The New Northern Rambler

2022-12-26

"Mathematics" Margaret Ball

Publisher: Baen Books

ISBN: 0671877550

This novel is a lot of fun to read. It concerns a former warrior woman Riva Konneva, who has taken refuge on Earth (or the Planet of the Paper-pushers as it is referred to) to help educate her daughter, and to stay away from the magician/wizard who is the father of her daughter, and not a nice person.

In the alternate reality that they came from magic is performed through the use of mathematics. This may seem a little odd to diehard fantasy readers, but it actually works very well in the way the novel is structured. It also doesn't hurt that Margaret Ball is a mathematician and computer scientist.

This novel is the second in a series, however there is no indication of this in the beginning of the book. It is listed on the cover as "A Chicks in Chainmail Novel" which does support this idea. Upon consulting the Internet Science fiction Data Base it turns out that the first book in the series is called "Career Day", well the third is called "Tales from the Slush Pile", and the fourth "Fun with Hieroglyphics". Unfortunately I haven't read any of these other three, but will definitely be keeping an eye out for them.

A very good read, With lots of humour and interesting sub-plots outside of the main one.

2022-12-19

"Shut Up and Write the Book: A Step-by-step Guide to Crafting Your Novel from Plan to Print" by Jenna Moreci

Publisher: Jenna Moreci

ISBN: 978-0-9997352-8-2 (paperback)

978-0-9997352-7-5 (hardback)

978-0-9997352-9-9 (ebook)

I had the good fortune to be chosen to review an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of Ms. Moreci's new book and found it to be absolutely full of valuable information for both first time authors and well as those who may have been around a while, but who were quite never satisfied with how their novel turned out.

Ms. Moreci takes the future author's hand from the very beginning and guides them through the process of deciding what to write, basic structure, planning, character creation, world-building, outlining, the various things you need to have in your novel and so much more. It is a step-by-step guide from the very beginning to the completion of the manuscript.

For those of you who follow her YouTube channel her funny, and at times sarcastic wit is replicated in this book. Her no-nonsense way of telling the future writer how things really work is, In my opinion, something that is sorely needed. Most people have no concept of how much work needs to into a novel as this is not something that is routinely taught. There are so many potential authors out there that want to tell their stories, but are unable to do so, as they never learned the basics. This book should, I hope, solve this dilemma for them.

It is hoped that she will consider writing a sequel to this book which deals with the next multitude of steps in getting the manuscript published.

Highly recommended.

2022-12-12

"Rough Cut" by Derek Lambert (1929-2001)

Publisher: Bantam Books

ISBN: 0553027891

This novel was originally published as "Touch the Lion's Paw" but was rereleased as "Rough Cut" when the 1980 movie of that name was made starring Burt Reynolds, Leslie Ann Down, and David Niven.

The book is much darker than the movie is, and details the execution of the robbery of Hatton Garden in London of $13 million worth of uncut diamonds, during its transfer to Antwerp for cutting. The overall plot of movie does pretty much the same thing with the exception is much more lighthearted, as is typical with the majority of Burt Reynolds movies, and there is very little violence unlike the book.

Unlike the most of reviews I do where I compare a movie and a book in this case I very much prefer the movie over the book. Unfortunately, the movie is next to impossible to find as a DVD or Blu-ray (and may not have ever even been released on anything other than VHS).

There were a fair number of changes with regard to the characters when comparing the book and the movie, but for the most part the book itself is very well written and the author obviously did a lot of research on the subject matter, which considering the subject could possibly have been quite difficult.

Both the book and movie are well worth reading/viewing. Enjoy them both.

2022-12-05

"First Steps: How Upright Walking Made Us Human" by Jeremy DeSilva

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 9780062938497

Dr. De Silvia's book is a well researched trip through time that looks at the development of the foot on various bipedal organisms, e.g., Us, as well as the great apes and a few other assorted beasties who walk on two legs (typically for short periods of time). It is easy to read and will be of great interest to both the layperson and high school as well as first year university students.

There have been many many changes since I graduated with an anthropology degree in the early 90s, and in fact some of the more fascinating things have happened in the last 10 to 15 years. If I was able, I would seriously consider going back and doing my masters so I can catch up on what's going on.

