I remember watching 2001: A space Odyssey about seven years back and almost losing my mind during the overlong Stargate sequence and what followed aftI remember watching 2001: A space Odyssey about seven years back and almost losing my mind during the overlong Stargate sequence and what followed after that acid trip.
[image] *The I might puke face*
Fast forward to 2017, one of my buddies called me up and said, 'Sreyas, 2001: Space Odyssey is a fricking classic. You should read the book before watching the movie'. Fortunately, I had a copy of the novel with me and I jumped right in!
❝ If he was indeed mad, his delusions were beautifully organized.❞
The story starts in a time before the dawn of human kind, when benevolent and rather mindless man-apes were dying one after another due to overlong drought and natural predators. In short, The tribal group was going down and they were facing Extinction with a big E.
[image]
Enter our savior, the big black slab which manipulated with the minds of man-apes and turned them into ambitious, innovative and uh... violent hooligans? But hey, they needed to be all this to survive such a primitive world. The only problem was that the once benevolent man-apes passed these newly found qualities like innovation, imagination and unfortunately, violence to future generations that followed them.
[image]
That's a topic for another time. Because right now, it's all about science and the mysterious black monolith which engineered the dawn of humankind. We jump from prehistory to the year 2001 in a blink of an eye, and the true odyssey begins.
One of the best things about the story for me was the unceasing excitement the tale inspires, in spite of being rather slow at times. The story focuses on the ideas and the science rather than its characters, creating a story propelled solely by the sheer power of the journey to find answers. Another exciting aspect of the story was how easy it is to associate the elements of the novel with our own technological advancement. Even though we haven't achieved the level of sophisticated advancement in terms of space travel as mentioned in the novel, we have come a long way. I couldn't help but notice a scene where one of the characters lands an instumentless probe on an asteroid, and Ta-da, we have done better with Rosetta probe!
[image] *You go, Rosetta*
Without question, the best part about the book was HAL 9000 (view spoiler)[and the horrors. Seriously, who needs aliens to scare the shit out of you when you have HAL 9000. Oddly enough, I kind of felt sad when HAL signed off. (hide spoiler)]
The ENDING
I actually took some time to make myself mentally ready to read the last part. After seven years, I was just moments away from finally understanding the end of 2001 A space Odyssey. [image] *I understand...... everything*
Or so I expected. But I ended up being... [image]
Don't get me wrong, I did understand what happened. But it was definitely NOT what I expected. The awesome Star baby confused the hell out of me!(view spoiler)[ Seriously, what was that? Did Bowman just power up like a Pokemon? Next step of evolution is becoming Gods? (hide spoiler)]
Nevertheless, 2001: A Space Odyssey is classic science fiction at its best....more
"Dandelion Wine.... The words were summer on the tongue".
We all love to travel, one way or another. That's why we read! To experience time
"Dandelion Wine.... The words were summer on the tongue".
We all love to travel, one way or another. That's why we read! To experience time; To experience new worlds; To experience...
And sometimes, we find those peculiar time machines that take us to somewhere special. Let's say, a reminiscent of nostalgic childhood. That one is always special. My favorite in that category are To Kill a Mockingbird and Malgudi Days
Now I have Dandelion Wine... And It is different from all these books!
In Dandelion Wine, Ray Bradbury welcomes us to Summer of 1928 in the fictional world of Green town. We are introduced to Douglas, a 12-year-old boy, and his brother Tom, a 10-year-old. We follow them through an array of loosely connected stories of summer of '28. The kind of stories that just don't happen in our world anymore. A kid finding himself as he understands that he is alive and his reaction as he understands the unfairness of life and death; A family man trying to create a happiness machine; An elderly woman trying to convince the young children that she was young once too... So many beautiful stories.
This work is considered as Bradbury's most personal work as the stories presented in here are a blend of his own childhood and imagination. This wicked concoction produces a world of magical realism, wonder, innocence and pure imagination.
This is a unique work that touches multiple genres and a multitude of philosophy through the eyes of children. Well, they are not the regular children you find in fiction. They are the thoughtful kind of children. I never knew there were thoughtful children like these in the world!
Highly recommended. Especially if you like lyrical prose, coming of age stories or/and the movie Big Fish (2003)
Oh, wait. There is also a serial killer lurking somewhere in the town. Needless to say, summer of '28 was very eventful.
