Moxyland by Lauren Beukes

Moxyland
Author: Lauren Beukes
Publisher: Angry Robot Books (July 2009)
ISBN: 978-0-00732-389-0 (UK/Aus)
978-0-00732945-8 (US/Can)

Moxyland definitely has some strong cyberpunk tones in the story.  Based around four central characters, Moxyland paints very real, very plausible picture of a future that potentially lies just around the corner.  First we have Kendra, a naive art school dropout yet talented photographer.  Toby, a slacker who lives off his mom, until she cuts him off, and streamcasts via his high tech jacket, Baby Strange.  Tendeka, a hard edged revolutionary willing to go to any length to protest the corporate hold on society.  And Lerato, a highly sexual, incredibly talented programmer working for the evil corporation itself.

Set in South Africa in the very near 2018, if my math is correct, Moxyland is an amazing ride in a high tech world where cutting edge nano can heal the sick and our cell’s SIM cards open, or close, the doors on the quality of lives we live.  Your cell’s SIM card is your pass to the “corporati” or your ticket to “disconnect”.

Lauren Beukes does an amazing job of world building in Moxyland. You get a real sense of what life is like in this part of the world in this future, a clear picture of the very large divide between the luxury of working for the corporation, the despair of living on the streets, and the quality of life in between.

The story is fast paced and a quick read at just over 300 pages.  I myself read it in just a few days. The story has a way of reaching out and grabbing you and roping you into their world. Towards then end I was scrambling to find out what was going to happen to the characters Lauren Beukes had allowed me to grow so fond of. The story has a real twist and my head is still swimming from the out come. I’ll simply say, well played Lauren, well played.

Moxyland, along with Slights, is the first release by the new SF/F publishing house Angry Robot Books. In order to do this Angry Robot turned to the internet to get the word out.  Relying on bloggers, forums, genre websites and reviewers to spread the word about their new titles.  I am glad that I jumped on this train when I did, if I hadn’t, I might have missed the boat and a wonderful opportunity by a top notch publisher. I say this because Moxyland is by far one of the best books I have read in quite some time.

For those of you following along or have read snippits of Moxyland, a book I’m reading for Angry Robot, know that this tends to go right along with the whole cyberpunk theme that tends to be following me around lately.  Maybe?  Why Not.  I bring this up because in Moxyland, I won’t review it here just a premise, the entire society is run on cell phones.  The cash is transfered via cell, the police enforcement is done via cell, based on the condition of your sim you can be allowed access into certain areas of the city or be shut out into the slums, even advertisers use signals as you walk by billboards to send stuff to your cell targeted to you.  Quite fascinating actually.

Needless to say when this popped up today I got really excited and ordered the mag and subscribed to the feed instantly.  I can’t wait to see what they come up with for their next installment.  Anywho, check out the video, check out the comic, get the kit.  It just looks way too fun….

NutBar Tech Specialist…

Citizen_Engineer from citizen engineer on Vimeo.

Blue Diablo by Ann Aguirre

Blue Diablo (Book one of the Corine Solomon Series)
Author: Ann Aguirre
Publisher: ROC (April 2009)
ISBN: 978-0451462640

Corine Solomon had built a nice life for herself in Mexico.  A simple life.  She owns her own shop and had plenty of customers to keep her pantry full and her days occupied.  It was tough getting to this point after what happened the last several years with Chance and she was ready for the slow pace this new life offered. She had covered her tracks well when she left but she had to constantly look over her shoulder, what with all the people that were looking for her and all.  She knew eventually they would find her so she was always ready to move on when they did, vanishing once again, leaving the dust of her past behind her and making a new life in a different place until it all happened again.

Corine has a gift you see, a gift that is coveted by even the most dangerous of people.  She can hold something in her hand and see the history of the object as if the owner had left a recording for her to find.  Her gift is a rare one at that and not given to her by birth either.  It was given to her by her mother on the eve of her death and because of this she is left with scars on her hands every time she “handles” an object.  Her scars run deeper then just what you can see on the palms of her hands though, her deepest scars come from her past, Chance, her manager, her lover.

