"Titan" by John Varley

Publisher: New York : Berkley Pub.,
Copyright: 1979
ISBN: 9780441813049

Titan is the first book in a trilogy that was nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula awards.

Titan is another first contact novel, but once again with a bit of a twist. An object is detected orbiting Saturn, and a spacecraft captained by Cirocco “Rocky” Jones the first female captain of a vessel, the Deep Space Vessel Ringmaster. When they get close enough to the ring shaped object they realise that it could only be the product of an alien civilisation. Foregoing plans to investigate the object they approach and are captured. The ship is destroyed, and the crew drawn into the object and kept isolated is a condition of almost total sensory deprivation.

Eventually after an unknown duration the crew are released into the interior of the alien space craft. They encounter centaurs, angels, gas filled whales that sail though the air. Rocky set out though this world to find her crew and to determine what makes the alien spacecraft which they have named Gaea.

Her travels took her and one of her crew Gaby though many adventures, and eventually they meet the person who is in charge of the ship.

This is a very good book, which I would recommend to anyone who is looking for a well written story that explores some interesting aspects of human relations.

"Many Skies: Alternative Histories of the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars" by Arthur Upgren

Publisher: New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, [2005]

Copyright: ©2005

ISBN:9780813535128 

Characteristics:viii, 198 pages :,illustrations ;,24 cm

This is an extremely interesting book that examines astronomy and astrophysics from the perspective of what would happen if the world were not as we currently know it. What I mean by this is if our solar system was not comprised of eight planets, a single sun, and various numbers of moons around all but the first two planets how would this have changed human discovery of astronomy, physics, or our understanding of the world itself, and much more.

The book is structured to pose an alternate scenario to what we know as normal in our universe. In it Dr. Upgren deals with our near solar system, and looks at what it would be like if Earth had three moons? Going on from this what if we were in a trinary star system? He then goes on to explain how stellar magnitudes work, and discusses proper motion. He then speculates what science today would been like if Ptolemy's discovery that the sun was at the centre of the solar (fourteen hundred years before Copernicus proposed nearly the same thing) had been accepted. He then concludes the first section by looking at what would have changed if Earth was the only planet orbiting the sun.

He goes on in subsequent sections to talk about other topics such as what would Earth be like if we had rings like Saturn, were close to a very large planet, were part of a double planet system, and so on. He also  writes about globular clusters, celestial mechanics and its history and so on.

Over the years I have dabbled in amateur astronomy, and have had the questions that Dr. Upgren poses in his book come to mind a number of times, but rarely was I ever able to find anyone who could answer them, or would be willing to even consider my interest.

As a writer, I have explored some of these questions more, and believe this book would be a valuable resource for any author of Science Fiction, or Fantasy who has a need to world-build and make it plausible (yes, I realise this actually contradicts the way some people define fantasy, but so be it).

Check it out.

"The Foundation Trilogy" by Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)

Publisher: Doubleday
Copyright: 1951

The Foundation Trilogy is considered by most readers to be one of the classic science fiction story. It one science fictions most coveted award the Hugo in 1966, and has never been out of publication since it's original release in 1951. Very few other science fiction stories hold this publication record, one of the few being "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A. Heinlein.

The story itself is that many thousands of years in the future, and Earth (And the origin of humans) is a legend at best, but probably closer to a fable. Humans have essentially colonized the vast majority of the Milky Way Galaxy, and are governed by an Emperor who is located towards the centre of the Galaxy. It should be noted that in 1951 when this book was written it was unknown that a black hole is in centre of the Milky Way galaxy.

The empire however is in dire straits, and essentially falling apart. Hari Seldon, a mathematician develops the science of psychohistory-the mathematical formulation of sociology-which can be used to predict with fair accuracy the future based on group dynamics. He is able to predict the future of the empire, and its eventually downfall. His calculations indicate that there will be a gap of 30,000 year before the new Empire is founded. He however predicts that through the establishment of two Foundations that this can be reduced to 1000 years, even though the downfall of the current Empire is unstoppable.

The story tells of the events over a period of approximately 500 years following the collapse of the empire and prior to the predicted establishment of the second empire.

In the early 1980s Asimov wrote four other novels set in the same universe. Two were sequels: "Foundation's Edge" (1982) & "Foundation and Earth" (1986), and two were prequels "Prelude to Foundation" (1988) and "Forward the Foundation" (1993).

