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“The Diamond Age” by Neal Stephenson – Bridging the Human-Machine Gap

January 1, 2025

“The Diamond Age” by Neal Stephenson (Header image)

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Short Summary

Neal Stephenson looks like he’ll never tire from painting portraits of the future, something he’s being doing quite successfully for a while, though I think some would argue one of his best efforts in that regard was all the way back in 1995 when he wrote The Diamond Age. Taking us decades into the future, it tells the story of a young girl whose life was nothing but hopeless ruin, until she finds “The Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer” perhaps the most consequential and advanced piece of nanotechnology in her time. In one fell swoop, the little girl’s fate changed forever.

“The Crying of Lot 49” by Thomas Pynchon – A Hysterical Stumble into Mania

December 20, 2024

“The Crying of Lot 49” by Thomas Pynchon (Header image)

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Short Summary

Thomas Pynchon has been responsible for some of the more original works of writing in the last few decades, some of them even earning the accolade of bestsellers. In The Crying of Lot 49, he takes a relatively innocuous-looking Californian housewife, Oedipa Maas, and thrusts her deep into a truly mad, complex and winding conspiracy involving anything from a mad scientist to stamp collecting.

“Remnant Population” by Elizabeth Moon – The Planet of One

November 27, 2024

“Remnant Population” by Elizabeth Moon (Header image)

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Short Summary

Elizabeth Moon is no stranger to writing memorable and original pieces of literature (for which she has been recognized time and time again), and with Remnant Population she certainly keeps up her stride, to say the least. It tells the story of Ofelia, a woman who chooses to stay behind in her space colony after all the others get shipped off elsewhere, with the fantasy of living her days out in blissful solitude… however, such lofty dreams are hardly meant to be.

“God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater” by Kurt Vonnegut – The Shame of Poverty

September 5, 2024September 4, 2024

“God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater” by Kurt Vonnegut (Header image)

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Short Summary

Kurt Vonnegut has given us no shortage of piercing and poignant stories getting right to the heart of what’s wrong in modern American society, but among them, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater flew a little under the radar (in relative terms). It follow the life of Elliot Rosewater, a disillusioned millionaire whose conscience leads him to move the headquarters of his Rosewater Foundation to his former family home, Rosewater, Indiana, where he does all he can for the poor people living there.

“House of Leaves” by Mark Z. Danielewski – Enter the Maze of the Mind

September 18, 2024July 17, 2024

“House of Leaves” by Mark Z. Danielewski (Header image)

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Short Summary

Mark Z. Danielewski may have written a few highly-acclaimed novels (with more to come, hopefully), but it seems none have managed to capture the public’s imagination like his debut, House of Leaves. In short, it follows a family who, shortly after moving into a new house, see a doorway appear in their living room, leading to an impossible labyrinth… which of course, some are only too keen to explore.

“Fear is the Key” by Alistair MacLean – The Art of Pulling Teeth

June 23, 2024June 4, 2024

“Fear is the Key” by Alistair MacLean (Header image)

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Short Summary

Alistair MacLean has written so many bestsellers later on in his career, it is easy to forget he had some earlier novels too which are well worth a read despite being flying under the radar, a prime example being Fear is the Key. Turned into a movie approximately ten years after its publication, the novel tells the story of multiple parties chasing after a mysteriously-sunken treasure, but not without their own nefarious hidden agendas.

“Listen for the Lie” by Amy Tintera – The Ghost that Never Sleeps

September 10, 2024March 9, 2024

“Listen for the Lie” by Amy Tintera (Header image)

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Short Summary

Amy Tintera has, until now, been largely known for writing superb young adult novels, many of which have become bestsellers and earned her prizes. With her latest novel, Listen for the Lie, she decided to leave her comfort zone and go into adult territory by penning a murder mystery. It follows a young woman, Lucy, who is forced to uncover the truth behind her best friend’s murder. The catch is that everyone, including Lucy herself, believe she’s the one responsible for it.

