As I sat down to write this review, I realized I couldn’t remember the last time I read an entire physical book. Since 2018, all my novel reading has been on a Kindle Paperwhite. Before that, I used a Kindle Fire but still alternated with physical books. Reading on the Fire was always a bit of a hassle because of the glare. The Paperwhite’s e-paper display is in a completely different league. I like it so much that when I revisited the Foundation novels a few years ago, I borrowed the ebooks from my local library even though I already had the physical copies on my shelf. One nice perk of the Paperwhite is that it’s easier to read while eating because I can flip pages with my knuckle.

Recently I wanted to disconnect from electronics before bed. The best way seemed to be grabbing something from my bookshelf that I hadn’t read yet and didn’t already have digitally. That’s when I noticed Svaha by Charles de Lint. I vaguely remembered seeing a recommendation for it years ago and picking up a copy through Book Mooch, a site where people trade books they’re done with. I’m pretty sure it’s been sitting unread for over ten years.

When I pulled Svaha off the shelf, I could barely remember how or why I got it. The cover, showing a Native American man with a wolf, didn’t ring any bells, and the back-cover description didn’t sound like my usual genre. Most of my reading leans toward science fiction and, more recently, fantasy. Still, I decided to trust my past self and give it a shot.

The story takes place in Canada sometime after 2094. Without spoiling too much, the setup is that in the 1990s a Native American named Daniel Hollow Horn became a music superstar and used his fortune to educate and empower his people. Over time they became world leaders in science, technology, and law, eventually surpassing the rest of the world. After a period of war, they withdrew into self-contained “Enclaves,” kind of like Wakanda from Black Panther, except everyone knows where they are. They managed to protect themselves from the pollution and fallout left behind while the rest of the world fell apart.

De Lint introduces several characters in short bursts early on. The main character, Gahzee, is chosen to leave the Enclave on a mission. Then there’s Lisa, a messenger whose package gets stolen. Other characters come in gradually as the story builds into a complex mix of conflicts between Japanese corporations, the Yakuza, Chinese tongs, and an odd organization called the Jones Co-Op.

I was pleasantly surprised to find some cyberpunk elements woven in. Since Snow Crash and Neuromancer are two of my favorite books, that was a nice bonus. I also liked the mythical side of the story, especially Gahzee’s time in “Dreamtime,” which is this world’s version of spirit walking. The combination of science fiction, mysticism (which feels different from straight fantasy), and technology works really well together.

Svaha ended up being a short and enjoyable read at just 306 pages in mass-market paperback. I finished it in about two weeks, reading 30–60 minutes before bed most nights. It was a nice change from the massive fantasy novels I’ve been listending to lately, like Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive, which would run around 1,500 pages each. De Lint keeps things focused and tight. I’m not saying Sanderson’s writing isn’t good, but the sheer length can be tiring sometimes.

If you’re looking for an interesting book that mixes genres in unexpected ways, give Svaha a try.

From the novel:
Svaha – Amerindian; the time between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder; a waiting for promises to be fulfilled.

Humble Bundle has had all of Destiny 2 content minus the dungeon key for Witch Queen for $40.

I started playing in 2019 when Shadowkeep was released and the platform moved from Blizzard to Steam. There’s a ton to do for less than the cost of an AAA game title. I suggest adjusting your donation to put as much as you can to the Bungie Foundation. Just expand the little box “Adjust Donation” and move the slider all the way to the right. There are also tiers at $8, $12, and $20. The main jump to $40 includes two dungeons in Lightfall and 4 seasons of content. That content will go away when Final Shape is released in June, but you have plenty of time to run through the story content and collect a lot of loot and resources. It is definitely worth $20 extra, as each season is normally $15 by itself. For example a typical expansion is $99 which includes 4 seasons, 2 dungeons, and 2 raids.

If you’re not sure if Destiny 2 is for you, there’s a Free-to-Play (F2P) option, but the experience is severely limited. You really can’t do much as a F2P player.

