David Schwinghammer's Blog, page 7
May 16, 2018
The Cutting Edge
THE CUTTING EDGE starts as a rather traditional serial killer mystery with a little Jeffery Deaver thematic interest. A diamond cutter is murdered, along with two of his young customers. So, we learn a little about how the diamond trade works.
When Amelia walks the scene she learns that two possible witnesses are missing. One had a meeting just prior to the murders. The other, with the first initials “VL” was shot during the murders.
Since he has his own point of view, we learn this is the diamond cutter's assistant, Vimal. A subplot is Vimal's relationship with his father, also a diamond cutter, who wants Vimal to follow in his footsteps. Vimal has other ideas. He wants to be a sculpter, like Michaelangelo, who saw a piece of granite or marble as an image that needed to be released, like the statue of “David”.
Soon, the term kimberlite becomes important. There is some digging going on in Brooklyn where a geo-thermal project is going on (Kimberlite, the stone diamonds come from was found there.) But, apparently, a gas line is cut and two people are killed, forcing the city to shut down the project. We thought we were dealing with a psychopath who had something against young couples who were defiling the earth by misusing diamonds.
A little past midpoint Deaver throws another wrench into the works. A lawyer asks Lincoln to research the case against his client, a notorious Mexican drug smuggler, El Halcon. For some reason Lincoln takes the case, earning the enmity of law enforcement operations who want El Halcon put in a maximum security prison.
Okay, the last doesn't seem to have anything to do with either the diamond murders or the geo-thermal digging. When I first read it, I thought it was an unnecessary sidetrack. But it's just another one of Deaver's wild twists and it leads to the resolution of the whole case.
As I said, this isn't an ordinary mystery, because we learn something about diamonds, but just when we think we know who did what, Deaver adds another character at the end who planned the whole thing. I had no trouble keeping track of these people; I just thought there were too many masterminds involved. And the last one may have been an attempt to get you to read the next book. It's a kind of threat.
When Amelia walks the scene she learns that two possible witnesses are missing. One had a meeting just prior to the murders. The other, with the first initials “VL” was shot during the murders.
Since he has his own point of view, we learn this is the diamond cutter's assistant, Vimal. A subplot is Vimal's relationship with his father, also a diamond cutter, who wants Vimal to follow in his footsteps. Vimal has other ideas. He wants to be a sculpter, like Michaelangelo, who saw a piece of granite or marble as an image that needed to be released, like the statue of “David”.
Soon, the term kimberlite becomes important. There is some digging going on in Brooklyn where a geo-thermal project is going on (Kimberlite, the stone diamonds come from was found there.) But, apparently, a gas line is cut and two people are killed, forcing the city to shut down the project. We thought we were dealing with a psychopath who had something against young couples who were defiling the earth by misusing diamonds.
A little past midpoint Deaver throws another wrench into the works. A lawyer asks Lincoln to research the case against his client, a notorious Mexican drug smuggler, El Halcon. For some reason Lincoln takes the case, earning the enmity of law enforcement operations who want El Halcon put in a maximum security prison.
Okay, the last doesn't seem to have anything to do with either the diamond murders or the geo-thermal digging. When I first read it, I thought it was an unnecessary sidetrack. But it's just another one of Deaver's wild twists and it leads to the resolution of the whole case.
As I said, this isn't an ordinary mystery, because we learn something about diamonds, but just when we think we know who did what, Deaver adds another character at the end who planned the whole thing. I had no trouble keeping track of these people; I just thought there were too many masterminds involved. And the last one may have been an attempt to get you to read the next book. It's a kind of threat.
May 1, 2018
When the Astors Owned New York
John Jacob Astor made his fortune trading furs with the Indians. When he went bust, he had enough to buy up a large percentage of land on Manhattan Island. At the time it was nothing more than a small city of 25,000 or so.
The Astors were plagued by the press as part of the original Astor's money came from tenements. They still owned them four generations later. William Waldorf and John Jacob IV saw nothing wrong with it.
These two cousins hated each other but they enhanced the Astor fortune by building luxury hotels, the most famous of which was the Waldorf-Astoria aimed at the rich. Eventually both would build more luxury hotels, including the Astor and the St. Regis. They never let personal animosity interfere with business. William built the Waldorf; John Jacob IV added on to the Astoria.
This book centers on William Waldorf and John Jacob IV of Titanic fame. William thought Americans were a bunch of louts, especially the press; he moved to England where he bought two castles and had his eye on becoming a baron. John Jacob IV coveted a military title, and he got one during the Spanish-American War when he sent an artillery regiment to fight alongside Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders. JJ IV witnessed the charge up San Juan Hill, and this got him the military title of Lt. Col. he so much desired. From then on he was known as Colonel. The press thought he was a jackass and that's what they called him.
Both of them proved the old adage, “Money will not make you happy.” JJ IV's wife, Ava, was a noted beauty and she knew it. They argued constantly until JJ IV's mother Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor, queen of New York's exclusive “Four Hundred,” died and he was able to quietly divorce Ava, only to fall in love with a seventeen year old girl; he was 46; this was shortly before the Titanic sunk, and that's how JJ IV is remembered; he went down with the ship after making sure his wife was safe in a lifeboat. Thanks to his donations to WWI veterans and other charities, William eventually got his peerage. He donated one of his castles to his son, Waldorf, as a wedding present. Waldorf married American spitfire, Nancy Langhorne, the first woman to win in a seat in Parliament. She was a suffragette and staunchly liberal while William was more conservative than Rush Limbaugh. When he finally won his title, Waldorf disapproved as he had already won a seat in the Commons. If William were to accept the title, when he died, Waldorf would have to move to the ineffective House of Lords. They never spoke again, nor did he speak to his daughter Pauline who also disapproved. He died a pig-headed, lonely old man.