-------------------------- First Update -------------------------- Sometimes, there might just be a story behind how a particular book gets into your radar. Dandelion Wine has such a story to tell!
Back in 2015, I was catching up with some of my dreadful assignments and tasks which took hours to complete. I was exhausted by the end of the session, but not at all sleepy (I deduce that it was all the coffee that did the trick). So I decided to watch a movie to kill some time. And the movie was Age of Adaline.
Oddly enough, I liked the movie. And there was this one particular scene that really caught my attention. [image] [image] I am not a romantic, but I adore this scene. It also created a mental TBR for me. My own personal "Flower Trilogy".
And Dandelion wine came to me first.
I don't have a book review right now. This......this book is something else. I might need days involving hours of wall staring to fully comprehend what I've just read.
But I will tell you this, Dandelion wine is so damn beautiful....more
❝ People sometimes mistake their own shortcomings for those of society and want to fix the Cities because they don’t know how to fix themselve
❝ People sometimes mistake their own shortcomings for those of society and want to fix the Cities because they don’t know how to fix themselves.❞
Issac Asimov's expansion of Robot short stories gave birth to this unique novel which balances itself between hard science fiction, philosophy, religious undertones and a classic murder mystery.
In this novel, we are introduced to a highly advanced and a very dystopian New York city which has enwombed the ever growing population of humanity with a disturbing efficiency. The story revolves around officer Elijah Baley and his unorthodox partner, R. Daneel Olivaw's investigation into the murder of a spacer.
Unorthodox?
Well, the R doesn't stand for Roy or Rambo.... It stands for Robot!
This, my dear friends, is a unique achievement in the history of science fiction. The city of future described in this tale excruciatingly reminded me of an over-sized factory with innumerable mechanical moving parts run by precise algorithms. *shudders* But unlike other science fictions of the same sub-genre, humans haven't yet reduced into an emotionless species here. They are still flawed, emotive and some are even aghast and distasteful with all the advancements.
The characters introduced are well written and developed, especially Baley, Daneel and Commissioner Julius Enderby. The atypical partnership between Baley & Daneel and their interactions with each other are undoubtedly one of the high points of the story.
As a science fiction, the story is spectacular. But.....yes, there is a but. As a detective story, Caves of steel stumbles a bit. The whole investigative procedure of Baley can be summed up with one of the character's quote:
❝ I can’t stop you from thinking, Officer, but thinking isn’t evidence. Maybe you know that.❞
To elaborate, I present to you an abridged version of first 50% of the investigation. (view spoiler)[ Commissioner: Alright, Elijah. It is important that you handle this case very diplomatically because of our relationship with spacers. Elijah Baley: Sure, Commissioner. I am your man.
[Later in front of spacers] Elijah Baley: THE GUY ISN'T DEAD. SPACERS ARE DECEIVING US TO CONQUER EARTH. THIS ROBOT ISN'T A ROBOT. HE IS A HUMAN. [Confused Spacers scratching head] Commissioner: umm... Do you have any proof? Elijah Baley: Well, not really. The robot looks very human, doesn't he? Daneel: Well, I can quite assure you that I am a robot [peels his skin] Elijah Baley: oh, crap. (hide spoiler)] Nevertheless, I loved this book's ideas, its characters, and the classy climax....more
Universe? It's so out there, man. It's time for a change. It's time for Bobiverse!
❝ As a species, we're morons.❞
Bob is de4.5 Stars
Universe? It's so out there, man. It's time for a change. It's time for Bobiverse!
❝ As a species, we're morons.❞
Bob is dead. Yes, it is very tragic. But before his death, Bob had enrolled in a Cryonics program. So when Bob died, they decapitated him and stored his head in a freezer (very professionally), with the hope that he can be restored back to life in future with technological advancements.
And they did, in the year 2133.
The problem is, USA in 2133 is, in fact, a variation of Orwell's 1984 and every superpower in the world want to kill each other.
Oh, and Bob is dead. For reals this time. But his mind, personality, and memories have been used to create a self-replicating AI.
The AI's purpose? *Cue Star trek theme* Space: the final frontier. Its mission: To explore and find strange new habitable worlds before Humans kill each other, to boldly go where no man... uh, or AI has gone before.
Part one of the story revolves around Bob's "resurrection" and training for the mission to space. The story had my curiosity at this part, but I wasn't actually into the story.
