Wednesday, 25 November 2009
The Beijing conspiracy - Adrian D'Hagé
From China's western-most province, near its border with Pakistan, comes this deadly ultimatum. In the White House Situation Room, the President and his team dismiss it as one of thousands of threats made against the US every week. But CIA agent Curtis O'Connor isn't so sure. The man making the warning is Dr Khalid Kadeer, a brilliant Muslim microbiologist. As an expert on bioterrorism, O'Connor knows Kadeer isn't bluffing. So too does Kate Braithwaite. She works in a hot-zone laboratory, on the USA's own top secret biological weapons. If the results of Kate's research fall into the wrong hands, billions of people will die. As Curtis O'Connor and Kate Braithwaite work to unravel the riddles of the Kadeer's warning and prevent a devastating attack on the world's greatest sporting event, they begin to uncover a threat more sinister than they had imagined.
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Monday, 23 November 2009
Monday, 16 November 2009
1984 - George Orwell
Review:
One year before his death in 1950, George Orwell published a book entitled 1984. Since then, the novel has become a bible to people all over the world. The enthusiasm is not only due to the fact that the novel is written so eloquently, and with such foresight, but also because it makes a bold statement about humanity.
1984’s main character is Winston Smith, a man who doubts the righteousness of the totalitarian government (Big Brother) that rules Oceania, one of three superstates in the world of 1984. We begin the book with Winston, and learn that Big Brother is quite fictional. The government has developed its own language, is at constant war with the other two superstates, and watches its citizens at all times. As Winston’s rebellion progresses, we notice that Big Brother is not as unrealistic as we think.
Oceania, Eastasia, and Eurasia are the three battling superstates. Each has an identical government—one that is at perpetual war in order to gain complete power over its inhabitants. The process used to gain absolute power is one used by past, present, and future dictators, such as Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler. Big Brother manipulates its citizens into convenient modes of thinking. However, instead of only using propaganda techniques, Big Brother also uses Newspeak and telescreens. Newspeak is the official language of Oceania, and has its sole purpose in abolishing all unorthodox thought. (Example: the word bad is replaced by the word ‘ungood.’) The telescreens monitor each citizen that is allowed to be educated, at all times, watching for any action, word, or possible thought that could be unorthodox.
These two Orwell inventions were foretelling—we see the equivalent of Newspeak every day in present day society when we are "politically correct." Telescreens are present in nearly every commercial institution, and sometimes in our own homes. Orwell was obviously warning America and all other countries about the control of totalitarian governments.
When Winston is secretly approached by a coworker, he learns that he is not alone in his belief that Big Brother is ‘ungood.’ Winston and Julia become lovers and eventually confess their feelings of rebelliousness to O’Brien, a fellow coworker who is believed to be a member of a rebel group, the Brotherhood.
Two weeks later comes the shocking and disturbing climax. It is here that the reader is definitely introduced to the metaphysical philosophy behind 1984. Orwell brings terror into the story when he shows us what is really behind Big Brother; Oceania’s government sends a representative into the plot. A government not unlike ones in present-day society is at the head of Oceania, and that is where the stark reality of 1984 becomes evident. The sole manipulative technique used by Big Brother is one that is virtually unrecognizable—mental manipulation. Metaphysics, or the belief that there is existence beyond our comprehension, is represented by Big Brother when the reader learns about doublethink, the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously and fully accepting both. Doublethink and metaphysics are the engines behind the three world governments, and is defined by O’Brien.
"Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else," says O’Brien. " . . . In the mind of the Party, which is collective and immortal. Whatever the Party holds to be truth is truth."
Political tragedies, such as this, are published constantly, but 1984 is one of the few that has remained timeless and will always be regarded as not only historical, but also prophetic. The book reminds us of what has gone wrong, what can go wrong, and what will go wrong when government becomes all-powerful. It is because of this political and social insight that 1984 is one of the best books of all time.
