Daily Living in the 12 Century

Well I didn't get around to typing it up in time but I read one last book for 2008. That makes 31 for the year. Not to bad. I updated the 2008 book list. I'll try and keep the one for 2009 current. I expect a slow start in 2009 as much of my free time in January is being spent studying for my yearly tests at work. If I want to keep my job it's best I read work manuals instead of books of my choosing. Oh well, the sacrifices of life.



Daily Living in the Twelfth Century by Urban Tigner Holmes Jr.

This book appealed to me because of it's narrow focus, roughly the second half of the 1100's, following (mostly) one guy, Alexander Neckam, and his journey from North of London to Paris. Urban Tiger Holmes Jr. must have found a copy of Neckam's diary of the trip and has expanded on it to give us a glimpse into the sights of the journey in detail. What could be more interesting?

Well this book for starters. I guess it's just that this book didn't really leave a lasting impression on me. The writing was dry, and even my high interest in the subject matter didn't help me to stay interested. I really can't tell you much about to book because I don't remember much. The only real interesting bit that I came away with was that the maps the travelers used during this time were more like travel itineraries that listed the cities one would pass though each day and where to stop to sleep and eat. In a way these maps were probably more useful and to the point for the travelers than one that just showed the roads and cities.

It you're looking for an indepth look at the second half of the 12th century then this is the book for you. If you're looking for examples of daily life this book may provide the minutia that you are looking for. Hopefully you can stay awake long enough to find the answers you are looking for.

Devil in the White City

By Erik Larson

The true story behind the creation of Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and the murderer who stunned Chicago more than the Exposition.

You know, the real stories are always more fascinating and gripping than made up ones. Devil proves this throughout. The book follows 2 parallel story lines. One details the design and the struggle to build the exposition, lead by Daniel Burnham. A visionary in his time who used other leading architects of the day to make the vision come true. The other story follows Dr. H.H. Holmes as he swindles his way into fortune; killing accomplices and naive women along the way. America's 1st psychotic serial killer?

The author draws from diaries, court records and newspapers of the time to tell a fact filled tale. In the footnotes he explains the few liberties he took with the story (mostly in speculating as to how the killing took place) and backs up his reasoning with medical science of the time.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found it both interesting and gripping. I thought the story was well told and the jumps between the two tracts were well done. There was a heavy use of foreshadowing that wasn't really necessary.

Here are a few things that were 1st's created for the 1893 Fair, which was to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus finding the New World (the fair was dedicated in 1892.)
The Pledge of Allegiance, cracker jacks, shredded wheat, the Ferris wheel, the fair popularized AC electricity and incandescent lights, juicy fruit.

Wings of Fire

By Charles Todd

This book highlights why its always a good idea to start reading a series of books from the beginning. Wings of Fire is the 2nd book in the authors series of mysteries following World War I veteran Ian Rutledge. This caused me confusion that wasn't solved until I read the excerpt from the next book that was at the end.

The detective Ian Rutledge who is the main character, keeps referring to a man named Hamish who gives him advice through out the story. But after a while you realize Hamish is not a real person but is a voice in Ian's head. I couldn't figure out what was going on. The detective and Hamish are always arguing with each other. At first I thought that they guy had a split personality, something like Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It turns out Hamish was a guy that Ian was ordered to execute in the War and his memory still haunts Ian.

The other thing that confused me were the characters. I have trouble keeping names straight anyway and this book starts off introducing 10+ family members in the 1st chapter. One mother, 3 fathers, 2 children with each man. All are referred to by their different last names but even that didn't help me keep them straight in the beginning.

That said, I enjoyed the story. The writing was descriptive and really set a picture of the time. I feel that the mystery (multiple murders) was not well explained at the end. At first this bothered me. But after thinking about it I realized what had been done. Rutledge interviews the different witnesses in the book and as many of the events happened decades ago they each have trouble recalling the events accurately. Every person also has a different perspective of what happened. Just as in real life this makes for a confusing tale that is hard to set straight. The detective was able to but alas I was not. My mom gave this book to me and said that all of the authors mysteries have similar endings. I probably won't read anymore.

The Tripods

By John Christopher

The Titles of the four books are:
The White Mountains
The City of Gold and Lead
The Pool of Fire
When the Tripods Came

I was first exposed to this story in a review of the British TV show The Tripods that was on starting in 1986. (Right now the DVD's are only available in Region 2.) The Tv show was to make each book into one season. 1/2 way through the 1st season the story drifts away from the book and unfortunately the show was canceled after the 2nd season. I've not seen the show but I got this info from the review of the show at the link above. A lot of people liked the show and it sounds interesting.

Now for the books, which I did read. I decided to read the books in the order in which they came out. The 4th book was released years after the originally trilogy and though a prequel I figured that it might change the story a bit if I read it first, kind of like Star Wars - I say watch movies 4-6 then 1-3 but hey that's just me.