***Expired***

https://www.humblebundle.com/games/destiny-2-the-story-so-far

Here are a few links to get you started on your Destiny 2 journey if you want to dig in.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/ – Unofficial Reddit with lots of information

https://destinyitemmanager.com/ – Destiny Item Manager – Indisputably the best external game resource. You’ll spend a lot of time managing your guardian’s inventory and loadouts here.

https://d2armorpicker.com/ – A much better way to optimize loadouts. Lets you copy loadout queries over to Destiny Item Manager (DIM).

https://bray.tech/ – Another neat website to track your guardian’s progress

Destiny 2 Look for Group (LFG) – much more options here than the relatively new in-game “Fireteam Finder”

Foundation Teaser Trailer #1

Foundation Teaser Trailer #2

Foundation Official Trailer

I was thinking Extraterrestrial Civilizations would be a discussion on what civilizations might be like when if/when we discover them, or they discover us. It turned out to be more of a thought experiment, methodically laying out probabilities based on list of assumptions. Most of these assumptions were made with what scientific knowledge there was available at the time. Asimov was very careful to speckle the book with asterisks noting that if certain assumptions would change in the future, the predictions would be changed or invalidated.

While going over these assumptions, Asimov explains quite a bit of astrophysics in rather easy to understand language. I recall from his style from his autobiography, I, Asimov: A Memoir, and also Isaac Asimov’s Guide to Earth and Space (not reviewed here). It is a very conversational style and it feels to me like he’s just sitting across the room talking to me. He also throws in a few quips here and there that are quite amusing. When discussing coasting between the stars taking 1,000 subjective years, assuming astronauts are immortal, he writes:

Then, too, the astronauts would have to have something to occupy their minds. Comparatively close quarters with no chance for a change in company for nearly 1,000 years could be very difficult to tolerate. It might not be too cynical to suppose that murder and suicide would empty the ship long before the trip is over, for it is much easier to imagine a victory over death than a victory over boredom.

After finally working his way down to “Figure 13 — The number of planets in our Galaxy on which a technological civilization is now in being = 530,000”, Asimov tackles some of the concerns that some opponents of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) have for trying to communicate with other worlds. He argues that the cat’s already out of the bag. We have radio signals going out at the speed of light that have already announced our existence to anyone that is capable and cares to listen. If we do make contact, and the speed of light holds, we should have plenty of time to either escape our solar system and prepare for the worst. Nothing as of yet has shown that the speed of light can be broken, and with acceleration and deceleration needs, it can take quite some time for whatever intelligent species detects our emissions locates us and finds their way here.

He describes a path that humans can take to evolve into star faring people that are not tied to a planet. This massive ships he calls “free worlds” in that they are self sustaining and might grab resources such as comets as they pass through other solar systems, or even gather particles in interstellar space. I felt some sense of hope that humanity might actually survive the destruction of Earth, which seems inevitable without worrying about crazed aliens coming to destroy us, or the Sun turning into a red giant.

Asimov also discusses the conditions required for intelligent life, and what it might look like. He’s careful to qualify his statements with “life as we know it” throughout to cover himself. Basically life as we know it requires a few unique factors, and he goes through those requirements to narrow down possibilities of those factors being met by certain types of stars in our Galaxy.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. I’d highly recommend it to anyone interested in the possibilities of life outside of our solar system, despite that the book is a bit dated. If you’ve only read Asimov’s fiction, I think this would be a good introduction to his non-fiction, aside from his autobiographies. If I had the time, I might search out an old copy of one of his science textbooks (yes, he wrote several!) on a subject I don’t know much about and go through it. I’m sure it would be enlightening.

Maybe it has to do with recently reading the article “The Beginning of Time” that recently popped up in my news feed. I don’t think I could truly fully understand all of his theories, but I think his explanation here was clear enough to get a good idea. I’ve had The Theory of Everything: The Origin and Fate of the Universe audiobook on my backlog to listen to. I guess I’ll have to bump it up to next in my queue. I was already thinking about taking a break from Sci-Fi / Fantasy soon, so this makes my decision really easy.