The Astors were plagued by the press as part of the original Astor's money came from tenements. They still owned them four generations later. William Waldorf and John Jacob IV saw nothing wrong with it.
These two cousins hated each other but they enhanced the Astor fortune by building luxury hotels, the most famous of which was the Waldorf-Astoria aimed at the rich. Eventually both would build more luxury hotels, including the Astor and the St. Regis. They never let personal animosity interfere with business. William built the Waldorf; John Jacob IV added on to the Astoria.
This book centers on William Waldorf and John Jacob IV of Titanic fame. William thought Americans were a bunch of louts, especially the press; he moved to England where he bought two castles and had his eye on becoming a baron. John Jacob IV coveted a military title, and he got one during the Spanish-American War when he sent an artillery regiment to fight alongside Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders. JJ IV witnessed the charge up San Juan Hill, and this got him the military title of Lt. Col. he so much desired. From then on he was known as Colonel. The press thought he was a jackass and that's what they called him.
Both of them proved the old adage, “Money will not make you happy.” JJ IV's wife, Ava, was a noted beauty and she knew it. They argued constantly until JJ IV's mother Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor, queen of New York's exclusive “Four Hundred,” died and he was able to quietly divorce Ava, only to fall in love with a seventeen year old girl; he was 46; this was shortly before the Titanic sunk, and that's how JJ IV is remembered; he went down with the ship after making sure his wife was safe in a lifeboat. Thanks to his donations to WWI veterans and other charities, William eventually got his peerage. He donated one of his castles to his son, Waldorf, as a wedding present. Waldorf married American spitfire, Nancy Langhorne, the first woman to win in a seat in Parliament. She was a suffragette and staunchly liberal while William was more conservative than Rush Limbaugh. When he finally won his title, Waldorf disapproved as he had already won a seat in the Commons. If William were to accept the title, when he died, Waldorf would have to move to the ineffective House of Lords. They never spoke again, nor did he speak to his daughter Pauline who also disapproved. He died a pig-headed, lonely old man.
April 24, 2018
Beautiful Days
Joyce Carol Oates has published thirty short story collections since 1963. She is one of our most renowned short story writers and one of our most versatile writers period.
BEAUTIFUL DAYS includes eleven short stories of varying length. Most often you will not be able to finish one in one sitting, but that just may be me. “Big Burnt” is the first one to give me pause. It's about a man who asks a woman, but not necessary “The woman” to accompany him on a speed boat in inclement weather on the way to the inlet “Big Burnt”. She really likes him and wants to impress him; she doesn't complain when he goes too fast. She doesn't know he's contemplating suicide; his wife has left him and his business is in trouble. So . . . will he or won't he?
I guess my favorite story among the eleven is “Except You Bless Me”. The Narrator is “Ms. Rane” a writing teacher. Her antagonist is Larissa Wikawaaya who has been writing the narrator nasty notes, calling her “hag lady and white bitch.” Larissa has an appointment to speak to the narrator during office hours. Eventually they go over Larissa's latest assignment line by line and Larissa seems to be attentive and cooperative; she needs to pass Composition 101 in order to get into nursing school. When she leaves, she starts to cry. “Ms. Rane” takes her hand and leads her down the stairs. She thinks they've made progress, but Larissa never shows up in class again. Years later the narrator meats Larissa again, but she calls herself Bettina. Helen Raine has an appointment to have blood work done and Larissa/Bettina will draw the blood, but she can't find a vein. Helen feels faint, but Larissa/Bettina treats her like a dentist treats a five-year-old; she finds and a vein and professionally draws three vials of blood. Tit for tat?
Some of Oates' stories are perplexing, as is “Fractal”; a mother is taking her genius son to the fractal museum. Oliver is only nine, but he's already decided he wants to be an architect; he studies blueprints like other kids study comic books. He's looking for hidden spaces. He finds one in his roomsand dares his mother to find him once he has time to hide. She can't. Then he appears as she sits on the bed frustrated. The fractal museum is a weird building. It looks like an entirely different building from different vantage points. I couldn't find the word “fractal” in my trusty dictionary, but Oliver tries to explain it to his mother: “What you think is a straight line . . . actually isn't. There are all these little breaks and creases, that go on forever.” But Ollie is only interested in a sort of challenge, making it through the Sierpinski Triangle Labyrinth where time as well as space has to be navigated, faster than anyone has before. When the mother goes to the ladies room, making her son promise to wait for her before before he enters the maze, things really get weird.
Frustratingly most of these stories just stop. The story means whatever the reader thinks it means.
BEAUTIFUL DAYS includes eleven short stories of varying length. Most often you will not be able to finish one in one sitting, but that just may be me. “Big Burnt” is the first one to give me pause. It's about a man who asks a woman, but not necessary “The woman” to accompany him on a speed boat in inclement weather on the way to the inlet “Big Burnt”. She really likes him and wants to impress him; she doesn't complain when he goes too fast. She doesn't know he's contemplating suicide; his wife has left him and his business is in trouble. So . . . will he or won't he?