Originally written in 1967 the paperbacks I bought have a new introduction by the author for the 35th anniversary. The 3 books are each only about 200 pages and though separate, they read as one complete story. Oh yeah did I mention these are geared for younger kids? Don't let that discourage you. The story is quick paced and well told. It takes place (mostly) in Europe, focusing on Will, Henry, Jean-Paul (Beanpole) and Fritz. The boys live in a world where the great cities and knowledge of the ancients (Us) has been destroyed by the Tripods. Later we learn that the Tripods, which are giant 3 legged machines, are controlled by the Masters. To control the humans left on Earth the Masters place metal caps on the heads of people when they reach puberty to keep them under control. The humans willingly go along with the idea because hey, it's just a part of life and all the adults think that it's a good idea because well, they all have caps on already. The caps keep everyone docile and agreeable.

Will Parker the main character has an inquisitive rebellious mind. He sees the change to docilness of his cousin Jack when he is capped and decided that there is no way he is going to lose his sense of self. Will learns from a vagrant (someone for whom their mind was messed up by the capping but also a cover for the noncapped) that there is a place where men are free and uncapped. The vagrant recruits Will and sends him to the White Mountains (Switzerland) where the rest of the free live.

What follows is the quest to find the free land, and the holdout of the uncapped humans. A harrowing journey into the heart of the Masters city to lean if they have a weakness and can be brought down, and finally the final battle against the Masters and the rebuilding of the world. I really enjoyed the second book where it goes into detail about the city of the Masters and the life that the humans live inside.

As I said the books are written for young adults. There is no foul language and no graphic violence. What is abundant is suspense, action, and mystery. I couldn't put down these book once I started reading them.

In 1988 the 4th book When the Tripods Came was release. The story gives a first person account of the invasion that was hinted at in the 1st 3 books. Some of the Amazon reviews have called the book worthless. I must say that I liked it. At 151 pages the story doesn't go into much depth. It follows Laurence (Lourie), Andy, and Laurie's family through the coming of the Tripods. They make their way to the White Mountains by the end of the book.

It was interesting to see how people reacted to the Tripods. They were hypnotised by the Masters through television and programed to form bands of Trippies who willingly get capped. They then go out and cap everyone they can find. Near the end of the book the capped population lines up to get the metal caps, the initial caps were rubber. If I had read this book first I don't think I would have been drawn into the series, but as a backstory to the other 3 novels I enjoyed going into the world of the Tripods once again.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

By Khaled Hossein

Earlier this year I read The Kite Runner. Like his previous book, this story again takes place in Afghanistan and spans some 50 years ending just a few years ago.

Where as The Kite Runner followed the lives of two boys, this book follows two women who end up married to the same man. As the story stays in Afghanistan, it details life during the invasion of the Russians, the Taliban, and their removal.

I enjoyed the story and I enjoy the way Hossein really brings alive the daily life of the two women, Mariam and Laila. I found the The Kite Runner was the more uplifting of the two books. This book seemed to be about sorrow. The women's husband Rasheed treats them horribly almost everyday of their marriage to him. At the end of the story there is a glimmer of hope for the characters, though until Afghanistan rebuilds itself I guess that the hope will only remain a glimmer.

White Death

By Clive Cussler and Paul Kemprecos

A number of years ago I found a Clive Cussler book in the airport (Iceberg). It was an entertaining read. Fast forward a few years and again I found another one of his books in the airport. White Death is an exciting tale of Kurt Austin hunting down a gang of Eskimos who are genetically modifying fish to be the perfect eating machines. The fish will be released into the worlds oceans eating every other fish and allow the company behind it all to profit handsomely. The plot reminded me of a 007 plot. Not really well defined but the world wide destruction of the oceans is assured if the villain succeeds.

At one point the good guys boss sums up the story, which is pretty much what I just said. Then the main character Kurt Austin admits that it "sounds unbelievable when somebody else tells it." Indeed.

I have to wonder why two authors? I read a newspaper article a year or so ago about another author who has been cooperating with other authors to write his books. I forget the name of the guy. The head author outlines each chapter in detail and then the second author fleshes out the details. The unknown author is able to get some name recognition and the main author gets more cash with less work. I think that was the gist of it. In the case of White Death it works. This is an exciting story.

On a side note whoever had this book before me kept checking the descriptive sentences throughout the book. Nonsensical sayings are sprinkled here and there. Here's an example:

As my father used to say "All it takes to move a stubborn burro is a stick of dynamite."

Yeah and this was one of the more sensible ones. But it was an interesting look into what another reader had thought was interesting.

Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

ByRobert Luis Stevenson

Originally written in 1866. Yeah I don't know why but I'm a fan of late 19th Century literature. Notice the title of this book. There is no The at the beginning of the title. Well thank you Amazon, the book actually lacks the The but Amazon went ahead and included it, how nice. The theory is that Robert Luis Stevenson wanted to emphasis just how strange the case was.

The version of the book that I read was the Norton Critical Edition. The text is the 1st British edition which is the only edition which was set directly from Stevenson's manuscript and for which he read page proofs. It also includes a wealth of extra information. Hey, the story in only some 62 pages long but the book is 200+ pages. The extra information includes manuscript variations, letters to/from Robert Luis Stevenson on the background and early reception, a short story Markheim and an essay he wrote about how he became a student of our penny press. Essays on literary contexts, scientific contexts (edited down for content), notes on performance adaptations over the years, criticism and a chronology of his life.

Whew! It got to be a little bit too much for me.

I think I first became acquainted with the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde story from Bugs Bunny. Before reading the actual story if you would have asked me I would have told you I knew what it was about. Well I would have been wrong. (I've had this same experience when I read Frankenstein and Dracula a few years ago.)

Most adaptations simplified or changed the story. The strange case follow Dr. Jekyll, a man in his 50's, a prominent Victorian gentleman who desires freedom from the constraints of his class. He willingly becomes Mr. Hyde and enjoys the thrill of being free to experience the evil side of life, namely violence. Mr Hyde is pure evil. his is belligerent, knocks down a little girl and commits murder. Dr. Jekyll is at first excited at his new freedom but quickly worries about the crimes Hyde commits, worries he will be found. But he is not necessarily remorseful of what he has done. At the beginning Dr. Jekyll needs a potion to transform to Mr. Hyde and back again to Dr. Jekyll. By the end he transforms to Mr. Hyde without taking the potion and only turns back to normal by taking a dose. Unfortunately he stays normal for shorter and shorter periods of time. His supply of potion runs out. Ultimately the only thing left is to commit suicide.

The books is divided into 10 chapters. The flow of the story keeps you turning the pages, excited to see what happens next. They were written to be serialized. Oh how awful. A story written for pure entertainment. Critics at the time complained of the penny dreadful for just this reason. What rubbish I say.

The extra material in this edition helped me to understand the book in the context of the time it was written. The essays on the literary and scientific contexts were not so interesting. One thing that stood out was how many people look at Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and see an allegory in the story, that needs to be interpreted. Robert Luis Stevenson is quoted when asked for a key to his allegory: "I conceive I could not make my allegory better, nay, that I could not fail to weaken it if I tried. I have said my say as I was best able; others must look for what was meant." He goes on to say: "the allegorist is one, the commentator is another; I conceive they are two parts." He could be trying to say that the burden of the interpretation falls on the reader. I say read and enjoy the story. Don't worry about what it is supposed to mean, judge for yourself and just keep turning the pages.

The Works - Anatomy of a City

By Kate Ascher

I like learning how everyday things work. The Works delves deep into the infrastructure of New York City. The chapters cover all the aspects of what makes the city run. Moving people and freight, power, communications, disposing the waste.

For the most part each set of 2 facing pages covers a distinct topic. For example, in the chapter on streets there is info on traffic lights, manhole covers, street repairs, building bridges, etc. With one set of 2 facing pages covering all the information on say manhole covers with examples of the different styles of designs throughout the city. Along with the text are illustrations depicting the subject discussed with cutaways to see the inner workings.

Here are some facts I learned that were quite amazing.

You know the cross walk buttons pedestrians will (repeatedly) press to make the light change? Does it ever seem like they don't do anything? Well they don't. At least in NYC that is. At one time they were connected to the light but now the lights are controlled by a central computer. It is expensive to take out the button so the ones that haven't been removed yet? Yeah they are worthless.

Natural gas can flow at 15mph and steam 75mph in the tubes under the city.

In lower Manhattan at 33 Thomas St the Long Lines Building (once the home of the AT&T long distance division) is said to be able to withstand a nuclear fallout and has backup to operate for 2 weeks.

Finally know what ZIP code stands for? Well I didn't. But it's the Zone Improvement Plan started in 1963.

I think the quote on the back of the book really sums up the way I felt after reading this one. From the New York Post "It's a rare person who won't find something of interest in The Works..."

I Am Legend

By Richard Matheson

I'm a fan of apocalyptic stories. The idea of everyone on Earth dying except for a few people or say one person and how they deal with the aftermath fascinates me. My favorite Twilight Zone episode is the one with Burgess Meredith where he is the last man left on Earth.

Enter I Am Legend. I saw the movie when it first came out. I loved how it showed how Will Smith went shopping for food and other everyday items So I was excited to read the original 1954 story. Other "versions" of the book exist in movie format. The Omega Man and Last Man on Earth

Now there are differences between the book and the movie. The biggest being the location. The book is set in Southern California, more on that in a bit, the movie in New York City. The main character Robert Neville is white instead of black, the movie takes place in the near future. Yeah really the differences are minor.

The book does a good job of showing how Robert survives by shopping at the supermarket and other local stores. Making do with the goods that are left and still in good shape. He has stocked the rooms of his house with food and liquor. He tries to deal with his agony over losing his wife and daughter with the liquor. If the book is dated it's only because Robert occupies his evenings drinking, smoking, reading, and listening to records. What's a record? Hey in another few years or so that might be a pretty valid question. He has to teach himself trades for example how to fix a car.

