Alif

I finished reading Alif the Unseen Friday morning, most likely the last book I will read in 2012. I have exam coming so will most probably not start another book till into the new year.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommend it. Alif the Unseen is the first novel by G Willow Wilson. The book reads like a cross between Cory Doctorow (Little Brother) and Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere), which translates to awesome!

The setting is a fictional Arab emirate. Our hero, Alif, is a half-Arab half-Indian hacker who has just got dumped by his pure-blood aristocrat girlfriend. When she tells him that she doesn’t want to see him anymore, he writes a program that makes him invisible to her online. As sort of a parting gift, the ex-girlfriend passes him a mysterious old book. What follows is an adventure that takes Alif and his friends to the world on the unseen, the jinn, as they are pursued by State security agents.

Of note too is the Islamic setting. Islam plays a big role in the book, which makes it refreshing as well. We definitely don’t see too many of that.

Reading Again

Having bought more books in September to add to my existing pile of unread books, I finally got around to reading them. So, over the last three weeks I have managed to finish three books compared to only two books before that through 2012.

The release of Midst Toil and Tribulation by David Weber was the trigger for that last book order, so I started on the book practically as soon as I received it. At over 600 pages, the book was a brick, and took me almost two weeks to finish. This is book #6 of the epic Safehold series, and as soon as I finished reading it I couldn’t wait for book #7. Unfortunately, that will have to wait till next September. :P

Next, I read Redshirts, John Scalzi’s latest yarn. As always, he never failed to entertain. Scalzi served as creative consultant for the short-lived Stargate Universe television show. Not that it matters far as the book is concerned—not directly at least—but the book, which takes a jab at popular science fiction shows like Star Trek, reads very much like an episode of Stargate SG-1. Oh, I also love the book cover art, especially the spine.

Finally, there was Invincible or in full Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Invincible by Jack Campbell/John G Hemry. The only softback of the lot, this is book #2 of the Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier series, which in turn is a follow-on series to the original six-book Lost Fleet series. After eight books I still don’t have enough space battles. Mind you though, the battles are nothing like those in Star Wars or Star Trek. Physics actually apply, and formations play a huge part in the massive fleet-on-fleet actions.

I am currently reading Vortex by Robert Charles Wilson.

Read: The Clone Redemption

The Clone Redemption may be the last of the Clone series, and after seven books it has been quite a ride.

In the future, humanity has spread across the galaxy, occupying exactly 180 planets. To protect the peace, or rather to preserve its power, the Unified Authority (UA) government relies on clones as soldiers. Officers in the military are natural-borns while the enlisted men are all clones.

Protagonist Wayson Harris is a clone in the UA Marines. He is however not a standard-issue clone. He is the last of a special class of clones called Liberators deemed so dangerous they are outlawed. At the beginning of the series, Harris starts out assigned on a special mission to flush out a rebellion. Soon, he realizes that clones are really being used as pawns in various power struggles between personalities in both the government and the military. So though he retains an innate loyalty to the government he grows to hate the UA at the same time.

The turning point of the series is when a virtually unstoppable alien race invades. The Avatari manages to capture 178 out of 180 UA planets before the clones turn the tide around. Down to just two planets, the UA blames the clones for failing to defend the empire and decides that they are redundant. The clones are to used one last time as live targets.

Harris leads the clones to fight back. In The Clone Redemption, while holding off the UA on one side, the clones of the newly established Enlisted Men Empire have to race to evacuate whole planets as the Avatari returns. Now instead of capturing a planet, the Avatari raises the atmospheric temperature to 9,000 degrees killing and burning everyone and everything. As the situation grows desperate, Harris decides to invade Earth.

I really enjoyed the series from the beginning. Author Steven L Kent developed the characters in the books well, even secondary ones. Apart from our hero, I particularly love the SEAL clones, both feared and misunderstood by others, quietly ever ready to serve. I definitely look forward to any follow up to the series.