I guess my favorite story among the eleven is “Except You Bless Me”. The Narrator is “Ms. Rane” a writing teacher. Her antagonist is Larissa Wikawaaya who has been writing the narrator nasty notes, calling her “hag lady and white bitch.” Larissa has an appointment to speak to the narrator during office hours. Eventually they go over Larissa's latest assignment line by line and Larissa seems to be attentive and cooperative; she needs to pass Composition 101 in order to get into nursing school. When she leaves, she starts to cry. “Ms. Rane” takes her hand and leads her down the stairs. She thinks they've made progress, but Larissa never shows up in class again. Years later the narrator meats Larissa again, but she calls herself Bettina. Helen Raine has an appointment to have blood work done and Larissa/Bettina will draw the blood, but she can't find a vein. Helen feels faint, but Larissa/Bettina treats her like a dentist treats a five-year-old; she finds and a vein and professionally draws three vials of blood. Tit for tat?
Some of Oates' stories are perplexing, as is “Fractal”; a mother is taking her genius son to the fractal museum. Oliver is only nine, but he's already decided he wants to be an architect; he studies blueprints like other kids study comic books. He's looking for hidden spaces. He finds one in his roomsand dares his mother to find him once he has time to hide. She can't. Then he appears as she sits on the bed frustrated. The fractal museum is a weird building. It looks like an entirely different building from different vantage points. I couldn't find the word “fractal” in my trusty dictionary, but Oliver tries to explain it to his mother: “What you think is a straight line . . . actually isn't. There are all these little breaks and creases, that go on forever.” But Ollie is only interested in a sort of challenge, making it through the Sierpinski Triangle Labyrinth where time as well as space has to be navigated, faster than anyone has before. When the mother goes to the ladies room, making her son promise to wait for her before before he enters the maze, things really get weird.
Frustratingly most of these stories just stop. The story means whatever the reader thinks it means.
April 9, 2018
Eternal Life
ETERNAL LIFE starts around the time of the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem. Rachel has a baby with the son of a Jewish high priest, but she's already married to her father's apprentice scribe.
This is a theme I'm sure I've seen before: If you could live forever, would you want to? Some would say, “if I can remain healthy and moderately young looking, why not?” That's Rachel's problem. Her baby starts to die, withering away. Rachel and her lover go to the high priest. If she'll make a vow to live forever the baby will get better. Elazar, the young father and priest, must make the same vow. He agrees and the baby gets better. Suspension of disbelief is always a problem with this kind of theme. As a reader, I couldn't accept that a Jewish high priest would have the power to make such a bargain.
We skip ahead to the 21st century. Rachel has been with her present family for over seventy years. She meets Elazar again. They're still as passionate for each other as ever. Rachel moves from one incarnation to the next by being consumed by fire. She always wakes up in a different setting with the body of an eighteen-year-old girl. Coincidentally, Rachel's granddaughter in this life, is a scientist with the goal of increasing our lifetimes or even defeating death. Ironic, huh? I had recently read about why we age. It has to do with this wick like thing in our cells that gets shorter as we age. Rachel doesn't look like any 84-year-old her granddaughter has ever seen. You can guess what happens. Rachel becomes a test subject, as does Elazar. Both of them want Hannah, the granddaughter, to help them die.
Okay, the them seems to be “be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.” Most of us would say we'd like to live forever. But what about all your children and grandchildren, all your friends, who die as you keep living? Would you be able to handle that? Then, author Dara Horn goes and screw up the ending, seemingly disagreeing with what she's been preaching throughout the book.
Not only have I probably read this book before by a different author with a slightly different plot, but I can't recommend it. It's inconsistent and the beginning isn't believable. It's also hard to accept that Rachel's granddaughter would just happen to be a genetic scientist.
This is a theme I'm sure I've seen before: If you could live forever, would you want to? Some would say, “if I can remain healthy and moderately young looking, why not?” That's Rachel's problem. Her baby starts to die, withering away. Rachel and her lover go to the high priest. If she'll make a vow to live forever the baby will get better. Elazar, the young father and priest, must make the same vow. He agrees and the baby gets better. Suspension of disbelief is always a problem with this kind of theme. As a reader, I couldn't accept that a Jewish high priest would have the power to make such a bargain.
We skip ahead to the 21st century. Rachel has been with her present family for over seventy years. She meets Elazar again. They're still as passionate for each other as ever. Rachel moves from one incarnation to the next by being consumed by fire. She always wakes up in a different setting with the body of an eighteen-year-old girl. Coincidentally, Rachel's granddaughter in this life, is a scientist with the goal of increasing our lifetimes or even defeating death. Ironic, huh? I had recently read about why we age. It has to do with this wick like thing in our cells that gets shorter as we age. Rachel doesn't look like any 84-year-old her granddaughter has ever seen. You can guess what happens. Rachel becomes a test subject, as does Elazar. Both of them want Hannah, the granddaughter, to help them die.
Okay, the them seems to be “be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.” Most of us would say we'd like to live forever. But what about all your children and grandchildren, all your friends, who die as you keep living? Would you be able to handle that? Then, author Dara Horn goes and screw up the ending, seemingly disagreeing with what she's been preaching throughout the book.
Not only have I probably read this book before by a different author with a slightly different plot, but I can't recommend it. It's inconsistent and the beginning isn't believable. It's also hard to accept that Rachel's granddaughter would just happen to be a genetic scientist.
March 29, 2018
Cockroaches
When the Norwegian ambassador to Thailand is stabbed to death with an unusual knife, The Secretary of State and the Police Chief insist that Harry Hole be sent to investigate due to his celebrity in solving a serial killer case in Australia.
Or so it seems. When Harry arrives he's on a beer binge, thinking that he can at least function while drinking beer as opposed to the hard stuff.
