Tim’s
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(group member since May 18, 2020)
Tim’s
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from the SAPL Escape the Earth group.
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Don't forget to actually read the book first!
I am really not sure how to describe this. It's like an escape room in book form with multiverse overtones and lots of Gen X references. I have some questions:-Why was everything based in Seattle? If there are players all over the world, how do the others participate?
-How did K even win the game? It wasn't like he rolled doubles three times in a row or defeated an Orc or something.
-Why does Alan Scarpio like French toast and rhubarb so much?
-What is up with Jeff Goldblum?
There are more but I'll limit it to those.
Ultimately, I really like the idea, the concept. I wish there had been something that made it feel more worldwide as opposed to being only open to those few Grunge rockers that happen to also like Steely Dan (an excellent touch by the way). Otherwise this was a really enjoyable ride
Remember to read the book first! We're not responsible for spoilers :)https://soundcloud.com/saplpodcast/ge...
I go back and forth on this one. Would humans be better off raised in isolation by robotic mothers that are really retrofitted battle droids? Based on some of the behaviors I've seen in the young and the look of utter defeat (or sleep deprivation) on their parents faces, maybe it would be better. Of course the other link could be that there's no TV. The kids are actually forced to learn and do things to survive, that has to have an impact right?And what if Zak and Kai had come to blows? Would their robotic mothers then have a duel by proxy? What's the protocol here?
At the outset of Mother Code, the story line hits a little close to home. You see the backdrop to the story is a man-made pandemic that only the US military knows about. They essentially volun-tell a couple groups of scientists to a.) work on a cure for the chosen few or b.) work on New Dawn, a hail Mary program to save the human race by genetically engineering embryos to be immune to the contagion. The problem is that babies tend to be helpless (or at least they pretend to be). Someone would have to take care of them. Enter the battle ready robot mothers, specifically programmed with the personalities of the embryos's real bio-moms. With their wings and lasers they sound a little like Buzz Lightyear but there's no Emporer Zurg. We are our own worst enemy in this story.
And yet despite all the death and loss in this I'd say the ending was pretty optimistic.
I'd recommend this to anyone looking for some near future sci-fi. It has an apocalyptic feel but it's not overpowering. It has dystopian feel but doesn't at the same time. It's just a well-crafted piece of science fiction. Highly recommended.
Here's the link for the latest Escape the Earth episode! Be sure to read the book before listening.https://soundcloud.com/saplpodcast/ex...
Library of the Dead is not without its challenges. The world that Huchu has built is an interesting mixture of past, present, and future. There's a melding of magic and science. His main character is a street-wise teenage ghost-talker with green hair and Doc Martins. She's got brains and attitude galore.What's not to like about that? Well, since you asked. . .
A hard case character can sometimes take a little time to bond with. What draws people into a character is when they feel connected to them and care about the same things. Ropa hides that caring a lot at the beginning. It also takes a smidgen of time for the story to settle on a plot line to follow through. Once you understand Ropa's motivations go beyond chasing dosh and her mission becomes more personal the book becomes much more engaging.
My favorite part is where Ropa has broken into a house through the bathroom window and someone comes into the bathroom forcing her to retreat to the tub and pull the privacy screen. Then she has sit silently while the occupant has a violent BM that Ropa describe as "the Luftwaffe bombing god fearing villagers" and using "restricted nerve agents." Anytime I've walked into a public bathroom to a scene like that, I walk right back out again. I'll drive home to pee.
Anyway, interesting characters? Check. Interesting world? Check. Once the plot gets moving is the story compelling? It is. You just have to work for it.
I swear I wrote a review on this. Maybe it's in Davy Jones's locker!I think this book is a great bridge between Sci-Fi and horror. There's a lot of solid science in it and it's a really fun read.
It really bothers me that I can't find my written review. Too late now. Here's the podcast link but read the book first!
https://soundcloud.com/saplpodcast/lo...
https://soundcloud.com/saplpodcast/un...Read the book first because this one is impossible not to spoil...
When I read Cormac McCarthy's The Road, I put the book down after finishing it and felt a number of things (aside from a mild depression). I felt that I had read something that was immensely important and not only that, but also like I had read something undefinable and new. I felt like I was missing half of the message Mr. McCarthy wanted us to take away from the book (apparently he is the master at this because Blood Meridian caused the same feeling, along with a mild disgust for humans in general).So why I am writing about Cormac McCarthy in a review of Susanna Clarke's Piranesi? Because it made me feel very similar. I, at least, have not read anything like it. It's really hard to define what it's really about. The plot's simple enough but try to explain it to somebody in a way that they can follow you. Go ahead, I'll wait. . .
Is it related to the Rime of the Ancient Mariner in some way? "At length did cross an Albatross, Through the fog it came, As if it had been a Christian soul, We hailed it in God's name." Piranesi does start with the arrival of an albatross but, unlike the weary mariner, in this story the albatross lives. Perhaps all the dead Piranesi cares for are like the mariner's crew (all of whom are claimed by death)? And his return to the real world is analogous to the mariner being pulled from the water on his home shore?
