By @edent · Book Review NaBloPoMo · 2 comments · 200 words
This was a rare DNF for me. I'm sure there's a brilliant story in there somewhere but it became too much of a chore to read. The prose is excruciatingly complicated. Half a dozen times in one page I had to use my eReader's dictionary to look up an archaic word. Perhaps that's part of […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review NaBloPoMo · 6 comments · 150 words
Andy Weir has hit on a winning formula. To wit: Somehow I, an otherwise unremarkable man, has to SAVE ALL OF HUMANITY! OH NO! Something is BROKEN! I'll use SCIENCE to fix it! Pop culture reference. OH NO! Something else is broken. I'll use SCIENCE to fix it! The science didn't work!!! ... and repeat […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review language NaBloPoMo · 1 comment · 650 words
This guy's probably right - but there's no need for him to be such a dick about it. The book is about the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis which, simply put, says that the language people use changes the way they experience the world. McWhorter thinks this is bullshit - and goes through his reasoning in painstaking detail. […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review MSc · 1 comment · 1,300 words · read ~257 times.
The end-game of my MSc is almost in sight! I've written up 6 assignments. Now all I need to do is write a 10,000 word dissertation in the form of a Major Project Report. Oh, and go through an End-Point-Assessment with my portfolio to make sure I actually know what I'm talking about. But, back […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Becky Chambers Book Review wayfarers · 250 words
When a freak technological failure halts traffic to and from the planet Gora, three strangers are thrown together unexpectedly, with seemingly nothing to do but wait. Under the care of Ouloo, an enterprising alien, and Tupo, her occasionally helpful child, the trio are compelled to confront where they've been, where they might go, and what […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review feminism · 350 words
Every day, extraordinary inventions and innovative ideas are side-lined in a world that remains subservient to men. But it doesn't have to be this way. Instead, ingrained ideas about men and women continue to shape our economic decisions; favouring men and leading us to the same tired set of solutions. For too long we have […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review Sci Fi · 1 comment · 200 words
Binti is an absolute treat. I've not read much Afro-Futurism, but what I have has been truly excellent and entertaining. What is it like to try to honour your ancestors while feeling the call for adventure? It's a topic which has been explored ad infinitum but rarely with such passion. Why do old men fear […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review · 300 words
The book starts by referencing one of my favourite book - The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals. That book looks at the history of criminal trials of animals and gets in to the philosophy about whether a flock of geese can be considered liable for the damage they cause. It is a deeply […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review · 1 comment · 250 words
This is a massive tome. Or do I mean tomb…? What if you discovered that your widower-father was not a mild-mannered historian but, instead… A VAMPIRE HUNTER! The caper takes us all over Europe - a veritable travelogue of bustling capitals and dusty backwaters. It holds itself ever-so seriously - occasionally dropping into the meta-narrative […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review future predictions · 2,050 words
This book is outstanding. It is a clear-eyed view of the future as it was seen from 20 years ago. I've never taken so many scribbled notes in the margins of a book. Many of the ideas are ahead of its time - and only a couple of clunkers which never made it. One thing […]
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