Read: Safehold #5

I finished reading How Firm A Foundation (HFAF) last Monday, all 564 pages of it, excluding appendices. Wow, I cannot wait for the next book!

[SPOILER ALERT]

Unlike in previous books, there weren’t as many sea battles in HFAF. Having established its dominance at sea following the Battle of the Markovian Sea in A Mighty Fortress (AMF), there aren’t any fleet left on Safehold to challenge the Imperial Charisian Navy. Still, newly-appointed High Admiral Sir Domynyk Staynair, Baron of Rock Point, sends Admiral Dunkyn Yairley to destroy major Desnairian naval and shipbuilding facilities in the port city of Iythria.

That operation marks the introduction of another Charisian innovation, the high-angle gun or howitzer, used to pound the port’s heavily fortified fortresses. The evolution of weapons and technology in general is one element of the Safehold series I am very excited about. Apart from the high angle guns, other new technologies introduced in HFAF include the revolver and the upcoming steam engine. It remains to be seen how long the Empire of Charis can rely on technological superior to offset the Church of God Awaiting’s superior numbers, while the rest of Safehold will undoubtedly catch up.

When it has been handed humiliating defeat after humiliating defeat in open warfare against Charis it is perhaps not surprising to find the Church, particularly the Inquisition and Grand Inquisitor Zhaspahr Clyntahn, resorting to terrorism to hit back at the heretics. The death of Prince Nahrmahn and Earl of Gray Harbor deal a severe blow to the court of Emperor Cayleb and Empress Sharleyan Ahrmark, but the Inner Circle continues to grow. The most significant new addition is Father Paityr Wylsynn, the Intendant of Charis, who brings with him disturbing new clues about the defences of the Temple of God and the promised return of the Archangels.

Perhaps my favourite character in the series is now-Lieutenant Hektor Aplyn-Ahrmark, Duke of Darcos. The emperor’s adopted son has quite a few adventures in HFAF, including leading a covert mission behind enemy lines to extract Prince Daivyn and Princess Irys Daykyn of Corisande out of Delferahk.

As the title suggests, HFAF has both sides of the war consolidating their positions in preparation for the next stage (or book). Perhaps next the Empire of Charis will finally take the war to the mainland. Perhaps not. Again, I cannot wait to find out.

Read: Fuzzy Nation

I had been excited about Fuzzy Nation (FN) ever since author John Scalzi first blurbed about it on his blog. He is one of the most funny authors around. Who else writes about aliens passing gas?

Anyway, FN is a remake of an earlier novel I had never even heard of before called Little Fuzzy (LF) by H Beam Piper. Movies get remade all the time, but not novels. I suppose it helped that LF has fallen into public domain, so there wasn’t much legal hoops to jump over the rights issue. According the Scalzi, he only wrote FN for fun before showing it to his agent. The rest, as they say, is history.

The book, or rather both books, are about a mining prospector named Jack Halloway who discovers a super-cute intelligent species—the Fuzzies—right after stumbling into a huge deposit of a highly valuable mineral on a faraway planet. Thus a moral dilemma. The mineral find means Halloway stands to become so rich that he and his descendants will never have to work again. Discovering the Fuzzies, however, if proven sentient means the planet cannot be mined.

At the outset it is a gone conclusion that the Fuzzies will win in the end. The smart thing about FN, however is that Halloway, a disbarred lawyer, doesn’t just suddenly grow a conscience and do the right thing. The bad guy in the novel is ZaraCorp, a mega mining corporation which, sans Fuzzies, practically owns the planet. The climax of the story is a courtroom drama, which is rare in science fiction.

The original Little Fuzzy is available as a free download, among others at Project Gutenberg. I have downloaded it, hoping to get around to reading it later.

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LINKS:
Review of Fuzzy Nation at SF Reviews.net
Cory Doctorow’s review of Fuzzy Nation at Boing Boing

Read: Dreadnaught

Dreadnaught is a follow-up to six-book The Lost Fleet (TLF) series that ended with Victorious last year.

