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Applied Topology #1
A Pocketful of Stars
Thalia Kostis will be the first to tell you it's not magic, it's theoretical math when she walks a Möbius strip through walls to her office at the Institute for Applied Topology. CIA Case Officer Bradislav Lensky doesn't care what it is, as long as she can help track down a smuggling ring and the terrorists in their safe house in Austin. The other magicians nearby don't agree, and don't care for new rivals either! Now Thalia and the rest of her misfit crew are in a race against time, terrorists, common sense, grackles, and their graduate advisor to save the day!
228 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 22, 2018
112 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Ball
55 books56 followersMargaret Ball lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and near two grown children. She has a B.A. in mathematics and a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Texas. After graduation, she taught briefly at UCLA, then spent several years honing her science fiction and fantasy writing skills by designing computer software and making inflated promises about its capabilities. She has written a number of science fiction/fantasy novels as well as two historical novels, and is currently working on a science fiction series to be released on Kindle and in paperback in the fall of 2017. She would love to be influenced by Connie Willis and the other authors listed but fears that is mainly wishful thinking.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 29, 2018
Book 1 of Applied Topology. A stand-alone plot.
Opens with Thalia in her office discovering that the source of the funding for the Institute for Applied Topology would like to see some applications.
Brad Lensky shows her some message about a "birthday party" that they suspect are codes for something worse.
The topologists at the Institute have, in fact, learned how to apply mathematical transformations materially, so the story goes on. It involves robotic snake bodies, coffee and donuts, many grackles, the need for a computer geek, the Turtle Pond, the necessity of attending a Foundation party, and more.
Opens with Thalia in her office discovering that the source of the funding for the Institute for Applied Topology would like to see some applications.
Brad Lensky shows her some message about a "birthday party" that they suspect are codes for something worse.
The topologists at the Institute have, in fact, learned how to apply mathematical transformations materially, so the story goes on. It involves robotic snake bodies, coffee and donuts, many grackles, the need for a computer geek, the Turtle Pond, the necessity of attending a Foundation party, and more.
July 23, 2018
Math nerds rule!
So what can you do with math? Thalia Kostis and friends solve math theorems in their heads, with unexpected results such as telekinesis, teleportation and cloaking. These skills come in handy when they are tasked with helping out the unnamed government agency crack a potential terrorist plot. There is some mild romantic interplay, but mostly the action focuses on the antics of Thalia and her team as they experiment with their new abilities. I enjoyed the book, the ending was rewarding, and I look to reading the next installment.
So what can you do with math? Thalia Kostis and friends solve math theorems in their heads, with unexpected results such as telekinesis, teleportation and cloaking. These skills come in handy when they are tasked with helping out the unnamed government agency crack a potential terrorist plot. There is some mild romantic interplay, but mostly the action focuses on the antics of Thalia and her team as they experiment with their new abilities. I enjoyed the book, the ending was rewarding, and I look to reading the next installment.
June 8, 2019
I really enjoyed this smart, witty science fiction novel. The concept was fresh with an interesting blend of science, magic and myth, The characters were well-drawn, endearingly nerdy and very funny, the plot was fast-paced and kept me turning pages. A thoroughly enjoyable read reminiscent of Connie Willis's humor and far-fetched science. I will read more by this author, and highly recommend this book.
October 30, 2018
Starts out badly
By page five I gave up. The writer starts spouting racist claims through a main character. The main character mocks political correctness, moans about the lack of respect for the dedicated border police (really ?), complains that (Mideastern) Muslim terrorists hide among Spanish speakers to get into the U.S. (They're all brown, after all, right ?). Racist, much?
The cover art featuring a black woman may be the most offensive part of the book. Look at the writer's photo and ask what's up with the black face.
She describes as silly, people being compassionate and relatively non-racist, writes that Islamic terrorists hide among Latino immigrants to invade Texas (a claim made for years by Faux News and Republicans with no basis in fact but they are all brown, so they thought they could sell that craziness), all that after drooling over the square jawed blond government Security agent with a great body (hair, blue eyes, the works). Someone's fantasy life on display, as well?
Again your publisher puts a black woman in the cover of every book in the series. Put your words in the mouth of someone, who looks like you and then you can rant.
