Book Recommendations Day 3: Orson Scott Card

On Tuesday I told you my favorite author was Alastair Reynolds.  That being said, my favorite book, Ender's Game, is actually written by Orson Scott Card.  Card's bibliography is massive and covers several genres, but he is most well known for his science fiction work.  Card is an extremely decorated author, and is the only science fiction writer to win both the Hugo and Nebula awards for two years back to back.

Card has an extremely relatable style of writing.  He has an uncanny understanding of human emotion and thought processes, and can expertly convey this through his characters.  Card has a way of describing complex situations eloquently and intelligently, but also in a way that everyone can instantly grasp.  I have often said that reading Card's work just makes me feel smart.

Ender's Game tells the childhood story of prodigy, Andrew Wiggin (Ender), as he is chosen for battle school and trained to lead a military force against an alien species that threatens all of humanity.  If you haven't read Ender's Game before, you need to do so now.  I think I would be hard pressed to find someone who didn't enjoy at least part of this book.  Go read, I will wait.  

Now that you've read Ender's Game, you are no doubt desperate for more Ender.  You are in luck!  There are several sequels and even a spin-off series available.  Just recently, a direct sequel to Ender's Game was released, but I suggest you wait to pick it up.  If you fall as deeply in love with this universe as I did, you will want to read all the other books before this one.  The spin-off series follows Bean, a character from Ender's Game.  The first Bean novel actually takes place concurrently to Ender's Game.  After that, the Ender and Bean novels split off and each character has his own story.  So here is my suggestion on the order you read these books:

Ender Series 

Ender's Game 

Speaker for the Dead

Xenocide 

Children of the Mind

Bean Series

Ender's Shadow 

Shadow of the Hegemon

Shadow Puppets 

Shadow of the Giant

Ender's Game Direct Sequel

Ender in Exile 

You really can't go wrong with any of these books.  Be aware that the Ender series drastically changes after Ender's Game, but stick with it, it's worth it.

As I said, Card has written a LOT of books.  I'm sure you will be entertained by anything of his you pick up, but let me also recommend a couple other books outside the Ender universe that I particularly enjoyed.

Pastwatch follows the story of a group of future scientists who discover the technology to go back in time.  They make the decision to return to the time of Christopher Columbus to attempt to alter our past for the better.

In The Worthing Saga, people have discovered the means to continue living indefinitely.  The world eventually becomes completely corrupt and humanity almost destroys itself.  Ships are sent out to far away planets, carrying the means to start new civilizations.  Jason Worthing is in charage of one of these ships and The Worthing Saga is his story.

Gosh, reading back over all this I'm beginning to wonder if maybe Orson Scott Card really is my favorite author.  I guess it depends on the day!  Anyway, do yourself a favor and check out this amazing author if you haven't already.

Book Recommendations Day 2: Charlie Huston

Next up for my author week is Charlie Huston. Let me start off by saying, if you are faint of heart, Charlie Huston is definitely not the author for you; his stories are gritty and violent. If you can deal with that, then you will find Huston's books to be edge-of-your-seat thrilling and engrossing.

Huston has written two book series; the first is a trilogy of crime novels following the life of Hank Thompson, and the second is a five book story of a vampyre named Joe Pitt inhabiting New York City. He has also written a couple stand-alone novels. In addition to novels, Huston is also a comic book writer. Unfortunately, I have not read any of the comics he has worked on, but I have no doubt they are quite good.

If you are like me, you are sick of vampires. They seem to have been integrated into all forms of entertainment lately. Every time I turn around there is a new vampire movie or television show being released. Charlie Huston's vampyres are different; they are not the romanticized pretty boys filling the screens today. They are dark, ruthless, and not afraid to get their hands dirty. Even the protagonist, Joe Pitt, doesn't have clear redeeming qualities. The story follows Joe Pitt as he attempts to remain independent from the warring vampyre clans of the city. Even though he claims to be unaffiliated, the clans know that Joe is a tough, get-the-job-done kind of guy, and often torture, coerce, and otherwise strong-arm him into doing their bidding. The series starts off with Already Dead, and continues through No Dominion, Half the Blood of Brooklyn, Every Last Drop, and My Dead Body.  If you're looking for a dark gritty tale, you can't go wrong with these books.  Even if you aren't a fan of vampires, I think these books are worth the read.

Alright, maybe you just can't get over the vampire hurdle right now.  In that case, I would recommend checking out the Hank Thompson trilogy.  I do have a confession to make; I have not read the final book of the series.  I finished the second not too long ago and haven't had a chance to pick up the third.  After the first two books though, I have little trouble blindly recommending the entire set.  These are crime novels, and like the Joe Pitt series, they are very dark and gritty.  The story begins with Hank being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  He ends up with a bag full of money as he is chased around New York by Russian mobsters and crooked cops.  The series follows Hank as he tries to fix things, but just ends up getting deeper and deeper into trouble.  The trilogy consists of Caught Stealing, Six Bad Things, and A Dangerous Man.  If you questioned the vampire thing before, maybe these books will convince you to give the Joe Pitt story a shot.