TLF is set against the backdrop of a war between two space-faring human civilizations—the Alliance and the Syndicate Worlds that has lasted for a hundred years. Captain John Geary succeeds in bringing home the battered Alliance fleet from deep inside Syndic space, leaving behind the Syndic fleet effectively decimated. The return of the fleet, however, is not wholly welcomed by the Alliance government. Now that the Syndic threat is behind them, the powerful fleet is viewed with suspicion by the civilian authority, especially with Geary’s immense popularity. In Dreadnaught, the fleet is ordered to go to the other side of Syndic space to gather further information about an enigmatic alien race it encountered earlier.

What I like best about TLF is the detailed battle scenes, which no doubt benefited from author John G Hemry’s experience as a US Navy officer. They are also very realistic: Logistics and energy management is always a factor. A message from a ship two light minutes away takes two minutes to arrive. In short, the battle scenes are nothing like what you see in Star Wars or Star Trek. Throughout the series, the characters spend a lot of time discussing their problems and options. A common complain about TLF, however, is the author’s tendency to recapitulate, which he explains as to help new readers of the series.

The next book in the new The Lost Fleet - Beyond the Frontier series has already been announced for a May, 2012 release and I am definitely looking forward to it.

Read: Yukikaze

I chanced upon Yukikaze by Chohei Kambayashi when browsing the Haikasoru website after reading The Lord of the Sands of Time. It’s supposed to be a classic, Yukikaze, and most importantly has a cool cover art. I was sold.

Some decades ago an alien force invaded Earth through a portal over Antarctica. Earth fought the aliens back and secured a foothold on the other side.

Thirty years on the war against the JAM, as the aliens are called, is at a stalemate. The Faery Air Force (FAF) is technologically far more advanced than any military forces on Earth. However, it has never been able to maintain any clear advantage over the JAM.

Strangely, after all the years no one knows who the JAM really are and even how they look like. There’s speculation that the JAM are really machines, and when fighting the FAF they are really fighting against the machines of the FAF. Hence the question of whether humans are really necessary, at least in the war agains the JAM.

Yukikaze is the nickname given to the mount of Lt Rei Fukai, the main character. It is a highly advanced tactical reconnaissance fighter known as the Super Sylph. Yukikaze is the only thing that Rei cares for and trusts. However, as its AI matures, it becomes evident that the plane has a mind of its own.

Afi bought me Yukikaze as a birthday present. She asked me to pick a book. I couldn’t think of any in particular that I wanted, so picked Yukikaze which was the next in my wishlist. I also didn’t know that there is an anime made out of the novel. The clips I see of it looks awesome, particularly the flight sequences. I’ll definitely go look for it when I get home.

I’m now reading Neil Gaiman’s American Gods.

Read: 1984

I cannot remember when I first heard about 1984. It must be about the same time I first heard about George Orwell. For a long time, the book had been on my to-read list but I never got around to reading it. There’s always a new release that I’d read instead. So some time ago I thought that I should at least try to alternate my reading between new and old releases, hence 1984.

At the very least, 1984 gives us the term Big Brother. The government rules on fear and propaganda, in this case complete control of information, using a perpetual war as a tool. Whether there is actually a war going on, and against whom, does not matter except that the government says so. Every aspect of our lives is controlled by the government, even our thoughts. No one can be trusted. Parents cannot even trust their children.

It is, in a fashion, a really scary novel. At every word I cannot help wondering whether Big Brother already exists, now, in real life. I also wonder if governments and politicians around the world, whatever the label they wear, actually learn from Orwell as much as Machiavelli.

Turning Japanese

The Lord of the Sands of Time by Issui Ogawa was in my Amazon wishlist for almost two years before I finally bought it from, er, The Book Depository in late February.

