Reading & Blogging about a book a week.
Like a number of books, the movie was shameful by comparison. H.G. Wills's classic story follows his time traveler's exploits (primarily) 800,000 years in the future. There he finds mankind divided into two terribly different species: the carefree but helpless Eloi and the toiling, violent Morlocks. This stories a quick read; interesting social commentary, good story--a little dry, though.
This one was actually a re-read. I've read this book a number of times and something fresh strikes me every time. This story is Lewis's striking contribution to "Prophetic" fiction--on par with 1984, Atlas Shrugged, Fahrenheit 451, etc... It's actually the final installment of his "space" trilogy including Out of a Silent Planet and Paralandra (both great stories on their own but very different stories). Anyway, the story takes place in England shortly after the 2nd World War pans back and forth between the efforts of a shadowy institution--menacingly flexing its influence in government, media, and academia--to plunge the world into a totalitarian dystopia and the small, eclectic band of underdogs fiercely struggling to save it. All these pivot on young couple trying to balance their urbane, progressive aspirations with the inescapable nuances of human affection.
Honestly, only Lewis could pull off a story like this--and he does so brilliantly! The story touches on everything from social relationships to politics to philosophy to Arthurian legend ultimately producing a rich picture of God's simple, undeniable goodness and our various reflections of that. One of my all time favorite books, this one is great by itself or as the capstone to the trilogy. I recommend simply reading through it as a narrative your first time, then linger over each aspect later. Great story, fascinating insight--deep, rich, unnervingly familiar, and thoroughly enjoyable.
Mark's actually done a more in-depth review on this one. But for my part, it's an excellent look at our potential for memory. It's not really a how-to book, but the author does outline his experiences fairly thoroughly. More than that, though, it's a thought-provoking look at the history and application of memory told in a wholly enjoyable tone. A great start for this year's 52!
Ok, I know it’s only January, but feel comfortable calling this my “Book of the Year”. Ali Soufan was an FBI agent specializing in what was, at the time, an obscure group of Muslim militants known as al-Quaeda. Smart on the organization from the ground up, Soufan recounts his work with the FBI from the earliest days of al-Quaeda’s activities. He outlines in fascinating detail the events surrounding, most notably, the bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa, the USS Cole, and the World Trade Center. The book provides an eye-opening look at the depth and intricacies of the now well-known terrorist group as well as a first-hand account of some of the most successful operations and tactics in the years leading up to and following the tragedies of 9/11 on the civilian side of the DoD--particularly Soufan’s work as a tenacious investigator and interrogator. His accounts of meetings with high-value terrorists are almost surreal in their humanity. What’s especially fascinating is Soufan’s brilliant handling and manipulation of the detainees. Equally shocking but chokingly sinister are the number of people within other government agencies that worked against the author and his team. His accounts of the FBI’s treatment by the American ambassador to Yemen following the USS Cole bombing are sickening, for instance. Similarly, the handling of various situations and suspects by CIA officials are chilling in their ineptitude. Still, Soufan is quick to separate the integrity and capability of most of the agency, condemning a relatively small but decidedly dangerous element. Anyhow, the book is fantastic from cover to cover; I highly recommend it!
This is the sequel to GIDEON’S SWORD and I must say, it’s a bit slower. While the story picks up precisely where its predecessor leaves off, it feels throughout like the main character is a different person than the original. It’s a bit like watching a show where the actor playing the main character is replaced for the sequel. The affect is as if Tom Cruise was replaced by Ryan Reynolds—the new guy has his pluses but is just not right for the role. The story too seems slower and more drawn out than the 1st. Again, an OK read; again, a wild-ride plot; again, somewhat of a suspension of reality is required… But it’s not unlike reheating a “pretty good, all things considered” dish. It was pretty good, all things considered, the 1st time—now, it’ll do if you have nothing else.
Addendum: I have this on audio and recenltly found myself with A LOT of time on my hands and decided to give this a re-read. My original take may have been little biased. The story really is fun in an action movie kinda way (you can't knock a chainsaw fight too hard!) and the authors do a good job of laying that out without coming accross as too hoaky. ...at least as un-hoaky as a chainsaw fight can be... Better than Stephen King in any event.
My 2nd Michael Crichton this month and another great story! Mind you, it’s a different story and a different feel to it, but just as good in it’s own arena. Prey kicks off in high gear from what is actually the end of the story and pauses only briefly set things up and explain some of the more tedious details. From this brief interlude, it escalates very quickly, though not erratically so—imagine a smooth jump from 2nd to 5th gear. …And it just keeps going!
The book pits a small team of engineers against a man-made mechanical virus that learns, adapts, and devours. The story twists and intensifies as the handful of scientists race against the clock to eradicate the rouge experiment before it spreads beyond control and into the unsuspecting world. To make matters worse, the nano-virus begins infecting the engineers trying to destroy it, leaving the survivors unable to trust even each other.
Like Timeline and other Crichton novels, the author leaps into fiction from the platform of theoretical science, creating his signature tension in the irrepressible “maybe” of the not-entirely impossible.
