What was considered farce in the 1950s is now not only accepted reality, but we’re quickly passing out of late stage capitalism and into early techno What was considered farce in the 1950s is now not only accepted reality, but we’re quickly passing out of late stage capitalism and into early techno feudalism. Soon we’ll all pine for the good old days of a free market economy where actual people tried to sell us shit we didn’t need, but could afford because they had competition from other companies.
This was a fun book, kinda like if Philip k. Dick wrote mad men.
A top advertising executive in a dystopian world on the edge of ecological collapse finds himself suddenly on the bottom rung of society. He stops at nothing to unravel the mystery of what happened to him and how he can get back to his former life. Along the way there’s a plethora of crazy concepts like corporate powers openly controlling the government, deliberately getting its customers addicted to it’s products, manipulating its workers into an untenable cycle of debt that they can never escape and even legally killing corporate rivals.
I’m not sure you could write a book like this today. You can’t write an absurdist look into the future from now because no matter how bad or silly you go with it, it could never be crazy or horrific enough. If you could go back in time and show Pohl and Kornbluth how the future wound up, they’d shit their dicks off. ...more
A posthumous collection of articles and essays. Several of these were the basis for full books. It’s a great was to get a sampling Graeber’s work to sA posthumous collection of articles and essays. Several of these were the basis for full books. It’s a great was to get a sampling Graeber’s work to see if you’d like his other offerings. ...more
Nothing I can argue with in this. I agree with everything he says about conspiracy theories, scientific buzzwords and overhyping research results becaNothing I can argue with in this. I agree with everything he says about conspiracy theories, scientific buzzwords and overhyping research results because of grant money competition.
It also seemed like he was playing it safe politically, punching down at the more ridiculous, wacky kinds of anti-intellectualism that seems to come from the far right, like flat-earth, ect.
Can’t really argue with that, but it’s low hanging fruit. Private sector scientists have buried or tampered with unfavourable results for decades, publishing incorrect research with the aim of muddying the waters of the findings of competitors. And scientists are human and have human failings like pride. Sometimes they deliberately skew results in the pursuit of being proven right over the truth at all costs. Ansel Keys seven country study comes to mind (and was not mentioned)
I also feel that there has been a left-wing takeover of scientific and academic institutions that belies impartial research and balanced opinions. I don’t consider myself right or left politically, I’m basing that opinion on other reading. Science,medicine and academia should be apolitical. They should teach how to think, not what to think.
Still, the book was full of interesting anecdotes and was pretty funny at times. It was also a bit smug for a book written for a general audience....more
I actually saw the movie adaptation of this before I’d read any of Grann’s books and really dug it. I didn’t realize what a celebrity Fawcett was, whaI actually saw the movie adaptation of this before I’d read any of Grann’s books and really dug it. I didn’t realize what a celebrity Fawcett was, what an impact he had on popular culture while he was alive and after his disappearance. The most interesting thing though is how it seems to back up claims made by Graham Hancock in his book fingerprints of the gods.
The idea that there was a much larger and more advanced civilization in the Amazon prior to contact with the Spanish. All traces of this civilization were wiped out in the aftermath of plague, genocide and intentional attempts by catholic priests to destroy any evidence of “pagan� writings and art as an offence to god.
It all sounded pretty crazy until a few years ago when they used some drones equipped with a new type of imaging technology that revealed actual raised roads connecting towns all through what is now impassable jungle.
Crazier still is how many people have lost their lives in vain searches for Fawcett and his lost city. ...more
I feel it’s only fair for me to preface this review by admitting that my only previous knowledge of Genghis Kahn (pronounced Genghis) was gleaned from I feel it’s only fair for me to preface this review by admitting that my only previous knowledge of Genghis Kahn (pronounced Genghis) was gleaned from the portrayal of him by legendary stuntman Al Leong in Bill & Ted’s excellent adventure. Furthermore, the great Kahn never deigned to have his portrait made in his lifetime, so you can’t say with 100% certainty that John Wayne was “miscast� or � ridiculous� in his, probably amazingly accurate movie about him.
Kahn’s mom was kidnapped on her wedding day by a bandit. She, most likely unhappily became his wife and gave birth to his son: Temujin (Kahn’s name before unlocking his Genghis style) During his early life he would see his family expelled from their tribe, become a slave and have his own wife kidnapped. He rose from those humble beginnings to forge an empire that would encompass most of the known world.
What really blew me away about this book was how far off the reality of the Mongolian empire was from the conception of it in the west. Kahn was a military genius who constantly changed tactics and incorporated new technologies whenever he encountered them. He often killed off the aristocracy of conquered nations and made life better for its ordinary people. He made laws against torture and slavery, he was tolerant of all religions and elevated ordinary people into positions once only held by nobility. By the time of his grandson Kublai Kahn, the empire extended into what is now Russia, china and the Middle East. They had instituted trade and paper money on a huge scale and were very multicultural. They helped to modernize the world.
That said they dissolved in only a few generations due to infighting and decadence. They had a tendency to adopt themselves to other cultures rather than forcing their culture on others so they had no capital city or monuments to survive the centuries.
Though they were fierce and merciless in battle it’s unfair to remember them as mere savages. Plus kublai kahn had a mobile palace carried on the backs of four elephants. From that lofty pearch, he seeded the world with Mongolian grill franchises which are still enjoyed by enthusiastic patrons the world over. ...more
This was missing the main element that made me enjoy the few other “men’s adventure� books I’ve read-they were completely unhinged. I liked the execut This was missing the main element that made me enjoy the few other “men’s adventure� books I’ve read-they were completely unhinged. I liked the executioner because it was pure cheese. The dude writing it put his whole heart and soul into it. It was very violent and full of self righteous philosophizing and the kind of adolescent wish fulfillment that shows a total lack of self awareness. The main character being a psychopath that you’re supposed to sympathize with is what makes these kind of books enjoyable.