Goodbye Stephen! Whatever the reasons, I’m truly sad you’re gone. I’m sure you will be never be forgotten by humanity, assuming we don’t destroy ourselves.

Fahrenheit 451 has been on my list to listen to for some time now. It just so happens that this turned out to be “Banned Books Week”. How serendipitous is that? I recently listened to The Martian Chronicles and immediately noticed it was the same narrator, Stephen Hoye. His voice seems to pair well with the classic nature of both of these novels. There’s an old-timey feel to it, and the tone of his voice is perfect to express the melancholy feel ever so prevalent in Fahrenheit 451.

To be honest, all I really knew about the novel was that books were burned, and that this was classic that everyone should read as a cautionary tale. There are many layers to it other than the book burning though. It’s not just about burning the books. What do they represent? Knowledge begets jealousy. Undeniably some people have more time or ambition to seek out knowledge than others. Why not control what knowledge there is to consume so everyone is equal and people are happier, right? Without books, what is left? There are still publications like comic books and magazines, but nothing of real substance.

Interactive media through “parlor walls” (full wall video screen) is prevalent, and the main character’s wife is hopelessly addicted. They have just installed a 3rd wall (not yet paid off) and she’s anxious to get a 4th to be able to be completely immersed in the experience. She uses these to participate in interactive stories where she reads lines. When not immersed in her parlor walls, she doesn’t spend much time interacting with her husband. She also wears “seashell ear-thimbles” (earbuds) to continue her media absorption all way way up until falling asleep, and probably while sleeping too!

I won’t expand any more on the plot. There are plenty of summaries out there to reference. What I’d like to stress is that the audio version, specifically the performance by Stephen Hoye, would be a good experience to have in addition to reading the actual book. I’m sure those that have read this likely did back in high school or many years ago. Stephen Hoye really does bring the words to life and does enough character voice differentiation to make it really feel like an audio drama, not just someone reading a book.

The book is only about 5 hours, so for most people you’d be able to consume it in just a week or so of commuting to and from work! This is likely available free if your library participates in Overdrive. Be sure to get the 50th Anniversary Edition.

I’m finding that after just two books, I’m really liking Ray Bradbury as an author. He has a way of describing just about anything and making it beautiful and relatable. If you haven’t read anything by him, this is a good one to start with. It is arguably his best work, however I can’t really pick between this and the Martian Chronicles. They are both great.

-via Deadline

Since my post in 2010, I’ve shifted almost all of my reading to ebook formats. Unfortunately I could not find any of the old volumes on ebook. My physical copy of In Memory Yet Green sat on the shelf collecting dust, literally! Sometime last year there was a sale on this book on the Google Play Store for just a buck or two. I snatched it up immediately and put it on my short list to read after finishing John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series which I was in the middle of at the time.

For a while I was frozen with indecision. Should I dig harder and try to find the first two volumes in ebook format? Drudge through the physical copy I had and then find the out of print second volume? Luckily I checked out some of the reviews. This third volume isn’t just 1978-(present at time of publish), but covers his entire life. The format is also not strictly chronological, but jumps from subject to subject. I was hesitant at first, partially from having a tendency to want to read things chronologically, even if they are published out of order (see my reading project). The more I thought about it, the closer I came to realizing it didn’t matter! I could read the third volume, then go back and read the first two, and maybe the third again! There is actually a 4th autobiography, It’s Been a Good Life (2002) that was edited after his death by his second wife Janet Jeppson Asimov. I plan on reading as well, possibly before the first two volumes.

If you are at all interested in Isaac Asimov, or science fiction in general, you must read this book. Having already had a false start on In Memory Yet Green, I can say I enjoyed this format better. Most “chapters,” which I will call topics, are at most five to ten pages in length. This makes for easy stopping points. I found myself reading many topics throughout the day, with several back to back during my lunches, where I normally spend most of my time reading.

