The perfect space for reading for me is my bed. I can read some and fall asleep. Most books make me sleepy, and the ones that keep me awake make me happy. It’s a win-win.
As for writing, I’m not sure. Last time I wrote a book was before Internet was a thing. I’ve tried writing some short stories after but, let’s say, I couldn’t figure out the right space. Maybe I need something appropriate, like a medieval castle with a Rapunzel tower.
Currently reading Infinity Gate, an unusual sci-fi that has good and bad moments. I hope it gets a separate blog post.
We don’t have lots of space for books and unfortunately I’m able to read and collect them at a pace that’s not sustainable and turns books into clutter. We are experimenting with an overflow shelf to resolve the problem. The way it works is that once I have no space to place a new book, I have to pull out an old one and add it to the overflow shelf for donation.
This is how the overflow shelf looks right now. The local library asked for more Lee Child books and will get some. I hope other people appreciate the latest trend with the Jack Reacher books more than I did.
I just completed book #29 from Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series called In Too Deep. I rated it 3/5 but it’s more like 1.5/5 and got a 1.5 point bonus because Lee Child is one of my favorite writers.
So, I asked myself a question, is it just me, or the series becomes unreadable? This is the ratings I gave the individual books, and the red line represents the community ratings on Goodreads.
Up to book 18, the community gives a pretty consistent 4.1-4.2 rating, then it hovers around 4 and goes under. The latest books may go under once they gain sufficient ratings as well. But unlike the community, my last 4 ratings are 3s and 4s, and I’ve been very generous. Feels like the community keeps liking the series.
According to some Goodreads sources, Lee Child felt like he runs out of steam and offloaded the actual writing to his younger brother, Andrew. Perhaps I just don’t like Andrew Child’s storytelling. Spoilers ahead.
Book 29 is about some world-scattering conspiracy. Reacher, a retired 60-something homeless vet who owns no phone, car, or ID, would interfere, overwhelming all the three-letter agencies in the US. There are stashes of property left unattended and owned by “the Russians”. There’s a hot police officer vigilante who wants revenge. What there isn’t is anything that’s remotely believable.
Of course, the Jack Reacher series doesn’t need to make sense but it follows certain math. Bullets are faster than people. Knives cut. A person attacks Reacher, Reacher punches back before person even sees it. This math is violated. We’ll see Reacher withdrawing, not using his head, not finding the location of enemies, and winning with absurd constraints that shouldn’t have been enforced in the first place because of the math. This enters the territory of the Marvel movies where the story is first, and whatever doesn’t make sense will be filled with CGI.
Reacher Book 29 – 1.5*/5. It’s like a Steven Seagal movie. The only thing missing is a chair for Reacher to sit during the book.
We have to start imagining a world in which sentient robots exist.
We’ve had I, Robot and R. Daneel Olivaw. We now have Annie Bot. Lots of others in between. I read about a smart spaceship not long ago (We Are Legion). The main issue I have with all these books is that the robots are really immortal humans with some computer assistance.
Sierra Greer asks the question – what will a sentient robot be first used for? There are two obvious answers, weapons and sex toys. She starts her exploration with the unlikely choice. Annie Bot is a sentient sex toy. What happens is as likely as the movies with highly intelligent dogs. A sentient robot will not be that. However, an imprisoned human in a robot body can be that. We’ve had enough Mechanical Turks already – androids being remotely controlled by humans – to make that theory likely.
So is Annie Bot a a sentient robot or a human, imprisoned in a robot body? Sierra Greer leaves that question open to interpretation.
I give a 5*/5. The book is disturbing, it’s terrifying that this could be done one day.
Today was the last day of the International Book Fair in Sofia. My book harvest this year was primarily gamebooks because there was a shortage of books I wanted and didn’t already buy before it. The Black Friday promotions were too good.
The Gamebook association organized a signing with one of our local gamebook celebrities, Robert Blond, who published a new book and a short story. I had a chance to read both. I finished the short story before it was published and the book – before writing the post.
The 2024 edition of Agamor is also out, which holds 4 gamebooks. One of the books is an official spinoff of Blood Sword. It’s expected to be published in English as well.
We also got a translation of Simon Duhope’s Shadow Chaser, which was surprisingly sophisticated. Took me 3 days to discover the path to the end.
Another writer who visited the city this week was Rhianna Pratchett. Despite being subscribed for updates on the publisher’s Facebook page, Facebook let me see the event’s announcement after it was over. Missed that opportunity.
Rhianna Pratchett is the author of Crystal of Storms. Would’ve loved to attend her signing.
Veselin.blog 