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1984’s main character is Winston Smith, a man who doubts the righteousness of the totalitarian government (Big Brother) that rules Oceania, one of three superstates in the world of 1984. We begin the book with Winston, and learn that Big Brother is quite fictional. The government has developed its own language, is at constant war with the other two superstates, and watches its citizens at all times. As Winston’s rebellion progresses, we notice that Big Brother is not as unrealistic as we think.
Oceania, Eastasia, and Eurasia are the three battling superstates. Each has an identical government—one that is at perpetual war in order to gain complete power over its inhabitants. The process used to gain absolute power is one used by past, present, and future dictators, such as Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler. Big Brother manipulates its citizens into convenient modes of thinking. However, instead of only using propaganda techniques, Big Brother also uses Newspeak and telescreens. Newspeak is the official language of Oceania, and has its sole purpose in abolishing all unorthodox thought. (Example: the word bad is replaced by the word ‘ungood.’) The telescreens monitor each citizen that is allowed to be educated, at all times, watching for any action, word, or possible thought that could be unorthodox.
These two Orwell inventions were foretelling—we see the equivalent of Newspeak every day in present day society when we are "politically correct." Telescreens are present in nearly every commercial institution, and sometimes in our own homes. Orwell was obviously warning America and all other countries about the control of totalitarian governments.
When Winston is secretly approached by a coworker, he learns that he is not alone in his belief that Big Brother is ‘ungood.’ Winston and Julia become lovers and eventually confess their feelings of rebelliousness to O’Brien, a fellow coworker who is believed to be a member of a rebel group, the Brotherhood.
Two weeks later comes the shocking and disturbing climax. It is here that the reader is definitely introduced to the metaphysical philosophy behind 1984. Orwell brings terror into the story when he shows us what is really behind Big Brother; Oceania’s government sends a representative into the plot. A government not unlike ones in present-day society is at the head of Oceania, and that is where the stark reality of 1984 becomes evident. The sole manipulative technique used by Big Brother is one that is virtually unrecognizable—mental manipulation. Metaphysics, or the belief that there is existence beyond our comprehension, is represented by Big Brother when the reader learns about doublethink, the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously and fully accepting both. Doublethink and metaphysics are the engines behind the three world governments, and is defined by O’Brien.
"Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else," says O’Brien. " . . . In the mind of the Party, which is collective and immortal. Whatever the Party holds to be truth is truth."
Political tragedies, such as this, are published constantly, but 1984 is one of the few that has remained timeless and will always be regarded as not only historical, but also prophetic. The book reminds us of what has gone wrong, what can go wrong, and what will go wrong when government becomes all-powerful. It is because of this political and social insight that 1984 is one of the best books of all time.
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Friday, 13 November 2009
Thursday, 12 November 2009
Relentless
I like Stephen King, but I love Dean Koontz!
Relentless is one of those novels that completely drives your imagination. There is absolutely no need to ever ruin this book by making a movie.
Review:
Relentless - A Novel by Dean Koontz will be the newest novel by this world-famous author. Come June 2009, his fans will line up the stores-patiently waiting for another of his suspense thrillers. With what I've heard, this new one promises to be his best yet.
In Relentless, Koontz introduces us to Cullen Greenwich (known as "Cubby" to his closest friends) and his perfect life and family. He has a loving wife, Penny, who is an author and illustrator of children's books. They have an intelligent six-year old son, Milo ("Spooky" to his parents), and a dog named Lassie who is almost part of the family. Cubby is a best-selling novelist and there is nothing else in this world that could make him any happier.
But his perfect little life becomes a little less like it when Sherman Waxx gives his successful new book a bad review. It's not supposed to affect him that much since it's just one bad review, but Waxx is known to make or break your career and your life. Cubby tries shrugging it off but when he accidentally sees where the recluse Waxx eats his lunch. Curiosity kills the cat and in this case, it could cost Cubby more than what he had originally bargained for.
