Love,Murder & Mayhem

- Cosmic tales of the heart gone deadly wrong

I have had very rigid mindset about sci-fic and have avoided it mostly. Perhaps over the years , we have crossed a lot of boundaries that were once considered fictional. This book came at such a tone when I was willing to try new genre and ideas. Even without that , I suppose I would have loved this book.

The stories are not just about aliens or machines but about superheros , the other early species , the humans and the feelings that all these share. There are tales of co-existence , of battles , of covert operations , gossip magazines and the extra ordinary plot twists. My favorite story is about an old robot that surrenders herself when her master's son does in an accident. Another story I enjoyed a lot is of a superhero mom and her husband trying to keep her work a secret while managing 3 kids. There is a certain relatable touch to all the stories -  the human touch and the accidental hum like emotional reactions.

This book was a lovely ride. And the one that totally broke my break from reading. Do try this one.

My rating : 4/5

The Passage - Justin Cronin

THE PASSAGE 

Book 1 of "The Passage"

ISBN : 9780345504968
FIRST PUBLISHED : 2010
PAGES : 766 (Hardcover)
GENRE : Sci Fi/Horror
PUBLISHER : Ballantine

AUTHOR - Justin Cronin

SYNOPSIS - An epic and gripping tale of catastrophe and survival, The Passage is the story of Amy—abandoned by her mother at the age of six, pursued and then imprisoned by the shadowy figures behind a government experiment of apocalyptic proportions. But Special Agent Brad Wolgast, the lawman sent to track her down, is disarmed by the curiously quiet girl and risks everything to save her. As the experiment goes nightmarishly wrong, Wolgast secures her escape—but he can’t stop society’s collapse. And as Amy walks alone, across miles and decades, into a future dark with violence and despair, she is filled with the mysterious and terrifying knowledge that only she has the power to save the ruined world.

QUOTES - 

• We live, we die. Somewhere along the way, if we're lucky, we may find someone to help lighten the load.

• So perhaps the greatest worry of all was that one day you would realize that all the worries of your life amounted to one thing: the desire to just stop worrying.

• It's different being afraid when there's the hope it will amount to something.

• He breathed once more, holding the air in his chest, as if it were not air but something more--a sweet taste of freedom, of all cares lifted, everything over and done.

FL Speak - Oh boy, this was long pending.

Welcome to the end of the world. As the world explores immortality, life fucks you back.

I'm not a big fan of post-apocalyptic books but this one hit where it hurts. The Passage brings out the horror in a realistic model of the current world. Amy, a child of a thousand years is probably the answer to everything that went horribly wrong.

The book started with intrigue, continued with boredom and ended with the question "there's more?" What was supposed to be an uber secret mission to extract super bat DNA to make soldiers turned out to be the key to doomsday. Trust the armed forces to fuck things up. Fast forward to the future and there's no technology and a lot of vamps/virals roaming the world, hunting for game, breeding to continue existence and probably pod in pod with the girl you once slept with.

The first half set the ball rolling, the second half struggled to keep up and the climax was over before I could pull out. I'm fucking glad that this wasn't a "shoot-you-in-the-head" vampire story. I was expecting them to become smart as the years progressed and am glad that they did. There wasn't a vamp as classy as Count Drac but some of them were pretty neat sans the fashion sense.

I just read the synopsis of the second book and saw none of the characters from book 1. Well except Amy and god knows what she's becoming.

Should I continue this series? Hmmm... 

Oh yes, worth the bullshit midway. 

RATING - 4/5

The Legend of Yuck-Man, by Smarak Swain

Blurb:

Not many years ago, the city was shaken by heinous crimes of all sorts. The mysterious attacker scarred the survivors, and scared the commoners and government alike with his blatant and outrageous acts. He killed at random, committed sexual violence, and kidnapped young women, mostly in crowded public places like restaurants, discotheques, and shopping malls Yet this person remains a mystery. All that the eyewitnesses can say is that this monster looked ugly, smelt repugnant, and was generally loathsome. They swear that this individual had superhuman powers. The Legend of Yuckman narrates the incredible story of this monster. It is a story of conflicts: between greed and hunger, pollution and purity, belief and science, morality and indulgence, and above all, between a man and his demons.

Thoughts:

I honestly have to start trusting my instincts more often. I had a feeling this book might not be one that I could give a proper review on, but the idea seemed incredible, and I was intrigued by that. Turns out, the story wasn't much to my liking. I couldn't really get past the notion itself, that even though the outrageous acts are committed in public, with eyewitnesses, the yuck-man remains a mystery. And though I did muster on, I think the story got a bit too jargon-ed for me to retain complete interest in it. The idea was, I guess, to portray humans in a monstrous skin, but the idea got exaggerated beyond the limits of my liking. It felt like the author was trying to incorporate a lot of things in a single fiction, and got muddled instead with unnecessary details of research work and fights, which diluted the main character itself, unappealing as the name might be. I'd say this book is definitely not to my liking, but the genre being sci-fi with a societal link, it might still find its admirers.

