Saffron Bryant's Blog, page 8

Fry- Book Review

 

 

Fry by Lorna Dounaeva gave me goose-bumps. I’ll admit, I don’t often read thrillers but I am so glad I picked this one up. At first I had no idea what the story was about but then the book sucked me right in. The twists in the story had me glued to the pages and I read the whole thing in just a couple of days. You will find yourself questioning your own choices and perceptions, even as the main character questions her own sanity.

Obviously it does have violence and some thriller themes so I wouldn’t recommend it for children. But if you enjoy thrillers, or are interested in giving the genre a go- try Fry.

This psychological thriller will have you yelling at the pages and looking over your own shoulder…

The basic premise is a young woman nearly runs over someone in her car. From there her life is filled with strange coincidences and she finds herself drawn deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole.

There’s not much to criticize about this book, it was well-written and the thriller elements were really well incorporated. Perhaps some of the character developments weren’t perfect and were a bit glossed over but I don’t think that took away from the story.

4.5 stars for this one (as you all know 5 stars from me is almost a physical impossibility), if you’re looking for a thrilling read which will have you daydreaming at work, grab Fry.

Grow Your Own Nose

This week in ‘When Science Fiction Becomes Reality‘ I’m looking at a field of research which is constantly developing and creating new miracles: bioengineering.

Specifically, the bioengineering of replacement body parts. At the current point in time it’s tragic how many people are unable to get transplants and die as a result, bioengineering could be the solution.

As described in this article.

Scientists around the world are working on building new organs for transplant patients. These organs range from bladders to noses! With the major goal being a complete heart.

The premise of bioengineering is that a mold of the desired organ is used to create a scaffold. This scaffold must be composed of a substance which will not elicit a reaction in the body but is sturdy and will cause cell attachment. Once the scaffold is complete stem cells are added to it. These stem cells are taken from the patient and are capable of growing into any cell type. With the scaffold and the relevant growth factors they begin to form into cartilage or muscle, or whatever is required for that organ.

Because these stem cells have been taken from the patient when the new organ is implanted the patient’s immune system will not reject it. For all intents and purposes the new organ ‘belongs’ to the patient and will be accepted. This has incredible benefits in terms of no longer needing the debilitating drugs which are currently used to prevent transplant rejection.

In one of the examples discussed the researchers have created a new nose for a skin cancer patient. They had some difficulty developing skin for the nose, the solution? Implant the nose under the patient’s forearm for a time and let his body put skin on it for you! (The patient declined having the nose implanted into his forehead).

If this is the stage we’re at right now, what does the future hold??? Surely it won’t be long until any organ can be made to designer specifications; new hearts, new livers, dare I say; new brains?

Plastic surgery is obviously an area which will see boom from this industry, as too will the medical industry. Cardiac disease, kidney failure, severe burns; with technology such as this these will become problems of the past.

But how will this technology impact on science fiction? Well I see this kind of technology as being a natural stepping stone to cloning: if you can use your own stem-cells to regrow a nose or an organ, why not an entire body? (obviously this is different to the current form of cloning which involves inserting DNA into an embryo and then growing the fetus through to birth, childhood etc). What about super-humans? Athletes with hearts that can pump twice as fast or soldiers with replaceable limbs?

Whilst bioengineering does have interesting implications for Science Fiction I think its current applications to medical advancement are even more amazing.

What do you think of this incredible new technology? Would you have a nose implanted into your forehead?

 

The Smallest Movie in the World

This week in When Science Fiction Becomes Reality I want to talk about a very exciting, but also fun, project which IBM recently completed. They have made a movie by moving single atoms around to create a stop-motion animation: “A Boy and his Atom”.

This research team is investigating digital storage technologies and have already made some pretty amazing advances, which they talk about here. Including reducing the stable storage size from 1,000,000 atoms, to just 12!!

The movie itself is a cute animation which is primarily aimed at getting people interested in science and research. It is also holds the Guinness World Records™ record for the World’s Smallest Stop-Motion Film.

What does this little piece of whimsy mean for the future? Well in my opinion technology is always evolving. We once thought that atoms were the smallest indivisible particle, then we found protons and thought they were the smallest indivisible particle, then of course we found quarks. I’m sure that we will continue to delve down deeper and deeper and what we find will continue to amaze us. Perhaps in a few years times it will be quarks dancing around for the animation?

These discoveries and this incredible control over atomic particles do of course have incredible implications for data storage and technology advances. Already computers are being developed that are made out of nanotubes and every year storage capacity gets bigger while the size of the storage device gets smaller.

Where does all of this leave science fiction? As with last week I think it leaves us asking, what next? What amazing things can we come up with in our imaginations when there are already such incredible advances happening in reality? In my opinion this kind of technology leads to ideas about infinite storage capacity and computers which take up no more room than a five cent coin and yet are more powerful than anything we have today.