When he arrives he's paired with a homicide detective, Liz Chumley. She's part Thai and part American. She's also a strange looking woman who could be taken for a man: “...broad-shouldered and almost as tall as Harry, the hairless skull had pronounced jaw muscles and two intensely blue eyes above a straight mouth.” Turns out she'd contracted alopecia as a young woman, losing her hair. She's one of the most interesting people, who, like Lisabeth Salander, disappears too often in the plot.
Remember now, this is Thailand, the sex capital of the world. The first clue Harry stumbles across was that Atle Molnes may have been a pederast. There are some pictures in his car that point in that direction. Later we discover Atle was a gambler and he owed lots of money. There's a mafia in Thailand, but Atle apparently borrowed money from a travel company that served as a front for easy loans with high interest. Harry has Atle's phone records and they're listed; they've been hounding his widow for the money. This is extremely weird since Atle was one of the heirs to a furniture company in Norway; he should've been able to pay easily.
Another valuable clue: there's reindeer grease on the knife that killed Atle, which points to a Norwegian killer.
Towards the middle of the book Harry decides to quit fooling himself; he stops drinking beer, and things start to steadily progress. Checking Atle's phone records, he discovers a call from Jens Brekke, a currency broker. He's a suspect as is Ove Klipra, a Norwegian builder who's working on an important road/rail project worth billions. He lives near the Molnes family, and he has an incriminating background. Harry focuses on him like a laser beam as he suddenly suspects he was sent here, not because of his success as a homicide detective, but because he was a drunk. The higher ups didn't think he'd be able to concentrate or stay sober long enough to ferret out the suspect they think did it. This guy is so important, they're trying to settle this in record time, and they keep pushing Harry to solve the murder.
A couple more people wind up dead, and Harry starts to put the clues together. Every dead person is related in a complicated manner that only benefits one person, and it's not the one the Norwegian bigwigs think it is.
I have read about a half dozen Harry Hole books. This is number two in the series, but I'd heard it mentioned before. This is where Harry gets hooked on opium. It's kind of a surprise since he'd just solved he case.
Or so it seems. When Harry arrives he's on a beer binge, thinking that he can at least function while drinking beer as opposed to the hard stuff.
When he arrives he's paired with a homicide detective, Liz Chumley. She's part Thai and part American. She's also a strange looking woman who could be taken for a man: “...broad-shouldered and almost as tall as Harry, the hairless skull had pronounced jaw muscles and two intensely blue eyes above a straight mouth.” Turns out she'd contracted alopecia as a young woman, losing her hair. She's one of the most interesting people, who, like Lisabeth Salander, disappears too often in the plot.
Remember now, this is Thailand, the sex capital of the world. The first clue Harry stumbles across was that Atle Molnes may have been a pederast. There are some pictures in his car that point in that direction. Later we discover Atle was a gambler and he owed lots of money. There's a mafia in Thailand, but Atle apparently borrowed money from a travel company that served as a front for easy loans with high interest. Harry has Atle's phone records and they're listed; they've been hounding his widow for the money. This is extremely weird since Atle was one of the heirs to a furniture company in Norway; he should've been able to pay easily.
Another valuable clue: there's reindeer grease on the knife that killed Atle, which points to a Norwegian killer.
Towards the middle of the book Harry decides to quit fooling himself; he stops drinking beer, and things start to steadily progress. Checking Atle's phone records, he discovers a call from Jens Brekke, a currency broker. He's a suspect as is Ove Klipra, a Norwegian builder who's working on an important road/rail project worth billions. He lives near the Molnes family, and he has an incriminating background. Harry focuses on him like a laser beam as he suddenly suspects he was sent here, not because of his success as a homicide detective, but because he was a drunk. The higher ups didn't think he'd be able to concentrate or stay sober long enough to ferret out the suspect they think did it. This guy is so important, they're trying to settle this in record time, and they keep pushing Harry to solve the murder.
A couple more people wind up dead, and Harry starts to put the clues together. Every dead person is related in a complicated manner that only benefits one person, and it's not the one the Norwegian bigwigs think it is.
I have read about a half dozen Harry Hole books. This is number two in the series, but I'd heard it mentioned before. This is where Harry gets hooked on opium. It's kind of a surprise since he'd just solved he case.
March 19, 2018
The Future of Mankind
About seventy-five thousand years ago, a volcanic eruption nearly ended the human race; almost everything died. About two thousand humans survived. As a result two chimpanzees have more genetic variation than all human beings combined; we differ by .01 of a percent. And this wasn't the only time the Earth was almost destroyed. Most everyone knows about how the dinosaurs disappeared.
So . . . why are we here? According to Michio Kaku Jupiter is our guardian angel, deflecting most asteroids, comets and other space clutter that could kill us. Earth is a “Goldilocks Planet”, not too hot, not cold, with an atmosphere that's no too dense and a magnetic field and an ozone layer that deflects ultra-violet rays from frying us alive. How many “Goldilocks planets are there in our galaxy? Possibly hundreds of thousands, but a lot depends on plane old luck. We have been lucky. Just last year an asteroid came within a thirty-some thousand miles of the Earth.
How do scientists know which planets are like us? They can't see them, but the Kepler and the Hubble telescopes look at the brightness of certain stars; when they dim in a certain way, it means something is blocking their light. Scientists are able to tell the size of the planet by how much it affects the light from its host star.