Rating:

2 stars

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Source:

Review copy from author

Reviewed by Vinay Leo R.

AIRMAN - Eoin Colfer

 

AUTHOR- Eoin Colfer

PUBLISHED- Year 2008

ISBN (Trade Paperback) – 978-0-141-38336-1

GENRE- Fantasy/ Sci-Fi

SYNOPSIS- Conor Broekhart was born to fly. Or more accurately he was born flying. Little wonder he became what he became. In an age of discovery and invention many dreamed of flying, but for Conor flight was more than just a dream, it was his destiny.

       In one dark night on the island of Great Saltee, a cruel and cunning betrayal destroyed his life and stole his future. Now Conor must win the race for flight, to save his family and to right a terrible wrong.

EXCERPT- “No more than ten minutes old and through some trick of the light or photographic mishap, it seems as though Conor’s eyes are focused. Impossible of course. But imagine if somehow they had been, then baby Conor’s first sight would have been a cloudless French sky flashing by.”

  “They turn the lights back on because they believe themselves safe.”

KOUSTABH 'QUETZALCOATL' says- When one speaks the name of Eoin Colfer the first thing that comes in mind is his mega selling series of ‘Artemis Fowl’. A master of fiction writer, Artemis remains for me one of the best anti-hero ever. The boy protégée’s fame is so huge that it has shadowed the other book of Mr. Colfer. So when I saw and bought the book I had a mixture of expectations. Knowing Eoin Colfer’s literary genius style of fiction I was supradupraexcited (if there is any such word), yet knew that this book is maybe nothing in front of the Artemis Fowl series. I was in for a rude shock!! Hell, even you guys would be if you judge a book by its cover (that’s the moral value lesson). :P

       At first look Conor Broekhart doesn’t seem no extraordinary genius in his own capacity to me, but like all good books you must read on. Born to Captain Declan Broekhart, the leader of the Great Saltee sharpshooters, and his lovely and knowledgeable wife Catherine, Conor was born in a balloon in flight (please don’t ask how) he grows to be a great friend of princess Isabella (no points for guessing the Disney style here). He trains swordsmanship and the secrets of flying from his French mentor ‘Victor Vigny’ (Did I mention that it is because of the French sky and French words that I originally bought the book. If u still don’t understand, J'adore français that is ‘I love French’)!!

       Well then comes along the villain with a name to boot- "Bonvilain". Set in the progressive 19^th century, this novel progresses through gut-wrenching pages where the teenage Conor is falsely arrested and kept in a jail. From there he makes some new friends and some enemies and escapes with the use of his brilliant mind (not literally) and balloons. Living and researching from an abandoned manor of Ireland, Conor makes a workable model of an airplane/glider and becomes the ghost of the skies (a romantic/gothic figure). From there the plot takes quite a usual twist with Bonvilain trying to kill the now Queen Issabella and Conor saving her (yeah I know that’s so predictable). And they try to live happily ever after.

       So where does the fun lie in this somewhat predictable plot. Compare it to any hindi movies and you would find the answer (no, not dancing and music and item-songs), it’s the finely crafted action sequences which takes the applause. I am not a hardcore, blood-gore, action junkie (though I have my moments!! ‘Grrrr’), but here the actions are suave and clever. Even the antagonist isn’t a bloodthirsty monster but a sophisticated mind. Be it Conor’s escape or the final battle, Mr.Colfer never goes overboard and presents us an ideal utopian society suddenly gone hotchpotch only to return back again. The violence though more adult than the Artemis Fowl series “remains ethical throughout”.

       Also the heavy research done before the book on aerodynamics and Da-Vinci’s models of glider comes out perfectly in the book. A trait I love the best is what makes Sci-Fi books more attractive. Kudos to Mr. Colfer for that!! Not only that even the humor in the book is in perfect proportion.   

       Where ‘Airman’ the book suffers is the caricature usage of the female characters (that’s the Feminism in me speaking). Though fascinating ladies, they are never made to come out. I for one would have loved to have a conversation with Conor’s mother who is referred to as a brilliant scientist. Maybe because it’s Conor’s tale yet intelligent ladies are always fascinating. What say you guys??

       A classic in itself so as to say, ‘Airman’ is a must read for those who have read the Artemis Fowl series (even if you are not a fan). As for those who haven’t followed it, it matters little. My suggestion: Go try it out!! You wouldn’t be disappointed. Read it for the thrills or as a hero’s journey, which is like a wave, but read it you must. Go Fly your Dreams!!!

