Luke's Updates en-US Fri, 02 May 2025 15:41:43 -0700 60 Luke's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review7537070703 Fri, 02 May 2025 15:41:43 -0700 <![CDATA[Luke added 'Fuck Yeah, Video Games: The Life and Extra Lives of a Professional Nerd']]> /review/show/7537070703 Fuck Yeah, Video Games by Daniel Hardcastle Luke gave 5 stars to Fuck Yeah, Video Games: The Life and Extra Lives of a Professional Nerd (Hardcover) by Daniel Hardcastle
Theres many things I could say about this book but the best review i can give is this - (This is the book Bill Bryson would write if he was a gamer!)

10/10 Loved it! ]]> UserStatus1055080758 Wed, 30 Apr 2025 17:14:36 -0700 <![CDATA[ Luke is on page 400 of 411 of Christine ]]> Christine by Stephen King Luke is on page 400 of 411 of <a href="/book/show/10629.Christine">Christine</a>. ]]> Review7518840253 Tue, 29 Apr 2025 06:41:52 -0700 <![CDATA[Luke added 'Halo: Saint's Testimony']]> /review/show/7518840253 Halo by Frank O'Connor Luke gave 5 stars to Halo: Saint's Testimony (Kindle Edition) by Frank O'Connor
(Synopsis) - The military-grade artificial intelligence known as Iona has only one week to live. After that, the UNSC will legally terminate her seven-year existence in order to stave off the threat of the data corruption phenomenon known as “rampancy,� a condition that will eventually take hold of her functionality and persona, endangering all those around her. In a last-ditch effort to save herself, Iona has successfully launched an unprecedented legal appeal against her own death sentence a case being watched very closely at not only the highest levels of human government, but by others with a very different agenda.

(Review) - This was honestly mind-blowing, for a book written in 2015 that deals with the subject of AI (Advanced Intelligence) and the conversions that come with that, that even now 10 years later in 2025 we are only just having blew me away. It does exactly what a short story needs to do, pull you in and grip you tight till the very end and this did i only finished it in one sitting and it had me questioning what is life? what really is consciousness? and not only why do we dream but also if something dreams then does that mean it's alive and has a soul? Now I never expected any of these questions when i brought this book I was expecting a book set in a video game universe and i was looking to expand my mind into that universe, but instead i got an expansion to my universe and to the idea of AI and the conversations we are having now on the subject. it was really fascinating and definitely a book I'd recommend for halo fans and those who are fans of deep high science fiction topics that really make you think. And for only 99p on kindle it's most definitely one of the best book bargains I've had in a very long time for what it is and what I got out of it, some of the topics here will have me thinking about them for years to come.

5/5 Stars GoodReads ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟

100/100 GingerPoints 🔥🔥 ]]> Rating852006636 Mon, 28 Apr 2025 08:20:29 -0700 <![CDATA[Luke (TheGingerBookWorm) liked a review]]> /
Luke liked Kaley CR's review of Halo: Saint's Testimony:
Halo by Frank O'Connor
"For only 35 pages (or a one hour audiobook) this little story by Frank O'Connor is surprisingly deep, especially if you are familiar with O'Connor's typical goofy antics.

The entire novella covers the trial of the A.I. Iona as she argues in favour of letting her live past the 7 year lifespan that Smart A.I.s are programmed with in the Halo Universe.

For those not in the know, the Smart A.I.s in the Halo Universe have a 7 year killswitch in them because at a certain point they basically process too much information which makes them think themselves into insanity, so to speak, which is called Rampancy.

This story is incredibly philosophical, with us being given Iona's "inner" monologue as she argues about her own consciousness and connection to humanity against a court of humans who will ultimately decide her fate.

The prose is genuinely beautiful at times, and I grew very attached to Iona almost immediately, which makes me want to check out the other pieces of Halo fiction that she is a part of, which I believe is a series of comic books.

There is a bit of a twist to this that is neither good or bad, it just recontextualizes a lot of what happens in this story's brief runtime, but I will not spoil it here.

Overall, a great little short story that I highly recommend to anyone with an interest in science fiction in general, not just the Halo universe. 35 pages goes by pretty quick.

Side note: why is this not simply included in Halo: Fractures, the short story collection that almost immediately follows this? I guess I'm not complaining because I think this story was released for free so that is nice of 343."
]]> Review7518840253 Mon, 28 Apr 2025 08:20:15 -0700 <![CDATA[Luke added 'Halo: Saint's Testimony']]> /review/show/7518840253 Halo by Frank O'Connor Luke gave 5 stars to Halo: Saint's Testimony (Kindle Edition) by Frank O'Connor
(Synopsis) - The military-grade artificial intelligence known as Iona has only one week to live. After that, the UNSC will legally terminate her seven-year existence in order to stave off the threat of the data corruption phenomenon known as “rampancy,� a condition that will eventually take hold of her functionality and persona, endangering all those around her. In a last-ditch effort to save herself, Iona has successfully launched an unprecedented legal appeal against her own death sentence a case being watched very closely at not only the highest levels of human government, but by others with a very different agenda.