Kaku discusses the effect of Obama's decision to shut down the shuttle program. He was hoping private business would get involved, and they have in a big way. Elon Musk has a billion dollar contract to provision the international space station, and he has delivered supplies several times. He is planning a Mars landing by 2024; he already has a rocket whose booster can land on an ocean platform. This rocket can take us to Mars. NASA isn't quite that optimistic. They plan to put a man on Mars by 2035, using the moon as a base.
Stephen J. Hawking maintains that if we can make it through the next two hundred years and not destroy ourselves via terrorism and nuclear war or pollution we can evolve in respect to reaching the stars. A Russian scientist, Nikolai Kardashev has created a scale of civilizations: Type I uses all of the energy from the light provided by its star; Type II uses all the energy the sun produces (think fusion); Type III uses all the energy in the entire galaxy. Obviously we're not even a Type I civilization since we don't use all the sunlight the Sun provides. We're about a 0.7 civilization.
If we survive it's pretty much a given we'll have a settlement on Mars by mid century and we'll start terraforming it. It's too cold up there with hardly any atmosphere. We can warm it up by injecting methane into its atmosphere.
Scientists have also discovered several moons of Jupiter and Saturn that have water. We can use them as bases to move beyond the solar system.
Eventually, Kaku gets around to his pet theory, string theory which mathematically combines Einstein's theory of relativity and quantum theory. It consists of ten dimensions, but we can't prove it until we become a Type III civilization. We can chip away at it, using the Super colliders, the CERN in Switzerland which has already discovered the Higgs Boson particle, an indicator of dark matter, and a new one being built by the Japanese in conjunction with other countries. String theory will help us discover what's inside a Worm Hole, whether or not we can pass through one without being crushed. Supposedly if we can pass through a Worm Hole, we can take a short cut to the opposite side of the galaxy. String Theory also allows for the possibility of multi universes. Kaku talks about universes “popping in and out of existence”. We're looking for the stable ones. Why? Because other galaxies are racing away from us at exponential speed. If this keeps up, we're in for a “Big Freeze” and everything will die. String theory allows for us to move not just to another star, but another universe. If you're the paranoid type, stop worrying. This won't happen for billions maybe trillions of years.
So . . . why are we here? According to Michio Kaku Jupiter is our guardian angel, deflecting most asteroids, comets and other space clutter that could kill us. Earth is a “Goldilocks Planet”, not too hot, not cold, with an atmosphere that's no too dense and a magnetic field and an ozone layer that deflects ultra-violet rays from frying us alive. How many “Goldilocks planets are there in our galaxy? Possibly hundreds of thousands, but a lot depends on plane old luck. We have been lucky. Just last year an asteroid came within a thirty-some thousand miles of the Earth.
How do scientists know which planets are like us? They can't see them, but the Kepler and the Hubble telescopes look at the brightness of certain stars; when they dim in a certain way, it means something is blocking their light. Scientists are able to tell the size of the planet by how much it affects the light from its host star.
Kaku discusses the effect of Obama's decision to shut down the shuttle program. He was hoping private business would get involved, and they have in a big way. Elon Musk has a billion dollar contract to provision the international space station, and he has delivered supplies several times. He is planning a Mars landing by 2024; he already has a rocket whose booster can land on an ocean platform. This rocket can take us to Mars. NASA isn't quite that optimistic. They plan to put a man on Mars by 2035, using the moon as a base.
Stephen J. Hawking maintains that if we can make it through the next two hundred years and not destroy ourselves via terrorism and nuclear war or pollution we can evolve in respect to reaching the stars. A Russian scientist, Nikolai Kardashev has created a scale of civilizations: Type I uses all of the energy from the light provided by its star; Type II uses all the energy the sun produces (think fusion); Type III uses all the energy in the entire galaxy. Obviously we're not even a Type I civilization since we don't use all the sunlight the Sun provides. We're about a 0.7 civilization.
If we survive it's pretty much a given we'll have a settlement on Mars by mid century and we'll start terraforming it. It's too cold up there with hardly any atmosphere. We can warm it up by injecting methane into its atmosphere.
Scientists have also discovered several moons of Jupiter and Saturn that have water. We can use them as bases to move beyond the solar system.
Eventually, Kaku gets around to his pet theory, string theory which mathematically combines Einstein's theory of relativity and quantum theory. It consists of ten dimensions, but we can't prove it until we become a Type III civilization. We can chip away at it, using the Super colliders, the CERN in Switzerland which has already discovered the Higgs Boson particle, an indicator of dark matter, and a new one being built by the Japanese in conjunction with other countries. String theory will help us discover what's inside a Worm Hole, whether or not we can pass through one without being crushed. Supposedly if we can pass through a Worm Hole, we can take a short cut to the opposite side of the galaxy. String Theory also allows for the possibility of multi universes. Kaku talks about universes “popping in and out of existence”. We're looking for the stable ones. Why? Because other galaxies are racing away from us at exponential speed. If this keeps up, we're in for a “Big Freeze” and everything will die. String theory allows for us to move not just to another star, but another universe. If you're the paranoid type, stop worrying. This won't happen for billions maybe trillions of years.
March 2, 2018
Into The Black Nowhere
If you're a fan of “Criminal Minds” or seen the movie “Silence of the Lambs” you're familiar with the BAU and the term “unsub”. Meg Gardiner has authored an UNSUB series using the FBI profilers as her major characters.
Unlike “Criminal Minds” Gardiner doesn't spend a lot of time focusing on the personal lives of the FBI agents, although there is some of that. Caitlin Hendrix is the Clarice Starling of this novel. She's a rookie FBI agent recently assigned to the BAU, which basically hunts serial killers. Her boyfriend is a fellow agent working on a bombing case in California. She doesn't see him often enough.