Charlie Huston is a fantastic author who knows just how to grab his audience and make them hold on for dear life.  Once you start reading his books you just can't put them down.  If the subject matter is your kind of thing at all, I promise you'll be clawing at the pages to find out what happens next.

Book Recommendations Day 1: Alastair Reynolds

A few days ago a friend of mine asked for some reading recommendations.  I thought it might be fun to write some short articles here about a few of my favorite authors, both for him, and anyone else who might be looking for a good read.  I plan to discuss a new author every day for the remainder of the week. 

I decided to get things started with a bang and first recommend a man who is quite possibly my favorite author ever, Alastair Reynolds.  Reynolds is a science fiction writer.  He is a former astrophysicist with a PhD in astronomy, so as you might imagine, he knows his stuff.  The books he writes are epic space operas, with most spanning vast amounts of outer space over staggering amounts of time.

One of my favorite things about Reynolds' work is his ability to make the technology of his far-future stories seem so plausible.  He describes things, that to today's world, are impossible due to our current technological limitations, but nonetheless feel real and believable.  I attribute this to his background, having firsthand experience with current technology and being able to extrapolate on the progression we will make.  His knowledge also allows him to accurately describe space phenomena in thrilling ways.

So, what should you read first?  Reynolds does have a series of books based in the same universe.  The first of which is Revelation Space.  Other books from this universe are Chasm City, Redemption Ark, Absolution Gap, and The Prefect.  While a few characters do have recurring roles in some of the stories, and you wouldn't really want to read the books out of order, each of these books is still a fantastic read just by itself.  A whole series of books might still seem daunting to some, so I would recommend starting with the first Reynolds book I ever read, Pushing Ice.  It is a completely standalone story and a great first step into the world of Reynolds.  Another good standalone choice, and the most recent of his works that I have read, is House of Suns.  In my opinion you just can't go wrong by picking up anything he has written.

If science fiction isn't your thing, or if you enjoy it, but only on occasion, this author might not be for you.  Most of Reynolds' books are so heavily laden with science fiction elements that it might be intimidating to someone new to the genre.  I can still recommend one of his books to you, however!  Check out Century Rain.  It is still science fiction, but a majority of the story takes place in an ever so slightly altered version of 1959 earth.  This book would probably be a great place for people who have never read science fiction to start.  I feel like it will ease you into the genre, and with any luck, make you fall in love with Alastair Reynolds' work as I did.

AFK

I have obviously not posted in about a week.  I believe I am now ready to get back to normal posting, and I apologize for my absence.  Most of my readers are close friends and family anyway, so I felt like it might be appropriate to post a little about why I haven't been writing, even though it is somewhat personal.

I have been unhappy for quite some time.  I have posted a little about this before, but there are other reasons that I'm just not going to go into here.  A little over a week ago I reached my breaking point and fell into, what I believe was, the darkest moment of my life.  I reached a point where I did not want to go on.  The thought of having to make the hours of yet another day pass was unbearable.  I finally realized that I had to go somewhere with family and friends.  I gathered a few things, stuck the animals in the car, and went home.

I surrounded myself with friends and family all last week and I am happy to say I am in a much better place today.  I thank those people from the very bottom of my heart.  You may have seen me last week and still not know exactly what was wrong.  You may feel like you didn't do anything to help me.  That could not be further from the truth.  I was reminded that I was loved.  No matter how bad things get, I know there are people out there who care about me.  More than anything else, that was what I needed.

For a long time now I have not been happy with me.  I have known it on some level, but up until a few days ago I was blind to exactly how huge of an impact this was having on my life.  I came to the realization that I had to make changes.  I need to be able to look in the mirror and like the person I see.  Before I can hope to accomplish anything of value in this world, I need to love me.  I am working on a plan to make this happen.  I have a long way to go, but I have already begun taking steps in the right direction.  I came back down to my apartment in North Carolina today.  Some people wanted me to stay longer, knowing that I had been so broken only a week ago.  This is something I need to do though.  I have the reassurance I need from my family and friends and now I need to figure some things out by myself.  Please try not to worry, as I believe I am on the right track.

I want to say one last thing before I end this.  I realize that this is an extremely personal post and some may think it doesn't belong here for the world to see.  While you may be right to some degree, I do have my reasons for posting things like this.  I have always had an extremely difficult time expressing my emotions in spoken words.  I tend to keep everything bottled up inside and don't tell people what I'm going through because I don't want to appear weak.  After starting this blog I realized it could be a good outlet for my feelings.  There are people in my world that need to know what I'm going through, but maybe I don't have the courage to tell them face to face.  While I work on finding that courage, I am able to shine a little light on my life here.  I guess this is like a first step for me on my path to understanding myself and allowing others to know what I'm experiencing.