Maybe I am just reading too much into it. Either way, you should definitely go read Piranesi so you too can feel as not smart as me. . .
https://soundcloud.com/saplpodcast/do...Here's the episode link for Machinehood. Remember to read the book before listening. We'll be releasing an interview with SB Divya soon!
Big pharma, big tech, and social media had some sort of weird love triangle and the result is S. B. Divia's Machinehood. Automation and AI have taken all the jobs. All humans are forced to ingest a daily regimen of micro-robotics called pills that will alter their bodies and their neuro-chemistry allowing them to better compete with machines. Some, called vee-mods, have taken the extreme step of integrating robotics and AIs into their physical bodies. As with all such things, there is a cost.
Most people make money through participation in the gig economy or live off tips earned as a social media influencer. Olga Ramirez makes some of her money this way but she also earns money protecting pill designers from protesters. It's a game where nobody is supposed to get hurt. It's only fun until someone loses an eye though. A terror organization known as the Machinehood chooses to introduce itself via an attack on the pill designer Olga (AKA Welga) is protecting.
The Machinehood has technology that threatens to dismantle humanity's way of life and also threatens a very fragile peace between the world powers. It becomes a race against the clock for Welga to find out who is really behind the Machinehood before the the pills she's taking to keep up destroy her.
This book is essentially a nightmare. Your every move is seen by live Facebook updates. Pills are the cure for everything. No regular work. I get a headache just thinking about it. But the pace is good, the world is interesting, and it's easy to follow the story line. I felt it was a bit simplistic in places (I would have liked one more red herring in the intrigue mix) and unrealistic in others (I don't see anyone doing a sexy dance when they haven't showered for three days and their body is failing them from pill over-use). Overall a very nice imaginative piece of work.
I hated this book because I loved this book. Naomi Kritzer has craftily weaved themes into the story of Stephania Quinnpacket that are both serious and interesting. Stephania and her mother Laura, are on the lam from Staph's violent and abusive father. Constantly moving from place to place does not really lend itself to making friends in the traditional way. For friendship Steph turns to CatNet, a social media site where social groups called clowders are secretly organized and managed by an empathetic AI who loves cat pictures (and who operates under the screen name Cheshire Cat). When Cheshire Cat helps Steph hack a Sex Ed robot at the local high school it makes national news. This coincides with Laura being taken to the hospital. While going through her mother's things, Steph finds more information on her father that calls into question everything her mother has told her.
Kritzer adeptly explores issues like automation, domestic abuse, and the responsibility of a creator for the creation's actions (Frankenstein anyone). She does so while continuing to ramp up the tension and while making the pages fly by until you reach an ending that is both satisfying and surprising and not really an ending but maybe a new beginning.
I hate this book because now I will also have to checkout the new one, Chaos on CatNet whenever it comes out. Ugh!
I've been told that this book is a Sci-Fi subgenre called Godpunk, which both surprised me and didn't. With all the airships, the late 1800's setting, and the class struggle it has a definite Steampunk vibe. But Godpunk? I've never heard of that. But then again, I've also never heard of Elfpunk or Lobsterpunk (whatever that is). Clark's story is an alternative history. It is set in free New Orleans, so-called because the city was liberated by revolting slaves. In this universe the American Civil War has drawn on and now sits at an uneasy truce. The main character Jacqueline, AKA Creeper, is a 13 year-old orphan who runs the streets avoiding constables and gangs alike, subsisting on the kindness of a few trusted sources and whatever she can steal.
Creeper also has a secret: she has travelling companion. Oya, the goddess of winds and storms, often helps Creeper out by protecting her, sending visions, etc.
When Creeper overhears some confederates talking about obtaining a deadly weapon known as the Black God's Drums from a Haitian scientist. She knows the information will be valuable. Creeper teams up with Anne Marie, the captain of an airship, to try to bring the scientist back before he can supply the confederates with the weapon that may help them end the stalemate.
Throw in some zombie-making nuns and feral child and you can't go wrong.
I was even more surprised to learn that I already read a Godpunk selection: The Gods of Jade and Shadow. Huh, you live and you learn.
https://soundcloud.com/saplpodcast/tu...Here's the link for the episode. Be sure to read the book first. There are spoilers!
https://bookriot.com/best-sci-fi-thri...List of 10 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Thrillers from Book RIot, in the event you didn't have enough reading to do.
https://soundcloud.com/saplpodcast/tu...Here's the link to this month's podcast episode! Remember, there are spoilers. Definitely read this book!
Here's a list from Book Riot that I found interesting. Clockwork Boys, Quantum Thief, and Quantum Magician are all going on my "want to read" shelf right away. Check out the rest here:
https://bookriot.com/sff-heist-novels...