Robert reaches a few conclusions about what has caused mankind to die from his sturdy of human biology out of books from the library. He determines it is a bacteria that he is immune against. After 3 years he finally encounters another person. A women! Even though he is starved for companionship he is reluctant to believe that she is like him and not a vampire. He subjects her to his vampire tests but the true test will be testing her blood under his microscope. Is she a survivor or is she something else? This story is one you really should read for yourself.

On a side note the street Robert lives on, Cimarron, is in Gardena CA. I thought that the name sounded familiar when I was reading the book. At one point Robert is driving around and the narrative mentions that he turns on Haas Ave, and then right onto Cimarron. Yeah he lives the next street over from my grandparents! How weird is that?!

The version of the book that I read also has 10 other short stories that range from 2-10 pages long. I Am Legend was only 160 pages. None of the stories really stood out. They were all macabre and I thought not very well developed when compared to the main story. For about 3 or 4 days after finishing the book I kept daydreaming about being the last person left on Earth. It really blows your mind.

If you are interested in more apocalyptic TV shows try Jeremiah. It is being shown in reruns on the Sci-Fi channel. You can currently only get the first season on DVD. I've heard that Jericho is supposed to be pretty good also though I haven't watched it yet and I am planning on reading The Tripod series by John Christopher soon. Look for more info on those book soon.

If anyone has any suggestions for other books, movies, TV shows about apocalyptic stories stories let me know.

Serenity Found

By Jane Espenson

Well if you've made it this far with me in my push for 2 books a month you're reading this review for (hopefully) one of two reasons. You either find my views mildly entertaining or you are a huge Firefly/Serenity fan. With this book it will help if it's more of the latter.

Overall I didn't find Finding Serenity all that interesting. I'm glad to say that Serenity Found held my interest better. 18 essays of topics related (sometimes dubiously) to Firefly. This book came out after the movie Serenity was released, so some of the essays comment on the movie. Half the essays put me to sleep. The other half? Well I really liked them.

The standouts were the essay by Mal himself. Nathan Fillion. He talked about his Firefly experience and how in their off time when the cast hung out together he often took the lead (as Captain) to make decisions for the group. Where to meet up, when, etc. He talked about how he felt a sense of ownership to the ship, like any Captain would. Where as Jewel Staite's essay in the last book was just bullet points about each episode, Nathan really gave a feeling about what it was like to be the Captain of Serenity.

In case you needed a more in depth look at Malcom Reynolds, there is a character study that pieces together the bits of his life we learn about throughout he series, and an essay comparing Mal and Simon trying to answer the question who's the hero of Firefly? Whose story does the saga as a whole tell? Is it the man on the mission (Simon) or the man who takes on that mission? Maybe it's both.

There were essays on the Firefly world, hot it seemed real and lived in, especially when compared to the sterile atmosphere of Star Trek. There is an essay from the visual effects supervisor and one from the founder of Multiverse, the platform that the Firefly MMOG is going to be based, both interesting.

The last essay I'll mention is about the history of the Western and why the Space Western gets such a bad rap. It was an interesting history. I guess ever since pulp fiction stories came out in the early part of the 1900's people have frowned on the genre. Firefly shows that the genre should be given another chance.

If I had to pick one of the two books to read, I'd suggest you read Serenity Found. But while I found parts of both interesting part of me wants to say, hey just sit back and enjoy the TV show and movie. Then there is the other part that enjoys the analyzing and speculation

World Without End

By Ken Follett

I read Pillars of the Earth last year. What a wonderfully rich story. I still think about the story more than a year later. So imagine my excitement when I learned a few months after finishing the book that a sequel was coming out. Lucky me. No waiting 17 years between books.

So why did I wait so long to read World Without End? Well at 1000+ pages and in hardback, I just couldn't fit the book in my suitcase. It would have made it too heavy. But being laid up with gout, for the the week of August 1st, in 3 1/2 days I read World Without End.

It's a sequel but not in the normal sense. You don't have to read the 1st book to understand and enjoy the story. Why? The story takes place in the same town as the first book but 200 years later, in the 1300's. We follow the four main characters from their childhood to their 40's.

I really like how Ken Follett divides the book into parts and lets you know how much time has passed between sections. There are often jumps of 10 years between parts. It's an interesting way to tell a story. I felt like I got a more complete account of the lives of the characters and could accept the changes due to the labeled passage of time.

If you have read the first book you can see how daily life has subtly changed. The way the Lords and Earls rule over the peasants and laborers. The book mainly follows the lives of Caris and Merthin, but many other characters are developed and followed throughout the story.

In The Pillars of the Earththe overarching story is the building of Kingsbridge Cathedral. I thought that World Without End would be about the stone bridge that is built near the beginning, but it's really just about the lives of the people in the town of Kingsbridge. It reads a little bit like a soap opera. There is lots of sex, less killing than in Pillars of the Earth, and loads of tragedy. Just when you think another bad thing can't befall the citizens of Kingsbridge, it does.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the way it drew me into the time period. Unfortunately I didn't experience the deep connection with the characters that I did in Pillars of the Earth. Does this mean World Without End wasn't enjoyable? No. But it wasn't the magical story that the first book was. Pillars of the Earth is probably one of the best books I've ever read so I guess it would be hard to hit gold a second time. The last part of the book follows the characters as they deal with the Black Death and the changes it causes in society.

