The New Northern Rambler

2022-01-10

"The Bayern Agenda" by Dan Moren

Publisher: Angry Robot

ISBN: 9780857668202

It's been along time since I read a good spy novel, but this definitely made up for it. As Anthony Johnson commented on the cover "like John le Carré meets The Stainless Steel Rat ...", which aptly he describes this novel. For those not in the know John le Carré is the author of "Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy" which is a novel about British intelligence. On the other hand "The Stainless Steel Rat" is a series by the late Harry Harrison that deals with the life of a professional criminal in the far future. Both are excellent authors and these series are definitely worth reading too.

However, back to the Bayern Agenda which deals with a cold war a few hundred years in the future and the clandestine operations of agents on both sides. So far there are only two books in the series, and I'm looking forward to reading the second one.

There is some political intrigue, some clandestine operations, a fair bit of humor which always makes for a good story. The world building seems to be very well taken care of, and even though the standard tropes of faster than light travel (via wormhole), anti-gravity generators etc. are used Mr. Moran's universe is consistent, and believable.

Looking forward to reading the second book in the series.

2022-01-03

"Fifty Animals that Changed the Course of History" by Eric Chaline

Publisher: Firefly Books

ISBN: 9781554078974

Fifty Animals is an interesting book that gives the readers some very interesting information on the animals that author choose. Some of the animals are or should be expected such as the horse, cow, sheep, goat, dog, cat, pig, cod, goat, herring, chicken, turkey, and other ones that are typically seen in relation of humans.

On the other hand there are some that most people would expect unless they gave it a lot of thought such as spiny dye-murex, bald eagle, cochineal, seal, rabbit, chimpanzee, lion, seal, and oyster. And there are others that are quite unexpected such as cobra, louse, dodo, schistosome, leech, rat flea, Darwin's finches.

The book is quite well written, and an easy read and is suitable for younger readers. The only criticism I have is that lack of citations as it does tend to make me curious about some of the information that was presented. There are sections entitled "Further Reading" and "Useful Websites" but none of these entries are linked to the individual animal entries.

2021-12-27

"Saucer" by Stephen Coonts

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffen

ISBN: 0312283423

Saucer tells the tale of a seismic survey team in the central Sahara who find an actual flying saucer entombed in the side of a sandstone cliff.

The story's protagonist is Rip Cantrell an engineering student who is working on the team as part of a summer job, when he first spots a bright flash of light being reflected off the skin of the saucer which had become slightly uncovered. After uncovering the saucer over a number of days, they engage the services of an archaeologist who is at a dig a short distance away. They determine that it had been there for some 140,000 years, and this is just the beginning of their adventures.

Much to their dismay their discovery is soon found out by the United States Airforce, an Australian billionaire, and the Libyan military. All of whom claim ownership, or at least intend on keeping the saucer for their own.

This book is a fast paced read, that is written as if it could really have happened (at least when you ignore the anti-gravity technology, and a couple of other science fiction tropes). There is significant amount of political intrigue and corruption, that sets the stage for an interesting story, and gives it the link to world events in the first part of the 21st century.

A good read. There is a sequel to this book which I will review in the future.

2021-12-20

"The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design" by Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Copyright: 2020
ISBN: 9780358126607

This is an extremely interesting book that examines the hidden stories behind some rather common things that are found in your typical city. The format of the book divides the topic into six areas focusing on inconspicuous, conspicuous, infrastructure, architecture, geography and urbanism. Within each of the larger topics there are discussion on a number of different subjects. Some of these are utility codes, wireless towers, love locks, civic monuments, traffic lights, inflatable figures, roadways, technology, modern elevators, door locks, the layout of streets and roads, street trees, and grassroots gardening to name but a few of the over 125 topics.

I picked this book up after watching Mars' TED Talk primarily out of curiosity, but found it to be a very interesting read. The majority of his examples come from the United States, but he does look at things in other countries as well. For people who like trivia, or compete in quiz tournaments this could be an interesting book to read. As a writer, I found it quite interesting, and think it would make wonderful source material especially for those who write mysteries and need a source of information they can use for obscure clues.