This may sound silly, but one of the first things that struck me when starting this book was, “Man, this is easy to read!” It really felt like he was talking to me, something he notes throughout this book as one of his strong points. His writing has a conversational style, which I suspect is normal for an autobiography, but thinking back it was fairly evident in his book Isaac Asimov’s Guide to Earth and Space that I recently listened to on audio. [By the way, that was the worst audiobook recording quality-wise that I’ve ever listened to. Essentially it was a bad transfer of a cassette that probably sat in a hot garage for 10 years. I wish I went for the ebook.] This writing style makes me want to read more of his non-fiction. I actually have Asimov’s Chronology of the World and Extraterrestrial Civilizations in paperback. I haven’t made time to read those, but I plan on squeezing them in sooner rather than later. I’m also curious how he approached textbooks. Unfortunately some that he wrote will likely be severely outdated, but I’d like to at least try one or two.

An unexpected bonus was that Asimov recounts his interactions with probably every major science fiction author you can think of from the “Golden Age”.  He also lists some that he admired that I’m sure 99% of sci-fi fans have never heard of. Thanks to Asimov, I now have more than a handful of old authors to check out whenever I can find the time. In most cases he is humble in his comparison of his fiction writing to these other authors. It is surprising, since I know he’s famous for being full of himself in most regards.

One of most famous stories stories related to this is the Clarke-Asimov Treaty, where they both agree that Clarke is the best science fiction writer, and Asimov is the best science writer. When I first discovered Asimov, I had no idea that his science fiction was just a small percentage of his overall body of work. In this memoir, he seemed almost resentful of Doubleday (his long time publisher) for practically forcing him back into writing science fiction novels after a 20 year hiatus. Personally, I’m glad they badgered him back into it, because it led him to merge the Robot and Foundation series’ together, and expanded on my favorite character of all time, R. Daneel Olivaw. Aside from Clarke, Asimov lists many other science fiction authors he thought were better than himself, but the two that stick out most are Harlan Ellison and Robert Silverberg. I’ve only read Ellison’s I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay, but I’ll probably check out some of his other work. I have read all of Silverberg’s collaborations with Asimov: The Ugly Little Boy, The Positronic Man, and Nightfall.

Toward the end of the book, Asimov tackles the topic of his failing health. At the time he only wrote of his kidneys failing, but the true cause of his death was revealed later by Janet Asimov in It’s Been a Good Life (2002) as being a complication of HIV contracted from a blood transfusion during his triple bypass operation in 1983. For this book however, the true cause was left hidden. I found myself starting to get both choked up and angry at the same time as I neared the end of his final section “New Life” where he begins to list people in his life dying ahead of him, coming to grips with sickness, and expectation of imminent death. It is such a shame that such a great man was taken from the world way too early in a way that could have been prevented. Janet Asimov wrote a touching epilogue that described what happened following the short time between the finalization of this manuscript and Asimov’s death.

I must stress again that the format of this autobiography is far superior than that of Isaac Asimov’s first two volumes. While the overall treatment is chronological, I think you could just grab any section (as I refer to chapters), and have a quick 5 minute pleasurable read. Once you finish this one up, you could revisit the older volumes to fill in as Asimov might say the “mundane details” of his life. If you are a fan of Asimov, you owe it to yourself to grab a copy in whatever format you prefer and start chugging away. It is quite long, but at no point was I thinking that I just wanted to get to the end. The opposite, however, is true. I didn’t want it to end. Luckily though there are at least 3 other volumes I can turn to.

