Sunday, December 4, 2016

Dark Run

This one was fun but a little cliche.  I enjoyed the colorful, mysterious characters.  The tech and science fiction elements are bad.  3/5 stars. 

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Forever Gate

Not good.  Bad rip-off of "The Matrix."  Juvenile plot lines, unappealing characters.  Interesting universe, though 2/5 stars.

What Every Body is Saying

Although the author's values and attitudes are terrible, the information is cogently delivered with fantastic text-book density, clarity, and organization.  It would take an enormous amount of practice and effort to make best use of the information; there is no "quick fix" to my inability to "read" people.  4/5 stars.  Worth it.

synchronicity war part 2

I am not impressed with this series and won't read the rest.  The enigmatic aliens are too predictable.  The AI tech is stupid.  The physics is weak.  1/5 stars.  Avoid it.

makers and takers

Interesting tour of data from poll data and some academic findings.  Not useful or interesting, 2/5 stars.

Monday, November 28, 2016

Being Mortal

5/5 stars. Must read!!

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

The military and political characters were interesting but a bit cardboard (two-dimensional).  I was also a little disappointed by the ending, expecting a "Russian boxing match" (fight to the death). But it was enjoyable otherwise, 3/5 stars.

Monday, November 21, 2016

Liars and Outliers


​I always enjoy Schneier's books and have added _Data  and Goliath_ to my queue.  This one was a little simplistic at the beginning and weaker on the nuances of the sociology of his examples but the last few chapters are fantastic.  3/5 stars, worth reading.

Monday, November 14, 2016

Armada


​Not nearly as good as Ready Player One but still fun.  Worth reading 4/5 stars.

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Prador Moon

Neal Asher's Prador Moon introduction to his space opera universe is not bad.  It is complete with complex heroes, hybrid AI/humans, evil space aliens with better technology, and odd politics.  There is some bad physics and odd motivation  But on the other hand there are some cool ideas I hope he explores further in the series.