Next Batch O' Books
21: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
Picking up a year after the end of the previous book (Mistborn), the Well of Ascension covers the time period after the fall of the Final Empire (name was evidently not as accurate as had been hoped). The previous rulers of the aristocracy have broken off into factions that want to invade, horrible creatures that used to be under the control of the Lord Ruler are now not so much, and Eland, the elected emperor (more or less) is trying to design a system of government built on theory, and finds some of the problems with this in practice (like getting voted off the throne). Meanwhile, Vin is the most powerful, but not the best trained, mistborn left in existence (this is a problem when she meets one better trained but less powerful. Also, he has a crush on her and is insane), she may be a hero that was prophecied, except the prophecy is largely forgotten, corrupted, and not actually very helpful.
This was a very big book. I honestly don't know what could have been cut out, because most of it seemed necessary to the story, but it was so long that after a while it felt like not all that much had happened.
Still looking forward to reading the third book, and really glad I have a kindle so it doesn't take up all that much space.
22: Beyond the Body Farm by Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson
A case of 'if you liked the last book (The Body Farm), you'll probably like this one as well'. Covered less of the innovations in forensic anthropology and more of the particular cases of interest and how they were resolved (or sometimes not), but a good read, overall.
23: The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence by Paul Davies
Paul Davies, head of SETI, discusses the problems and questions facing the search for life outside of our planet. This includes topics such as the odd forms life takes on our planet, some of the impossibilities life has to overcome to develop, some of the mathematical modeling that tries to explain what we've seen thus far, and some new ways of looking at and new things to look for in the universe. Plus speculation on how humans would react to life on other planets, some of the history of that speculation, and what are some of the flaws in common tropes on the topic.
The man is interested in everything. He also makes some very persuasive, if depressing, arguments that this planet might really be it for intelligent life. I'm not entirely sure if I even understood enough to follow his argument, let alone disagree with it, but I do feel I'm confused on a deeper level, and that's what any good science book should do.
24: WWW: Watch by Robert J. Sawyer
Second book in the series (previous was WWW:Wake) about an emergent intelligence born of environment of the internet. Called WebMind, the artificial intelligence first comes to consciousness with the help of a sixteen year old girl who has recently had her eyesight restored, by the name of Caitlin Decter. In this book, Caitlin starts introducing WebMind to a wider variety of people, including her parents, some researchers, and a friend from school. meanwhile, US Government agents, detecting the intelligence, are trying to asses if this new thing is a living creature and whether or not it is a threat.
This is a solid second book. It has it's flaws- there are some pretty big steaming heaps of exposition on a number of topics, mostly related to game theory, and the author is clearly in love with the complexity of the topic. Caitlin doesn't quite feel like a real 16 year olf girl, though as she's far from the average and I'm far from the age, I can cut this some slack.
The author also has some inside jokes about writing slash fanfiction for the show FlashForward, which was funny to spot. There's also a subplot involving a primate, which was less thrilling than I'd hoped. Still, I'll read the next book when it comes out, and overall I'm enjoying it.
25: The Deadly Dinner Party by Jonathan A. Edlow
A collection of stories of tracking down the cause and origins of a variety of illness with odd symptoms and engaging histories. The author goes into the specifics of each case without unnecessary hyperbole, gives background and related information on the history of the disorders and related problems. Very entertaining, though it does make you want to never again eat anything, touch anything, or go outside again. A good mix of human interest, medical detective work, and history in each story.
Picking up a year after the end of the previous book (Mistborn), the Well of Ascension covers the time period after the fall of the Final Empire (name was evidently not as accurate as had been hoped). The previous rulers of the aristocracy have broken off into factions that want to invade, horrible creatures that used to be under the control of the Lord Ruler are now not so much, and Eland, the elected emperor (more or less) is trying to design a system of government built on theory, and finds some of the problems with this in practice (like getting voted off the throne). Meanwhile, Vin is the most powerful, but not the best trained, mistborn left in existence (this is a problem when she meets one better trained but less powerful. Also, he has a crush on her and is insane), she may be a hero that was prophecied, except the prophecy is largely forgotten, corrupted, and not actually very helpful.
This was a very big book. I honestly don't know what could have been cut out, because most of it seemed necessary to the story, but it was so long that after a while it felt like not all that much had happened.
Still looking forward to reading the third book, and really glad I have a kindle so it doesn't take up all that much space.
22: Beyond the Body Farm by Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson
A case of 'if you liked the last book (The Body Farm), you'll probably like this one as well'. Covered less of the innovations in forensic anthropology and more of the particular cases of interest and how they were resolved (or sometimes not), but a good read, overall.
23: The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence by Paul Davies
Paul Davies, head of SETI, discusses the problems and questions facing the search for life outside of our planet. This includes topics such as the odd forms life takes on our planet, some of the impossibilities life has to overcome to develop, some of the mathematical modeling that tries to explain what we've seen thus far, and some new ways of looking at and new things to look for in the universe. Plus speculation on how humans would react to life on other planets, some of the history of that speculation, and what are some of the flaws in common tropes on the topic.
The man is interested in everything. He also makes some very persuasive, if depressing, arguments that this planet might really be it for intelligent life. I'm not entirely sure if I even understood enough to follow his argument, let alone disagree with it, but I do feel I'm confused on a deeper level, and that's what any good science book should do.
24: WWW: Watch by Robert J. Sawyer
Second book in the series (previous was WWW:Wake) about an emergent intelligence born of environment of the internet. Called WebMind, the artificial intelligence first comes to consciousness with the help of a sixteen year old girl who has recently had her eyesight restored, by the name of Caitlin Decter. In this book, Caitlin starts introducing WebMind to a wider variety of people, including her parents, some researchers, and a friend from school. meanwhile, US Government agents, detecting the intelligence, are trying to asses if this new thing is a living creature and whether or not it is a threat.
This is a solid second book. It has it's flaws- there are some pretty big steaming heaps of exposition on a number of topics, mostly related to game theory, and the author is clearly in love with the complexity of the topic. Caitlin doesn't quite feel like a real 16 year olf girl, though as she's far from the average and I'm far from the age, I can cut this some slack.
The author also has some inside jokes about writing slash fanfiction for the show FlashForward, which was funny to spot. There's also a subplot involving a primate, which was less thrilling than I'd hoped. Still, I'll read the next book when it comes out, and overall I'm enjoying it.
25: The Deadly Dinner Party by Jonathan A. Edlow
A collection of stories of tracking down the cause and origins of a variety of illness with odd symptoms and engaging histories. The author goes into the specifics of each case without unnecessary hyperbole, gives background and related information on the history of the disorders and related problems. Very entertaining, though it does make you want to never again eat anything, touch anything, or go outside again. A good mix of human interest, medical detective work, and history in each story.