Sociopaths like Waxx is a usual in Koontz novels but he seems to offer more this time. Koontz' flair for destroying our glass-cased lives is what he specializes in and he doesn't seem to fail us here. I wonder if Cubby's profession has something to do with Koontz being a writer. He is, after all, known for injecting a part of him in his books and I don't think this will be any different. June seems so far away for a novel that promises to get all of us hooked. Relentless - A Novel by Dean Koontz could just be the most anticipated suspense-thrillers of the year!
For more information, check other Relentless - A Novel by Dean Koontz book reviews.
Erika Ayala works part time for a consumer review company.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Erika_Ayala
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In Relentless, Koontz introduces us to Cullen Greenwich (known as "Cubby" to his closest friends) and his perfect life and family. He has a loving wife, Penny, who is an author and illustrator of children's books. They have an intelligent six-year old son, Milo ("Spooky" to his parents), and a dog named Lassie who is almost part of the family. Cubby is a best-selling novelist and there is nothing else in this world that could make him any happier.
But his perfect little life becomes a little less like it when Sherman Waxx gives his successful new book a bad review. It's not supposed to affect him that much since it's just one bad review, but Waxx is known to make or break your career and your life. Cubby tries shrugging it off but when he accidentally sees where the recluse Waxx eats his lunch. Curiosity kills the cat and in this case, it could cost Cubby more than what he had originally bargained for.
Sociopaths like Waxx is a usual in Koontz novels but he seems to offer more this time. Koontz' flair for destroying our glass-cased lives is what he specializes in and he doesn't seem to fail us here. I wonder if Cubby's profession has something to do with Koontz being a writer. He is, after all, known for injecting a part of him in his books and I don't think this will be any different. June seems so far away for a novel that promises to get all of us hooked. Relentless - A Novel by Dean Koontz could just be the most anticipated suspense-thrillers of the year!
For more information, check other Relentless - A Novel by Dean Koontz book reviews.
Erika Ayala works part time for a consumer review company.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Erika_Ayala
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Saturday, 7 November 2009
The Diamond Age
Overview:
In Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson took science fiction to dazzling new levels. Now, in The Diamond Age, he delivers another stunning tale. Set in twenty-first century Shanghai, it is the story of what happens when a state-of-the-art interactive device falls in the hands of a street urchin named Nell. Her life—and the entire future of humanity—is about to be decoded and reprogrammed…
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Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Hyperion
Overview:
On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all. On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope--and a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands.
Pros: Engaging, absorbing, unusual, graceful, elegant. Has depth and character, wit and humor
Cons: Some might find parts of it slow; cliffhanger ending
Rating: 5 out of 5
First published 10/20/2003
Previously published on Epinions.com
Dan Simmons’ “Hyperion” is a science fiction “Canterbury Tales,” with seven pilgrims telling their stories to each other as they journey to a far-off land together. It’s been long enough since I last read the “Canterbury Tales,” however, that I wouldn’t even dare to attempt further comparison. Besides, this book deserves to stand on its own two feet.
The time is centuries in our future, when our planet has been destroyed and humanity has moved into the stars. A planet called Hyperion lies just outside of the “Web” of humanity, and it holds a strange and deadly secret. A creature called the Shrike stalks its sands, slaughtering many and sparing others seemingly without sense. It is intimately tied to the Time Tombs, empty tombs surrounded by entropic fields that protect them from the ravages of time… and move them backwards through time. The so-called Church of the Shrike has spread throughout the Web, and many believe that the Shrike, or Lord of Pain, is humanity’s destruction–its punishment for ruining Old Earth in something called simply the Big Mistake.
The attacks of the Shrike have escalated in recent times, and an alien force called the Ousters seems set to invade human space via Hyperion. The last of Hyperion’s citizens–those the Shrike hasn’t killed off yet–are being evacuated. Yet the Church of the Shrike has sponsored one last pilgrimage, and only seven very specific people are to be allowed on this pilgrimage.
