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.

Friday, November 4, 2016

Dust



Although the plot and "awe & wonder" nanotechnology are fun, there are no clear boundaries in the nanotech magic system and this gap is abused for deus est machina plot twists that harm the story. It is still a fun ride. 3/4 stars.



Monday, October 31, 2016

On Silver Wings


I enjoyed this one.  It is good old fashioned military space opera, complete with enigmatic bad guy space aliens, mysterious technology, and heroic characters.  5/5 stars.  I cannot wait to read the next one in the series.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

smarter, faster, better


I enjoyed this one.  It's a little long and dense but a fun read and very compelling. 4/5 stars.

dark matter

despite the bad science and absurdity I was willing to suspend disbelief and go along for the action-packed ride.  It's a fun story with some interesting turns.  I found some of the action / decisions unmotivated and trite.  Some of the characters and situations were also very thin.  But it was enjoyable.  3/5 stars.

Monday, October 3, 2016

The Internet's Own Boy


Fantastic film, 5/5 stars.  I was crying.  Don't miss it.