And don’t forget: Keep reading.

My Rating – 4.47 / 5 stars

PRICE - INR 337/- (Flipkart price)

Prey by Michael Crichton

PREY by Michael Crichton

GENRE: Science Fiction

SYNOPSIS:

In the Nevada desert, an experiment has gone horribly wrong. A cloud of nanoparticles – micro-robots – has escaped from a laboratory. This cloud is self-sustaining and self-reproducing. It is intelligent and learns from experience. For all practical purposes, it is alive.

It has been programmed as a predator. It is evolving swiftly, becoming more deadly with each passing hour. Every attempt to destroy it has failed.

And we are its Prey.

Chandana speaks:

Jack Forman is an unemployed software programmer who was fired from his previous job when he discovered an internal scandal. As a result he takes the role of a stay at home husband while his wife Julia serves as a high ranking employee at a nanorobotics company. Julia claims that she is working on a new piece of revolutionary imaging technology with her company, which takes up most of her time. He starts believing that during her long hours away from home she is having an affair, and becomes watchful of her changes.

One night Julia comes home late and shows Jack a video of her demoing the Xymos nanobots. In the video, the nanobots are put into a human test subject, and video from inside the body is broadcast in real time. The next day, Julia is in a car accident, and Jack is offered a job by Xymos, because the project manager, Ricky, is having software issues with the nanobots.

Jack is taken to the Xymos research facility in the desert. Jack is given a tour of the lab and meets the programming team. Ricky claims that hazardous elements such as the assemblers, the bacteria, and the nanobots were blown into the desert, which evolved and eventually formed the "swarms". These swarms start attacking and killing animals in the wild. Most alarmingly, the swarms seem to possess the ability to quickly learn and to innovate. The swarms tend to wander around the plant during the day but quickly leave when strong winds blow or night falls.

Jack goes outside to inspect a dead rabbit killed by the swarm and they find that the rabbit died of suffocation resulting from the nanobots blocking its bronchial tubes. Jack is attacked by the swarm and he barely manages to get through the airlock inside the lab before falling unconscious

The team proceeds to find and destroy these nanobots. After multiple escapes with death Jack discovers that somewhere among them is the person who let them out in the first place and someone among them is the one who has infected everyone else with the swarm. The rest of the story revolves around how they try to destroy this new strain.

Drawing on up-to-the-minute scientific fact, Prey takes us into the emerging realms of nanotechnology and artificial distributed intelligence in a story of breathtaking suspense. Prey is a novel you can't put down.

Because time is running out.

PRICE: INR 214/- (Flipkart price)

RATING: 4/5

Sphere by Michael Crichton

SPHERE By MICHAEL CRICHTON

GENRE: Science Fiction/Techno thriller

SYNOPSIS:

The novel follows Norman Johnson as a psychologist who is engaged by the united States Navy to join a team of scientists assembled by the U.S Government to examine an enormous space craft discovered at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. The depth of coral covering the craft suggests that it has been lying there for over 300 years and so could only be of alien origin.

The novel begins as a science fiction story but quickly transforms into a psychological thriller, ultimately exploring the nature of the human imagination

Chandana Speaks:

Michael Crichton is one of my favorite novelists and I have literally devoured every book of his. Right from Jurassic Park series, to Prey to Andromeda strain. I must have read every book at least twice and never got bored of it.

Sphere, has an equally captivating and chilling storyline – which was made into  a lousy movie, but we all know that right? Books are always way better than their movie counterparts.

So the story!

The spacecraft that they think is of alien origin, turns out to be an American spacecraft constructed 50 years in the future and apparently sent through time, crashing 350 years before its creation. On further exploration, the team discovers a mysterious spherical artifact, clearly of extraterrestrial origin, which quickly becomes the focus of their attention. At this point a Pacific storm traps the scientists on the ocean floor without contact or support from the Navy on the surface for over a week.

The crew soon focuses on attempting to open the sphere and learn about it. Harry eventually succeeds in going inside it. Upon returning, he has a terrible headache and he remembers little about what happened inside or how he opened it.

As they continue to theorize, they are contacted by an intelligent, seemingly friendly life form which calls itself Jerry, from within the sphere. While they struggle to communicate with it and translate its coded language, bizarre things start to happen. Sea creatures that never even existed start to appear.Jerry tells them he is "manifesting" the creatures. Members of the team start to die in various attacks by sea life and a new form of giant squid, and the dwindling survivors struggle to placate the unthinkably powerful, childlike, and temperamental Jerry.

The rest of the story revolves around how they discover who Jerry is and how they escape from the submarine to the surface.

The novel lives up to its expectations. The good thing is that it keeps you going even when you are pretty sure of what will happen next!

PRICE: INR 434/- (Flipkart price)

RATING: 4/5