le Carré – A Delicate Truth

A Delicate Truth is a 2013 spy novel by John le Carré. Set in 2011, the book flashes back to a 2008 joint American-British covert mission on the Rock of Gibraltar and the consequences for two British civil servants. …

John-Le-Carre-A-Delicate-Truth

Many would agree that le Carré is one of the most skilled writers working today. But many of his recent books have disappointed in that the plots have been too confusing. Too cryptic. His lead characters hardly ever know what’s happening.

But this one worked for me. 🙂

I did relate to Christopher “Kit” Probyn and Toby Bell.

Jack Reacher – Make Me

Make_me_-_bookcoverMake Me is the twentieth book in the Jack Reacher series written by Lee Child. …

Reacher makes a stop in a place called Mother’s Rest. There’s a woman waiting for a missing colleague, a cryptic note about two hundred deaths, and a small town full of silent, watchful people.

More of the same. If you like Reacher, you’ll like this book. In fact, it’s a little better than average. 🙂

The Roads Must Roll

“The Roads Must Roll” is a 1940 science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein. In the late 1960s, it was awarded a retrospective Nebula Award …

The story is set in the near future, when “roadtowns” (wide rapidly moving passenger platforms similar to moving sidewalks, but reaching speeds of 100 mph) have replaced highways and railways as the dominant transportation method in the United States. …

Circle Line Rendered Section

Heinlein’s vision might just be starting to come true.

A Futuristic Proposal to Turn the World’s Oldest Subway System Into a Giant Moving Walkway

book – The Desert Spear – review

I downloaded The Warded Man (2009) on a single recommendation I heard at a party.

Good call.

Book 2 – The Desert Spear – I liked much, much better.

The novel continues the story of mankind’s battle against demons known as “corelings”, which rise from the planet’s core each night to feast upon humans.

The Desert Spear is book two of the Demon quintet. The Deliverer has returned, but who is he?

Arlen Bales, formerly of the small hamlet of Tibbet’s Brook, learned harsh lessons about life as he grew up in a world where hungry demons stalk the night and humanity is trapped by its own fear. He chose a different path; chose to fight inherited apathy and the corelings, and eventually he became the Painted Man, a reluctant saviour. But the figure emerging from the desert, believed by many to be “The Deliverer”, is not Arlen. He is a friend and betrayer, and though he carries the spear from the Deliverer’s tomb, he also heads a vast army intent on a holy war against the demon plague and anyone else who stands in his way. …

Desert Spear

I’m hooked. I’ve already downloaded books 3 and 4. Book 5 is scheduled to arrive in the near future.

Game of Thrones Season 5

Excellent.

Overall I feel the TV series is better than the books.

This is the first season that contains original content not found in George R. R. Martin’s novels.

Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.

For the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards, the series received 24 nominations, the most of any series.

I’m looking forward to season 6.

Tyrion better than ever
Tyrion better than ever

The Warded Man (2009) – a review

The Painted Man (titled The Warded Man in the US) is a fantasy novel written by American writer Peter V. Brett. It is the first part of the Demon Cycle. …

… a world plagued by the attacks of demons known as corelings, which rise from the planet’s core each night to feast upon humans. …

The ongoing attrition of these attacks have reduced humanity from an advanced state of technology to a ‘dark age’. The only defense against the corelings are wards (magical runes) that can be drawn, painted, or inscribed to form protective barriers …

As the novel progresses, the protagonists each embark upon their own “hero’s journey” in an effort to save humanity. …

As of now the series is planned to be 5 books long. …

It has been confirmed that the Demon Cycle has been optioned for film production by director Paul W. S. Anderson …

thepaintedman

Ambitious.

I can’t really compare it to anything else I’ve read.

There are many things you could complain about in book 1. But I’ll be downloading book 2 – The Desert Spear. The main characters have got me interested. And the plot of book 2 sounds fascinating. Almost something out of Dune.

JACK REACHER novels

 

Lee Child, as Jim Grant is now known, sits in his office in Manhattan. He’s 6-foot-5 and has a blandly handsome face. It recalls a line Child once wrote about Jack Reacher:

“His face looked like it had been chipped out of rock by a sculptor who had ability but not much time.”

Child created Reacher from the smoldering embers of his own rage. …

The Curious Case of Lee Child

 

Jim Grant aka Lee Child
Jim Grant aka Lee Child

Click on the photo to read Jim Grant’s story. I’m amazed that a Brit from the TV industry so convincingly writes as an American ex-military cop.

15th book in the Jack Reacher series

Worth Dying For is the fifteenth book in the Jack Reacher series written by Lee Child. …

Worth-dying-for-bookcover

What’s wrong with Reacher?

For the second novel in a row he got beat up. AND did not get the girl.

Reacher’s getting old. 😀

 

EX_MACHINA

There’s much talk of when the first computer will gain consciousness. And supersede mankind.

EX_MACHINA is a 2015 British science fiction thriller film written and directed by author and screenwriter Alex Garland, making his directorial debut. The film stars Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander and Oscar Isaac. …

Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.

Ex Machina has received widespread critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 91%, based on 174 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. …

On Metacritic, the film has a score of 78 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating “generally favorable reviews”.

Garland is the guy who wrote that terrible 1996 novel – The Beach. 😦

Here’s the state of the art in 2015, a Toshiba humanoid named Aiko Chihira.Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. Humans have a few years left, obviously. 🙂

related – Uncanny valley