It is about an android soldier from the future sent to the past to help prepare and fight an alien invasion. The story is set mainly in third century Japan, where he joined forces with a pagan shaman queen for a final stand against the aliens. The book is awesome, though at 260 pages a bit short. The original work is in Japanese, translated into English.

Another thing I really like about the book is the cover design, which took me to Haikasoru and more (English-translated) Japanese SFF with awesome covers! Afi said that it’s shallow to buy a book based on its cover, but it’s worked well for me so far. I strongly believe that there’s a strong correlation between a good book and good cover design. Here are some titles I now have on my wishlist, along with their synopses I copy-pasted from the Haikasoru website:

The Next Continent by Issui Ogawa

The year is 2025 and Gotoba General Construction—a firm that has built structures to survive the Antarctic and the Sahara—has received its most daunting challenge yet. Sennosuke Touenji, the chairman of one of the world's largest leisure conglomerates, wants a moon base fit for civilian use, and he wants his granddaughter Taé to be his eyes and ears on the harsh lunar surface. Taé and Gotoba engineer Aomine head to the moon where adventure, trouble, and perhaps romance await.

Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Noriko Ogiwara

The God of Light and the Goddess of Darkness have waged a ruthless war across the land of Toyoashihara for generations. But for fifteen-year-old Saya, the war is far away—until the day she discovers that she is the reincarnation of the Water Maiden and a princess of the Children of the Dark.

Raised to love the Light and detest the Dark, Saya must come to terms with her heritage even as the Light and Dark both seek to claim her, for she is the only mortal who an awaken the legendary Dragon Sword, the weapon destined to bring an end to he war. Can Saya make the choice between the Light and Dark, or is she doomed—like all the Water Maidens who came before her...?

Yukikaze by Chohei Kambayashi

More than thirty years ago a hyper-dimensional passageway suddenly appeared... the first stage of an attempted invasion by an enigmatic alien host. Humanity managed to push the invaders back through the passageway to the strange planet nicknamed "Faery." Now, Second Lieutenant Rei Fukai carries out his missions in the skies over Faery. His only constant companion in this lonely task is his fighter plane, the sentient FFR-31 Super Sylph, call sign: YUKIKAZE.

Usurper of the Sun by Housuke Nojiri

Aki Shiraishi is a high school student working in the astronomy club and one of the few witnesses to an amazing event--someone is building a tower on the planet Mercury. Soon, the enigmatic Builders have constructed a ring around the sun, and the ecology of Earth is threatened by its immense shadow. Aki is inspired to pursue a career in science, and the truth. She must determine the purpose of the ring and the plans of its creators, as the survival of both species—humanity and the alien Builders—hangs in the balance.

I am looking forward to reading each of them!

Spoilers

I’ve finished reading Out of the Dark (more than a week ago, actually)!

An alien race called the Shongairi invades Earth. Their initial strike alone totally eliminates all of our aircraft carriers and military bases, as well as many major cities. Instead of surrendering to the technologically superior Shongairi, the surviving humans stubbornly fight back. Eventually, the Shongairi decides to finish off all humans altogether by engineering a targeted bioweapon.

Currently Reading

I am reading Out of the Dark, the latest novel by David Weber. It is about invasion of Earth by aliens.

Some hundreds of years ago an alien survey mission visits Earth—though without actually landing on the planet—and observes a war between England and France. Repulsed by what they see, which they consider as mindless savagery, the aliens write us off as destined for self-destruction and leaves.

Fast forward to the present, an alien invasion force arrives. These are not the same aliens as before, but they belong to the same Galactic Hegemony: some kind of a United Nations of advanced races. Earth has been designated for colonization (thankfully they are not building an intergalactic superhighway). The aliens are surprised to find humans more advanced technologically than they expected. Apparently we progressed at a much faster rate than they have encountered in any other races. Usually, this would make Earth a protected planet, but the alien Fleet Commander decided to go ahead with the invasion nevertheless.