Remember Them With A Smile

I am well aware that what I'm about to talk about is a very touchy subject.  Some may instantly disagree with my words, but I hope everyone will at least take the time to read and think about what I have to say.  I think the United States needs to move on from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  It was a horrible day in this country's history, to be sure, but continuing to linger on it, year after year, isn't helping anything.  Tomorrow will be the ninth anniversary of the attacks that took place in 2001.  By not moving on from this tragedy I believe we are giving the terrorists exactly what they want.

It's been nine years and memorials, protests, and other inane activities are still being planned.  First, let me make it clear that I am not lumping those who would attend the somber memorials in with the lunatics playing with matches.  I'm also not suggesting that we forget those who died.  I do, however, think we should attempt to move ahead and be that much more driven to succeed in our lives.  The memories of loved ones should not be tarnished by the atrocious acts committed by al-Qaeda.  I can only speak for myself of course, but I know if I had been a victim, I would wish for my family and friends to go out and do something to make them smile instead of mourning my loss every September 11^th.

The groups that attempt to use 9/11 to excuse their reprehensible activities make me sick.  If we resort to violence and protests we are no better than the terrorists.  The memories of 9/11, instead of fueling hatred, should be a sobering reminder that there is already enough violence in the world.  One definition of the word “human” according to dictionary.com is “sympathetic; humane”.  If we are ever to consider ourselves truly human, our first response to violence must not continue to be more violence.  The phrase “fighting for peace” should not exist.  While these human imposters are out there burning copies of the Qur’an and persecuting religions different from their own, real humans are helping others and working towards peace.

I understand the need for us as a nation to pay homage to those we have lost, but instead of tear-filled memorials, perhaps survivors could speak of the good things they have done since the attack.  One person might rise and tell of how he has become the head of his very own successful company.  Another might speak about the volunteer work she has done for the sick or homeless.  Still another person might simply need to say that he has gotten out of bed every morning, planted a garden, or walked his dog.  These things show that the terrorists have not won.  September 11^th was a tragedy, but we can move on.  No act of cowardly violence can stop us from continuing to live and thrive.  I ask that tomorrow the tears be wiped away by smiles and we sing joyfully the fact that we are still here and we are strong.

Alone I Break

What can you do,

When love leaves you cold,

When your heart empties out,

Left with no one to hold?

The hurt and the pain,

Push out everything else.

You think back on your life,

And start hating yourself.

Without her there,

The world is dark.

The loneliness,

Will tear you apart.

Your soul always aches.

The pain just won’t stop.

You find yourself wishing,

You’d never wake up.

She’s what made you whole.

How can you go on?

Your life has no meaning,

Now that she’s gone.

You beg and you plead,

For any reprieve.

What could you have done,

To make her not leave?

At the end of the day,

You close your eyes,

And picture her face,

One more time.

The flame of your love,

Is the only light left.

It burns alone,

Within yourself.

Deep Bellied Cats and Dental Wizardry

I'm pretty tired today because I didn't sleep so well last night.  I'm visiting my parents this week and I brought my pets with me.  That means, when it is time for sleeping, I share my old bedroom with two cats and a dog that is big enough for a child to ride.  Surprisingly, Sawyer (the dog), is the quietest of the three.  He flops himself down in a corner and is asleep fairly quickly.  Kat (aka Justice), the smallest of my cats is also fairly quiet.  Now Tucker, on the other hand, is quite large and quite loud.  When I come into the room he seems to feel the need to show me just how much he is capable of eating.  While his eating accomplishments are indeed quite impressive, the middle of the night is just not the time to showcase them.  After about the third trip to the food bowl in only twice as many minutes last night, I decided he would not starve before morning and moved the food bowl out of his reach.  Tucker was unfazed by this and moved on to a new activity: attempting to set a record for the most ruckus caused while in a litter box.  So I put up with his banging and digging for several minutes until he finally finished his business.  I thought that maybe then I could finally get some quiet.  I got settled down in bed, closed my eyes, and then what felt like at least 17 cats ran across me.  Tucker had decided that my bed was the quickest route to travel from one window to the other, and apparently he was following something outside because he kept the path hot.  By this time, all the commotion had caused it to become quite warm in my room.  I finally gave up and Sawyer and I moved to the couch in the den to let Tucker have his wild party in the bedroom.

This afternoon I had the pleasure of going to the dentist.  It was just a routine checkup, but I certainly wouldn't call it fun.  Nothing particularly bad happened, I just hate the dentist.  I admit that I used to hardly ever floss, so a trip to the dentist meant bloody gums and flossing lectures.  In recent years I have changed my ways.  I have become diligent in my flossing endeavors, and floss almost every day.  The dentist refuses to believe this.  He looks down upon me with doubting judgmental eyes, even though the positive effects of my flossing shine bright and clear.  It's like he suspects me of using some form of dark magic to remove debris from between my teeth.  "Are you flossing?" he asks.  "Almost every day!" I reply.  "Hmmmm," he responds, jealous of my mystical arcane abilities.  Anyway, I made it through another checkup, and thankfully no problems were found.