Matthew’s Comments (group member since Jun 29, 2019)

Matthew’s comments from the Three Mugs Book Club group.

I nominate:
We Are Legion (We Are Bob), by Dennis E Taylor
Rating: 4.29/5

It is an easy-going, very bingeable kind of read. It's best described as a comedic space opera.



"Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street.

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. The stakes are high: no less than the first claim to entire worlds. If he declines the honor, he'll be switched off, and they'll try again with someone else. If he accepts, he becomes a prime target. There are at least three other countries trying to get their own probes launched first, and they play dirty.

The safest place for Bob is in space, heading away from Earth at top speed. Or so he thinks. Because the universe is full of nasties, and trespassers make them mad - very mad."

There are a few on here that I had already been meaning to read.

I have read Lies of Locke Lamora, which was a great pleasure. Scott Lynch is definitely up there with the likes of Patrick Rothfuss, both in quality of writing and taking his sweet time getting the next book out.

Wolves Eat Dogs -Martin Cruz Smith
Genres: mystery, crime, Russian setting

Alas Babylon - Pat Frank
Genres: post-apocalyptic/nuclear war

Beneath a Scarlet Sky - Mark T Sullivan
Genres: WWII, espionage, "mostly true" historical fiction

Artemis - Andy Weir
Genres: sci-fi, lunar setting, crime

The Terror - Dan Simmons
Genres: historical fiction, shipwreck, horror, arctic setting

Dune - Frank Herbert
Genres: space opera, epic sci-fi

The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie
Genres: grimdark, epic fantasy

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K Dick
Genres: sci-fi, dystopia, robots, artificial intelligence

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A Heinlein
Genres: sci-fi, lunar setting, revolution

Red Rising - Pierce Brown
Genres: sci-fi, dystopia, revolution

The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie

Elantris - Brandon Sanderson

Watership Down - Richard Adams

Foundation - Isaac Asimov

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Robert Heinlein

The Terror - Dan Simmons


Hyperion - Dan Simmons

1. No idea, aside from it being 'advanced for it's time'

2. Consider somebody with epilepsy. They don't comprehend any elaborate meaning in the flashing lights which causes their seizures. However, this data does affect their brains.
Also consider the subliminal messaging we see in our day to day lives. We may not consciously think about or comprehend these as we are exposed to them, but they do gradually influence the way we think.
As far as data that would radically change something such as language goes, perhaps it is possible. The level of precision and detail required, however, would make it unfeasible. It would also have to be taylor made, I think, for each individual, based on their brain chemistry, memories, etc.