An 11 year old girl named Rose rides her bike into the woods near her home when suddenly she falls into a large crater. She isn’t hurt, but she is sitAn 11 year old girl named Rose rides her bike into the woods near her home when suddenly she falls into a large crater. She isn’t hurt, but she is sitting inside a 23 foot long metal hand! However; it isn’t a statue. It’s an extremely detailed, complex piece of machinery that just doesn’t quite seem right. About twenty years later, Rose is now a scientist and as fate would have it, in charge of studying this mysterious artifact. It’s made of metals it shouldn’t be made of, it glows with turquoise lights despite no light or power source, and it weighs significantly less than it should. Everything about this hand is off, and suggests it is not man-made. A breakthrough is made when they discover a way to “activate� the other pieces and a global (and illegal) search is on the way. Slowly they rebuild this giant robot, and the more the secrets they uncover, the more mystery and questions they uncover.
At first I thought the format would leave me uninterested or detached, I was wrong. I think it would have been just fine written in standard novel narrative, but this worked too. It is told through a series of interview transcripts, journal entries and other documents. The interviews are all between the main characters and a mysterious, unnamed government agent who acts as a sort of “Men In Black, so high on the Top Secret Clearance level that he probably doesn’t legally exist� kind of person. The book reminds me a lot of the movie Arrival (which I know is based on a book but I didn’t read it, so all I know is the movie), in that it tackles a very realistic approach to what happens when an alien artifact is found. The way the scientists decipher the language and code written on the walls of the crater and on the robot itself are very clever and I believe would be a very real way to go about it. As far as sci-fi goes, it is certainly more on the drama, intellectual side (like Arrival or Interstellar) rather than action side. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely read the next in the series....more
Had to abandon about half-way through. I typically hate not giving books a full go but this just could not keep me engaged enough. Perhaps this was a Had to abandon about half-way through. I typically hate not giving books a full go but this just could not keep me engaged enough. Perhaps this was a "young adult" book and no one told me. The premise was sound; fictional retelling of the wild west with the famous Tombstone cowboys but with a Steampunk twist. As an Arizona native, I'm very familiar with the story and thought I would love this. I did not. The store plays out much like a cartoon, with random characters assigned historical names and a steampunk-by-numbers recipe. Thomas Edison is an inventory; so he should have a mechanical arm and big brass monocle on his head. Geronimo is an Indian name, so that character can use magic and turn people into bats and Apaches can shape-shift into animals? I just couldn't, I'm sorry....more
Loved this book, and read it during the perfect time.
A global pandemic has caused a large percentage of people to experience "Lock In" or Haden's SyndLoved this book, and read it during the perfect time.
A global pandemic has caused a large percentage of people to experience "Lock In" or Haden's Syndrome; causing them to be fully conscious but unable to move, trapped in their own bodies. With so many locked in, funding was pumped into medical science to created many solutions for them, including the ability to transfer their consciousness into robot bodies, or in a sort of digital world. In rarer cases, some people are able to carry others consciousness inside their own head, giving the locked in a chance to feel human again, if only for a short time. One of these Haden's is an FBI agent in a division that specializes in Haden's related crimes. On his first day on the job, he is thrown into the deep end with an unprecedented murder case, the likes of which no one has ever seen before.
Such a unique world was built very quickly and I was engage in this new society immediately. As one could image, a main character who literally can't show emotion (because he uses one of these "robot" bodies) was not the most dynamic protagonist. However, following the mystery of these murders and crimes had me hooked and loved to watch it unfold threw very grounded futuristic technology that reminded me of something from Black Mirror. I really enjoyed this book and want to read more sci-fi inspired detective/crime novels....more
So there is great, good, bad and ugly. **Some minor spoilers**
In this story, Lake has created literally a clockwork universe! The sun a glowing lamp, So there is great, good, bad and ugly. **Some minor spoilers**
In this story, Lake has created literally a clockwork universe! The sun a glowing lamp, with the Earth a giant clockwork sphere rotating around the sun on a giant rail like a pinion on a track and the moon doing the same. Even religion is based on a clockwork God and Brass Christ and automaton angels. Young clock-maker apprentice Hethor is visited by the archangel Gabriel who tells him the Earth is slowing down as the mainspring in the world is winding down. Hethor must find the Key Perilous and re-wind the world to save it. He will meet many new people and creatures, many of clockwork automaton nature, and even cross the great Equatorial Wall (the teeth of the giant gear that the Earth runs the track on).