Perhaps our sci-fi heroes should be using nano-sized technology which has been crafted, one atom at a time?

The possibilities seem endless and I would love to hear your ideas, tell me what you think this movie means in the comments section below.

Improve Your Landscape Paintings With Just One Easy Step

With just one simple step I improved my painting ability over 10 times, and the best thing about it is anyone can do it!

What is this magical thing I speak of? YouTube of course!

YouTube took me from very amateur paintings, to this:

In-fact, I have now sold several paintings thanks to the lessons I learned watching YouTube.

There are now so many videos being loaded to YouTube every second that you could learn just about anything you wanted. As well as music videos and makeup tutorials there are now hundreds of videos dedicated to helping you improve your painting/drawing/design/sketching skills. I have learned so much just by watching a few of the videos and I’m sure you will too.

One of my personal favourites is Wilson Bickford who posts guides and lessons on landscape painting. I have taken on a lot of what he has to say (and you’re bound to recognise his work in my paintings).

Here is one example of his great lessons which are available right now, free of charge.

Once I’m more confident I plan to post tutorial videos of my own so that I can also help others learn.

What great tips do you have for artists? What have you learned from YouTube?

Controlling Robots With Your Mind

In this first installment of ‘When Science Fiction Becomes Reality’, I decided to discuss something which is not only incredible but also offers significant improvements to quality of life for many people.

This amazing innovation is mind-controlled robots. That’s right, a chip inserted into the brain reads neural signals and translates them into movements which are sent to the robotic device, in this particular case; an arm. The scientific paper can be read here: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v485/n7398/full/nature11076.html

But if you’d like a more layperson-friendly version io9 gives a pretty good breakdown: http://io9.com/5910859/watch-this-paralyzed-woman-control-a-robotic-arm-using-only-her-mind

Think of the implications of this kind of technology! Sure it’s a little bit cumbersome right now but with the speed at which technology is advancing it won’t be long at all before tetraplegic individuals will be using robotic limbs with as much ease as we use our own. Imagine what this could mean for amputees! A long lost limb could be replaced as easily as inserting a microchip.

The amazing thing about this technology is that very little training is required, the chip reads brain activity that would occur normally and translates that for the robot- no assemblage required.

Take the time to watch the video- it’s truly remarkable: http://youtu.be/ogBX18maUiM

But aside from the medical benefits, what does this technology mean for our beloved science fiction? In my opinion it means we have to set our imaginations, and our expectations even further afield. I’ve found that some science-fiction writers who don’t keep abreast of current scientific advances will often write about futuristic technology which has already been invented!! So in this particular case, we already have mind-control robots, what’s the next step? Perhaps a futuristic step would be not requiring the brain chip? Or perhaps controlling more complex systems, such as a gaming character in a first person shooter? Or maybe even a spaceship run entirely by thought control?

The possibilities are endless, but I think the most amazing thing is that it’s already here and happening right before our eyes!

Tune in next Wednesday for another dose of ‘When Science Fiction Becomes Reality’.

What great scientific advances have you heard about? What do you think this kind of technology will lead to?

Murder Takes Time- Book Review

 

 

Looking over my shoulder I can’t help but wonder if I’d notice if someone was watching me. Would I take note of the car parked across the street, or the man sitting in the diner? Probably not.

These are the thoughts that have been going through my head since I finished reading Murder Takes Time by Giacomo Giammatteo. It is a fantastic book which pulls you through the pages with intrigue, revenge and mystery. Murder Takes Time is a murder mystery which flicks back and forth between the modern day murders and the past trials which have led to current events. You get to know the lives of the characters; from rowdy youths to jaded men.

The book is a bit gory, so if you have a soft stomach it might not be the book for you, but for others who enjoy the darker side, you’ll love it. You’ll be captivated with a mystery which isn’t revealed until near the very end. You’ll empathise with all of the characters, from the struggling detective to the troubled mob boss.

There’s not much I can criticize this book for, it’s a great read and well worth your time. I’m not too squeamish so the gory details didn’t bother me but I do feel the book would have been just as good with less horror elements. Therefore my only suggestion is that if it did have less gore it might be more accessible to a wider audience, but hey, if gore’s your thing- dive right in!

So 4.5 stars for this one- go grab yourself a copy and be immersed in murder and mystery.

Have you read Murder Takes Time? What did you think? Have you read any other good murder mysteries? Tell us about it below!

Blood Family Blog Tour

Today I’m proud to host Mark Knight on his blog tour for Blood Family. This novel is fresh off the printer and ready to take the vampire world by storm.