“Marathon Man” by William Goldman – Diamonds of Demons Past

July 23, 2024January 25, 2024

“Marathon Man” by William Goldman (Header image)

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Short Summary

William Goldman is responsible for a few movies and novels considered classics today, and to many people, Marathon Man remains his greatest achievement as an author. It tells the story of Thomas “Babe” Levy, a post-graduate history student at Columbia University, and how he unwittingly gets sucked into a long-standing Nazi conspiracy, at the centre of which stands Dr. Christian Szell, infamously known as the “White Angel of Auschwitz”.

“Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir – The Saviour’s Solo

June 8, 2024December 17, 2023

“Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir (Header image)

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Short Summary

Andy Weir has definitely set himself apart in the world of hard science-fiction, using physics, astronomy and mathematics to their fullest extent in developing some rather imaginative themes. In Project Hail Mary we follow Ryland Grace, the sole survivor on a space craft who just awoke from a coma. Bit by bit his memory returns to him, and he remembers the nature of his mission: Earth’s last-ditch effort to stay alive in the face of a cosmic extinction event.

“Prisoner of Heaven” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon – The Lazarus of Montjuic Castle

August 17, 2024December 7, 2023

“Prisoner of Heaven” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Header image)

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Short Summary

Carlos Ruiz Zafon has presented Barcelona unlike any before him with The Cemetery of Forgotten Books series, and the third one, titled Prisoner of Heaven, takes a bit of a detour from the previous stories. This one focuses on Fermin Romero de Torres, previously a side character, and his miraculous return from the dead, along with all the trouble it brings him.

“Player Piano” by Kurt Vonnegut – The Automated Future

July 30, 2024November 23, 2023

“Player Piano” by Kurt Vonnegut (Header image)

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Short Summary

Kurt Vonnegut‘s extensive bibliography isn’t short on bestsellers, but I see many people overlooking his first novel, Player Piano, which seems a little strange considering how well it resonates with modern times. It tells the story of an engineer, Paul Prodeus, living in a totally automated American society in the future, increasingly desperate to find some true meaning to his life.

“The Great Train Robbery” by Michael Crichton – The Thieving Mastermind

November 24, 2024October 14, 2023

The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton (Header image)

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Short Summary

Michael Crichton, unlike most authors, has managed to pen multiple classics over the course of his lifetime, many of which were turned into equally-celebrated motion pictures. The Great Train Robbery is one of his better-known works, taking us to London 1855 to embark on an adventure alongside Edward Pierce as he orchestrates the crime of the century.

“Mindhunter” by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker – Plunge into the Psychological Abyss

October 19, 2024September 28, 2023

“Mindhunter” by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker (Header image)

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Short Summary

John E. Douglas is perhaps one of the more important figures in modern criminal psychology, being not only one of the first profilers, but more importantly, one of the only ones willing and able to consistently share his knowledge with the public. He has published many books alongside Mark Olshaker, and in Mindhunter, Douglas delves into some of the more surprising and shocking cases throughout his storied twenty-five-year career.

“The Guns of Navarone” by Alistair MacLean – Men of Iron

September 11, 2024September 22, 2023

“The Guns of Navarone” by Alistair MacLean (Header image)

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Short Summary

Alistair MacLean is perhaps one of the more cinematic authors out there, with his novels always being evocative and, as has been proven on numerous occasions, great for movie adaptations. The Guns of Navarone is arguably one of his better-known works across both literature and cinema, and it tells the story of a small group of saboteurs tasked with the seemingly pointless and impossible mission of destroying an artillery installation preventing the evacuation of 1200 British soldiers.

“The Angel’s Game” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon – Cutting a Deal with the Devil

August 17, 2024August 30, 2023

“The Angel's Game” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Header image)

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Short Summary

Carlos Ruiz Zafon has single-handedly put his beloved city of Barcelona on the map as the perfect setting for mysteries basking in the eternal lights of art, history, and literature. The Cemetery of Forgotten Books is, without a doubt, the series which best exemplifies the author’s adoration of his hometown as well as his literary prowess. In the second novel, titled The Angel’s Game, he takes us back in time to the 1920s and 1930s to meet a young pulp fiction writer whose life is about to change for both the worst, and the best.