Blond women are being killed, centering on Texas and New Mexico, but gradually moving north. Caitlin gets a tip from a woman who thinks an ex-boyfriend may be the killer. She says he set fire to his apartment after an argument; she was saved by his roommate.
The bad guy likes to clothe the bodies in baby doll nightgowns, and this guy had a picture of the woman asleep with a white nightgown cloaked over her body. Gotta be the guy, right?
Let's skip ahead to a preliminary hearing where Ted Bundy seems to have risen from the dead. If you remember that case, Bundy, a law student, was so good looking he had groupies at the trial. I don't think they were willing to overlook murder, though, so this part of the book seems like kind of a stretch. This hearing occurs about half way through the book so you know a twist is coming. The guy also seems able to be in two places at the same time; the BAU thinks he might have a partner. If you watch closely you may be able to guess who that is.
The woman who sent the tip, eventually becomes a target as does her daughter, who's in college in Portland, Oregon. Emily just happens to be a member of a female rugby team. Have you watched a rugby game? Do you know what a scrum is? Gardiner seems to have an agenda. Her female characters aren't afraid to take on guys in physical confrontations. There's a scene toward the end that'll have you on the edge of your seat, and it's between a female FBI agent and the serial killer.
There's one thing wrong with a mystery series. If you've seen a likable character for several books in a row, you're not too worried about he or she getting snuffed, unless Cormac MacCarthy is doing the writing, and he doesn't write serials.
Unlike “Criminal Minds” Gardiner doesn't spend a lot of time focusing on the personal lives of the FBI agents, although there is some of that. Caitlin Hendrix is the Clarice Starling of this novel. She's a rookie FBI agent recently assigned to the BAU, which basically hunts serial killers. Her boyfriend is a fellow agent working on a bombing case in California. She doesn't see him often enough.
Blond women are being killed, centering on Texas and New Mexico, but gradually moving north. Caitlin gets a tip from a woman who thinks an ex-boyfriend may be the killer. She says he set fire to his apartment after an argument; she was saved by his roommate.
The bad guy likes to clothe the bodies in baby doll nightgowns, and this guy had a picture of the woman asleep with a white nightgown cloaked over her body. Gotta be the guy, right?
Let's skip ahead to a preliminary hearing where Ted Bundy seems to have risen from the dead. If you remember that case, Bundy, a law student, was so good looking he had groupies at the trial. I don't think they were willing to overlook murder, though, so this part of the book seems like kind of a stretch. This hearing occurs about half way through the book so you know a twist is coming. The guy also seems able to be in two places at the same time; the BAU thinks he might have a partner. If you watch closely you may be able to guess who that is.
The woman who sent the tip, eventually becomes a target as does her daughter, who's in college in Portland, Oregon. Emily just happens to be a member of a female rugby team. Have you watched a rugby game? Do you know what a scrum is? Gardiner seems to have an agenda. Her female characters aren't afraid to take on guys in physical confrontations. There's a scene toward the end that'll have you on the edge of your seat, and it's between a female FBI agent and the serial killer.
There's one thing wrong with a mystery series. If you've seen a likable character for several books in a row, you're not too worried about he or she getting snuffed, unless Cormac MacCarthy is doing the writing, and he doesn't write serials.
February 21, 2018
Magpie Murders
MAGPIE MURDERS is really two books in one. Author Alan Conway is a character in a book he has written with the same name.
Susan Ryeland is his editor, but the big twist in the book comes when she's almost finished reading the book. She finds she's missing the ending. So . . . Susan becomes a sort of detective.
Conway's method of writing helps Susan discover clues that will solve three murders, two of them in the fictional book and one in the real life situation fictional situation author Anthony Horowitz has created. Conway uses real places and people as inspiration for his novels and he's always putting puzzles and anagrams in his books. For instance, the beginnings of all nine books spell out a message.
Both main characters in the two books have a terminal illness. Author Alan Conway is dying of a brain tumor, and he seems to have written a suicide note. Private detective Atticus Pund, the main character in Conway's nine novels, also has six months to live.
Susan's personal life also intrudes. Andreas, her boyfriend, who has taught school with Alan Conway and his former wife, Melissa, has asked her to marry him and come with him to live with him in Crete where he plans to buy a hotel/restaurant with his brother. She also has an offer from her boss, Charles Clover, CEO of her publishing company to become the new CEO while he assumes the chairman position.
This is an Agatha Christie type mystery with TEN LITTLE INDIANA type suspects. They're all almost equally motivated. In Conway's last book, Mary Blakistan, Magnes Pye's housekeeper, has apparently fallen down the stairs and broken her neck. Susan thinks she's a murder victim; she know Magnes is when he is decapitated with a sword held by a knight in the entryway to his manor. In real life, within Horowitz's novel, author Alan Conway is pushed off the terrace of his house.
It is a convention for mystery writers to show the murderer earlier in the book, so he/she can't pull one out of thin air when he/she resolves the conflict, making the book seem contrived. I never suspected Alan Conway's murderer because he/she was never one of Susan's ten little indians. The murders within Conway's novel live up to the convention. One of them actually did it. I don't know if I liked this format. I guess I thought Horowitz wasn't playing within the rules with his “real life” murder. And I didn't even know Susan Ryeland was the narrator until she told me.
Susan Ryeland is his editor, but the big twist in the book comes when she's almost finished reading the book. She finds she's missing the ending. So . . . Susan becomes a sort of detective.