On a side note, many of the Amazon.com reviewers complained about the language in the book saying "no one spoke like that back then." I know it's historical fiction but not everything has to be exact. Plus I find it maddeningly frustrating to try and read written dialect/slang. So Ken, thanks for modernizing the speech.

Finding Serenity

By Jane Espenson

I first heard about this book listening to The Signal, a podcast all about the TV show Firefly and the movie Serenity. You can listen to the interview with the editor of the book at the above website. I tried looking for the episode where they talked with Jane Espenson but I couldn't find it. If I had to guess it's in season 1.

Notice I said editor, not author. This is a collection of essays about the TV show Firefly. Yeah my wife thinks my Firefly obsession has gone overboard. She might be right.

Initially I had no interest in reading Finding Serenity. It just didn't sound interesting from the interview that I listened to. Then after hearing the interview with Jane Epson talking about Serenity Found, audio review, which I found much more compelling, though I can't remember why, I decided that if I was going to read the 2nd book I might as well read the 1st.

I don't really know how to review a book of essays. I guess I'll just mention the few that caught my interest. If you are a Firefly fan you might find Finding Serenity interesting. If not, stay away. The book delves deep into analyzing the minutiae of the show. The music, the Chinese phrases, character studies, the history of the TV western, and contrasting Firefly with Star Trek Enterprise.

Unfortunately for me, most of the essays were pretty unmemorable. There are 20 in all. I made notes while reading and found 6 that I could really get into. Two are tongue in cheek essays that gave me a chuckle. One is the aforementioned Firefly vs. Star Trek that pokes fun at the cleanliness of Enterprise. It does a good job of pointing out the differences between the shows. It also made me realize how "lived in" the Firefly world is. You really can imagine yourself in it, much more so than the sterile world on Enterprise. The other essay was a correspondence between a Fox Executive and Joss Whedon. It wasn't very favorable to Fox.

There were a few essays on women in the verse. The one about Zoe being a strong character and Zoe and Wash's marriage stood out among the others. Some of the essays on women compared the Firefly women to those in the other Joss Weadon TV shows.

The book was written before the movie Serenity came out. It was interesting to read the essay speculating how the Reavers came to be. Were they forced to become cannibals to survive? Had they gone mad? Were they recruited by someone who wished to challenge the Alliance but not directly? I found in interesting when taken in context, as we now know that all the guesses presented in the book are incorrect.

Unless you are a huge Firefly fan you probably won't get much out of this book. I'd tell you to try skimming through it at your local bookstore or library but I've never been able to find a copy at a bookstore. I haven't looked in a library. Or do as I did and pick it up for a few bucks used from Amazon.

Ninety Degrees North: The Quest for the North Pole

By Fergus Fleming



So I have actually read a real book this month. And it has taken me about a month to finish Ninety Degrees North. Mostly because I haven’t had much free time to read and because I bought the book in hardback. It’s a little to big to fit in my suitcase.

That said, I loved this book. It was comforting to get back to reading about the explorers who risked everything in their push for the North Pole. Was there land at the top of the world? Were the poles really holes in the Earth that led to a world within a world as proposed by John Cleves Symmes? The book is divided into numerous chapters that each tell about a different explorers attempt at the pole. Most of the names I had never heard of. After a while most of the stories started to blend together. Struggle to raise the funds necessary to undertake the attempt. Set sail. Get frozen in by the ice. Struggle towards the pole. Get frostbite and die. Limp back to civilization, if you’re still alive.

Most of the men tried to reach the pole by way of Greenland. They had wild (to us today) theories. There was an Open Polar Sea, from whence all the ice flowed south, or maybe the pole was kept ice free by the warm currents of water that flowed up from the Gulf of Mexico. Perhaps there is a continent at the North Pole that is warm and inhabited?

The biggest struggle in the book is between Peary and Cook who both claimed to have reached the pole but Fleming shows how neither probably reached the pole and despite their claims there is evidence(hearsay at best) that both knew that they hadn’t reached the pole.

Unlike the quests for the South Pole, there is not much talk about artifacts that are left to present day that show the routes of the explorers. They spent much of their time on boats and on the ice. One explorer, Sweden’s Salomon August Andre tried to reach the pole by airship. He tried for two years. The second year he made it into the air, but suffered mishaps on launch and during the flight they lost altitude due to the accumulation of ice. He disappeared never to be seen again. Then in the mid 1900’s debris was found that included pieces of the airship and diaries from the expedition.

The book ends with the first team to reach the North Pole (by air only) for certain. That was accomplished by the Amundsen-Ellsworth expedition from the airship Norge. Roald Amundsen was also the first to conquer the South Pole. Though disputed, the Russians are credited with being the first to set foot of the North Pole in 1948.