Omnibus link: Expires March 14th – 1hr 10 min

Individual Episodes 1-5 link: ~15 minute episodes, begin to expire on March 8th.

via The Guardian

• Audiobooks
  • Elantris – Brandon Sanderson: Good stanalone book, one of his earlier works. Interesting premise – people get a disease and are forced to live in the remnants of a once great city. They cannot be killed, but also cannot heal. Each injury never heals, and never stops hurting.
  • Mistborn Trilogy (1-3) – Brandon Sanderson: One of my favorites this year, very unique set of magic systems
  • Alloy of Law / Shadows of Self / The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn novels)- Brandon Sanderson: continuation in a different time period, also very good
  • The Rithmatist – Brandon Sanderson: Another unique magic system, aimed more at the YA audience, but I enjoyed it.
  • Pandora’s Star / Judas Unchained – Peter F. Hamilton: Second favorite series of the year, be warned, some explicit adult situations
  • Lock In (Amber Besson’s narration) – John Scalzi: unique premise, police procedural
  • Android’s Dream – John Scalzi: another unique premise, enjoyable
  • Redshirts – John Scalzi: must read for any Star Trek fan! won 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel
  • Agent to the Stars – John Scalzi: I didn’t really care for this one, too much focus on talent agency politics, interesting premise though.
  • Fuzzy Nation – John Scalzi: Good book, reboot of “Little Fuzzy”
  • The Dispatcher – John Scalzi: Novella, another interesting premise by Scalzi
  • Ready Player One – Earnest Cline: One of my favorite standalone novels of the year – must read for anyone that grew up in the 80’s
  • Armada – Earnest Cline: Lackluster followup, skip it. Cline doesn’t dodge the fact that he ripped the premise off of “The Last Starfighter” movie from the 80’s.
  • Undying Mercenaries Book 1-4 – B.V. Larson: Sci-Fi Military fiction. Lots of violence, a little sex. I got these super cheap at $1.99 a pop, would not recommend spending a full Audible credit on them.
  • Year Zero – Rob Reid: I read this in book format back in 2012. Premise is that aliens unwittingly pirate enough music from Earth to bankrupt the galaxy. The solution? Destroy Earth! Remeinds me a bit of The Hitchhicker’s Guide to the Galaxy
  • Altered Carbon / Broken Angels – Richard K. Morgan: Great audiobooks, a couple of my favorite from this year. Lots of violence and a little sex, so be warned. I’m finishing up reading the 3rd book Woken Furies as the narrator changed and didn’t bother to read up on how to pronounce the main character’s last name.
  • Alien: Out of the Shadows (An Audible Original Drama – Full Cast) – Tim Lebbon & Dirk Maggs: Free from Audible, OK if you like the Alien universe
  • American Gods (Full Cast) – Neil Gaiman: Maybe the best standalone audiobook of the year. The performances were perfect and the story engaging. This is soon to be made into aTV series on Showtime I think.
  • Neverwhere – Neil Gaiman: Decent book, narrated by Gaiman himself
  • Hyperion (full cast) / The Fall of Hyperion / Endymion / The Rise of Endymion – Dan Simmons – ABSOLUTE FAVORITE SERIES OF THE YEAR. I cannot count how many times I caught myself thinking back on the stories. I’ll definitely be listening to these again in the future. A good amount of violence and some sex as well, so be warned.
  • The Fountains of Paradise – Arthur C. Clarke: decent book that introduced the idea of the space elevator
  • Childhood’s End – Arthur C. Clarke: ending literally gave me shivers up my spine – The Syfy TV miniseries was just loosely related to the book. Skip that and read this!
• Books
  • Old Man’s War series (Book 1-6) – John Scalzi: Very interesting premise. Each book seemed to have a new perspective, not like a continuation of the previous ones. I’ll try to explain it a bit more if I have time to go back and review the books individually.
  • Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue – Hugh Howey: YA related, checked it out and it really wasn’t for me
  • Beacon 23: The Complete Novel – Hugh Howey: guy stuck on the edge of the galaxy, a bit of a psychological thriller toward the end
  • Stories of Your Life and Others – Ted Chiang: good collection of stories
• Short Story
  • Paper Menagerie – Ken Liu – ending gave me shivers up my spine as well, very good story

That’s it for now. I don’t think I have time to list TV. maybe next year!