The first stage of the invasion goes on smoothly. They bombard the planet with kinetic energy weapons from space and destroy most of our major cities and practically all of our military forces. They think that we will then submit, which is the logical thing to do when you’re totally outclassed by a much superior race. To their bewilderment however, we fight back. The aliens have never fought anyone as advanced and as stubborn as us before. So while they have big spaceships that can travel across galaxies, they ground warfare capabilities are lagging.

I am enjoying the book so far. It’s classic military SF. But the reviews I read refer to a surprising twist with vampires at the end too. Now, that should be interesting! I can’t wait to see how that works out.

SFF

I’ve known since all the way back in school that I’d love to read science fiction (SF), although back then I didn’t read much fiction at all, let alone SF. There were one or two SF paperbacks I found at the school library and there were it.

Still, if anybody were to ask me then what my favourite book was, my answer would be Juara Yang Tewas by Aripin Said. I read it sometime in primary school and it really captured my imagination. I still consider it one of my favourite books. Juara Yang Tewas, which tells of the legend of the dragons of Lake Chini, is fantasy rather than SF. So was Her Majesty’s Wizard by Christopher Stasheff, which I received as a present from the school in 1994. In that year’s speech day, the school decided to give a book each to everyone who scored straight As for PMR, and mine was Her Majesty’s Wizard. I remember feeling very disappointed at it and wanted to throw the book away because I was expecting a more ‘serious’ book. However, I read the book anyway and actually grew to like it.

Then, in second year at UIA I had Abang Aziz as a roommate. He had a bunch of old SF paperbacks on his shelf he let me borrow. That was how I came to read The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov.

The End of Eternity is perhaps Asimov’s best novel. It is a novel about time travel. Some centuries after the discovery of time travel, an organization called Eternity was established to smoothen out human development by maintaining a stable society. So they use time travel to go back in time eliminating disruptive social trends, preventing wars, and suppressing the development of dangerous and risky technologies like atomic energy and space travel. What they cannot explain, however, is finding Earth far out in the future a barren planet. Time travel in the end turns out not such a good idea after all.

What I really like best about Asimov is that he didn’t use big words and complex, long sentences to deliver his ideas. The time travel device, for example, is simply called the ‘kettle’. The End of Eternity led me to the Foundation series, which was totally another level of awesomeness.

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LINKS:
Time Control: Isaac Asimov’s The End of Eternity
The SF Site Featured Review: The End of Eternity

Two Books

It took me a long time to finish reading The Malay Dilemma, finally. It’s not that the book was difficult to read at all. Instead, it was quite boring since having grown up in the Mahathir era the book – what’s in it – was everywhere in the public and official spaces. It’s boring to read stuff you already know. In the meantime, people will continue to argue about the book, just as people will continue to argue about the former prime minister’s policies and legacies. I’m just glad that I’ve finally read the book.

On the other hand, it took me only a few short days to finish reading The God Engines. The novella was sold as John Scalzi’s first attempt at fantasy – unlike anything he had written before – and the result was, WOW!

We have a spaceship, a warship by the name Righteous that runs on a god. The god sustains the ship, powering its weapons and takes it across the stars. It is a defeated god, dark and sinister. The gods are at war, and captain the Righteous, Ean Tephe, is given a mission to find a new planet to convert to give his God the edge above the rest.

Though set mostly on a “spaceship”, the book was all about religion, faith, and the ending was mind-blowing! Too bad The God Engines is only a novella.

Book Review: The Walls of the Universe

As an exercise, I need to start writing better book reviews. :P

The Walls of the Universe is the second novel by Paul Melko. I haven’t read his first novel, Singularity’s Ring, but now I definitely want to. The book reads like one of the classic science fiction novels from the 1950s or 1960s with its simple language, fast pace and straight forward plot based on the multiverse (or parallel universes).

