A year of Science Fiction

I have been intending to write this post for a while.

For the past year, I am getting fascinated by the world of science fiction.

As with many of our generation, TV was the first channel that introduced science fiction to me. I remember seeing Star Trek TV series and Johnny Sokko and Giant Robot in late 80s.

But books, they open new wonderful worlds for the readers. In the past year or so, I have read some phenomenal science fiction books.

Some of these being:
1. Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
2. Micro by Michael Crichton
3. The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin

I also saw the movies Andromeda Strain, Jurassic World, Jurassic Park (second viewing) and Interstellar in the last year or so.

Science fiction is a mesmerizing genre. The imagination of the author or the movie-maker astonishes me as much as the story fascinates me.

Michael Crichton stands out with his out of the world thinking and imagination. Andromeda Strain is a novel written in 1969. The story is as thrilling today as it would have been four and a half decades ago. For me, alien would be like the one in the movie Alien or Independence Day. But Crichton delves into physics to give you a micro-alien which is like grass. Immune to the most powerful of storms or man made weapons.

My latest reading - Cixin Liu's The Three-Body Problem was a totally different experience. A story spanning over 4 decades, the protagonist mixing real life with that of a virtual reality base game. And the universe sending threatening messages through cosmic microwave background. The story is fantastic. The philosophy of planet that an extra-terrestrial race progressing rapidly due to the fragility of its planets existence is amazing.

The book is being adapted into a Chinese movie as well. I await the movie eagerly!

I am also looking forward to complete the trilogy - Dark Forest and Death's End.
I hope they stand up to the expectations set by the first book.

I leave you with the trailer of the movie Andromeda Strain. Remember it was early 70s when the movie was made.

Le Carre's Smiley and the other trilogy.

The reading this year comprised mainly of fiction books. Couple of trilogies and a few other novels.

This year I completed the Karla Trilogy from John Le Carre after reading the Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People. While Honourable Schoolboy was a good book, I thought Smiley's People was fantastic.
As fantastic as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Indeed the best book I have read in years.

I loved the insanity in the cunning that Smiley and Karla create against each other. I loved the fact that Smiley acknowledges that he and Karla are no more than each other's alter ago. Most of it, I loved the climax. Never expected it to be so stunning. Never was it so predictable either.

John Le Carre sits in an overlap of fiction thriller writer who imagines a lot about the espionage world and a literary master who knows the people about whom he writes. What a treat!

The other trilogy was the very readable Shiva Trilogy. I enjoyed Immortals of Meluha, the first part very much. The other two were alright. What impressed me was the amazing imagination shown by the debutante author Amish.Writing sure is a difficult art, writing with so much imagination on a topic which is so well known to Indians, is much more difficult. Amish stands out. And I hope we get to see movies made from his books. And I hope that the movie has good production values....

Tom Clancy - Books and Movies

Tom Clancy, the blockbuster novelist, died a couple of days ago.

I have read quite a few of his books, enjoyed some, but got bored by most. However, when the same book is recreated on the big cinema screen, the results were thoroughly enjoyable.

I have loved every movie that was based on Clancy's book. Patriot Games, The Hunt for Red October, Sum of All Fears.... all of them.

I often thought that Clancy wrote with a focus on cinematic adaptation. There are also several PC games based on his books, I am sure they are a big hit in the world of gaming.

I think what is special about Clancy's books are the immense technical detailing in the plot. Unlike say Forsyth or Le Carre, Clancy gave details about the machines, guns, computer networks, algorithms and everything around that. This possibly was a great script for any movie.

I think we will all miss Clancy either for his books or for the movies or for the games. Rest in Peace.

Book Review - The Hounourable Schoolboy

Another densely written novel from John Le Carre, another treat to read and another heart wrenching story of a vocation made glamorous by the likes of James Bond, Ethan Hunt and others.

The schoolboy Jerry does go miles to create ruffles and surprise negations of the higher plots and he does takes thick in the jungles of far east. This book is once again a trademark John Le Carre, where the machinations of the powers that are are displayed shamelessly and quite caustically.

Smiley has returned as the head of intelligence. His task cut out to create a bridge with the Cousins or the CIA. His old fashioned investigators Connie and Di Salis find a clue in far east. Smiley decides to lure out a Karla operative out of China.

Much like he got out Haydon, there is a definite similarity here. The only difference is Jerry is far too audacious to toe the line like say a Guillam or a Esterhase for that matter. The story wades through various locations, takes us places with opium traders, rogue pilots and others.