She and Chance had one hell of a go, but he was no good for her and as their relationship approached it’s end it was more and more obvious just how much she had to go.  Out of all the people out looking for her she thought for sure that he would be the one sure to find her and she regretted the day he did.  After eighteen months of living at this slow pace that’s exactly what happened.

When Chance arrives at her shop and presents her with a small, pewter, Buddha figurine, a figurine she instantly recognizes as Yi-Min-Chin’s, Chance’s mother, her simple life comes to an abrupt end and what lies before her will test her will and determination unlike any case she and Chance had ever worked on in the past.  Although she has always felt she was nothing more then a tool for Chance to use at his own discretion, she has no choice but to accompany him on his quest to find his mother for she had grown quite fond of Min during her relationship with Chance. She cared for Min the way a daughter cares for her own mother and couldn’t bare to know that something happened and she did nothing to find her and prevent it, or at least find out what or who was responsible.

In Corine Solomon Ann has once again created a strong yet reluctant female character.  One that is constantly battling her own temptations, as well as the many obstacles Ann throws at her in her quest to find out what has happened to Min. Ann has developed a rich character pool in Blue Diablo and wisps the reader right along as each obstacle presents a new and more difficult one.

Written in first person Blue Diablo gives us a unique perspective on the events as they unfold for our characters.  We can actually feel the pain they experience as they over come each obstacle in search of the answers they so desperately need to find. We feel Corine’s battles with her own temptations and desires.  There is no sex in this book, but the book is rife with sexual tension as Corine battles her own lust for her ex and a particularly tasty Texas cop. Can’t believe I used that phrase to describe him but hey, those are Corine’s thoughts and Ann does a wonderful job of getting them across to the reader.

Other then some Simon R. Green and a few of his Nightside Series books, I don’t have much experience with the urban fantasy genre.  Once again though Ann has hooked me into a genre that I can’t seem to get enough of. Ann does a wonderful job in Blue Diablo and I for one look forward to Hell Fire, book two of the Corine Solomon Series.  Ann’s track record for developing strong female characters has made her a top notch author in my book and she can’t quite produce them quick enough for me.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

Storm Front (Book One of The Dresden FIles)
Author: Jim Butcher
Publisher: ROC (April 2000)
ISBN: 978-0-451-45781-3

For those of us that were fans of the SciFi series we know all to well who Harry Copperfiled Blackstone Dresden is and what his job is. For those of us who don’t the door to his office reads…

Harry Dresden-Wizard
Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations.
Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses or Other Entertainment

When Harry Dresden is called into assist his friend on the Chicago Police Force, Lt. Karrin Murphy, he is met with a scene unlike any wizard, or police officer for that matter, would like to see. One that can only be explained by magic, which is why Dresden is there in the first place. Reluctantly accepting the opportunity to help out Murphy and The Chicago Police, mainly due to the rent that is over due on his apartment and office, he is spun into a scenario that is steeped deeply in the dark corners of the back alleys of the streets of Chicago. A world that is ruled by drug dealers, gangsters, hit men, vampires, and faeries with near useless information.

Jennifer Stanton works for Bianca, a vampire who runs a respectable whore house on the fringes of the city. Tommy Tom is a muscle man who works for Gentleman Johnny Marcone, a mob boss who rules the streets of Chicago. Tommy Tom is a regular customer of Jennifer’s and on this particular romp in the hay he meets his match at the hands of a powerful wizard who uses his black magic, and unknown powerful forces to conjure up a spell that rips the hearts right out of both of them in throws of their own lust. It’s a case that screams black magic, to the forces Special Investigations Division, in which Murphy and her partner Carmicheal are the only officers, and the White Council, who suspect from the beginning that Dresden is at the bottom of this particularly heinous act of black conjuring. Through the course of trying to get to the bottom of this crime Harry will need every available spell that he has at side; every talisman he can get his hands on, every ounce of power that he has, and every spell he has ever cast, and some he hasn’t.

As Harry whittles away at the leads that he can garner from an unsuspecting faerie, who thinks he is getting a free meal of honey and bread, a vampire madam, and who ever else he can manage to scrape together from those initial sources; we are led on a chase that pushes the very edges of action that you can illicit from a book. Butcher does an amazing job of leading us through every scene with his eloquent prose. The action is fast paced and around every corner Harry seems to hit another wall. Fighting toad daemons, ever growing brown scorpions, Morgan (Harry’s Warden for the White Council), and his own limitations; Harry will dig deep into a world steeped in drugs, lust, mobsters, and death.