And then came part two, and with that came Bobs. Half way into part two, I was completely hooked!
The mechanics of the story strangely reminded me of real-time strategy games like Age of empire and Starcraft. Just like the games, the story features: collecting resources, creating legions of Bobs and assigning them different roles, building tools and battalions, awesome upgrades, exploring space and ruthless showdowns between enemies... in space.. with missiles.
All of this while delivering spectacular plots of multiple nature at multiple ends pushing the reader to turn page after page after page.
To sum up, this is the grand odyssey of Bob, who started as a man and ended up as a space explorer, master strategist, scientist, farmer, war chief, politician and humanity's last hope.
A prequel novel to the prequel movie to the original star wars trilogy... Wait, what?
“Science doesn’t
How to make a Death star : The Beginning
A prequel novel to the prequel movie to the original star wars trilogy... Wait, what?
“Science doesn’t take sides"
The science behind everyone's favorite weapon of mass destruction was originally conceived for an energy project by a brilliant scientist, Galen Erso. This is the story of deception and recruitment of him and his family by emperor's finest, Lieutenant Commander Orson Krennic.
This is a well written as well as a character driven story which acts as a prologue (not chapter) for the movie, Rogue one.
Does reading this book enrich the (Epic) movie experience?
To an extent, yes!
The book explores some plot points which are trivial yet relevant in grand scale. The mysterious Kyber crystals, an exclusive character profile of Rogue one's daunting villain, Orson Krennic and his tense relationship between Wilhuff Tarkin as well as his investment and later obsession with Death star project and Galen Erso are portrayed effectively in this story. The story also introduces the friendship between Saw Garrera and Erso Family.
Reading this book is not necessary to enjoy the movie. But if you do read, it will make the experience more interesting!...more
❝ Science fiction writers foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not.❞
------------- Isaac
❝ Science fiction writers foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not.❞
------------- Isaac Asimov--------------
This collection of concept-driven stories featuring robots were some of the first stories written by Science fiction god, Isaac Asimov. These stories also introduce the "Three laws of robotics" which became a milestone in science fiction history.
Pure logic based problem-solving and the genuine awe-inspiring imagination; That's what make I, Robot a superior science fiction. It's overwhelmingly impressive to witness how Asimov generated conflicts and loopholes within the three laws and then solve them with an equally stunning solution. My favorite in this category was "Runaround".
Another aspect Asimov explored was the reasoning skills of a Robot. Stories like "Liar" and "Reason" paints a picture where an AI's logic could go horribly wrong. [image]
I couldn't agree more. Short stories like "The Evitable Conflict" and "Little Lost Robot" investigates the very concept of dangers posed by logic based reasoning. When an intelligent form lacks empathy, an imbalance is inevitable. After all, If we create when we do create a fully functional independent Robot, they will be better than us.
❝ You're inferior creatures, with poor reasoning faculties, but I really feel a sort of affection for you.❞
Oh, Asimov, you have provided food for thought for generations to come. And if a robot is reading this, please [image] ------------------------ By the way, how do you define danger and harm? The first law of robotics specifically states that robots must not harm human being directly or through inaction. So if a robot finds you drinking too much alcohol, will it stop us? Does Robots calculate the probability of danger when someone drives too fast?
Needless to say, this book and "vague" laws of robotics will make you think. Especially when you are just about to sleep!...more
I've heard my friends occasionally say "That book made me cry a lot." Never happened to me. Not once. Sadness ? Yes. Cry? No. No excess of emotions.
UnI've heard my friends occasionally say "That book made me cry a lot." Never happened to me. Not once. Sadness ? Yes. Cry? No. No excess of emotions.
Until this book
oh,it didn't make me cry. It made me ANGRY. SO ANGRY THAT I PUNCHED A WALL (Ouch!) AND TURNED ON CAPS LOCK.
Don't get me wrong. This is an excellent book.The writing is so amazing that it even gave me a nightmare and this book is not even primarily a horror novel. The duel mystery of the story is executed so well that it invoked suspense,fear and an abundance of anger. I'm knocking a star (view spoiler)[because of the romantic plot which I felt was off. I also found many negative reviews focused on how one of the mystery was unresolved.personally for me, that somehow made the story more real (hide spoiler)]
Read if you have a whole day to spare because this is "paper crack".I had to make coffee at midnight just to finish the book!...more
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