Folks who have read Tinker Tailor, will find this reading equally demanding and worth while. And oh what a brilliant movie this would make.

As someone who loves Forsyth, for I started with his masterpieces early in my teens, the climax is far too often heartbreaking in the case Le Carre. I will still accept his writings and continue to read them for that's what makes the man different from others.

Now on to Smiley's People! Need to finish that before the movie is out.

A review of The Shiva Trilogy

Did I enjoy it? Yes

Did it drag? Yes, at times.
Did the author put enough effort to create a good story? Absolutely!

The Shiva Trilogy is a brilliant effort by the author Amish. He has accomplished what many many potential undiscovered authors have in their hearts.

We are of the generation who saw Ramayan and Mahabharat on TV. We have also seen epics like the Lord of the Rings (also many have read it) as well as Saving Private Ryan on the big screen. We have also been sad that though India has such amazing mythology and religious literature, we don't have something that can appeal to today's generation.

Here we have Amish, taking that additional step and penning down in what is a remarakable mixture of mythology, religion, science fiction and boundless imagination. We need to felicitate Amish as much as we can for these reasons. And for the fact that this will encourage many others to write more creatively.

Coming to the 3 books.

The first book Immortals of Meluha creates the story of Shiva, a Tibetan who comes to India and takes up the mantle of searching for Evil. The second, Secret of Nagas, takes him further in the search and opens his mind on what is Evil and what is not. The third, Oath of Vayuputras, is where the denouement of the events happen.

The first book is excellent in pacing, the right mix of Bollywood masala and character development. The second one drags. The Nagas are a great revelation. But the story keeps beating around the bush. The third part was criticised by many of my friends and relatives, but I enjoyed it. I found it over the top at times, but the climax was a good climax.

Overall I am impressed by how much imagination Amish has applied in creating this story. The description of cities, the war techniques, weapons are all engrossing. He does take extreme creative liberties. And he is inspired by Hollywood epics. the one thing that Amish should look at

It also leaves enough hints on what Amish is planning to write. I await that to happen!

Books I read this year....

This post is just to pen down the books I read this year. No particular order, just noting them as I remember.

Stieg Larrson's stunning millennium series (Recommended)
1. Girl with Dragon Tattoo
2. The Girl who played with Fire
3. The Girl who kicked Hornet's Nest.
Review - This is a stunning trilogy. As morbid as the coincidence may be, but it describes how evil societies are to girls and women. This book talks about Swedish, but the recent case in India is no different. Indeed our country lacks the machinery to tackle this menace. That we don't have a deterring punishment history for past cases is a tacit go ahead to the potential criminals.

John Le Carre's (Recommended)
4. Our game
5. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Re-read this)

Review - Le Carre remains one of the darkest authors I will ever read. Our Game was a new book and not as great as his Smiley series. But TTSS was once again fun to read! Smiley as a spy is something that tells on how cerebral that vocation is. And how movies have trivialized it with the likes of Mr. Bond. Yet, I love both these characters, Smiley as well as Bond.

John Grisham's
6. The Litigators (Recommended)
7. Theodore Boone: The Accused (Recommended for teenagers)
The Litigators is a different story told by Grisham. The best part about the book - you can identify with the protagonist. Loved the book. Not pathbreaking, but immensely entertaining.
So it is for #7 there but for teenagers.

Michael Crichton's
8. Timeline (Not Recommended)
9. Rising Sun (Recommended)
10. The Disclosure (Recommended)

I started reading Crichton recently. And have I enjoyed his writing! Immensely insightful. Consider #9 and #10. Such polemic about things like globalization and corporate games in fiction is incredible. Plus the breadth of subjects Crichton can cover is unbelievable. Science fiction, thrillers, aliens, dinosaurs... wow!
By the way, Timeline is something you can avoid. Quite ordinary and full of holes in the story.

Dan Brown's
11. The Symbol (OK if you like Dan Brown)
The line above has told you what you want to know.

Michael Lewis'
12. Liar's Poker (Recommended)
Brilliant non-fiction. I read his Big Short back in 2010 and I loved it. This one is also immensely entertaining!

Wodehouse's
13. Much Obliged Jeeves (Recommended)
Wodehouse is way too big for me to say anything. Read it, enjoy it!

14. Rubbish called Greed (Sorry to have noted this.... but utter waste of time)
This author is called Chris Ryan. I hope no other author turns out like him.

Will add as I remember the missed ones...

WISH YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Thanks,
Sid