The Great: A steampunk Christianity in a clockwork universe! Amazing! The creativity of applying such detail to an imaginative world. I love how the author managed to make a legit sounding steampunk bible versus and how people would worship a steampunk God.
The Good: A solid balance of wonder and adventure. Throughout the book, I was not sure how much of it was fantasy and how much would be all too real and crush young Hethor. Was Gabriel real? Is he really on a quest from God? Is there really a mainspring turning the whole world and could one person really save it? I was really interested to see how his adventure panned out.
The Bad: Hethor was probably the most boring main character I've read in a while. The only reason you want him to succeed is because he is the only main character to bat for. He is too much the starry-eyed, naive, ah-shucks kind of kid who should have been the last person ever to be put on this quest.
The Ugly: This kid would have died in about a day if he didn't have a divine pass laid out before him. And it was laid out perfectly, like a golden road to lead him. Sure he got beat up, lost friends and people he cared about, and got even more severely beat up. But, at every opportunity to meet death (which was kind of often), a divine hand saved him every time! Must be nice.
Overall, I loved the steampunk universe but the story itself and characters were too flat and did not keep me nearly as engaged as I hoped....more
Ready Player One is now in my top 5 favorite books. At first I didn't think it was much of an original concept (reminded me of the Battlestar GalacticReady Player One is now in my top 5 favorite books. At first I didn't think it was much of an original concept (reminded me of the Battlestar Galactica prequel tv show Caprica with their "holobands" and "V-space"), however this quickly fell to the way-side as I became more and more engrossed in the story.
The story follows teenager Wade Watts, aka Parzival; the first person to uncover the first of three clues that will inherit him the single most wealthiest and powerful estate on the broken and devastated planet. Legendary genius James Donovan Halliday created the OASIS, a virtual reality now as commonly used as the internet. In his final will, he declared whoever finds a ridiculously well hidden easter egg inside the program will inherit the multi-million dollar estate.
Like many, Wade spend 5 years studying and absorbing everything Halliday every watched, played, listened to, read, created or mentioned in hopes of finding the egg. His dream suddenly seemed to be coming true when he finds the first key. But, soon he discovers what people are willing to do to get their hands on that much money and power. Entire corporations are now bribing him, some are even trying to kill him! His life falls apart as friends and loved ones are ripped away and he is forced to go into hiding as he is now the most famous, and most hunted person on Earth. However, he knows that if he doesn't find the egg, then an evil corporation, bent on destroying the freedoms of the OASIS and it's users will win, and destroy the only good thing left in his world. So, he must suffer through, and use every single 80s pop culture reference you can think of the solve the puzzles, find the keys and open the gates that lead to the ultimate prize.
I first thought the story was progressing a bit slow and didn't think I would be very invested in the story. However, I was quickly proven wrong. The story is any 80s geek's holy grail, packed with dozens of movie, music, gaming and comic references. The main character is also a very likable and relate-able person that you truly do root for every step of the way. The book keeps the suspense as Wade falls victim to more and more barricades and pitfalls and kept me wanting to read on to see how he pulls himself out. The last few chapters were especially gripping and kept me up late nights not wanting to put the book down and keep up the satisfying conclusion.
Ready Player One is a charming and entertaining book that just about anyone, especially geeks can enjoy. I wouldn't be surprised to see this made into a movie, but it would probably suck. No way a film and jam this much story and heart into 2 hours of story telling. So read it, and enjoy it!...more
Simply could not find this as enjoyable as I thought. It may seem a minor grievance, but it did bother me quite a bit. This book is described as beingSimply could not find this as enjoyable as I thought. It may seem a minor grievance, but it did bother me quite a bit. This book is described as being a "re-imagining" or alternative of the American Southwest. This sounds great as I love the Southwest, but this book didn't hit that mark for me. It really doesn't resemble the SW at all? There are virtually no references to any real life cities/landmarks or events, and in fact the names used don't sound Southwestern at all. This I found strange and disappointing. Otherwise I found the pacing to be too slow and not really as exciting as a SW steam-punk fantasy could be....more
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