The alcoholic Consul has no wish to return to Hyperion, yet knows he must. The Priest returns bearing more pain than any man should have to experience. The Colonel’s agenda on this pilgrimage has nothing at all to do with petitioning the Shrike. The Poet’s past is intimately tied up in the history of Hyperion, while the Teacher cares only about the welfare of his baby daughter. The Templar ship’s captain is a mystery unto himself, and the Detective came in someone else’s place entirely.
Each of these people carries a story, a story that ties him or her intimately to humanity, history, Hyperion, and the Shrike itself. One of them may be an alien spy. And this is a most dangerous pilgrimage on which they have embarked…
All the grace and beauty of a rose unfolding
The universe of this book is not a simple one. There is a great deal going on in it–much history, many new terms and technologies, great religions and societies. There are two major dangers for such a universe: one is the author who stops to explain everything going on, either by inserting pages and pages of exposition or by having characters core-dump large amounts of information to each other that they really have no good reason to discuss. The other is the author who tosses about terms and references without ever adequately explaining them, so that ultimately you wander around the book confused, like a lone visitor in a vast museum where none of the displays are labeled.
Simmons finds the most graceful and elegant middle ground I’ve ever seen. In the beginning you will see terms go by that you don’t understand, and sometimes it may confuse you for a short time–characters speak naturally, which means they don’t explain things they have no reason to. Simmons certainly avoids long stretches of boring exposition (I can’t remember reading a single one, which means either they weren’t there or they were so engrossing and seamless that I simply didn’t notice). But Simmons has set things up such that each pilgrim’s story ties intimately into the fabric of the universe he has woven, such that eventually, in a most natural and perfectly-paced way, things become clear.
The Big Mistake, Sad King Billy’s colony of artists, the Ouster invasion… you’ll experience the elements of each one for yourself in time, rather than having it force-fed to you as background for the current story.
It is, quite simply, one of the most elegant tales I’ve ever read. The prose is rich and wonderful. In fact, “Hyperion” is so absorbing that when I reached the end of chapter one, at just the 102-page mark (out of 482), I had to stop for a while before moving on to chapter two. I had gotten so caught up in the first pilgrim’s story, so drawn into it, that I had to take a little time to disengage myself before moving on to the next tale. And that’s very high praise–flaws tend to pull me out of a narrative pretty quickly. (In fact, I remember only one very brief moment in the entire book when something struck me as “off”–when one of the pilgrims’ stories includes a particular scene that, as far as I’m aware, he shouldn’t have been able to know about or deduce in any way.)
That wouldn’t be the last time I’d have to stop and take a break before moving on, either. This is no light beach-reading–it’s an interconnected, deeply moving web of tales. Reading the story of one pilgrim sheds light on small details of interactions between characters a hundred or more pages earlier. And it isn’t the all-too-convenient sort of web of connections and coincidences that stretches suspension of disbelief in some stories; in “Hyperion” it’s a much subtler and more organic thing.
Each character has a strong, palpably different voice from the others, without being ridiculously quirky or overdone (well, okay, one character is a bit overdone, but that’s deliberate affectation on his part). Each one is human and complex, not a stereotype or cardboard cutout.
The story contains elements of horror, science fiction, and mysticism. Do be aware that if you’re squeamish there are a few scenes that would certainly make you uncomfortable, and there are also elements of explicit sex. None of it is gratuitous, in my opinion.
“Hyperion” is a well-known book, and that is for very good reason. A few people who simply must have fight scenes and explosions on every other page might find parts of this book a bit slow, but for myself, the pacing couldn’t have been more perfect.
The book does end on a cliffhanger, so if you plan to read it, go ahead and get the sequel, “The Fall of Hyperion,” before you start reading “Hyperion.” You won’t want to wait to start it once you finish the first book.
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