Storm Front is very well written and fast paced. The style of Jim Buther lends itself well to the world of Harry Dresden and the streets of Chicago. His vision of what it must be like to be wizard makes you want to run out to Half Price and scoop up every book you can grab on the subject; it however drove me right to the bookstore to snatch up Full Moon, Book Two of The Dresden Files. I can’t wiat to dig deep into the world of Harry Dresden and his exploits as he solves the crimes that plague Chicago in these most fascinating stories. My only regret, that I hadn’t discovered this world he has created until now. It would seem that I have a lot of catching up to do, as of June 7th, and my purchase of Full Moon, there are ten books including the two listed above. Guess I better get reading.

Terminator Salvation

First and foremost I thought that this movie should have been Terminator 2 and not Terminator 4, but you get what you pay for and we got Edward Furlong on the second and not the war I have been wanting to see since hints of it in the very first Terminator. Secondly this review does contain spoilers.

As the movie starts we meet Marcus, a criminal on deathrow who has admitted his guilt in a crime that resulted in the death of his brother and a cop. Helena Bonham Carter is a cancer patient patitioning Marcus for his body to use for scientific purposes. Just before Carter leaves Marcus signs the form and we discover the header on the form is for Cyberdine Systems. We know from the trailers that Marcus is an advanced form of the terminator. Trouble is, he wakes up 15 years later not knowing that he has been converted or combined with Skynets most advanced technology.

As he begins to learn what has happened over the last 15 years he develops a friendship with a teenage Kyle Reese. When Kyle is captured by Skynet he vows to rescue him and get him to the Resistance Headquarters located in an undiscolsed location, still unaware of his true purpose which I will not spoil for you here.

As the resistance is working on their best technology, a signal that can disable the the machines, Connor and Marcus meet when one of his teammates is escorting Marcus back to the base. This is when the unsuspecting viewers in the theatre, Marcus, Connor and the rest of this branch of the resistance come to learn that Marcus is a machine himself. With Kyle in the central Skynet base and the leaders of The Resistance planning a major assault on this location using this new weapon, John Connor and Marcus team up to rescue the people held prisoner at the Skynet base and in turn rescuing Kyle Reese. It is during this rescue operation that we learn the truth behind Marcus’ creation, a truth that could turn the tide in the war and drive the resistance to the brink of destruction and give the victory to Skynet.

I was very happy with this particular movie and I enjoyed it a great deal. I thought that the action was very good and not overplayed. The machines were great and they were exactly what we have been given glances of for the past 20yrs. or so. I loved the character interactions and the effects where awesome, but then again like I said I have been waiting for this movie for years. I just can’t believe that it has taken them this long to make it and I hope that there are more of these movies in the future. I personally tend to think that the war between Skynet and The Resistance would make for some great movies in the future.

Reviews on the horizon are:

• Terminator Salvation.  This movie was actually watched weeks ago and the review has been written but life got in the way and it unfortunately was never posted.  It is coming soon though.
• Jim Butcher’s Storm Front, book one of the Dresden Files.  Although this book was completed and the review written the same weekend as the Terminator review, it also was unfortuanately never published; but expect it soon as well.
• Anne Aguire’s Blue Diablo, book one of the Corine Solomon Series.  This review has also been written for quite sometime and will be posted with in the next day or so.
• Kevin J Anderson’s The Edge of the World.  This book was just completed last night and the review is in the writing process, expect it no later then this weekend.
• Lauren Beukes’ Moxyland.  This book is close to the completion stage and a review will be posted on Sunday the 12th at the latest.  Thanks Angry Robot for sending me a hard copy ARC by the way; I’m still not quite as comfortable reading digital copies as I am with a hard copy.
• The Gene Generation.  This movie was watched over the weekend and stirred up, right along with Moxyland, visions of the dystopic future and high tech gadgetry that makes us love cyberpunk so much.
• We also have reviews coming for the two latest happenings in Science Fiction on TV, being Virtuality and The Mutant Chronicles.  Both of which were loved by the way.
• Sad as we are, we have a very long day tomorrow and our legal on the job for Warehouse 13, has to add it to his DVR to reviewed at their earliest convenience.
• We have been so busy that we haven’t had the opportunity to dispatch someone out to watch and review Star Trek or Transformers yet; but have no fear the weekend is open to us and reviews will be posted ASAP.

