Pattern Recognition by William Gibson

This book is not Gibson's best work but the story centers on brand, marketing, and oligarchs so I was curious.  The book is  mildly interesting but became too bizarre and surreal as the powers behind events and spy-craft became more sophisticated. I may or may not read the next book in the series. 2/5 Stars.

The Saints of Salvation by Peter F Hamilton

Fantastic conclusion to a great series.  Page turner!  5/5 Stars.

the phoenix project by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford

This was quick and fun to read.  I enjoyed how the authors intentionally paralleled the characters from The Goal and brought similar melodrama to a similar setting.  The story was fast-paced and educational.  5/5 Stars.

Agent to the stars by John Scalzi

I liked Scalzi's "big idea" serious books from 15 years ago (Old Man's War universe) but I like his recent humorous, sarcastic books much better (Collapsing Empire universe).  This book is very funny, somewhat contrived (magic system kept changing to adhere to the plot) but it was very enjoyable.  Short & fun, 5/5 Stars.

Cobra Slave by Timothy Zahn

I remember reading these "Cobra" stories in Analog magazine but I have not read other books by Timothy Zahn in the last few decades.  Some of the tech is inconsistent and not all of the physics works but the magic system is relatively consistent.  The politics are fun, except that the aliens are not alien.  I'll read the rest of the series, eventually.  3/5 Stars.

Heaven's River by Dennis E Taylor

A fun romp in the bob-i-verse! It's not as good as the first three and the plot rambled with some random, lazy writing, but still wonderfully enjoyable, extremely well voice-acted, 4/5 Stars. 

Inside the Five Sided Box by Ash Carter

I knew almost nothing about the history and topics Ash Carter covers in this interesting autobiography.  I do know a little about the politics of whistleblower Eddie Snowden that the author misrepresents and distorts.  So I am forced to doubt other slanted and omitted points of view on the topics he covers.  Nonetheless I learned a lot and recommend the book, 3/5 Stars.

PLATO, GÖDEL, SPINOZA, AHAB - interview with Rebeca Neuberger Goldstein

This wonderful interview with Rebbeca Goldstein is a great summary of her books and thoughts. I have become more curious about philosophy and found the concepts very interesting.

Inspired by Marty Cagan

The second edition of this book is really good. It is insightful, prescriptive, and detailed.  The author is harsh and unapologetic in his observations and criticisms of the anti-patterns plaguing many companies, putting a sharper contrast on why the winners are winning.  Highly recommended.  This one is definitely one of the top-5 management books I have read this year.  If you need the cliffs spark notes summary, here is a decent one.  But the author gives great color and nuance to the points, so read the book. 5/5 Stars!

atomic batteries to power!

Many science fiction stories from the early 20th century feature "atomic batteries" that provide electrical power for decades by harnessing the power of radioactivity somehow.  This company claims they have developed a safe method by using tiny Carbon-14 diamonds.  (This blog post title is from the campy Batman tv series opening sequence)