A book for nerds written by a nerd.

Bob got rich selling his software company. But is killed crossing the street in Vegas.

Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets. …

Amazon

He’s a human (sort of) Von Neumann probe.

This book is juvenile. It will appeal most to teenage geeks. But I enjoyed it thoroughly too. There are many interesting concepts.

The down-to-earth tone is somewhat similar to Old Man’s War and The Martian.

Check some GoodReads reviews.

The second book in the series is supposed to be even better. I’ve already downloaded it.

I’ve enjoyed all the Reacher books. This is one of the best.

I downloaded Lee Child’s  most recent book on the day of release November 7, 2017.

A former major in the United States Army Military Police Corps, Reacher roams the United States taking odd jobs and investigating suspicious and frequently dangerous situations. …

The plot finds Reacher once again in the Midwest, this time being thrust into an investigation involving the illegal opioid trade, the pharmaceutical companies that often turn a blind eye in the name of profits, and the people dependent on them.

The Midnight Line

Several times over the years I’ve tried to read this book.

I finally succeeded.

Cryptonomicon is a 1999 novel by American author Neal Stephenson, set in two different time periods.

One group of characters are World War II-era Allied codebreakers and tactical-deceptionoperatives affiliated with the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park (UK), and disillusioned Axis military and intelligence figures.

The second narrative is set in the late 1990s, with characters that are (in part) descendants of those of the earlier time period, who employ cryptologic, telecom and computer technology to build an underground data haven in the fictional Sultanate of Kinakuta. Their goal is to facilitate anonymous Internet banking using electronic money and (later) digital gold currency …

It’s been called the “ultimate geek novel”. Praised by many.

Personally I found it too difficult. Too long. There were too many characters introduced. I never really grew to care about any of them.

Not recommended.

Origin is a 2017 novel by American author Dan Brown and the fifth installment in his Robert Langdon series, following Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, and Inferno.

I’m a sucker for Tom Hanks, the Harvard University professor of religious iconology and symbology. 

Did enjoy the 4 proceeding books.

I like the exotic settings. The insights into history. The references to science.

Origin takes us to Spain. Bilbao and Barcelona.

People complain that Brown’s books are formulaic. This one follows the usual formula though the chase is not quite as convoluted.

My favourite character is Winston, a quantum-computer AI assistant, named after Winston Churchill. This book is tech heavy, another thing I enjoyed.

The plot is as grandiose as it gets:

Where do we come from?
…. Where are we going?

Those who hate Dan Brown will really hate this book. For those who enjoy the escapism … it may be his best yet.

I recommend the book. GoodReads has it at 3.94 / 5 as I post.

 

 Fifth Season is a 2015 science fantasy novel by N. K. Jemisin. It was awarded the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2016. It is the first volume in the Broken Earth series …

The Fifth Season takes place on a planet with a single supercontinent called the Stillness. Every few centuries, its inhabitants endure what they call a “Fifth Season” of catastrophic climate change …

Orogenes: People with the ability to control energy, particularly that of the earth (directly) and temperature (indirectly). They can cause and prevent earthquakes, and when angered can unintentionally kill living things …

Guardians: Warriors, hunters, and assassins tasked with controlling orogenes …

Stone eaters: Moving sculpture-like beings …

The Fifth Season is being adapted for television …

Jemisin won the Hugo two years in a row for this series. It’s getting rave reviews. But I found the plot too complicated. Precious inventiveness over proper storytelling. I’ve no plans to continue on to book 2.

In fact … I downloaded the new Dan Brown instead.

I really enjoyed Old Man’s War (2005), the first book in the series.

Assumed the sequel would be not nearly as good.

Happily, I was wrong. Ghost Brigades is quite different. But just as good.

The Colonial Defense Forces (CDF) learn that one of their top consciousness transfer scientists, Charles Boutin, has turned traitor and sparked an unprecedented alliance between three other species to wipe out humanity. …

The CDF send a clone of the traitor to apprehend. After all, a clone knows him best.

It’s juvenile in one way, appealing to teenage boys. But quite complex in other ways. A believable alternative universe.

I plan to continue to books 3  and 4 –  The Last Colony (2007) and Zoe’s Tale (2008).

When a lonely old man is found dead in his Reykjavík flat, the only clues are a cryptic note left by the killer and a photograph of a young girl’s grave. Inspector Erlendur discovers that many years ago the victim was accused, but not convicted, of an unsolved crime, a rape. Did the old man’s past come back to haunt him?

I was interested in the Iceland setting. And had seen good reviews for this book.

Jar City was published 2000 but did not come out in English until 2005 and later.

I was a bit disappointed, actually. The plot compares poorly against the best in the genre. Ian Rankin, for example.

I’m not sure I’ll carry on with any other books in the series.

On the other hand, I’ve heard that subsequent books are better.

Jar City was made into an Icelandic film.