Dr. De Silva traces the development of the human, and other members of the genus Homo and its predecessors through the examination of fossil evidence, as wells as extent species of animals.

Well worth the read, highly recommended.

2022-11-28

"Troubled Blood" by Robert Galbraith

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

ISBN: 9780316498937

This is the fifth book in the Cormoran Strike series, and they keep getting better each time. It is very easy to get carried away reading this book, and allow the time to pass until you almost miss your bus stop, or realise it's getting pretty late and you'd better get some sleep before work in the morning.

Galbraith's characters are so well conceived that they just jump right off the page. In addition the plotting is very intricate, but in such a way that if you want to try and figure out the puzzle before the detective you'll definitely have to pay attention.

The story itself revolves around a cold case from forty years earlier, and a young lady who wants to find out what really happened to her mother, a doctor, when she disappeared after leaving the clinic she worked at on a rainy night. This story also treats us to the developing relationship between Cormoran Strike & Robin Eldacott who are partners in the detective firm, along with the various other who work with them.

Excellent story. But for best enjoyment read the series in order, as the characters do change over the course of the novels. Looking forward to the next instalment.

2022-11-21

"Collective Illusions: Conformity, Complicity, and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions" by Todd Rose

Publisher: Hachette Books

ISBN: 9780306925689

I found this book "collective illusions" to be extremely interesting to read, and a bit of an eye-opener as to how people perceive each other in every day situations (and some not-so-everyday situation as well).

I first came across Dr. Rose on a YouTube video published by Big Think, in which he spoke about the various illusions that humans are susceptible to in every day life. His video is actually one of many published by this organization, all of which are quite illuminating.

The fact that humans are suffering (and that's virtually the only word you can use to accurately describe what we're facing) collective illusions in pretty much all aspects of every day life makes this book an indispensable resource on how to navigate what we experience daily.

The book is clearly written, and very informative. I would highly recommend it to anybody who is interested in the way the world works, or who is a participant in all the various social media platforms that are currently invading our life.

2022-11-14

"Mark One: The Dummy" by John Ball (1911-1988)

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

ISBN: 0316079502

This is the second book of Mr. Ball's that I read, and it was just as enjoyable as the first one. In fact is now so good that I have to go and actually buy a copy because I know I'll want to read it again.

The story revolves around a very successful espionage writer who's writing is so authentic and true to life that he is mistaken for one of his characters, Mark Day, whom because of the detail everyone believes is actually patterned after his own life because they think he is in fact a secret agent for some division of the American government.

He doesn't really help his case in denying this, because he does somewhat resemble his lead character, and having lived with the character for so long he has the ability to slip into his mindset and perform just as if he was the agent. When A woman shows up claiming to be his agents love interest, things get very interesting in that he knows very well that she's a fictional character, but she too acts just like the character he designed.

Based solely on the title I assume that Mr. Ball was planning on writing more in this series, unfortunately he never did.

This is a very interesting and fun to read book. I think it would make a very good movie, as long as Hollywood didn't present it as a "James Bondish" style of movie.

2022-11-07

In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom" by Yeonmi Park

Publisher: Penguin Books

ISBN: 978159-206795

For the second or third time I have broken my rule about reading autobiographies and commenting on them, but in this instance it was well worth the read as Ms. Park's story is utterly amazing.

I first heard about Yeonmi Park when I stumbled across one of her videos on YouTube. At first I found it quite difficult to believe what she was talking about in her videos as I knew very little about North Korea. However after doing a little research and watching more of her Videos I've been convinced (not that it was difficult) that the Kims (Kim Jong-un is the third generation of this dictatorial family) will do virtually anything to hold onto their power, regardless of what outsiders think of them.

Unfortunately, the majority of the world seems to have turned a blind eye towards the disgraceful, and inhuman treatment of the population of North Korea by this family. The sanctions imposed on North Korea for the most part seem only to be hurting the civilians, and do not seem to be affecting the Kim regime at all.

But why is this?

Granted, as I write this the Russian invasion of Ukraine is taking centre stage in the world news, but this war is only a few months old. The brutality and essentially concentration camp style of rule in North Korea has been going on for over 60 years. Once again why has this been allowed to happen?

"In Order To Live" is an excellent story, that I would recommend everyone read.