Conway's method of writing helps Susan discover clues that will solve three murders, two of them in the fictional book and one in the real life situation fictional situation author Anthony Horowitz has created. Conway uses real places and people as inspiration for his novels and he's always putting puzzles and anagrams in his books. For instance, the beginnings of all nine books spell out a message.
Both main characters in the two books have a terminal illness. Author Alan Conway is dying of a brain tumor, and he seems to have written a suicide note. Private detective Atticus Pund, the main character in Conway's nine novels, also has six months to live.
Susan's personal life also intrudes. Andreas, her boyfriend, who has taught school with Alan Conway and his former wife, Melissa, has asked her to marry him and come with him to live with him in Crete where he plans to buy a hotel/restaurant with his brother. She also has an offer from her boss, Charles Clover, CEO of her publishing company to become the new CEO while he assumes the chairman position.
This is an Agatha Christie type mystery with TEN LITTLE INDIANA type suspects. They're all almost equally motivated. In Conway's last book, Mary Blakistan, Magnes Pye's housekeeper, has apparently fallen down the stairs and broken her neck. Susan thinks she's a murder victim; she know Magnes is when he is decapitated with a sword held by a knight in the entryway to his manor. In real life, within Horowitz's novel, author Alan Conway is pushed off the terrace of his house.
It is a convention for mystery writers to show the murderer earlier in the book, so he/she can't pull one out of thin air when he/she resolves the conflict, making the book seem contrived. I never suspected Alan Conway's murderer because he/she was never one of Susan's ten little indians. The murders within Conway's novel live up to the convention. One of them actually did it. I don't know if I liked this format. I guess I thought Horowitz wasn't playing within the rules with his “real life” murder. And I didn't even know Susan Ryeland was the narrator until she told me.
February 6, 2018
The Cold Dish (Walt Longmire series)
THE COLD DISH is the first in the LONGMIRE series. It's quite a bit different than the TV series.
First off, Walt is kind of a goofball, and Vic tolerates him more than respects him. That's probably not the case, but she calls him names like fat****. That would ordinarily get you fired in most sheriff's offices.
Henry is also bigger and seems to be a very good shot with a Sharp's rifle, the murder weapon in Walt's most recent case. Somebody is shooting four boys who were tried for raping Henry's niece, Melissa Little Bird. They were found guilty, but the judge gave them limited sentences in juvenile facilities.
Whoever is killing the boys is shooting them at a very long distance, 500 yards. Walt could make that shot, as could Henry, and Melissa's father. Lonnie, who's missing his legs, and Omar, a Buffalo Bill like character who's an expert on the Sharp's rifle.
In the middle of the book there's a kind of surprise. Walt is reflecting on his life—he's met a woman, Vonnie, who seems very interested in a relationship. Then there's the surprise. Martha, Walt's deceased wife, didn't really love him. Walt stuck it out because of his daughter, who is now a lawyer who doesn't call her father often enough. I don't remember hearing that in the TV series. Vic is also enduring an unhappy marriage, and she cares about Walt more than she lets on.
There are some interesting minor characters: Lucian, the old sheriff, is living in a senior citizen's home. Walt plays chess with him once a week. In this book, Walt hires Lucian as a dispatcher for two days a week. He's an old-time western sheriff who sort of made his own rules as a case progressed, but Walt respects him and leans on him for advice. Turk is Lucian's nephew, an announced candidate for sheriff after Walt retires. Walt wants Vic to take his place.
THE COLD DISH is just another instance of the book being better than the TV show. Walt has a sense of humor in the book. He also has a great deal of respect for Native American spirituality. There's a scene where Henry is wounded and Walt has to carry him back to safety in the middle of a blizzard. He almost freezes to death. He hears bells and sees ghostlike Cheyenne Indians who lead him out of danger, left with frost bitten ears and hands. You might want to read this section twice. I had no idea what was going on. Somewhere in there Vic was also coming to his aid.
You won't be able to guess who killed those boys. But I'll give you a hint: remember the old adage, “It's always the one you least expect.”
First off, Walt is kind of a goofball, and Vic tolerates him more than respects him. That's probably not the case, but she calls him names like fat****. That would ordinarily get you fired in most sheriff's offices.
Henry is also bigger and seems to be a very good shot with a Sharp's rifle, the murder weapon in Walt's most recent case. Somebody is shooting four boys who were tried for raping Henry's niece, Melissa Little Bird. They were found guilty, but the judge gave them limited sentences in juvenile facilities.
Whoever is killing the boys is shooting them at a very long distance, 500 yards. Walt could make that shot, as could Henry, and Melissa's father. Lonnie, who's missing his legs, and Omar, a Buffalo Bill like character who's an expert on the Sharp's rifle.
In the middle of the book there's a kind of surprise. Walt is reflecting on his life—he's met a woman, Vonnie, who seems very interested in a relationship. Then there's the surprise. Martha, Walt's deceased wife, didn't really love him. Walt stuck it out because of his daughter, who is now a lawyer who doesn't call her father often enough. I don't remember hearing that in the TV series. Vic is also enduring an unhappy marriage, and she cares about Walt more than she lets on.
There are some interesting minor characters: Lucian, the old sheriff, is living in a senior citizen's home. Walt plays chess with him once a week. In this book, Walt hires Lucian as a dispatcher for two days a week. He's an old-time western sheriff who sort of made his own rules as a case progressed, but Walt respects him and leans on him for advice. Turk is Lucian's nephew, an announced candidate for sheriff after Walt retires. Walt wants Vic to take his place.
