in the first two books. It should go without saying that if you read the first two books, you’ll want to pick up Dust.
The Amazon recommendation engine contains a bottomless pit of suggestions, especially after you fill it up with enough purchases. Since I’ve been on a reading binge this year, the book recommendations have been coming faster than ever, and they’ve gotten better (which is why I “hate” the engine). One of the latest recommendations I received was for The Atlantis Gene by A.G. Riddle. It was the trifecta of Amazon recommendations – the description looked interesting, it had received an overwhelming number of positive reviews, and I could borrow it through the Kindle lending library. Obviously, I loaded it up.
In searching for my next entertainment novel, I stumbled across Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos. Given that I could read it for free via the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, I figured that I’d give it a try. I’m glad I did.
Terms of Enlistment paints a dystopian view of the future. America’s major cities have deteriorated into welfare slums where people have no way out unless they are selected by lottery to colonize other planets, or they join the military. In the case of Andrew Grayson, he decides to join the military to escape the slums of Boston.
Through the wonders of the Amazon recommendation engine, the next science fiction book that caught my eye was Nexus by Ramez Naam.
Nexus has a fascinating plot. A nano drug has been created that permits people to link their brains together wirelessly. The effect allows people to tap the powers of the brain to do amazing things, or extremely nefarious activities depending on the intentions of the user.
On my sci-fi reading binge over this year, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card appeared on my Amazon suggested reading list. I’d heard about it through a number of sources as a classic science fiction book, saw that the movie was coming out this fall, and figured it was worth reading.
Fortunately, I was right.
Ender’s Game is classic science fiction. It’s set in a future where Earth has fended off an attack by aliens due to the heroic efforts of a battle commander named Mazer Rackham. In an effort to defeat the alien force, the Earth’s countries have formed an alliance to preemptively strike them. To achieve their objective, they’ve decided that training exceptionally bright children for battle are their best hope.
That’s where Ender, whose full name is Andrew Wiggins, enters into the plot. He is a highly intelligent child who has the stigma of being a “third”, meaning that his parents had him in violation of Earth’s two child policy. Besides being picked on by his older brother, he is also ostracized at school. His older sister tries to protect him, but after an altercation at his school, he is drafted into service by the International Fleet.
It is at this point where the action begins, and the story gets intense. I don’t want to spoil the plot, but I will tell you that Card does a great job of keeping you engaged throughout the book while using Ender’s teachers as well as his brother and sister to demonstrate the flaws and misgivings of our society and humanity in general.
I was captivated by the story and thoroughly enjoyed the book. So much so, that I’m not certain whether I’ll see the movie or not. The special effects look awesome, and they’ve certainly enlisted a great cast with Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley, but I’m concerned how true they can stay to the story. For one thing, Ender starts the story as a six year old and is only ten during his time at Command School. I’m not sure the movie will be able to accurately portray his youth, which is an integral part of the overall story in my opinion.
By the way, Card continues the story of Ender in subsequent novels. I believe there are five in total. I’ve not decided whether I will continue onto the next book in the series. While I thoroughly enjoyed the first installment, it’s difficult for me to envision how Card can maintain the same action and intensity throughout the series given the outcome of the first.
Anyways, I would put Ender’s Game in the must read category and highly encourage anyone who is remotely interested in the movie to make sure they read the book first. It’s a great read and will let you experience the story the way Card intended it without any adaptations that may have been required to turn it into a feature film.
After reading Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, I was drawn in to reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Unlike many, I wasn’t required to read it during high school, and Postman’s numerous references and comparisons to how prescient Huxley was piqued my curiosity about what could possibly be in it.
Knowing that the book was required high school reading, that it was written in the 1930’s, and that it was branded a classic, I approached the book cautiously, figuring I’d be bored to tears and struggle to move from page to page. To my surprise, Huxley’s work blew me away.
In addition to confirming all of Postman’s observations, I found the overall story to be deep and suspenseful. I had a hard time putting the book down and finished it in a surprisingly short amount of time.
I was captivated by the plot and amazed at the parallels between events in the book and the trajectory our society is on. Huxley does an amazing job of portraying how humans could be controlled by overwhelming their sensory input with so many conveniences, technology, and distractions, that they have no reason to think independently. When you consider how much of our life is controlled today by the technology around us, whether it is our computers, tablets, mobile phones or television, and how everyday diversions such as sports and entertainment influence our lives, it makes one wonder which direction we are heading – the Orwell state where the government controls us through constant surveillance, or the Huxley state where the government controls us by premitting us to be overwhelmed with diversions and distractions. Or as Postman put it
In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.
Brave New World is a must read book, especially after reading Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death. Even if you read the book in high school, after reading Postman’s work, you will see Huxley’s work in a different light. It will make you ponder and consider just what the advent of all of this technology around us is really doing to our lives.
