A large hardware vendor sponsored a suite in the SAP Center for the Imagine Dragons concert last Thursday.  My boss was given a few of these tickets and two of them filtered down to me on Wednesday afternoon.  My hubby wanted to go and was able to make last-minute arrangements, so I canceled my gym session for Thursday and planned to enjoy a night of music.  I just prayed the seats would at least have some legroom.

The tickets included a $25 parking voucher, deciding our debate of whether to drive or take the train.  I wore my Cthulhucat shirt; Nick his Nyan cat.  This was gonna be fun.

Except we had no idea where to go.  At first, neither did the usher we asked for help.  Then he glanced up at us with an odd look.  “Oh, this isn’t general admission.”  We stare at him blankly, and I still want to know what gears were spinning inside his head.  Then he pointed at a big kiosk with a question mark above it, and said, “If you gentlemen go speak with the info desk, they will take care of you.”

At the info kiosk we are given brightly-colored wrist bracelet tags.  “Go all the way around the arena,” we’re told, “and you’ll find another Kiosk exactly like this one.  They will unlock the doors for you.”

They speak code into their radios, and Nick and I embark on our new quest to find the identical info booth.  The arena is a circle, and we feared we had walked all the way around instead of halfway.  The food vendors all look the same, down to the signs and names.  It’s like deja-vu.

Then we find the kiosk.  The point us past lines, other lines, and more lines, to a bland, hidden door you’d never look twice at.  This door had its own usher/guard.  He unlocked the door, opening into this:

I can count the number of concerts I’ve been to on one hand.  I’m not a social butterfly.  But damned this was cool.   Nick and I had the suite to ourselves for a while (hurray for getting there early!)  Our host bought some food and drinks for us.  Imagine Dragons did an awesome cover of Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” — but of course I was too stupid to record it.

Our suite had a great view of the stage, although a somewhat odd angle.

Phone flash lights are pretty awesome:


And of course, obligatory

I should have brought my real camera; cell phones suck.  Ah, well.  It was a really fun night.

http://www.thetech.org/plan-your-visit/special-exhibitions/STAR-WARS

Nexus by Ramez Naam

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I would write a longer review, but am far too busy reading the sequel.

This is awesome. So, so, awesome. (I’m biased toward transhuman ideals, so there is that to keep in mind.)

Basically, Ramez has taken an incredible idea from our technological horizon and executed it with stunning brilliance. The characters are awesome. The setting is awesome. The prose is awesome. Awesome craft. Ramez clearly groks the science, and I loved the amount of software development concepts.

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Crux by Ramez Naam

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’m not entirely sure how to review this second book on its own. It continues on directly from Nexus, and does a marvelous job at this. I loved how Rangan evolved in this story. I did feel a bit teased by Ling’s tantalizing licks at her mother, as that plot thread was only really followed through and setup for the next book at the end. This was a bit of a disappointment to me, as Shu and Ling been the most engaging characters to me so far.

I still gave this five stars. Why? Because it was awesome, I couldn’t put it down, and I felt dread as I neared the end knowing there will be a drought before I can read more. I am very much looking forward to the next book.

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14 by Peter Clines

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I feel so conflicted! Much of this is what I think is 5-star work. Alas, some of it feels like 3.

I loved the story and the characters; the deliciously slow build-up and discovery that was still so damned intense and exciting. I enjoyed reading every last word of this, and felt tinges of regret when real-life responsibilities kept me from the story. Few stories captivate me this well.

But… Without spoiling anything, there are a couple of huge, unanswered mysteries that have no plausible explanation provided–not because they are open-ended, but because there is just no bloody plausible explanation. *cough* “Flash of red” scene *cough*

I don’t feel the story needed some of these more extravagant bits. Especially since the most egregious ones bordered on cliche (yes, yes, I loved that Twilight Zone episode, too.) In my mind I cut these, and the story is still just as awesome. If not more so.

I loved it, though. If you can withstand your brain going, “Yes, yes, I read that too.” as you question if you didn’t miss some obvious bit that would make a couple of the mysteries seem less silly–and you totally can–then read this book.

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Nocturnal by Scott Sigler

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

You root for (almost) every character, yet there is a ton of conflict. The craftsmanship of this novel is superb, and the San Francisco setting is perfect for it. The structure of the story creates a resonating empathy with all factions, leaving me nicely conflicted throughout. Basically, very awesome.

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Drawing on the Power of Resonance in Writing by David Farland

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I regret buying this book. David provides a few shallow observations, but seems to spend most of the very few pages (I finished this in well under 30 minutes) talking about how great he is, how awesome his achievements are, and how much harder he has worked than everyone else to succeed. I wonder if it took him longer than a couple hours to dig up all the research material for this book.