Enjoy!

"How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day" by Michael Gelb

Published: New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press
Year: c1998.
Physical Details: xiv, 322 p. : ill. ; 23 cm
ISBN: 0385323816

On the outside this may seem like a standard self-help book, but it is a bit more than that. Not only does it give you some very interesting insights into the life of Leonardo da Vinci, but it examines his philosophy and methodology on how he thought and practised what he accomplished during his life.

Mr. Gelb was invited to speak at a conference of executives, on how to be more creative, and balanced etc. The chairman of this conference even suggested something about Leonardo, and this book is the result of all the research that had to be done to produce the talk.

The book is separated into three sections. Part one of this book gives an overview of Leonardo da Vinci's life, his major accomplishments, some of the practical aspects of how he did his work, and an overview of what the renaissance was actually like. Part two takes you through seven different principles used by da Vinci: Curosità, Dimostrazione, Sensazione, Sfumato, Arte/Scienza, Corporalita, and Connessione. In English these are generally Curiosity, the willingness to gain knowledge through experience, the continual refinement of the senses, the willingness to embrace ambiguity, the balance between science and art, the cultivation of dexterity, and finally the appreciation of the interconnectedness of everything. Part three gives a short but very interesting course on da Vincian drawing principles, which is very interesting and worth the time.

Each of these sections gives an overview of the topic, as well as exercises the reader can do to further their knowledge and enjoyment of the lessons being learned. By doing these exercises it is almost guaranteed that the reader will open up a new understanding of how their life can be changed, and they enjoy it more.

There is a workbook that goes with this text, which I have not seen, but I am assuming it is just an expansion on the various exercises that are given in this book. 

Overall this is an extremely interesting book, and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in both the life of Leonardo da Vinci, as well as improving their enjoyment of life.

"Time Enough For Love" by Robert A Heinlein (1907-1988)

Publisher:New York : Berkley Medallion
Copyright Date:©1973
Characteristics:  589 pages

As mentioned in my review of Methuselah's Children a couple of weeks ago Time Enough for Love is the second book in a series. It takes place many centuries after Methuselah's Children, and the only character that is in both books for any substantial amount is Lazarus Long who is now about 2000 years old (although others are briefly mentioned). 

With the aid of the Libby – Sheffield Drive humans have essentially colonized the near galaxy in what is referred to as the Great Diaspora. We learn during the stories that are related in this novel that earth is essentially uninhabitable, due to a limited nuclear war, and pollution, etc. It is for the most part avoided by pretty much everyone.

When the story opens Lazarus, has essentially given up on life and decided he wants to die. However, the leader of the planet Secundas (and as it happens one of his great-grandchildren) has decided that they need to keep him alive in order that they can learn what he knows. This is a point of contention, because everybody in the story essentially lives an extremely long time the right to end your life is something that cannot be taken away. However, they do that, much to Lazarus' annoyance.

He finally relents and allows them to proceed with his rejuvenation on the condition that they find him something new to do. In order that they know how to proceed, and what he has done in the past he is asked to relate stories of his life and experiences which will be used to assist in the search.

The stories he relates, along with connecting material of what he's going through during his rejuvenation make up the bulk of the novel. With the remainder being made up by the new life they lead after migrating to a new planet, and the adventure they find for him.

There are some rather mature themes in this novel that may be unsuitable for young adults, but I read the novel for the first time when I was quite young and it the only thing it did was to open my eyes to the infinite different ways the a person can see the world. There are many discussions about genetics, sex, death, politics, religion, family values, and the like but it is done in an honest, and open style that will teach readers. This is also something that is rarely addressed in virtually any other science fiction, even though society is one of the more fluid things in the world. After all, this book was written in 1973, and look how much has changed between then and now only 47 years later.

Enjoy this book, I have read it many times, and I've always found new things that made me think about our world.

"Science Past - Science Future" by Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)

Publisher:  Doubleday, Garden City, NY
Copyright: 1975
ISBN: 0385099231

This book is a compilation of 39 essays by Dr. Asimov written over his long career. The majority are from various magazines, but but a few were never published, and the stories that he relates regarding the rejections are rather curious to read. 