After mowing through Daniel Suarez’s Freedom, I was casually browsing my Kindle for new material when a recommendation for Wool by Hugh Howey popped up. I had recalled an article on Brad Feld’s blog, and since his other recommendations had turned out so well, I figured I’d give it a try. It didn’t hurt that the first book in the series was free, so what did I have to lose other than a little time.
I found myself cruising through the short story in a little over an hour, which is pretty good for me since I’m not the fastest reader in the world. The book was an intriguing character study about a civilization that is relegated to living underground but has a fascination with the outside world that they cannot venture into without paying a substantial price – their life.
At the end of book one, Howey gives you a preview of Book 2 in the series, which gets you hooked into buying it, for the steep price of $0.99. In the second book, Howey paints an even deeper and more vivid picture of the underground environment, the politics of operating the silo (as its called) and the implied class system that has emerged. The imagery, the details, and the characters leave you wanting more, and by the end of Book 2, you’re ready for Book 3, which means you’ll be buying Book 4 and Book 5. At the end of the day, you’re probably best of just getting the Omnibus edition from the outset and saving yourself the angst of whether you’ll continue buying each book in the series, and save a dollar in the process.
After finishing Wool, you’ll be ready to jump into Shift. Again, it’s a series of short stories, three in total, but I would recommend buying the Omnibus edition again as you’ll find yourself reading all three in no time.
Shift is the prequel to Wool, but make sure you read Wool before Shift, or you’ll miss out on the brilliant story-telling of Howey and the genius with which he brings the story arcs of the two books together.
In addition to the connection between the two series, I also liked how Howey introduces pieces of hard science fiction into the Shift story. It helps to explain a lot of the background and events of Wool, but it’s done in a way that keeps you on the edge of your seat page after page. It’s truly amazing how he is able to connect the two books, and I give him a lot of credit for keeping the events of the two stories in sync. I’m sure they exist, but I’d be hard pressed to find any holes in the stories from the two books.
Wool and Shift are in my must read category. Put together, it’s a great story, it’s very well written, it’s easy to read, and it’s very enjoyable. To top it off, Howey is in the process of releasing Dust, due out this month, which is the conclusion of the Silo story, so I’m sure you can guess what’s up next on my reading list.
After enjoying the William Hertling books Avogadro Corp and A.I. Apocalypse, I figured it would be a safe bet to try another Brad Feld recommendation and pick up Daemon by Daniel Suarez. I was right.
Daemon is a suspenseful, riveting, action-packed mystery thriller. It starts out with a series of events that occur in the Potrero Valley near Thousand Oaks, CA. Through an investigation of the incidents, it slowly becomes clear that they are related and being coordinated by a dead man, or so it seems. As it turns out, he’s written a computer program, or daemon, which gets initiated by news of his death and whose subsequent actions are triggered through current news events. The program incorporates elements of artificial intelligence to morph itself into something bigger and more encompassing over time, and depending on your point of view, that something can be considered either good or evil for society at large.
The story holds together really well, and kept me engaged for long stretches of time. There were a couple of nights where I was unable to put the book down and stayed up much later than I intended. To top it off, Suarez’s descriptions of the environments are very accurate and realistic. I’m pretty familiar with the Portrero Valley, and and his descriptions made me feel like a part of the story. The problem, I ended up having very vivid dreams about the characters and events of the book. Yes, the story is that engaging, and the characters are very well developed.
Suarez also does a great job of building the book to a crescendo at the end and will leave you wanting to move right onto the sequel, Freedom, which I promptly did, of course.
Freedom continues the story from Daemon and did not disappoint me. The story moves just as quickly as Daemon, the action scenes were just as intense, and he takes the development of the characters to another level. By the end of the book, you feel a strong connection to all of the main characters in the story. My only disappointment was the climax of Freedom, which surprised me in how predictable it was. The rest of the story was full of so many plot twists that I was surprised Suarez didn’t throw a few more in toward the end of the book. On the other hand, I did find the ending satisfying and appropriate, and that’s all I’ll say so I don’t ruin the book for you.
I would strongly recommend reading both Daemon and Freedom, especially if you enjoy thrilling, action-packed books with strong characters. It’s also a great commentary on technology and how it can be used for both good and evil purposes. Suarez clearly has some opinions and biases that are apparent throughout the book, but they are done in such a way that doesn’t take away from the story.
One last word of caution before you start reading. If you are concerned about the government’s ability to monitor our electronic communication, such as the NSA PRISM program, or tend to be a conspiracy theorist, these books will fuel those thoughts. It gave me a lot to think about regarding how much of what we do is electronic and how easily it can be monitored, controlled, and manipulated. Well worth reading if you’re curious about the technology that governments, law enforcement agencies, big business, and others are using to track us.
Bottom line, Daemon and Freedom are must reads in my opinion.