The destroyer is also a lone man going against the mafia but the book is much more buttoned down. The main character says and does some stupid shit and there’s a sex scent that’s unbelievable, but he experiences fear and doubt. He questions what he’s doing at times. He also has a secret organization funding and supporting him so he’s not really alone. One of the highlights of the book is Chiun, the wisened old master of the completely fabricated art of Sinanju. He physically and verbally abuses Remo while training him in to be the destroyer. The book wasn’t terrible, it was just a bit too tame to read as comedy. Maybe some of the later ones get crazy.
Bonus: I watched the presumptuously titled, Remo Williams: the adventure begins. I’d seen it as a kid and didn’t remember much. It was 80s cheese and played for laughs quite a bit. There were some good action scenes, especially the statue of liberty set piece. It also had a young Kate Mulgrew (captain janeway from Star Trek) and a white dude playing a Korean with the aid of less than convincing prosthetics. ...more
Silverglass takes more time with the story and characters. I haven’t looked it up by I suspect that the author is a woman. There’s lots of action and shopping. The two main characters Carson and Tasia are both sexually charged and have sex with each other as well as other characters but the sex is implied and they are the ones in control of these encounters.
Most of the page count is spent developing the complex relationship between Tasia, a high born woman who is an enigmatic sorceress with a chameleon like ability to be perceived as a noblewoman or poor, travelling scholar, even male or female with the help of costume changes and acting ability. Corson a hot tempered, freewheeling mercenary. She’s a warrior of Amazonian beauty and stature whose sexual lust is only outstripped by her wander lust.
Corson is initially hired to kill Tasia but somehow Tasia’s powers of persuasion convince Corson to strike a deal to be her bodyguard and escort her away from her family to her paramour who waits for her in a far away land. As the unlikely duo make their way by land and sea, saving each others lives in process, their bond deepens.
It really winds up being a female bromance, besties saving each other from themselves in a way.
Pretty decent, I’d read the next one if I found it in the wild....more
Before I even got started with this one I had Robert Silverberg’s the world inside on my mind. It’s also a book about tons of people living in a self
Before I even got started with this one I had Robert Silverberg’s the world inside on my mind. It’s also a book about tons of people living in a self contained high rise. But where that book is like brave new world (a totally new and different society) this one is more like lord of the flies.
The buildings services and operations degrade to a point where three distinct class structures emerge and quickly go to war with each other. Ballard is on the nose about it, not disguising it with allegory and he’s got a straightforward style. This is my first Ballard and I’m looking forward to more, maybe the drowned world.
I can definitely see the influence of this on more recent works like the silo trilogy. My paperback is the movie tie in copy, normally I hate those but it’s the only one of his books I’ve ever seen in a store. Guess I’ll have to watch the movie now....more
The hammer of god was not exactly what I was expecting. Most of the Arthur C Clarke books I’ve read go from dryer than Whoopi Goldberg at a MAGA rally
The hammer of god was not exactly what I was expecting. Most of the Arthur C Clarke books I’ve read go from dryer than Whoopi Goldberg at a MAGA rally, to strangely esoteric without much in between. I was expecting a rendezvous with Rama level of dryness(king Tut in a tanning booth?), professionals getting on with their mission. There was a fair bit of that along with realistic science, it also took a stab at being a bit of a future history and taking a stab at character development. A lot of time gets spent on Robert Singh in the 40 years leading up to his mission. Robert was a lunar athlete, got married, divorced, moved to mars, got remarried and had more kids, etc.
This leads up to the discovery of an asteroid on a collision course with earth. This takes place in the 22nd century so humans have countermeasures in place to deal with that sort of stuff. If only earth hadn’t turned into a new world order, basically communist utopia where the major religion is “Chrislam� an amalgamation of Christianity and Islam. This new super religion helps unite the world (minus the jews…again) but it also creates superfindamentalistextremealadocious wackos that may not want to save the earth.
Not the most original concept even 30 years ago but it’s well done and has a nail biting third act. I could have done with more asteroid mission and less of Bob’s life leading up to it. ...more
This does one of those Stephen King style hard turns around the mid point. It starts off as a fairly standard military science fiction story: Earth an This does one of those Stephen King style hard turns around the mid point. It starts off as a fairly standard military science fiction story: Earth and its colonies are at war with a mysterious alien species that it’s had no communication with. A retired veteran looking for a peaceful life, starts over on a planet full of artists called Mnemosyne. Soon the military shows up to establish a base and turns it all to shit. A love triangle develops between our hero “Mack,� a free spirited babe named Lissa and this arrogant, unproven, cockblocking colonel who is a pretty decent foil.
Halfway through it takes a sudden, esoteric turn and becomes another story completely. While the first part was familiar it was entertaining. The turn it takes was a bit heavy handed for my taste. Maybe I wasn’t in the mood, maybe when it was written it was a revelation. Either way I was rolling my eyes a bit at the ending. Not the worst thing I’ve read but it’s a masterclass in subverting expectations....more
Wow, not what I was expecting. It was really great, had some serious Ray Bradbury, coming of age, darkness on the edge of town vibes. But on another p
Wow, not what I was expecting. It was really great, had some serious Ray Bradbury, coming of age, darkness on the edge of town vibes. But on another planet. The characters were well written, the kids and their adventures mixed with the ambiguous adult world they’re learning not to trust. The most interesting aspect of it is that it seems like a late 19th century town where the people are not human but look close enough and share our emotions and motivations, but the story only works as science fiction, the setting isn’t superfluous. It’s a really great story that deserves more attention. ...more
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