An enjoyable book that takes you into the psyche of the Polar Explorer. But be warned if you decide to follow in their footsteps. Many of the explorers dedicated their lives towards their goal. Once they had tried and failed or in the case of Peary and Cook succeeded (sort of) their lives were pretty empty. They had given their all and really had no reserves left for anything else. They often talked about other expeditions but none ever came to fruition. A sad ending to some of the world’s bravest/most determined/foolhardy men.

7th Son Book I: Descent

7th Son. A podcast novel by J.C. Hutchins.

Again, this isn’t what I would call an audio drama but a podiobook. Or an audio book for your iPod.

This is a story, read by the author, of seven clones, on a mission to help find the man they were cloned from. John Michael Smith, or John Alpha as he is called.

It is a much longer story than Severance. There are three books, which when written consists of about 1200 pages. I’ve listened to the first book so far and I really liked it. It was made into 24 chapters. That might not be entirely accurate as some of the mp3’s contained two chapters. They range from 30 minutes long to an hour. But before you put it off for it’s length let me tell you about fluff.

Fluff is the excess banter that is included in each podcast where the author thanks you for listening, gives you updates on the 7th Son online community that is being created, promotes other podcasts and airs recorded calls left by listeners asking questions or telling about how much they like the story. There is also a 1-2 minutes summary of the previous chapter.

Some of the fluff is interesting and it helps to create a sense of community with the author and the other listeners. The average length is 5 minutes before the story starts and 10+ minutes after. I remember one chapter where the story was 20 minutes long and the fluff was about 21 minutes, maybe longer. I chose to listen to very little of it.

Well I guess you’re probably wondering what the story is actually about.

The author J.C. Hutchins reads the story with some music background and musical transitions between scenes. He changes his voice for the different characters and is much more effective than Andy Evans. It's a good thing he does as the 7 clones are all named John Michael Smith. Each clone ends up going by a different name and with in a few chapters I was able to keep them all separated in my head. The story delves into the science needed to clone the humans and grow them at an accelerated rate; the secret government organization that did the cloning; the moral dilemmas involved; transplanting memories from body to body; the mystery of John Alpha and his army of Nepthcharged humans (people who have had their memory erased and replaced with someone else’s, in most cases a killer recruited by John Alpha to do his dirty work.) Oh did I mention that the story starts out with a little kid killing the President of the United States. That is one bit that hasn't been answered in the first book. The final cliffhanger (I'm not giving away the BIG cliffhanger, there are a few) of the first book are the stolen Russian nukes that are in control by John Alpha's legion of nepthcharged warriors, who are all the same man. You'll understand after you listen to the story.

There is action, cussing, intrigue. I can’t wait to listen to the next book. Each chapter ends on a cliffhanger that leaves you wanting for more. The story is to be released as a book in 2009.

Severance

By Andy Evans

First an apology. It was pointed out to me that I’ve been quite unfair to John Sandford. Poking fun at how his name is as big or bigger than the titles on his book. I failed to notice that on the cover of Next, Michael Crichton is much bigger than the title of the book. So, sorry Mr. Sandford aka. Mr. Camp.

Well I haven’t been reading many books lately. I’ve only had just enough free time to keep up with my magazine subscriptions. This really only leaves me with free time when I’m in my car. So I tried something new. Audio Drama. Now I’m a fan of audio dramas. I remember listening to them on AM radio when I was growing up. They came on Friday or Saturday night. Most of them I didn’t really get into. Cowboys and Indians. Variety shows, Jack Benny, (which didn’t really hold up to the test of time, esp. for a 12 year old kid. )

The one I really liked was The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Recorded starting in 1945 or there about. My Mom liked to watch the Sherlock Holmes movies with the same actors so it was an easy transition for me. (On a side note I found most of these broadcasts on the internet and downloaded them. This website has a handful of the shows. I still enjoy listening to them.)

Enter Severance by Andy Evans. It’s is more of an audio or podiobook. There is only one voice, a little music and no special effects. It is a fan fiction story that takes place in the Firefly universe. I have to say that I really enjoyed the story. It takes place on Hera, the planet where the Battle of Serenity Valley took place. If you have seen the TV show Firefly then this will mean more to you than if you haven’t. But even if you have never heard of the show Firefly you still might enjoy the story. There is really only a slight connection.

The book is divided into 10 chapters with the 10th and final being double the length. Each chapter you download contains only the story, no fluff. More on fluff later. Andy does a good job of reading. He even tries to change his voice for the different characters. He does a fair job of this until he tries to do a women’s voice. It sounds awful. But it didn’t take away from the story.

There is mystery, action, gunfights, all set in an old west type world. Albeit one that features spaceships. But hey that’s Firefly.

I didn’t know if I should count Severance as a book that I read. But I guess that because it’s really an audiobook and I’ve been using my free time to listen rather than read I will. Each chapter is a different length but they average around 22 minutes or so. Go to Andy’s website to download the story. It’s free.