Thanks for stopping in to NutBar,

The NutBar Legals…

On the positive side of the debate, or perhaps it should be called optimistic, you have J. Storrs Hall, president of the Foresight Institute.  Hall postulates that advanced AI would make our life infinitely better.  You would have doormen at every door greeting guests and securing our homes, police bots on every corner keeping our citizens safe; basically robots doing the work and we are free to pursue our desires and live our lives in peace and harmony.  Hall likens this period of advancement to the “industrial revolution” when we experienced a period of peace unlike any other in history.

On the pessimistic side of the debate, or perhaps we could call this the cautious side, you have Hugo de Garis of Wuhan University in China.  Garis assumes that Halls position is essentially a runaway effect.  If you take into account the level at which our computer hardware becomes all but obsolete today, approximately every 2 years, like our computers our robots would continue to get smarter and smarter every year until they surpassed the level of human intelligence.  It is at this stage, or as we see the gaps closing, that you would have war break out across the world.  Either between the supporters of the technology and the non supporters, or between the machines and the humans who built them.  From any angle both scenarios are infinitely possible, and although Halls suggests that you could put protocols into the coding to protect us humans, think Asimov’s 3 laws of robotics, Garis suggests that although that would work for a while, once the machines gained enough intelligence they would be able to remove these restrictions with in their coding and act on free will.

While the debate does raise some questions, as well as concerns, it is very exciting to think about what the future might look like in the next 50 to 100 years.  This is in effect a forgone conclusion.  The human race will continue to push ourselves and our technology and people will invent machines that are smarter and can learn at alarming rates and inevitably someone will place this artificial intelligence into a humanoid robot.  Whether it winds up like Battlestar Galactica or Asimov’s robot stories is still to be determined.

AGI: The Pathway to a Much, Much Better World from Jeriaska on Vimeo.

Engineered Utopia or Artilect War? from Jeriaska on Vimeo.

Future of AGI Debate – Rebuttal from Jeriaska on Vimeo.

Engineered Utopia or Artilect War? (via Blogging the Singularity)

Perhaps through the magic of the “blogosphere” or perhaps through my own obsession, I have been learning a lot about “Transhumanism” the past several weeks.  It is something I didn’t really know much about until only recently and it has invaded my every thought, dream, fantasy, so on and so forth.  Although the concept may sound quite a bit like science fiction, the reality is that many of these technologies lie just beyond the reach of modern science and in some cases we are seeing the burgeoning technologies begin to develop even today.

For those that don’t know, Transhumanism is a philosophical, cultural and political movement which holds that the human species is in a comparitavely early phase and our evolution will be altered by developing technologies.  Transhumanists share a belief that an outcome in which humans have radically advanced intelligence, near immortality, deep friendships with AI, and elective bodily characteristics is very desirable for ones own personal. development, and for the development of the species.  As silly as it might sound when Jerry Jalava had his amputated finger replaced with a 2gb flash drive, I personally would have gone for a larger capacity finger myself, after a motorcycle accident it was an enhancement to his natural self.  Not quite what the “Transhumanists” have in mind, but still a step, however small, in that direction.  Especially when you consider the plans that he has for the future of this missing digit.

In the video that follows we hear a lecture from Dr. Susan Schneider, IEET fellow and assistant professor of philosophy and an affiliated faculty member with Penns Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and the Institute for Research in Cognitive Science, and author of Science Fiction and Philosophy, discuss the issues that this philosophy raises.  The lecture really is quite fascinating and however excited I am for the future that lies ahead in the evolution of our species, I personally feel that this is an inevitable development that some of us will choose to take in the decades that lie ahead.