A few months ago, I picked up the Neil Postman book, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. The book was recommended on a couple of blogs I follow and by a friend, so I figured it was a safe read.
The first thing to note about the book is that it is a nonfiction work discussing how technology is changing the way society functions, and not necessarily in a positive way. The second, and more amazing, thing to note is that the book was written in 1985, nearly 30 years ago. Why is this amazing? The book is just as relevant now as it was in 1985, if not more so.
In his book, Postman explores the effect of technology on society. In a very powerful foreword, he contrasts the predictions of George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. As he puts it:
Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.
Postman continues by expounding on Huxley’s fears, that he feared “those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism” and “the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance.” He wraps up with this powerful statement:
In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.
In essence, the point of Postman’s book is to show that Huxley’s dystopian view of the future has won out over Orwell’s. And while the book starts out a bit dry as he reviews a history of technology evolution and its impact on public discourse, it is a necessary build up to show how the technology of 1985 was enabling Huxley’s view of the future. What is more amazing, he portends how technology will continue to erode society and culture, and when one looks at our infatuation with the internet, social media, smartphones, and other technology diversions, it’s hard to argue Postman’s point that we’re getting closer to living in a Brave New World rather than 1984.
I must admit that at times, I found the book disconcerting as it left me longing for the past. A time where technology wasn’t prevalent. Where news in one’s community mattered more than news on the opposite side of the world. Where politicians were elected on the basis of their views and knowledge, not on their ability to produce 3 second television sound bytes. Where people engaged in deep, meaningful, rich conversations with one another, not in 140 character messages.
However, once I realized that technology is so integrated and woven into the fabric of our society that there is no going back, the power of Postman’s work became apparent. He does a magnificent job describing how the prevalence of technology affects human psychology and interaction. With that knowledge, I began to consider how people are using technology to influence others (including me), how to recognize it, and how to use it. In other words, we shouldn’t fear technology, but rather embrace it, understand its effects, and learn how to use it as a tool rather than letting it use us.
My recommendation, Amusing Ourselves to Death is a must read book. It will open your eyes to how technology has changed society and how it continues to do so, in ways that aren’t necessarily positive. It will make you think, particularly how you interact with all of these amazing inventions, gadgets, and diversions that we’re provided today. It also encouraged me to pick up a copy of Brave New World (which I’ll review later), and it has me interested in picking up Postman’s follow-up book to Amusing Ourselves to Death entitled, Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology.
Even though I’m not the most prolific reader, I really enjoy it. Especially when you get into a book that you just can’t put down.
I had gotten away from reading regularly the past couple of years with only occasional reading of business books and other non-fiction. Around the middle of last year, I decided it was time to start broadening my horizons and delving into some science fiction based upon some posts I had seen on Brad Feld’s blog. Basically, it dawned on me that reading science fiction might provide an indication of coming technology advancements.
For my first venture into the genre, I picked up Avogadro Corp: The Singularity Is Closer Than It Appears by William Hertling based on a review written by Brad Feld. I wasn’t disappointed.
I’ll admit that the book takes a bit to get going, especially if you have an engineering background. Hertling uses the first part of the book to provide some technical background to the subject of artificial intelligence and how engineering and technical decisions are made in a corporate environment. It helps to make the rest of the book more accessible to non-technical types, and it hits a little too close to home if you have an engineering background, particularly in software.
The second half of the book is a fast-paced action thriller which I had a hard time putting down. In fact, it probably took me the better part of a week to pour through the first half of the book and one evening of reading to finish the second half. I stayed up a little later than normal one night polishing it off.
Some of the technology in the book is a little far-fetched, at least today, but a lot of it sounds and feels very plausible. In fact, it’s almost scary. If you read the book and are interested in how the author feels about his technology “inventions”, check out this post on his blog.
Once I finished Avogadro Corp, I had to pick up the follow-on, A.I Apocalypse. A.I Apocalypse gets right to the action and is pretty much non-stop from start to finish. I polished it off quickly in a couple of evening sittings. It’s a sequel to Avogadro Corp and is set about 10 years beyond the conclusion of Avogadro Corp, which is set in near present times. Hertling does a great job introducing a new plotline and characters into A.I. Apocalypse while masterfully weaving in elements and characters from the first book. The other thing I like about A.I. is that it makes bigger leaps in technology prediction that are for the most part very plausible. In fact, after reading it, I could easily visualize how the technology progression could happen and the impact it would have on my current business.
My recommendation, Avogadro Corp and A.I. Apocalypse are must read books. They will open your eyes and provide a good sense of where technology is heading. Sure there are some items that aren’t entirely plausible, but my gut tells me that 80-90% of the technology described in the books will come to fruition within the next 10-15 years, if not sooner.
I’e become a fan of Hertling’s work, and I’m looking forward to the third installment in the series, The Last Firewall.