Roman Mars is the host of 99% Invisible a popular podcast that explores these same types of things. While Kurt Kohlstedt is the digital director of the podcast and an architect.

An excellent book.

2021-12-13

"Barefoot in Baker Street" by Charlotte Anne Walters

Publisher: MX Publishing

ISBN: 9781780920139

Barefoot on Baker Street tells the story of a young girl by the name of Red who escapes from a London workhouse at 13. She is forced into a life of crime as a means of survival. The story follows her life journey, and is written as a memoir that is found a number of years after she dies.

The story takes place at the same time as the Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes stories, and includes events from a number of the publish canon. Including "The Blue Carbuncle", "The Empty House", "The Sign of Four", "The Final Solution", "The Man with the Twisted Lip", and glimpses of a number of others.

I found it be an enjoyable read, and one that I think fills in a lot of the backstory to Sherlock Holmes that has never been mentioned (to the best of my knowledge) but is very much in tune with what I believe Conan Doyle would've written.

I found Ms. Walters' Moriarity to be quite interesting, and unlike what a number of other writers have done by portraying him as essentially a sociopath or worse. Her portrayal of him as an autistic savant I found to be very interesting and believable. We also learned a great deal about Dr. John Watson, and his private life that I believe once again Conan Doyle would approve of.

Highly recommended, but it can be rather hard to find.

2021-12-06

"Putting the Science in Fiction: Expert Advice for Writing With Authenticity in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Other Genres" by Dan Koboldt

Publisher: Writer's Dugest Books

ISBN: 9781440353383

This is an excellent book that if properly consulted by authors will go a long way towards correcting the numerous errors present in fictional work, which are primarily due to either the authors reluctance to do basic research, or their belief that the crap that comes out of Hollywood is even close to kindergarten school science.

The various contributors, all of whom are specialists in their field, give great examples of what is typically done wrong, and then explain why it's wrong, and how to correct it.

The materials in this book are applicable to authors writing in pretty much all genres, even those without a major science component as humans have lived in complex cultures since we started walking on two legs (and likely even before this) and science has a tendency to crop up when least expected, even if it is not recognized as science.

A book such as this should be expanded on, and could even be taken to the lengths of dedicating volumes to specific areas of science.

Highly recommended.

2021-11-29

"Timescape" by Gregory Benford

Publisher: Bantam Books

ISBN: 9780553297096

Timescape is an engrossing novel, that won the Nebula Award, and it isn't hard to see why. Mr. Benford, a "hard" science fiction author, who also happens to be a physicist, has written a tale that is immersed deep within this subject. It is true that my knowledge of physics is somewhat limited, but even so it was a fascinating story.

The world of the story is in deep environmental trouble, and a few scientists attempt to send a signal back through time to the early 1960s in hopes of correcting the problems they are now facing.

I've always found the idea of time travel, or in this case time communications, to be fascinating even though I know it'll likely never happen. But Mr. Benford explains the concepts in his book well enough that you will believe.

I reviewed another of Mr. Benford's books a couple of weeks ago, and I am looking forward to reading more of his work.

Highly recommended.

2021-11-22

"The Flooded Earth" by Peter D. Ward

Publisher: Basic Books, New York

ISBN: 9780465009497

I'm relatively sure that most rational people by now realize the climate change is something we will have to contend with in the future. There will of course be those hold out who refuse to acknowledge this, or chalk it up to a distrust in science etc. But hopefully these people make up a very small minority.

This book takes the reader through a number of scenarios that deal with the possible consequences of inevitable global warming. Each chapter begins with a fictional depiction (at least I sure hope so) of what life could be like in the future if nothing is done.

As the title suggests one of the major outcomes of the warming will be the rising of the mean sea level. Whether it rises just a metre or so, or up to the 200+ metres that are possible humanity is essentially in deep trouble. However most people seem unlikely aware of what this could actually mean to people's everyday lives - in many cases the term disaster is a gross understatement as it will change the way people live, work, how they commute, how energy is generated, and many more factors.

Highly recommended, especially for those who don't believe climate change is real.