The past section covers topics such as technology, the physical sciences, the life sciences. While the future section talks about parts of society, then society as a whole. Between these two sections are two short essays that are rather personal in nature but they fit in well with the rest of the book.

Because this book was written in the 1970s, A number of the science future essays are more prediction than fact, but are still interesting to read. It is surprising how close Dr. Asimov came to predicting the actual Earth's population in the year 2000 considering he was writing so long ago. Some of the technology he talks about, such as the newly developed transistor, are explained very well, but as the integrated circuit that--everybody is familiar with nowadays--didn't exist at this point he was unable to scratch that topic. I do believe he touches on the subject in one of his other books, but seeing that he died in 1988 even this information would be relatively basic compared to what we now know.

One of the reoccurring themes or topics, that comes up in the future section is the high population of the earth. Dr. Asimov has some pretty strong opinions about that, but for the most part they are justified. His solutions however may not be to everyone's liking.

I'd recommend this book to anybody who's looking for a very good overview of the history of science, and inventions that have shape the world as we know it today.

"Loop Hole: Or How To Rob A Bank" by Robert Pollock (1930-2003)

Published: London: Hodder and Stoughton
Copyright: 1972.
ISBN: 0340162368

I've always been rather fascinated by stories dealing with crime. But not any old crime, I prefer ones that are well thought out, well plotted, and in which it is reasonably possible that the job could actually happen. Because of this things like murderers, etc. are of no interest to me, however heist fiction (which is actually a literary genre I found out) is very much in this category.

The story meets all my criteria, and is very entertaining as well. It involves the burglary of the City Savings Deposit Bank in London, which has a burglar proof vault, and a few million dollars inside it.

The team that is planning this caper is led by Mike, who has been in the business for many years and because of this his planning is meticulous. He knows that to rob this bank he needs professional assistance, so he hires himself an architect /engineer.

Robert Polak has crafted a wonderful story, that can be read numerous times and enjoyed. He got the idea for the novel, and I'm sure some of his material following some encounters he had with a paroled criminal who, he found out later was a rather famous British bank robber. It is interesting to note that this story influenced a group of real life criminals in Paris, France to attempt a robbery planned in the style. They came to be known as The Sewer Rats.

As it if you have read this blog in the past you will know that I have it very dim view of movies from Hollywood, as they rarely get it right. This movie however is an exception. The movie "Loophole" released in 1981, starring Albert Finney, and Martin Sheen was exceptional. It's true that the director John Quested changed a few things, but they were minor.

I would strongly recommend you read this book, and then watch the movie. It is not recommended however that you go and rob a bank, as the authorities do tend to frown on this. Then again, if you happen to do it, and get caught you have the opportunity of getting 3 square meals a day, free clothing, and a host of other amenities (some of which might not be so favourable).

"Secret Language: Codes, Tricks, Spies, Thieves and Symbols" by Barry J. Blake

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Copyright: 2011

ISBN: 9780199579280

I have had this book in my collection for quite some time, but never got around to actually reading it. I suppose in an off-handed away this is one advantage to the COVID-19 pandemic as none of the library's here are open so I am forced to actually read books that I've been meaning to (in some cases for years).

As it turns out this book is absolutely wonderful and Mr. Blake goes into significant amounts of detail with lots of examples from various languages, cultures, and history. A brief introduction deals with why people want to be mysterious. He then goes on to talk about topics related to anagrams and cryptic crosswords which includes things like palindromes and acronyms which he gives numerous examples of.

His next topic is all about riddles. Riddles have been with us for centuries, and have appeared in many forms. He discusses things like the rebus, the charade (and how it has changed from it's inception, into the kids game people are familiar with today). And then goes on to give some riddles that the reader can try.

The next section is one that I found extremely fascinating and that was on codes and ciphers. He deals with the history from pre-Roman times up to the present and the use of computers. Once again he gives the reader some interesting challenges.

The next three chapters deal with biblical secrets, words of power, and words to avoid. These are explored from a historical as well as a cultural viewpoint. His next chapter deals with jargon, slang, argot and various secret languages.

He ends the book with a discussion of things like politeness, humour, euphemism, abusive language, oxymorons, parody and satire to name but a few.

I found this to be an excellent book, and was quite sorry that I hadn't read it many years ago. It is especially renewed my interest in codes and ciphers, and I'll be reviewing another book that I have on that in the future.