Seriously, I like to think I’m a very lenient critic. Most things I read are a 4 or a 5. I can’t even give this a one-star review because some of the subject headings contained good, concise advice.

But I totally don’t suggest anyone buy it.

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You Are Now Less Dumb: How to Conquer Mob Mentality, How to Buy Happiness, and All the Other Ways to Outsmart Yourself by David McRaney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Where “You are Not so Smart” was a delicious tray of fallacy exploration, “You are Now less Dumb” feels like a meaty entree. In this one David moves slower with more intent, pushing us to read beyond the obvious to better understand why we act the ways we do.

Refusing to ever don the rosy glasses he speaks of in the final chapter, David manages to stay incredibly upbeat despite his objective analysis of our shared reality.

I do suggest reading “You are Not so Smart,” first, as I believe that material is a better first step toward continual personal development. I loved “You are Now less Dumb” far more, however.

These books have taught me to think in new ways. I can think of no greater recommendation to give.

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I sincerely hope you enjoy the story, and encourage you to donate to Mad Scientist Journal.  It is one of my favorite publications.

Read it here:  http://madscientistjournal.org/2013/09/isaacs-butterfly/

Artwork by Shannon Legler.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book overall, but the second half did not hold the same level of awesome for me as the first. The Boy’s love interest felt thrown on me, and I never really attached with her. The Boy alludes to her being strong-minded, but I never saw it. Without this connection, much of the conflict escalation at the end held less emotional turmoil for me than earlier sections.

That said, I very much enjoyed this book. The style worked and Nick used it to focus on the interesting bits, displaying excellent craft. The Boy’s conflicted feelings are probably better understood by us reading than by the Boy himself, and the resolution with Dunn circles back to the book’s resonating opening words:

“You take everything with you.”

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Where “You are Not so Smart” was a delicious tray of fallacy exploration, “You are Now less Dumb” feels like a meaty entree. In this one David moves slower with more intent, pushing us to read beyond the obvious to better understand why we act the ways we do.

Refusing to ever don the rosy glasses he speaks of in the final chapter, David manages to stay incredibly upbeat despite his objective analysis of our shared reality.

I do suggest reading “You are Not so Smart,” first, as I believe that material is a better first step toward continual personal development. I loved “You are Now less Dumb” far more, however.

These books have taught me to think in new ways. I can think of no greater recommendation to give.

Vigilante Wars: Gang Democracy and the Collapse of Government in San Francisco’s Gold Rush Years by Cecelia Holland

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I never really felt pulled into the events. If anything, Cecelia managed to make me feel like this was less horrible than it was.

How to Write Magical Words: A Writer’s Companion by Edmund R. Schubert

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A great collection of essays for fiction writers, overall.

Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain by Maryanne Wolf

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an amazing book about exactly what it claims to be. I learned so much reading this. I think anyone who loves to read would love reading this.

Astoria by S.P. Miskowski

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I immediately started to re-read this after finishing it, needing to gain a deeper understanding of the rich character development. There is so much wonderful inner conflict that I effortlessly lost myself in Ethel’s head. I am sure I will be pondering this one for days and weeks to come, uncovering new layers of delicious subtlety, hopefully not too haunted by monstrous reflections in the darkness.

Although this story seems to be written fairly stand-alone, I would recommend reading “Knock Knock” first to become more familiar with Ethel before embarking with her to Astoria.

Delphine Dodd by S.P. Miskowski

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So very awesome! This is a back story to “Knock Knock” that makes the novel take on additional levels of depth and meaning. I loved every word of this.

The Red Church by Scott Nicholson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved the delicious blasphemy, and only knocked this one star for a somewhat disappointing follow through. Overall great subtlety, and awesome story.

Flowertown by S.G. Redling

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Overall: A great, enjoyable story with wonderful characters.

I was debating between rating this a 3 or a 4, however the characters truly stole me over in the end, especially Bing. S.G.’s diction, syntax and sentence flow felt uninspired to me and in places dragged the story down a bit, however the character richness and growth overcame this.

The plot builds slowly, but simmers well as we become involved in the characters’ lives. The setting and environment is omni-present in the background, however not usually the focus, allowing the characters to really drive the story. S.G.’s characters have well-distinguished theories of mind, making it an absolute joy to contemplate what each character knows (or thinks) at any given point in the story.

The plot never went quite the way I expected, and Ellie’s character remained interesting, despite remaining unpredictable (yet never out of character.) She never truly overcomes her weaknesses, but she does deal with them.

A fun story, and a great summer read. I enjoyed it.

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