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Blurb:

Until the age of seventeen, Daniel Dark had no idea of his true origins. Something was ulcerating deep inside him, waiting to claw its way free. Pastor Nathan Dark and his wife, Annie, had adopted him and brought him up as their own. But Daniel always felt that there was a secret they feared tell him…

Everything changes the day a mysterious package arrives at his home. It contains blood – human blood. Daniel’s vampire half awakens and takes its first step out of the shadows. The once lazy, goalless youth transforms into sharp-sensed killer. Now, there is no turning back.

Many horrors await Daniel, for he not only can detect but also attract the living dead…

Daniel Dark will unlock the sinister netherworld where helpless humans are kept and bred for bloodletting, and where he will have to face the unutterable evil.

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So.. if you’ve had enough of sparkly vampires and would like to give an indie author a go, head over and buy Mark’s book, and don’t forget to tell us what you thought of it in the comments section below!

 

About the Author:

Mark Knight grew up in Massachusetts, USA. Settling in the UK, Mark continued to write novels of differing genres, including horror and television scripts. Mark has scripted two horror scripts for Hollywood’s Little Slices of Death production company and one for Illusion Studios. He also won several short story competitions, and has had his work featured in published anthologies. Mark concentrates now on Young Adult urban fantasy novels.

 

www.markknightbooks.com

www.bloodfamily.co.uk

@markknightbooks (Twitter)

www.amazon.com/author/markknight

 

Collapse- Book Review

 

 

America has been crippled by the Second Great Depression, Obamaville in Central Park is full to bursting and the Iranian Empire has eyes set on Europe, this is Collapse by Richard Stephenson.

It is an apocalyptic fiction novel which is just a little too non-fiction for comfort. You watch the world crumble through the eyes of a cast of characters and it all seems too real. Through the novel you learn of America’s decent from power to anarchy and the little steps and mistakes that lead it there. Thanks to the manner in which the story is told you can see it happening before your very eyes.

The novel is especially relevant today with the world only recently recovering from the GFC and the fear of terror rampant in American hearts. It is only a few small steps from the state of fear elicited by recent terror attacks to the rioting and panic which features so prominently in Collapse.

The characters are life-like and I found myself cheering them on, despite their obvious flaws (murderers etc.). The story switches from character to character in such a way that I just had to keep turning the pages.

I have very little criticism for this book, it’s well written and if you enjoy apocalyptic fiction, go and buy it. Your only regret will be that you don’t have the sequel in front of you.

The only nit-picks I can find is that another round of editing wouldn’t go astray, there were a few errors (enough for me to notice and I’m flat out spelling my own name right!), but I doubt there’s enough to really worry anyone. The story does jump a bit, it’s easy to follow from character to character but sometimes it goes back in time with no warning. I found these segments a little difficult, it took me a while to realize it was the same character only at a younger age. I think they are great in terms of story development but more of a warning would be nice; e.g. 10 years ago… but now I’ve told you the time jumps are there they shouldn’t be a problem!

So 4.5 stars for this one (because there always has to be room for improvement). If you like apocalyptic fiction, go out and buy it. If you don’t, go out and buy it anyway, you might discover a new genre!

Doctor Who- Old vs. New

So today I have a question for all of you lovely readers- how does ‘classic’ Doctor Who compare to ‘new’ Doctor Who?

I’ll admit I only jumped on the Whovian band wagon for the new Who, when Christopher Eccleston took on the role. But I fell in love with it! Who wouldn’t love an alien flying around in a blue box saving planets?

I must admit, I’m a bit age-ist when it comes to film and TV, if it’s too old I probably won’t watch it- for two main reasons:

A) The picture/sound quality (I know, I know- terrible of me)

B) The blatant sexism that seems to abound in every movie ever written before 1990 (please tell me I’m not alone here, does anyone else get tired of the woman standing there screaming and doing absolutely nothing to protect herself, so the man has to rush in to save her?- this is a pet peeve of mine and seems to appear in such a large percentage of older TV shows and movies that I just gave up watching them)

So, the big question is: How does the old Dr. Who compare to the new? Should I dig into my pockets and pull out the cash to buy the old seasons? Or just be content at joining the story at Dr. 9?

Please let me know your thoughts, it’s a decision I’ve been tossing up since I watched the first season of the ‘new’ Who. Tell me all about it below.

The Herald of Darkness- Competition

The Herald of Darkness is the second book of The Lost Child Saga which kicked off last year with The Fallen Star. The Herald of Darkness is growing into an epic story where a whole cast of new characters are introduced. I know there are already lots of people eager to get their hands on this book and as part of the pre-publication fun I’m starting up a little competition.

Simply like us on facebook or tweet about us and you could win one of 3 fantastic prizes.

How would you like to star as a character in this up-and-coming novel?- First prize will get a semi-main character based on them traipsing through the pages! Runners up will receive copies of The Fallen Star or The Herald of Darkness, or both!

It’s easy to enter, just follow the instructions.

Click here to enter.