(Review) - This was honestly mind-blowing, for a book written in 2015 that deals with the subject of AI (Advanced Intelligence) and the conversions that come with that, that even now 10 years later in 2025 we are only just having blew me away. It does exactly what a short story needs to do, pull you in and grip you tight till the very end and this did i only finished it in one sitting and it had me questioning what is life? what really is consciousness? and not only why do we dream but also if something dreams then does that mean it's alive and has a soul? Now I never expected any of these questions when i brought this book I was expecting a book set in a video game universe and i was looking to expand my mind into that universe, but instead i got an expansion to my universe and to the idea of AI and the conversations we are having now on the subject. it was really fascinating and definitely a book I'd recommend for halo fans and those who are fans of deep high science fiction topics that really make you think. And for only 99p on kindle it's most definitely one of the best book bargains I've had in a very long time for what it is and what I got out of it, some of the topics here will have me thinking about them for years to come.

5/5 Stars GoodReads ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟

100/100 GingerPoints 🔥🔥 ]]> ReadStatus9352365539 Fri, 25 Apr 2025 16:37:19 -0700 <![CDATA[Luke is currently reading 'Halo: Saint's Testimony']]> /review/show/7518840253 Halo by Frank O'Connor Luke is currently reading Halo: Saint's Testimony by Frank O'Connor
]]> Review7433947814 Fri, 25 Apr 2025 15:18:41 -0700 <![CDATA[Luke added 'Another Life']]> /review/show/7433947814 Another Life by Peter Anghelides Luke gave 3 stars to Another Life (Torchwood, #1) by Peter Anghelides
(Synopsis) - Captain Jack leads Gwen Cooper, and Toshiko Sato to a monster in a bathroom, a mystery at an army base, and stolen nuclear fuel rods. Meanwhile, Owen Harper vanishes from the hub, when a Second Reality game leads him to an ex-girlfriend.

(Review) - This book at times was brilliant and felt very much like the show and did a great job at flushing out and building the world of Torchwood and the characters more from the show, BUT also the narrative pacing is all over the shop, sometimes it's quick and epic with incredible dialogue especially when jack is on the page and then it slows down for ages and pulled me out of the story, BUT again it's not terrible as the story is interesting just parts needed trimming down and focusing the story plot more. Also what didn't help me was the huge number of grammer mistakes and errors that might not bother most other people but me being dyslexic that stopped me a lot as i had try to follow the story again after loosing my way. So add that with all the pacing errors It took me longer to get through it then I had planned. BUT despite that i didn't hate my time here as my love for characters and the dialogue and still has the same feel of the show i kepted reading. That's why my end rating is a 3.5/5 because it's close to being a 4 star (great book) if it just had some of the story trimmed and no grammer errors i think i would of breezed through this a lot faster. But the most important thing is im still interested, I want to keep reading more books in this world so again this was a hard review to put together as it wasn't bad and wasn't great its very average and middle of the road. But I do like it so bring on the next book, I have faith in the author of that one, that things will go over alot smoother so time will tell.

3.5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

65/100 GingerPoints 🔥 ]]> Review7433947814 Wed, 23 Apr 2025 07:17:13 -0700 <![CDATA[Luke added 'Another Life']]> /review/show/7433947814 Another Life by Peter Anghelides Luke gave 3 stars to Another Life (Torchwood, #1) by Peter Anghelides
(Synopsis) - Captain Jack leads Gwen Cooper, and Toshiko Sato to a monster in a bathroom, a mystery at an army base, and stolen nuclear fuel rods. Meanwhile, Owen Harper vanishes from the hub, when a Second Reality game leads him to an ex-girlfriend.

(Review) - This book at times was brilliant and felt very much like the show and did a great job at flushing out and building the world of Torchwood and the characters more from the show, BUT also the narrative pacing is all over the shop, sometimes it's quick and epic with incredible dialogue especially when jack is on the page and then it slows down for ages and pulled me out of the story, BUT again it's not terrible as the story is interesting just parts needed trimming down and focusing the story plot more. Also what didn't help me was the huge number of grammer mistakes and errors that might not bother most other people but me being dyslexic that stopped me a lot as i had try to follow the story again after loosing my way. So add that with all the pacing errors It took me longer to get through it then I had planned. BUT despite that i didn't hate my time here as my love for characters and the dialogue and still has the same feel of the show i kepted reading. That's why my end rating is a 3.5/5 because it's close to being a 4 star (great book) if it just had some of the story trimmed and no grammer errors i think i would of breezed through this a lot faster. But the most important thing is im still interested, I want to keep reading more books in this world so again this was a hard review to put together as it wasn't bad and wasn't great its very average and middle of the road. But I do like it so bring on the next book, I have faith in the author of that one, that things will go over alot smoother so time will tell.

3.5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

65/100 GingerPoints 🔥 ]]> ReadStatus9279309957 Sun, 06 Apr 2025 16:31:39 -0700 <![CDATA[Luke started reading 'Another Life']]> /review/show/7433947814 Another Life by Peter Anghelides Luke started reading Another Life by Peter Anghelides
]]> ReadStatus9277211462 Sun, 06 Apr 2025 06:47:06 -0700 <![CDATA[Luke is currently reading 'Christine']]> /review/show/7466770034 Christine by Stephen King Luke is currently reading Christine by Stephen King
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