Now about the fluff. Well I guess you’ll just have to wait until my next review, 7th Son.

Invisible Prey

By John Sandford



Walking through Houston airport I spotted this tome on top of a trash can. Too bad the cleaners didn’t beat me to it. I read another John Sandford book earlier this year. Notice I didn’t reference it by name. That’s because the name of the book isn’t important. What is important is that you know it was written by John Sandford. His name appears above the title. On the spine his name is BIGGER! than the title!

I also learned that John Sandford is not even the name of the old coot who appears on the back cover. It’s a pseudonym of John Camp. Whew!

Anyway I didn’t find this story as gripping as the last. There were grizzly murders, robberies, alluded sex took place. You know everything that a police detective novel needs to stay fresh and exciting.

I’ll give J.S. or J.C. if you prefer, this. He gives up who did it about halfway through the book yet I kept reading to see how it would all turn out. It’s just that I found myself not really caring. You might ask: “David, why do you keep picking up and reading these books?” One; habit. I see a free book, I take it. Two; a lot of the books I picked out to read, purchased, and have at home waiting to be read are hardback. They don’t really fit in my suitcase. I really need to reorganize my suitcase so that it’s not so heavy and I’ll be able to fit a hardback book inside. As of now I’ve got a stack 3 high of found airport books. None are really calling to me so I’ll make it a point to take one of my other books next time I go to work.

The good news about my stack is that they are all fluff books. You know, easy reads that keep you entertained. You hope. Maybe I should be hoping that next time I’m at the airport any books lying around are invisible prey. Or maybe I should just stop hunting.

Next

By Michael Crichton

I found this one in the Houston Airport. In fact I’ve been finding a lot of books in airports lately. Within 3 hours of walking around IAH I picked up two more books along with Next. One sitting on top of a trash can and the other on top of a newspaper dispenser. Thanks to who ever left them.

The last Michael Crichton book I read was Prey. It was okay, but I didn’t really get into it. Not like Jurassic Park. But it wasn’t as bad as Congo or Sphere. Next is somewhere in the middle. Technology gone awry. Similar to Prey but a little more preachy. More like what I’ve heard about State of Fear.

I like science fiction. Especially when the fiction takes current or almost here technology and looks to the possible uses and misuses. Next does this very well. It follows a couple of storylines, all related to genetic modification and the patenting of genes. Some of the scenarios are rather disturbing. Transgenic animals (human genes combined with an animal), which as currently done doesn’t bother me, but in the book it is taken to extremes. Another story line follows Mr. Burnet, whose cells were sold to a biotechnology company by his doctor who then patented his genes . When the company needs more cells and Mr. Burnet has disappeared, a bounty hunter is sent after his daughter and grandson. The idea? The biotechnology company owns his cells. They can get more whenever they want. Since Mr. Burnet is not available they will go to this kin as they have half of Mr. Burnet’s genes. The company considers them fugitives, walking around with genes that belong to the company. Don’t worry. A judge doesn’t agree with the idea that the company owns the relatives cells but the thought is outrageous. Currently hundreds, if not thousands of patents have been granted to Universities and companies for genes.

After the book ends there are two more interesting parts. A bibliography where Michael Crichton gives a few thoughts about each book listed and an Author’s note where he lists a few conclusions to help prevent the story in the book from coming true, or at least give the public some protection and bring common sense to the patent office. If you go to Michael Crichton’s website and look up Next he lists which of the stories in book are true. Nice.

A fast, interesting, frightening look into our future? You’ll have to read it to decide. Or you could just watch a soap opera because that’s about how the story is presented where every chapter switches to a different character.

Your Secrets Are My Business:Security Expert Reveals How your Trash License Plate Credit Cards computer Even your mail make you a target

By Kevin McKeown with Dave Stern



If you weren’t paranoid about the lack of control over the information generated by your life before reading this book, you will be afterwards. I found this one in Newark Airport. It’s an informative, quick read that is a combination of the author’s stories as a P. I. mixed with hints and suggestions to make your life more secure. Plus it has a really long subtitle which MUST mean that it’s a good book.

The book is an interesting one. It covers your life from a few different aspects. Your trash (not yours once you throw it away), your car, credit cards, computers and mail. If it is on the internet it is not private and can probably never be taken away. Even shredded paper can be reassembled, it just depends on the motivation of the person reconstructing the page. Cross-cut shredders? Good but not perfect. McKeown suggests throwing your shredded papers away in thirds at different locations. Or better yet, soak the paper in bleach and water. He offers interesting suggestions on how the government and businesses could make things more secure, simply. But as he tells us, the post office alone makes millions by selling the list of address change notices to private companies so odds are most of his suggestions will never be taken up.

I guess my Dad was on the right track. He always asks why when asked for any information and isn’t afraid to say NO.

Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World

By Dan Koeppel



I love learning more about everyday subjects. How things are made, and the history behind everyday food and objects fascinates me. I like knowing more about the things in my life. Enter the book, Banana. I eat an apple every day of the week and a banana about half the days. A few years ago I read about Apples. Very interesting. I told everyone I worked with facts about apples for months. Unfortunately for me the guy I was working with while reading about bananas didn’t like them. He also didn’t want to hear about them. Oh well.

I’d like to be able to compare apple lore to banana lore, (specifically on the topic of the Garden of Eden) but I lent the book to my Dad. I think he actually started reading it, but alas has never brought it back. Dan (the author) makes a case for the tree of wisdom being a banana plant and not an apple tree. Ancient texts in Hebrew and Greek don’t identify the fruit as an apple. It’s more like a fig, and bananas have been referred to as figs (fingers) throughout history.

The problem? When translating Hebrew to Latin, Saint Jerome (around AD 400) translated “good and evil” fruit to malumor malicious. Malum could also be translated as. Adam and Eve used fig leaves to cover themselves. Banana leaves are large and are still used as clothing, rope, bedding etc. in modern times. Also, Eden was probably located in the Middle East in an area better suited to grow bananas rather than trees. Finally, Linnaeus, the father of taxonomy, designated the banana as Musa sapentium, meaning wise. Musa derives from mauz, Arabic for banana, where in the Koran the forbidden tree is called the talh, the tree of paradise or banana tree.

Well enough about ancient history. The book traces bananas around the world but spends most of the time focusing on North and South America. The banana came to light in 1876 at the World’s fair. America’s love affair started afterwards. Up until World War II, American’s ate the Gros Michel. Disease later wiped out the Big Mike. Today we eat the Cavendish. It too will be wiped out, probably within our lifetimes. The problem is that commercial bananas are sterile and all the plants are clones. So when one fungus or bacteria comes around that can infect the Cavendish, the whole crop will be destroyed. When bananas were first marketed to the masses, people were told not to refrigerate their bananas because it would turn them brown. The ads failed to mention that this would also keep them fresh longer and that unrefrigerated they would turn brown anyway as they ripened. Anything to sell more product.

The majority of the book deals with the banana companies of America. United Fruit, Standard Fruit, now Chiquita and Dole, and how they acquired land to set up banana plantations. They manipulated the governments of Central and South American countries. They even got help form the US government and military to quell worker riots and uncooperative government leaders. You know, uncooperative residents who insisted that the companies pay their fair share of taxes, treat workers humanly, etc. Very unreasonable demands that needed to be resisted. By installing favorable governments into power they were able to keep expanding their plantations and also gave birth to the phrase Banana Republic.

Reading about how the banana companies created their empires was eye opening, and depressing. Maybe it’s better to remain ignorant about our countries history in cases like this. No, probably not. The book went on to chronicle the changes that have been made today. Most plantations are independently owned. Conditions and rights for the workers are a little better. You might even be able to find fair trade bananas in your supermarket. If you enjoy a well told story with the bonus of learning about something you probably eat everyday, read "Banana"

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex

By Mary Roach



This is Mary Roach’s 3rd book. She also wrote articles for salon.com. She seems like she would be a fun person to meet. When something interests her she digs into the subject. No matter how bizarre. Toothbrush research, weights for women’s privates, you get the idea. The only problem with her books that I’ve found is that unless you know someone well, they will look askance at you when you talk about he subject matter.

Ever wonder what could be or is being done with the bodies that are donated to science? How about the study of the afterlife? Just how much does a soul weigh? Check out Stiff and Spook for the answers.

In Bonk, Mary shows us how science tackles sex. The answer (no pun intended) is mostly at night, quietly, and if the scientists are receiving funding then the stated goals of the research are couched in vague verbiage. Besides the fabulous writing and interesting stories Mary tells; some of the best parts of her books and especially Bonk are the footnotes. They often stray far from the subject matter at hand but really bring out her sense of humor. For example take this nugget about Millard Fillmore and his display of oratory skills. His words upon tasting a soup: The nourishment is palatable.” Okay so taken out of context (like is was in context in the book) it’s not very funny but I laughed when I read that bit. Another footnote tells of a side trip Mary takes into researching which words at Merriam-Webster’s Online website are pronounced by a man and which by a women. Cervix, nipple = women. Vagina, vulva = man.

Like her other books Mary dives into the research. She travels the world to meet the doctors and scientists whose papers she reads. She samples, first hand if you will, the results of penis surgeries. When no subjects are available to watch during a trial of internal scans during sex, she volunteers herself and her husband Ed. We also learn that the Ed’s of the world have gotten a bum rap from all the erectile dysfunction or ED talk. There is a bibliography in case you are interested in further reading.

The only downside to Bonk is the same as to Stiff and Spook that I mentioned. I think it will be hard to discuses the subject with my coworkers.

On a side note the cover of Bonk shows two ladybugs bonking. In high school or maybe middle school I was invited into my neighbors house (the first and last time I ever went inside) to see his new Macintosh computer and the photos he took of ladybugs matting. I guess the world is really just one big circle.