I have since learned why Nicholas Sparks is praised the way he is about his writing. He is extremely easy to read. He has a straight forward writing style that paints a beautiful picture and tugs at the heart strings like I never thought a book could do. If I had one gripe about Sparks it would be that sometimes I just want him to spill it. He will leave you hanging on a solution to a problem within the story line and he will do this for sometimes chapters upon chapters. This is all part of what makes his writing style so wonderful though. In other words it drives you crazy when you want to know what it is he needs to tell you, but when he tells you it is perfect. It’s at a time when you can’t possibly wait any longer. My wife will actually skip ahead and skim to find the solution, then catch up. Although I want to do that, I don’t. There’s nothing wrong with the fact that she does it though. She is just impatient, but don’t tell her I told you that.

The past two books that we have read have been Sparks novels. They have been Dear John, which he published in October of 2006; and The Choice, which was published in September 2007. Both of these books have impressed me to no end. Like I said, this is not an author that I would have ever picked up on my own and I am so glad that my wife and I started this. He is a wonderful writer, but I’ve stated all that, so we will get to meat of the discussion of these two books.

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

Dear John tells the story of John and Savannah. John is a rebel and drops out of school, lost and alone, he joins the army. Savannah builds houses for Habitat for Humanity every summer and is a student studying to work with autistic kids. It is during one of these summer builds, when John is home on leave, that these two people from very different worlds meet. They are instantly attracted to one another but John is on leave and must return to Germany in two weeks. They are both anxious to be together and Savannah promises to wait for John until his tour is up. Then 9/11 happens and that changes everything. John enlists for another two years and this separation leads to Savannah falling in love with another man. When John returns from Iraq he must come to terms with the fact that the woman he loves is now married to another man. He is faced with decision that will change his life and the life of Savannah forever.

Seeing as how this was my first Sparks novel, I was really quite amazed with it. I really enjoyed reading it, Sparks surprises even the most avid readers of his novels, my wife. I would highly recommend reading this book to anyone remotely interested in a tear jerking romance that is quick and easy to read. His style just flows so well that you find yourself wrapped up in his books and before you know it, it’s over.

The Choice by Nicholas Sparks

The Choice tells the story of Travis and Gabby. Travis is living the high life. He is everything a bachelor wants to be. He has a house, two boats, a motorcycle, kayaks, jet skis, great friends, and faithful dog by his side. Then Gabby moves in next door. Travis finds himself trying to be the best neighbor that he can be and she seems to want to have nothing to do with him. He still can’t seem to help trying to get to know her better. He finds that there is something about her that he never expected and his enduring spirit pays off and they fall in love. The Choice then confronts us with the most heart wrenching question of all; how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?

I took that last bit right from the back of the book. I wrestled, honestly, with any other way to put it and I just couldn’t come up with anything. This book again was quite amazing. My wife and I found ourselves weeping, almost uncontrollably, (me anyway, yes I’m a weeper) while reading this book. It truly is a wonderful read and again if you have any desire to read something that will touch you in a way that you never thought you could be touched, then read this book. I will only say this about this book. Although it is still easy to read and his style still flows effortlessly off the page and into your heart, this book needs time. If you’ve read Sparks before this book will surprise you more then any other. My wife and I both were very pleased with this novel. It was just a matter of hours ago actually that she called me crying and we discussed the ending of the book. I actually finished before her and that never happens. Needless to say it was so hard not to tell her this morning as I was headed to work and she was headed to lunch how it ended.

If these kinds of books are what you are into then you should pick up one or both of them; even if you just want to try something different. I was quite skeptical when I started but quickly found that I too have become quite the fan of Sparks. Even though we will pick a different author for May, I have no doubts that his latest, The Lucky One, is shining brightly on the horizon for us.

• The Choice by Nicholas Sparks (My wife and I’s book of the month for April)
• Blue Diablo by Ann Aguirre (The signed copy I won through SciFiChick)
• The Family Trade by Charles Stross (Fantasy book by the great SciFi Author)
• Wanderlust by Ann Aguirre (Book two of the Sirantha Jax Series)

Anxiously awaiting in the mail:

• The Edge of the World by Kevin J Anderson (Book one of the Terra Incognita Series)

Working on the Front with the Robot Army:

• Moxyland by Lauren Buekes (Due out September 1st in the US-review up by mid August)
• Slights by Kaaron Warren (Due out September 1st in the US-review up by mid August)