Category: Books

Avogadro Corp by William Hertling book review

~ Veselin ~ Leave a comment

I’m interested in using AI to optimize things and got the nudge to read this book because of my interests. I find this book quite depressing.

A team of engineers in the Google-sized company Avogadro Corp implements a software called ELOPe. It optimizes emails based on the desired outcome. ELOPe has access to everyone’s main communication channel, which gives it instant and infinite power. It quickly takes over the company by sending bogus emails. The software is good enough to self-improve, manipulate, and survive.

Although very unrealistic from an engineering point of view, the book is a good warning of what could happen one day if AI is trusted. I find Skynet or the Matrix more likely scenarios than this but it should be kept in mind that although it may not play out this way, we can achieve the result in some other way.

4/5 – it’s a good warning, and a great idea, but unpleasant to read due to its unrealistic characters. I’m not sure if I’ll dare to touch the follow-ups.

Stephanie Plum – Finger Lickin’ Fifteen

~ Veselin ~ 2 Comments

Janet Evanovich’s number fifteen is the first book in the series with a name that makes at least some sense. Stephanie will be food-colored because of a cooking competition. The tiny issue with the competition is that nobody can cook and some heads are rolling. There will be explosions and some occasional edible food, hence the title.

I’m not sure why Stephanie doesn’t shave her hair. The curls are great for the storytelling but it’s so painful with all the paint, food, and other substances that end up there. I feel sorry for her.

Number 14 is 5/5, and Number 15 is 4/5. Both are enjoyable reads and the series is going strong.

Thraxas and the Dance of Death

~ Veselin ~ 1 Comment

It’s not common to read a book that’s not on Goodreads but this particular edition is unknown to it. It’s tiny and hard to hold. You have the feeling it will break if you press it too hard. It’s a fragile jewel, worth the read. The first page-turner for me in over a month.

Thraxas and a bunch of powerful wizards are after a green jewel that makes people kill each other and slip away. The story is good and has no villains, which is quite impressive given the large number of dead people.

Makri is accused of theft and wants to resolve the accusations her way by rolling heads. She’s surprisingly civil for a gladiator champion with ork blood this time.

Both cases somehow manage to connect. I couldn’t predict most of the stuff that happened. The only guarantee is that it’s a good read.

5/5

April in Books

~ Veselin ~ 4 Comments

I read 6 books in March. This is a significant decrease from the previous months. I wake up before 7am and go to bed earlier, perhaps because of the daylight savings time. Falling asleep earlier means less time reading and fewer books in the monthly report. It may also be related to my choice of books, these 6 above are not page-turners.

The best book this month was Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich. Stephanie Plum is blue like Smurfiette there and solves crime. The other 5 were also fine. Nothing stands out as particularly good or bad. The two Sand Wars omnibuses (6 novels inside) were classic sci-fi with aliens and had some good moments but can’t compete with a bounty hunter Smurfiette.

Desert Fire

~ Veselin ~ Leave a comment

The character is a freelance tank driver, roaming the desert with the tank on a square map. He enters a competition. What does he need to do? Solve a bunch of riddles! Anagrams, basic math, and the music kids listened to in the 80s.

Here’s a riddle from the book.

You have two 6-side dice. What’s the odd for one dice to show 6 and the other to show an even number?

I’ll try to finish the book later this week. After this question, my tank was disqualified because I couldn’t find the solution I knew from playing Backgammon as a child.