THE COLD DISH is just another instance of the book being better than the TV show. Walt has a sense of humor in the book. He also has a great deal of respect for Native American spirituality. There's a scene where Henry is wounded and Walt has to carry him back to safety in the middle of a blizzard. He almost freezes to death. He hears bells and sees ghostlike Cheyenne Indians who lead him out of danger, left with frost bitten ears and hands. You might want to read this section twice. I had no idea what was going on. Somewhere in there Vic was also coming to his aid.
You won't be able to guess who killed those boys. But I'll give you a hint: remember the old adage, “It's always the one you least expect.”
January 20, 2018
Manhattan Beach
Eddie Kerrigan was having a tough time making it during the Depression, working as a bag man for his old friend Dunny, who was a lieutenant in the mob. But he only paid Eddie $20, despite the fact the Eddie had saved him from drowning as a boy.
Eddie has two daughters, Anna and Lydia, who is disabled. Eddie loves Anna but he's distant from his other daughter. He takes Anna to see Dexter Styles who's higher on the food chain than Dunny to ask for a job. He needs a wheel chair for Lydia and Dunny won't loan it to him. But Eddie is essentially a good man and what the mob is doing disgusts him; he rats them out to a state's attorney, coincidentally the other boy Eddie saved when a rip tide took them out to sea. That's when Eddie disappears, presumably dead.
Anna's mother Agnes, a former vaudeville performer, as was Eddie, raises her daughters alone. One of the delights of the book, is what Agnes and the girls do when Eddie's not around. They dance, and they spoil Lydia, giving her baths in delicious smelling oils. Anna doesn't see a disability; she just sees the sister she loves.
Then we skip ahead to WWII, where Anna is working in the Navy yard, measuring parts for battleships. She has a friend, Nell, who uses her feminine wiles to get the use of a fellow worker's bicycle. She lets Anna use it; that's when she notices the Navy divers; she wants to be one. She asks her boss, who has a soft spot for her, to arrange an interview with Lt. Axel, a male chauvinist pig if you've ever seen one. He wants nothing to do with Anna, but someone puts in a good word for her (most likely her boss) and Anna gets to prove her metal. She's the best recruit Axel has.
We have lots of people with a point of view here. Eddie, for one. I never thought he was really dead. This is where we see author Jennifer Egan's ability. Egan plants the fact that Eddie was a vaudeville performer, doing Houdini-like tricks. So what do you think would happen if Eddie wound up wearing cement shoes?
Eddie's got to get out of this place, right? He joins the merchant marine. This leads to some harrowing ship wreck scenes and another scene where Eddies's essential goodness shines through. The bosun always treated Eddie like dirt, but when the roles are reversed Eddie treats him like a human being.
There's one plot thread I had trouble with. Anna ends up preggo; you can guess where that leads. It's a bit melodramatic. Again Egan seems to be aware this segment is a cliché, so she adds a character, Brianne, her mother's sister, another vaudeville performer who has a 21st century attitude towards sex. Anyway, she's a rock for Anna, and she adds some humor to the drama.
Egan's last best seller, A VISIT FROM THE GOOD SQUAD, was recently picked as one of the best books of the new century. This one doesn't quite live up to that one, although it did make the NY Times best seller list for a long stretch.
Eddie has two daughters, Anna and Lydia, who is disabled. Eddie loves Anna but he's distant from his other daughter. He takes Anna to see Dexter Styles who's higher on the food chain than Dunny to ask for a job. He needs a wheel chair for Lydia and Dunny won't loan it to him. But Eddie is essentially a good man and what the mob is doing disgusts him; he rats them out to a state's attorney, coincidentally the other boy Eddie saved when a rip tide took them out to sea. That's when Eddie disappears, presumably dead.
Anna's mother Agnes, a former vaudeville performer, as was Eddie, raises her daughters alone. One of the delights of the book, is what Agnes and the girls do when Eddie's not around. They dance, and they spoil Lydia, giving her baths in delicious smelling oils. Anna doesn't see a disability; she just sees the sister she loves.
Then we skip ahead to WWII, where Anna is working in the Navy yard, measuring parts for battleships. She has a friend, Nell, who uses her feminine wiles to get the use of a fellow worker's bicycle. She lets Anna use it; that's when she notices the Navy divers; she wants to be one. She asks her boss, who has a soft spot for her, to arrange an interview with Lt. Axel, a male chauvinist pig if you've ever seen one. He wants nothing to do with Anna, but someone puts in a good word for her (most likely her boss) and Anna gets to prove her metal. She's the best recruit Axel has.
We have lots of people with a point of view here. Eddie, for one. I never thought he was really dead. This is where we see author Jennifer Egan's ability. Egan plants the fact that Eddie was a vaudeville performer, doing Houdini-like tricks. So what do you think would happen if Eddie wound up wearing cement shoes?
Eddie's got to get out of this place, right? He joins the merchant marine. This leads to some harrowing ship wreck scenes and another scene where Eddies's essential goodness shines through. The bosun always treated Eddie like dirt, but when the roles are reversed Eddie treats him like a human being.
There's one plot thread I had trouble with. Anna ends up preggo; you can guess where that leads. It's a bit melodramatic. Again Egan seems to be aware this segment is a cliché, so she adds a character, Brianne, her mother's sister, another vaudeville performer who has a 21st century attitude towards sex. Anyway, she's a rock for Anna, and she adds some humor to the drama.
Egan's last best seller, A VISIT FROM THE GOOD SQUAD, was recently picked as one of the best books of the new century. This one doesn't quite live up to that one, although it did make the NY Times best seller list for a long stretch.