[SPOILER ALERT]

John Rayburn grows up in a farm in Ohio and dreams of going to college and study Physics, until one day he stumbles upon his analog, who calls himself John Prime. Prime comes from another universe, quite like John’s own “Universe 7533”, through use of a device strapped to his chest. With promises of adventures and riches from “interdimensional trade”, Prime lures John into trying out the device to travel to “Universe 7534” for a day.

In 7534, John discovers that he cannot go back to 7533. Prime has tricked him and stolen his life! After jumping through universe after universe, John finally settles in “Universe 7650”, where he resolves to study the device hoping to one day return to his universe and reclaim his life.

He enrols himself at a local university, where he reluctantly makes new friends Grace and Henry. After accidentally mentioning them the pinball machine, which does not exist in 7650, Grace and Henry pressure John into helping them build it. John agrees, originally only so he can gain access to the Physics lab, but the pinball machine turns out to be a huge hit.

The pinball venture attracts the attention of some highly secretive investors, who turn out to be exiles from another universe, the bad guys. Things quickly turn bad when they discover that John is in possession of a functioning transfer device. In desperation, John successfully builds a device that allows him to travel back to 7533 and enlist the help of Prime.

Blah-blah-blah...

The Walls of the Universe is a very easy and fun read, and definitely far from a hard science fiction novel. I read it in just two days. Not much is explained of the multiverse, how interdimensional travel works, etc. In the end, the book is a fine nod to the Golden Age of science fiction, full of optimism.

FTW

For the Win, Cory Doctorow’s second young adult novel after Little Brother, is just as awesome as his first. More importantly, this is a book I would love to assign to my students. I would have finished the book in just a few short days if I weren’t distracted by other things.

Little Brother was all about technology – network, network security, encryption, surveillance – and how they work, and how and when they fail. It was also about knowing standing up for one’s right and liberty, particularly in the face of abuses of technology by authority. For the Win is also about standing up for one’s right, though in this case more specifically one’s right as a worker, even in the world of MMO games. The novel is all about economics – what money is, how markets work, etc. It even explains how financial derivatives work.

Again, I would really love to assign the book to my students. I bought my UK edition hardcover copy from The Book Depository, but the complete book can also be downloaded and read for free here.

:D

Finally!

I finished reading the last few pages of The Centauri Device yesterday morning before going to work. PHEWW! It was one slow, depressing book I am glad to get over with.

Then, last night I picked up The Lost Fleet: Victorious and basically couldn’t put it down until I finished the whole book at about 4.30 in the morning! Victorious is supposed to be the last of the (original) Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell a.k.a. John G Hemry, which is quite a downer because it’s such a wonderful series; fast paced and full of action. The good news, however, is Hemry wrote on his website that he’s got contracts for follow-on series. YAY!

I’m reading For the Win next, I think. The book arrived yesterday (May 25), after less than two weeks, which is simply wonderful. I don’t know how they do it – shipping books for free – but I definitely love it. The Book Depository is quickly becoming my new favorite online bookstore.

:D

Books to Read

I bought some new books: A Mighty Fortress by David Weber, The God Engines by John Scalzi, and The Lost Fleet: Victorious by Jack Campbell. I’m so excited about all of them, particularly A Mighty Fortress, but God knows when I’ll actually get around to reading them. Instead of buying them from Amazon as usual, Afi introduced me to The Book Depository, which offers free shipping worldwide!

Oh, I also bought Cory Doctorow’s latest release, For the Win, to be delivered separately to Malaysia. As usual, you can also download the book for free.

PHEWW!

In the meantime, let’s hope that I won’t walk into a bookstore, for there are also The Windup Girl (by Paolo Bacigalupi, the latest Nebula Award winner for Best Novel) and Boneshaker (by Cherie Priest) I’ve been meaning to have a look at.

Not to forget the books I left at home! I have The Centauri Device with me, reading it ever so slowly. On the bedroom wall shelf, The Walls of the Universe and Anathem (still, from ages ago!) await. Until I left for the UK, I was also in the middle of reading The Malay Dilemma, finally.