I didn't sign on for an homage to Republican values and race superiority posing as commonsense safety?, rule of law and national security concerns. I just wanted to read about a field called Applied Topologies, with all the possible stories that could come out of it.
It's a shame that the writer ruins a great premise because she can only move the story forward by touting racist ideology. I won't be reading this writer again. I feel sorry for the writers who pander to the nasty and dangerous to sell books, no matter how lucrative the practice might be.
By page five I gave up. The writer starts spouting racist claims through a main character. The main character mocks political correctness, moans about the lack of respect for the dedicated border police (really ?), complains that (Mideastern) Muslim terrorists hide among Spanish speakers to get into the U.S. (They're all brown, after all, right ?). Racist, much?
The cover art featuring a black woman may be the most offensive part of the book. Look at the writer's photo and ask what's up with the black face.
She describes as silly, people being compassionate and relatively non-racist, writes that Islamic terrorists hide among Latino immigrants to invade Texas (a claim made for years by Faux News and Republicans with no basis in fact but they are all brown, so they thought they could sell that craziness), all that after drooling over the square jawed blond government Security agent with a great body (hair, blue eyes, the works). Someone's fantasy life on display, as well?
Again your publisher puts a black woman in the cover of every book in the series. Put your words in the mouth of someone, who looks like you and then you can rant.
I didn't sign on for an homage to Republican values and race superiority posing as commonsense safety?, rule of law and national security concerns. I just wanted to read about a field called Applied Topologies, with all the possible stories that could come out of it.
It's a shame that the writer ruins a great premise because she can only move the story forward by touting racist ideology. I won't be reading this writer again. I feel sorry for the writers who pander to the nasty and dangerous to sell books, no matter how lucrative the practice might be.
November 23, 2018
This book has great characters, witty dialogue, and some interesting concepts. There are few books that I have laughed as much at; the viewpoint character is great with sarcasm, even about herself, and honestly that really kept the book going for me. The idea of a bunch of mathematicians accidentally gaining power through their math is not new, but is done in an intriguing way here (and in a way that I'm pretty sure won't turn off non-mathematicians).
The thing I did NOT like about the book was that it became more unbelievable as it went on, in a bad way. The genre suddenly shifted, in a way that was too jarring for me to overlook. This made me sad, after such a great beginning. I really liked the characters, I especially liked the dialogue (and the internal monologue of the protagonist), but I just didn't like how the world developed. If it had started out like Harry Potter, it would have been fine (fantasy literature is great, in its place). But when you start out like Arthur C. Clarke (hardest of the hard SF) and then halfway through the story suddenly shifts to J. K. Rowling, that just doesn't work well (in my opinion).
I would still recommend this book, just because it is hilarious, and it was still enjoyable.
The thing I did NOT like about the book was that it became more unbelievable as it went on, in a bad way. The genre suddenly shifted, in a way that was too jarring for me to overlook. This made me sad, after such a great beginning. I really liked the characters, I especially liked the dialogue (and the internal monologue of the protagonist), but I just didn't like how the world developed. If it had started out like Harry Potter, it would have been fine (fantasy literature is great, in its place). But when you start out like Arthur C. Clarke (hardest of the hard SF) and then halfway through the story suddenly shifts to J. K. Rowling, that just doesn't work well (in my opinion).
I would still recommend this book, just because it is hilarious, and it was still enjoyable.
June 18, 2019
This was distinctly a disappointment. The premise, that mathematicians can do magic by thinking, is a good but not especially novel one. Many of the characters have promise. The author knows some mathematics. They are clearly an Austin native and have a clear vision of the places they describe.
But the execution was so terrible that I found the book, particularly the last quarter, almost unreadable. The villain and the villainy are not explained. Why can the bad guys do magic? Why is the government bungling so badly? The nominal plot is overshadowed by a tedious, under-motivated, and slightly toxic romance between the math grad student protagonist and the assertive and hectoring FBI agent. The characters here were not believable, nor even interesting as wish-fulfillment.
The math could as well be Latin for all the value it supplies. The fact that it's math seems to have no particular plot or world-building significance.
There is a good book waiting to be made from these ingredients, but I cannot recommend this one.
