K.A. Ashcomb's Blog, page 59

Book Review: Count Zero by William Gibson

You cannot utter cyberpunk without mentioning William Gibson. He painted a weird world with his first book Neuromancer and set the standards for future cyberpunk. Back when I was reading the book and reading a lot more of the genre the picture those books painted didn’t seem so close, but now many things Gibson wrote has sneaked into our current life, and we ignore them, like corporate surveillance (and power,) biohacking (still in its early steps, but getting there,) algorithms, sex robot ho...

Book Review: The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker

I have mixed feelings about this book. While it provoked me to think and ponder how we find meaning in life, it also made me wince to the outdated ideas of psychoanalysis and to the statements that all that is to know about human psyche is known (when the book was written, and clearly the book shows that not to be the case.) I agree with Ernest Becker’s statement that to find life bearable, we need to have meaning, and it has to have value. And I agree that modern individualistic and material...

Writing: Character Sheet: Mrs. Maybury or Alice to her friends

Greetings everyone from here up north! I’m visiting my family. My sister just had a baby boy. Lovely thing…really. There is nothing like a brand new baby smell. Better than buying a car.

Here is an appropriate character for the occasion. Its the aunt you dread coming to visit. Based on my sister’s older kid’s reaction, I’m just that. He pulled my hair, sat on me, tried to tickle me to death, and insisted me reading a bedtime story which would never end.

Anyway, here is Alice Maybury: (I am ki...

Book Review: The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett

If there was ever a love letter to a continent, then The Last Continent is it. Terry Pratchett makes a kudos to Australia and its customs, drawing elements to his story both from oral traditions and cultural customs. The best part of the story is how Rincewind will inhabit all the stories told and become a legend, but I say no more and leave it for you to read. The other thing I enjoyed highly was Pratchett creating a god of evolution who is an atheist. But I’m afraid The Last Continent isn’t...

Book Review: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

It is not easy to sum up this book in a short review, but I can imagine it wasn’t easy to sum up human history into 443 pages, so I’ll try. Yuval Noah Harari goes over human history from hunter-gatherers to modern civilizations with science that both are sustaining our lives and helping us to destroy this lovely planet (mass-production and so on.) He takes a critical look into our history and what we take for granted like agriculture. It is what made us who we are now, making possible the gro...

Writing: Character Sheet: James Hardrick

Hi everyone! Sorry about the odd posting time. I’m going to have a weird day ahead.

It was due time to reveal another one of my characters. This one has a minor role, and all this history I wrote will not show which is a shame as I can see James’ life folding before my eyes. But maybe in my fourth or fifth or sixth book. Who knows.

Anyway, here is James Hardrick:

Role in Story: Minor

Occupation: Chief of the prison censored is staying in. He established the penitentiary. Before becoming the h...

Book Review: Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk

Chuck Palahniuk’s books defy any descriptions, making it hard to review them without giving too much away, but still giving something to chew (pun intended.)  Instead of saying something about the plot or the characters (which is better left for you to get to know and for you to piece together as everything unravels), I will review the book what thoughts it evoked in me, what I felt, and what I now think after time has passed. But before we get to that, I have to say I always love reading Pal...

Book Review: Who Owns the Future? by Jaron Lanier

This is a horrible book. Not because of the subject, but how it was written. I bought it because I listened to Jaron Lanier to talk about this subject, and I was instantly drawn into his thoughts and opinions on how automation and algorithms will impact the economy and our job situations. And he is right about the fact that at the moment the money of the content on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and so on goes to the companies and servers where they are kept rather than to the content makers (...

My Top 3 Books in August

Hi Everyone!

Sorry I missed the last post. A short trip to the seaside.

Here is something new I decided to try. From now on, I pick my three favorite books of the month and give a short summary of why.

The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr. The reason I picked this as my August favorite was that it is not only practical for anyone wishing to write, but it also tells a lot about our minds and how we interact with the world. I loved this book. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal E...

Book Review: The Future of Humanity: Terraforming Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality and Our Destiny Beyond Earth by Michio Kaku

Oh! This is an excellent book for anyone wanting to write science fiction. It goes over our modern technology for reaching to the stars and why and when should we want to do that. It speculates the possible steps needed for space travel from the scientific perspective, taking into account the social sphere of such a colossal endeavor. Michio Kaku ponders the potential social and technical problems we might face when terraforming the universe. Also, discussion about the possible outcomes whic...