Wonder which one of these books I’ll finish reading first. It’s already the middle of May and I haven’t finished even one book this year!

Firsts

I saw my first movie for this year yesterday, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. It is a lightweight fare, but I’ve always had a soft spot for fantasy adventures. This is a movie that does not take itself too seriously, which is not necessarily a bad thing. After all, Lightning Thief is adapted from a children’s book, the first of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I suppose, given the relative success of the movie, it is a safe bet that there will be at least one sequel made.

The movie begins with Zeus accusing Poseidon that the latter’s estranged half-mortal son stole his lightning bolt. Why are the Greek gods always so petty? I would have thought that the king of gods would have done a better job of securing his most powerful weapon. Anyway, so, young Percy Jackson discovers that he is really a son of Poseidon and has less than two weeks to return the lightning bolt or otherwise prove his innocence to Zeus.

Pierce Brosnan did well as the wise centaur Chiron, but Uma Thurman was remarkably stiff as Medusa. How did she become famous in the first place? Fans of the book are expectedly not too happy with movie. I have not read the book, but the movie was entertaining enough that I was quite surprised that it was almost two hours long at 118 minutes. Look out for Clash of the Titans in April for more Greek mythology.

I also bought my first books for 2010 yesterday. I still have a backlog of books to read but couldn’t help myself. The first was The Walls of the Universe by Paul Melko (RM99.90). The author’s second book, the book is about parallel universes. I was glad that it was a hardbound copy; for whatever reason I like buying newly released books in hardcover. I also saw Boneshaker on the shelf at MPH, but didn’t buy it because it was in trade paperback. Now I know that they don’t release Boneshaker in hardcover so am kicking myself in the head. Next time, then.

The second book was The Centauri Device by M John Harrison (RM39.90). A 1974 work, I consider this one an experiment. I picked it up based on a vague memory of some reference to the book. Hopefully, it’ll work out well. All I know that it has something to do with a spaceship and a bomb of some kind, and ‘Centauri’ refers to Alpha Centauri.

Last Week

Last week I couldn’t connect to the internet at home, again. Yes, Streamyx sucks but what real choice is there? I couldn’t be bothered to call the helpline as the last time it didn’t help at all. Has Streamyx implemented a bandwidth cap? Anathem was (is) still there under the bed, but I picked up Makers from the shelf above instead.

Makers is about Perry and Lester who make stuff out of junk, and reporter-turned-blogger Suzanne Church who chronicles their lives. Lester makes mechanical computers for fun, and with Perry they make wonders. You can download and read all of it for free here.

Many reviewers say that Makers is Cory Doctorow’s best work yet and I totally agree, although I’ve only read Little Brother previously. Little Brother was more fun, but Makers has a lot more depth. A reviewer on Amazon even calls Makers a business book.

I took Makers to Kuantan last weekend where the kulliyyah had our IEEP. Earlier, I had registered to take the bus but in the end decided to drive on my own instead. It’s the KL-Karak highway. I love the highland drive with the frequent gear-shifting and tight corners going uphill and downhill. It was wet most of the way too on Friday so I got to put on my hoodie and had a nice cool drive. What a way to unwind. The hills were much more exciting at night, though.

Astro Boy

I saw Astro Boy last night. I had been looking forward to it since I first heard about the project. At the same time, I didn’t feel like watching 2012 for it being a disaster movie (really, how much different can one disaster movie be from the next), two-and-a-half hours too long, and the science simply ridiculous.

It doesn’t seem to have done very well at the box office, but Astro Boy was fun. What not to like about a show with robots? Of course, nothing survives the migration to Hollywood intact, so it is not a hundred percent faithful to the Japanese original. The jokes were funny and the visuals were cool. It would have been awesome(r) if they had made it in 3D.

I particularly liked the reference to the Three Laws of Robotics. The Robotic Revolutionary Front was cute too.

Viva la Robotolution!

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CREDIT: All pictures by Imagi Crystal Limited/Summit Entertainment