But the execution was so terrible that I found the book, particularly the last quarter, almost unreadable. The villain and the villainy are not explained. Why can the bad guys do magic? Why is the government bungling so badly? The nominal plot is overshadowed by a tedious, under-motivated, and slightly toxic romance between the math grad student protagonist and the assertive and hectoring FBI agent. The characters here were not believable, nor even interesting as wish-fulfillment.
The math could as well be Latin for all the value it supplies. The fact that it's math seems to have no particular plot or world-building significance.
There is a good book waiting to be made from these ingredients, but I cannot recommend this one.
August 2, 2018
A Pocketful of stars : Story: 4 stars, Style and humor: 5 stars.
This is a fun story. The story merits four stars. It is imaginatif, weird, filled with gooky characters. The strength of this story is really the way Thalia Kostis (the main character) tells the story : that alone merits 5 stars. I loved the author's style of storytelling.
This is a fun story. The story merits four stars. It is imaginatif, weird, filled with gooky characters. The strength of this story is really the way Thalia Kostis (the main character) tells the story : that alone merits 5 stars. I loved the author's style of storytelling.
July 16, 2020
Fun read
An enjoyable book featuring applied math coupled with ancient magic being used to fight contemporary bad guys. The characters are described in depth with warmth. There is also a hero who doesn't understand magic or math but who provides muscle and guns. Looking forward to volume two.
An enjoyable book featuring applied math coupled with ancient magic being used to fight contemporary bad guys. The characters are described in depth with warmth. There is also a hero who doesn't understand magic or math but who provides muscle and guns. Looking forward to volume two.
July 25, 2018
A fun and unusual story.
What a fun read. I enjoyed it very much and look forward to the next in the series. I'm not going to try to tell anything about the book. I can only say you have to read it for yourself. Be ready to open up your imagination.
What a fun read. I enjoyed it very much and look forward to the next in the series. I'm not going to try to tell anything about the book. I can only say you have to read it for yourself. Be ready to open up your imagination.
July 27, 2018
Topology
You don't have to know what topology is to enjoy this book. Nor is it necessary to be a mathematician. Perhaps it helps, I wouldn't know! But I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next one.
You don't have to know what topology is to enjoy this book. Nor is it necessary to be a mathematician. Perhaps it helps, I wouldn't know! But I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next one.
August 16, 2018
That was a blast
Fun math as magic Texas graduate students solving crime that also involve s Nebuchadnezzar and grakles. I really can't explain,just highly suggest you read this. I'm off to find the next one. Oh, btw i read this on what's unlimited program.
Fun math as magic Texas graduate students solving crime that also involve s Nebuchadnezzar and grakles. I really can't explain,just highly suggest you read this. I'm off to find the next one. Oh, btw i read this on what's unlimited program.
April 6, 2019
There’s a fine line between wacky banter and irritating jackass-ery.
April 19, 2019
Fun
Intelligence is appreciated in this story and I appreciate that. I love the magical mathematicians! Jump into this story and have a great time
Intelligence is appreciated in this story and I appreciate that. I love the magical mathematicians! Jump into this story and have a great time
June 5, 2021
Really fun
Mathematicians research turns out a lot like magic. Funny, with a good plot and likeable characters. I’m so pleased there’s a whole series to read.
Mathematicians research turns out a lot like magic. Funny, with a good plot and likeable characters. I’m so pleased there’s a whole series to read.
August 18, 2021
Fun, quick fantasy story with an interesting premise and fun characters.
July 14, 2022
Made me chuckle
Want to read
August 5, 2022Math as magic … now this I have to see
September 26, 2023
The meet-cute: He's a fed who represents her funding agency and wants to force her to do some warrantless teaching to find a Fox News talking point come to life!
She's a spicy white (cover model notwithstanding) mathematician with a particular set of skills who resents it, not because she believes brown people have civil liberties or that ICE isn't doing a great job; she just doesn't appreciate being told what to do!
She's a spicy white (cover model notwithstanding) mathematician with a particular set of skills who resents it, not because she believes brown people have civil liberties or that ICE isn't doing a great job; she just doesn't appreciate being told what to do!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews