My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Synopsis: The book first starts out as a dystopian socialist type of society where everyone refers to themselves as “We” (no concept of individualism). This, along with the main protagonist’s journey, mirrors that of Winston’s in Orwell’s 1984. Eventually, the main protagonist runs away from this society and discovers individualism. While the first part of the book scrutinizes the evils of runaway socialism and communism, the second part, the climax, exalts the virtues of selfishness. It’s like saying “The cure of Marx is Nietzsche.”

The book, while interesting from a psychological and philosophical point of view, nevertheless ends up as a diatribe, an ode to selfishness where the lesson taught is beat over the reader’s head; I at this point had to take a break from reading. While reading the conclusions I couldn’t help but think “this is wrong in SO many ways.” But I’ll give the book and author the benefit of the doubt: it was written during a time when the consequences of pure selfishness on a grand scale were as yet unfamiliar and unfathomable to the author. On a micro scale, the power of individualism is a great thing, and that which she exalts should be taken to heart by anyone: no one reading this should walk away without having learned something about the importance of individuality even when it runs counter to society. But this will to power, this rugged individualism shouldn’t be the basis of a societal system. In that sense I hope anyone reading this can see past her myopic fear of socialism and see the true danger: extremism and universal applications of a simplistic idea.

P.S.
If you’re into books check out GoodReads , and feel fee to friend me there if you see me around. I’d love to see what you’re reading.

(By the way, don’t believe me about the “sexed up and corrupted” bit when it comes to vampires? Read some of the pre-Dracula vampire literature. They were vile, foul-smelling creatures whose organs had long been replaced by a giant, blood-holding stomach. Over time, they went from that to goths with an eating disorder.)

Synopsis
WWZ collects various individual accounts from the Zombie War, or what would later be known as World War Z. These stories are told by numerous tellers, each filling in a bit from their perspective. Tellers include astronauts stuck on the IIS, military personnel who fought to reclaim infested “White Zones”, doctors who saw the first cases, Japanese otaku who actually had to get out of their house, political attaches, body guards, and others.

Review
Brooks creates a world full of folks as individually convincing as the world he creates. I found it interesting how the author interjects real people from popular culture into the story. While none is ever named, descriptions are more than enough. (A Paris Hilton-like character and Colin Powell-like President both appear in the story, among others whose names are always withheld for “legal reasons”.) Of course, none of these folks is ever directly interviewed, just people around them.

The research that went into this book is obvious from the start. Details are interjected by each of the interviewees which create not just a believable future in which the dead reanimate, but which also shows the level of care taken to ensure that slang and speaking styles are used correctly depending on where in the world the person being interviewed comes from. In fact, more than once while reading the book I asked myself whether this had been imagined or whether this book actually came from a real, alternate universe in which the dead do indeed rise.

I’m sure this book is considered to be in the “horror” genre, but I’m not so sure I’d be so quick to place it there. There are no passages in which something terrible is lurking behind some door, waiting for the main character to open it, so there aren’t any moments which catch the reader by surprise. Instead, the fright factor comes from the matter-of-fact tone throughout each of the stories. The most extraordinarily frightening details don’t actually involve zombies, but instead those very human moments which make us seem frighteningly inhuman. Whenever zombies are involved it’s more suspenseful than anything. Again, this is due to the matter of fact tone taken when interviewing each of the folks who went through (and obviously survived) the war.

Overall, I highly recommend this book For those who enjoy this type of writing, you’ll probably want to go back to reading the Local Interests section of the paper, or listening to Ira Glass on NPR. If you enjoy zombie literature, you’ll probably want to check out Stephen King’s Cell, which while not technically a zombie novel, it’s close enough to the genre to be of interest.

• Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting by Robert Mckee
• The Iliad and The Odyssey Robert Fagles Translation
• The Aeneid Robert Fagles Translation
• All 7 Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling
• Innocents Aboard: New Fantasy Stories by Gene Wolfe
• Storeys from the Old Hotel by Gene Wolfe
• The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich by David Bach
• The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss

By the way, if you really, really want to know what I consider a must to read, and you use Google Reader, go ahead and add me to your “Shared” list: gnorbx@gmail.com. And yes, it’s always reciprocal. If you don’t use Google Reader, then check out my Shared Items. I warn you, though, I tend to go on thematic blitzes, so if everything there looks like it’s about transhumanism or self improvement or writing or philosophy, try going back a few pages.

Anyway, here’s the new Le Linkage list of sites you should visit:

Novelr Needs Your Help: So Eli over at Novelr has finally hit the big time and started receiving a fair share of pageviews. The problem with this, as anyone who’s ever run a site knows, is bandwidth. He needs more now, and doesn’t have the money to cover it, so he’s sort of asking for donations. Now, if you’ve been reading this blog for a while you know that I don’t often ask for money. In fact, the only time I’ve ever even mentioned donations is when I added that “Donations” area at the bottom of my home page, with links to the Methuselah Foundation and the Digestive Distress and Dysmotilities Association. (As you can guess, the donations aren’t for me. I’m in the very, very fortunate position of being able to offer Gnorb.NET for free, since Google Ads pay enough to cover the bandwidth.) But I’m asking you, if you have a few dollars to spare, to help a blogger out.

Edit: From Eli (in the comments section below): “The crisis is over, Gnorb. A few really good readers pooled together their resources and the Novelr’s above the water again.” In other words the M Foundation and the DDDA can still use the help.

Root & Sprout^TM: This one’s for the parents out there. Oft mentioned blogger Melissa G is starting a new monthly publication! Root & Sprout is an online magazine “for practical information, stories, and advice about being a parent and raising kids.” Now, I know every parent reading this is already awesome, but check Root & Sprout out to see what you can learn from other just-as-awesome parents. And tell ‘em Gnorb sent you.

Writing Tools for Mac: If you’re a writer and you have a Mac, you’ll want to check this list of writing applications out. There’s a video there, too, by the way. I don’t know how you can help someone out with this, but I’ll include it anyway.

Edit: As per reader request, I’ll help a brother (with a Mac) out by making a shortlist: SubEthaEdit, Google Docs*, Microsoft Word*, BBEdit, Scrivener*, TextExpander, WriteRoom*, Ulysses, StoryMill, CopyWrite… You can see some descriptions at Literature and Late.

WSF report: 90 Is the New 50: Ever dream of climbing Mt. Everest at the ripe young age of 125? More and more biologists are jumping on the engineer negligible senecense bandwagon. Maybe it’s time you do as well. Options to extend life are, at the moment, limited to lifestyle choices — diet, exercise, and leading a purpose driven life — which may increase your life from ~75 years to ~90 years. Not much, but enough to give you a chance at receiving the treatments. Help yourself and future generations out by calling your senator or state representative. “Without funding, this longevity science which is truly on the verge of a breakthrough will be marooned.” (After you read that, however, I also highly recommend Is Aging Itself a Disease? by the Vorlon-loving Anne.)

2008 Consumer Action Handbook: If you’re in the US, ever heard of the Federal Citizen Information Center? Probably not. Too bad, because it’s their job to distribute free and low-cost (less than a gallon of gas) Federal consumer publications. Find out how to get out of bounced checks and overdraft fees, improve your credit, reduce junk mail and telemarketing calls, get a paid apprenticeship, and much more. Before you help a brother out, why not make sure you’re in a position to help?

Using Mini-Retirements to Get More Out of Life: While on the subject of finance, let’s talk about retirement. If you work, you’re likely looking forward to the day when you can finally call it quits and actually get on to living your life. But what about taking mini retirements? The truly wealthy do it all the time. Can you set yourself up to doing it? The article linked goes to an interview with Timothy Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich .

10 Books that Prove Science Fiction Just Got Harder: For the past few years, the market for hard sci-fi (science fiction that isn’t afraid to explain what’s going on) has been getting smaller and smaller. However, it looks like the genre’s about to be revolutionized by a group of very awesome books that recently came out. When I saw this I realized my reading list had just gotten larger.

Neil Gaiman Writing for Dr. Who? In short, no. Gaiman’s name has been thrown about after Steven Moffat took over the show and made the following carefully worded statement: “Well, Neil and Steven Moffat had dinner, and Neil hasn’t said no, but there’s many slip between cup and lip…” Remember the game telephone? Where you pass on a message to someone and they pass it on, and eventually the last person gets a message that’s totally different from the first? Well, the internet rumor mill is a lot like that, and the “hasn’t said no” turned into “OMG NEIL IS WRITING DOCTOR WHO BEST NEWS EVER.” He’s not. Yet.

Alright, so that about does it for this edition. Want to read more? The head on to Sentient Developments for George Dvorsky’s “What I’ve been reading” list. And like I mentioned before, you can check out more of what I’ve been reading by checking out my Google Reader Shared Items. And, if you don’t feel like reading, but instead want to watch a couple of informative, yet entertaining movies, Mark Cuban has a couple of recommendations.

I’d been seeing this book on the shelves for the past few weeks. I even heard about the book on NPR. And all that time I’d been curious about it. The subject was definitely up my alley, a book about a supervillain named “Doctor Impossible, and a superhero named Fatale (who through the book laments not picking the name Cybergirl instead. “It was right there, at the top of the list”). I was only waiting for the book to go to trade paperback. They’re cheaper, and easier to carry around. Alas, after reading the following paragraphs from the first chapter, I was hooked: I had to buy the book.

This morning on planet Earth, there are one thousand, six hundred, and eighty-six enhanced, gifted, or otherwise-superpowered persons. Of these, one hundred and twenty-six are civilians leading normal lives. Thirty-eight are kept in research facilities funded by the Department of Defense, or foreign equivalents. Two hundred and twenty- six are aquatic, confined to the oceans. Twenty-nine are strictly localized—powerful trees and genii loci, the Great Sphinx, and the Pyramid of Giza. Twenty-five are microscopic (including the Infinitesimal Seven). Three are dogs; four are cats; one is a bird. Six are made of gas. One is a mobile electrical effect, more of a weather pattern than a person. Seventy-seven are alien visitors. Thirty-eight are missing. Forty-one are off-continuity, permanent émigrés to Earth’s alternate realities and branching timestreams.

Six hundred and seventy-eight use their powers to fight crime, while four hundred and forty-one use their powers to commit them. Forty-four are currently confined in Special Containment Facilities for enhanced criminals. Of these last, it is interesting to note that an unusually high proportion have IQs of 300 or more—eighteen to be exact. Including me…

I’m not a criminal. I didn’t steal a car. I didn’t sell heroin, or steal an old lady’s purse. I built a quantum fusion reactor in 1978, and an orbital plasma gun in 1979, and a giant laser-eyed robot in 1984. I tried to conquer the world and almost succeeded, twelve times and counting.

When they take me away, it goes to the World Court—technically I’m a sovereign power….

I’m the smartest man in the world. Once I wore a cape in public, and fought battles against men who could fly, who had metal skin, who could kill you with their eyes. I fought CoreFire to a standstill, and the Super Squadron, and the Champions. Now I have to shuffle through a cafeteria line with men who tried to pass bad checks. Now I have to wonder if there will be chocolate milk in the dispenser. And whether the smartest man in the world has done the smartest thing he could with his life.

(You can read the whole chapter at the Random House website. If you like it, pick up the book at Amazon.)

When I read that I was both laughing and intrigued, especially because I’m the one who’s always looking at the bad guy in movies, seeing what makes them special, what makes them tick, firmly believing that while a good guy can pass as one-dimensional, a bad guy really can’t, at least not if you want to have a great story. (Think about it, would the Jedi been as seen as cool where it not for Darth Vader? They’d still be awesome, mind you, but if neither Vader nor Palpatine was there, then they wouldn’t be anywhere nearly as cool now.)

Yes, I always love the bad guy. Mind you, I love it when they get what they deserve, but a great nemesis is hard to find.

The book is told from the first-person point of view of both Doctor Impossible and Fatale, and covers a lot of the background work that comic books just don’t come near touching. Specifically, Fatale throughout the book makes observations like a normal person who just happened to walk into the Hall of Justice would… if that person was half android and had x-ray vision. One example is when one of the heroines displays signs of being bulimic (throwing up in a “business-like fashion”, as Fatale describes it). Another is when two of the heroes start having a spat: they were once married and now just work together, arguing a lot. It adds a level of — err… realism? I guess… — that you don’t really get from other superhero series (for the exception of Heroes, and maybe Batman Begins, but only if you grant that Batman is somehow a “super” hero, even if he doesn’t have any “super” powers.)

Anyway, at the rate I’m going I should finish this book off in a couple of days. I’ll tell you what I think then. After this I’ll be reading through Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, and Sidney Poitier’s biography, The Measure of a Man, this month’s fiction and non fiction books (respectively) at the 9Rules Book Club.

Before I begin, let me ask you, have you ever thought about how different the world would have been if China had officially discovered America? You probably haven’t — although if you’re reading this blog, I’m probably wrong — but you may be interested in knowing that findings along the west coast of the US combined with archaeological evidence suggest this was indeed the case. Apparently, around 500 A.D. a group of monks came to the Americas, stayed there, and influenced the culture enough for the introduction of such things as dragons. (Ever notice how much Mayan dragons look like Chinese dragons? Think that’s a coincidence?) Nevertheless, this fact tends to be completely ignored whenever discussions on this matter apply. Instead, what makes its way into conversation is the speculation is the book 1421: The Year China Discovered America, which talks about the forces which prevented China from officially and definitively discovering America, and how history would have been different if it had.

With this in mind, I’d like to turn our attention to Michael Stackpole’s series The Age of Discovery. This series is comprised of three books — A Secret Atlas, Cartomancy, and The New World — and tells the tale of a family of cartographers (map makers) whose skill is such that it is magical, making them the central to a number of for world-changing events.

I have to admit that at first, I was skeptical. What magic can come from cartography? What, so they sit down, make maps, and…? Didn’t get it, not at all. Then I started reading.

The books start of with the tale of the Anturasi family, a family of cartographers led by their grandfather, Qiro. Of this family, the two grandsons, Keles and and Jorim, have a gift for the art of cartography, enough that they may succeed Qiro as the next Cartomancers, or those who wield magic through the making of maps, by being able to communicate telepathically with each other in order to create the most accurate maps, and eventually by being able to create and recreate lands as they create the maps. This, of course, makes them very valuable to the city-state in which they live, Nalenyr, valuable enough, in fact, to keep them imprisoned in a tower, showered in opulence. Because of them, Nalenyr is the most prosperous of the nine kingdoms, to the envy of all others. The story then chronicles how the brothers Anturasi, by orders of their grandfather, Qiro, travel to the ends of the world. While many reasons are given for this — Qiro’s desire to ensure that he will be the only cartomancer, for the expansion of the Naleni trade empire, to extend his own cartographic knowledge — those which are immediately apparent are later shown to be rouses for something much deeper.

I’ve got to give it to Stackpole: while it does have all the classic fantasy elements — knights, kingdoms, magic, multiple intelligent species coexisting — this is not your average fantasy. Unlike most fantasies, this world offers a very rich, deep history which explains very thoroughly why things are the way they are: why do people fear magic? Why is so much of the world — even those areas connected by wide expanses of land — not known to them? What’s up with the number “nine”? All of these questions are posed and answered completely, so as to create an environment in which readers can easily immerse themselves. (In contrast, like most fantasies, all prophecies are coming true, exactly as predicted, right now.) You won’t find any dragons here, and neither the mages nor the warriors are run-of-the-mill. Because of this, the world crafted is a very interesting, and being very complete (if somewhat confusing), this is a world in which more tales of wonder would easily be spun. (Stackpole’s background as a game designer is especially evident here.)

The biggest departure from most other fantasy, however is the magic system employed. The series introduces something called “wild magic”, uncontrolled magic which serves as the equivalent to uncontrolled, rampant radiation. (Magic in this world can be seen as the equivalent of the atomic bomb, with the devastating results to show for it.) In addition to this is skill-based magic, or the idea of becoming so good at something that it goes from preternatural to supernatural. This is an idea I haven’t seen anywhere else, and it makes for a very distinctive feature in the story: as opposed to individuals learning magic for the sake of magic (something which we later find out actually happens and is very, very misconstrued by the general populace), people simply work a trade until they’re so good it becomes magical. The great thing about this method is that it allows for magic to rise out of almost anywhere: cartography, sword fighting, sex… the list goes on. Of course, to most magic is just magic, and that very misconception makes people fear those who become too good at their art, an interesting dynamic which I wish would have been explored a bit more deeply.

Something which I don’t often comment on — because it’s usually not worth commenting on — is the book’s cover art. The Age of Discovery features beautiful cover art which makes the series an attractive addition to any library. While a book should not be judged by its cover, it’s always good when the cover art enhances the book ownership experience. What can I say, I like visually attractive books. Can you blame me?

While this series is indeed very entertaining and imaginative, it has its flaws. My biggest complaint involves the level of motivational ambiguity and misdirection from the characters. While this is done very well with some (Qiro Anturasi, and Junel Aerynnor are particularly interesting in this respect), other characters seem to wear their intentions on their sleeves. These are usually bad guys who end up monologuing about their motives. As such, the book lacks a certain sense of complexity, insofar as motives are concerned. All too often nuances which color our reality are abandoned for clarity in the definition of who the bad guys are. (Interestingly enough, this is really only a major problem with the bad guys.) If you’re good, you’re good. If you’re evil, you’re evil, and that’s that. What’s worse, the reader can tell who the bad guys are. Easily. The characters, on the other hand, can’t. Unfortunately it’s this lack of ambiguity from the reader’s side which makes the story a bit stale at times, and frustrating when you see the good guys getting fooled into things by the bad guys (who later on always reveal they knew they were getting fooled and were preparing for it in a less-than-believable manner). This, unfortunately, is endemic of the fantasy genre, especially in fiction which relies heavily on life in royal courts (which this book does).

Here’s an example: a one point in the story, one of the main characters (a cartographer) is kidnapped by an evil prince. The prince then explains, very convincingly, that the cartographer was kidnapped so he could help the prince improve his capital city, not because he wished to make preparations for war, but simply because he wanted a better life for his citizens, and knew that the cartographer would come no other way. The prince then agrees to keep the cartographer for only four months, to which the cartographer agrees. At this point in the story you almost begin to second guess your initial opinions of the Prince. That is, until the end of the chapter he begins to monologue and tell the reader (or himself, although sometimes the book speaks almost directly to the audience) how the cartographer will never leave the walls of his city. (You can add the evil laugh here. Yes, it’s almost that cheesy.)

Again, ambiguity of motives is something almost completely missing from the novel, and while knowing a character’s motives is important, a little deception from the part of the author goes a very long way. The sad part is that the story sets up for this type of play on the audience’s expectations quite well, and by simply shaving off a few paragraphs here and there the story could be transformed and be made more intriguing almost instantly.

In a related note, another thing I found a bit bothersome involved Stackpole’s writing style. Don’t get me wrong, the style is generally very clean, descriptive, and engaging. Unfortunately it often feels as if the author and characters are actually speaking to (or rather, thinking to) the reader, something I found to be particularly annoying. Usually this would come in the form of a big, in depth description, followed by a comment from the character which doesn’t quite make sense as a self-talk or thought, and only makes sense as a message to the audience. Again, this happens often enough to be annoying.

In order to make up for this lack of motivational complexity, the author decides to introduce situational complexity (which is, again, endemic of all fantasies involving royal courts). While the characters are very well developed and interesting, this situational complexity, brought about by the aforementioned less-than-opaque motives, only serves to emphasize the lack of personal ambiguities and nuances. Sadly, this makes what could be a masterful book take a turn towards the average: overt complexity by the addition of characters (almost as if trying to mimic a spy thriller) and a simplification of motives.

The final issue I had with this series involves the the depth of description in fight scenes. Too much information is all I can say. While this type of description is done very well in the beginning of the series, there’s a chapter towards the middle of Cartomancy which all but kills the book’s momentum by getting into way too much detail about how swords move, the names of styles (which we know nothing about), and how entrails can make their way outside a body. This doesn’t happen often, but the books could still shave about 10,000 words if the requirement of brevity was more strictly applied and these scenes, along with scenes which eliminate the sense of ambiguity.

Alright, so I’ve praised the series and I’ve slammed the series. How do I feel about it?

First, remember that this review comprises only the first two books. As of this writing, A New World is yet to be published, so some of the things I say here may well be proven wrong as the series draws to a close.

Fantasy fans, especially those who like Robert Jordan (and have been eternally frustrated by his never ending Wheel of Time series) will love this book, as will those who want to enjoy a good fantasy, but are looking for something less Tolkienesque. The book is a solid book with very strong protagonists, though somewhat formulaic antagonists. For those who enjoy world-building this is a great example. Outside of fantasy fans, those interested in cartography, Chinese naval exploration history, and pre-Colombian history of the Americas may also enjoy this series. While I don’t consider this a non-stop, page turning thriller, it is (up to now) a solid series worthy of your attention.

By the way, if you’re at all interested, you can A Secret Atlas at Stormwolf.com.

Alright, so that didn’t work out as planned. If it had been planned. I really should start reading more modern poetry. (Although by now you may already be aware of how I feel about poetry.)

Anyway, so here it is: another episode of Le Linkage, and this one’s about all the wonderful stuff making its way into my RSS reader as of late. Some of it is thought provoking, some just fun to read, but most, I’m sure you’ll side with me, won’t make your eyeballs bleed. (There now, that’s better, though not by much.)

What If…: What if you could go back in time to change something about your life? I’m of the opinion that is not only useful when learning your lessons from past mistakes (especially the mistake of inaction). This post, however, puts a new twist to this question, one that makes you really ask “what if…?” (h/t A Rain of Frogs).

The Search for Meaning: When are people truly happy? Not after the fact of accomplishment, but in the act of the accomplishing. We are creators, and as such true happiness comes to us when we have a purpose, and when that purpose has a meaning. (Think of the word “meaningful”, what does it say to you? This gives us a clue as to the importance of meaning.) The lack of meaning brings desperation. The existence of a meaning brings with it faith and subsequently hope. (h/t Wurkit Books)

The Need to Understand Pop Culture: I’m not exactly what you’d call a “fan” of pop culture, yet the need to understand it has made itself apparent to me over the years. It hasn’t been an easy transition — I, like other social outcasts, thought it to be somehow beneath me — but it has been an enlightening one. What I find most perplexing now is how one person can deride and even ignore his own culture on one hand while on the other glorifying another which does the same, but in another language. (h/t Helpdesk Magazine)

Why Unsubscribe from a Blog: RSS is a wonderful thing. With one click you can get all of the content from a website you’ve just found delivered to you directly. Of course, the subscription part is easy, it’s the unsubscribing part that sometimes isn’t (depending on how much of a pack rat you are, I guess). What gets you to unsubscribe from a blog? Conversely, why would you really want to subscribe to one in the first place? As for me, I’m very picky about who I subscribe to, and most often won’t subscribe on a first visit. If I find I’ve visited your site multiple times, then I’ll put you on. This is because I have a strong pack rat instinct, which means that once your on my RSS reader you’ll probably not get off of it, unless I find your content boring in the long run (meaning for months), or your blog goes to bunk. (Lack of updates will NOT get me to unsubscribe.) (h/t Pelfism is Contagious)

Gender and Fan Studies: I’ve been around the anime/japanophile subculture for quite a bit, and one thing I’ve always found interesting is how almost predictably rigid the characteristics of people in that subculture are. I suppose these are but accented outgrowths of the culture in general, but I find they’re much easier to identify there than in other subcultures. The following is a set of essays in Professor Henry Jenkin’s blog studying just that: the role of gender in fan cultures. Very interesting read, especially to students of gender studies. The title link, by the way, is only the first post in the conversation. Here are the others: (1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5, 7) I’m sure there will be more, so keep an eye out. (h/t Confessions of an Aca/Fan — This, by the way, is one of my favorite blogs, and is a suitable supplement to the question asked by Helpdesk Magazine’s Michael Ono.)

Public Service Announcement on the 9Rules/Pokemon Quarantine: Alright, so the rest of this stuff is thought provoking, now for something more light hearted. This is one of the funniest posts I’ve read, and while it’s pretty much a “you had to be there” humor piece (specifically dealing with a Pokemon thread which garnered over 1300 replies in a forum where a “big” thread gets just over 50), it should be good for at least a smile. (h/t hthth)

Blogathon for Cancer Research: Fellow 9Ruler Kamigoroshi’s blogging for a good cause, and you can help! She’s looking for sponsors for a 24 hour blogathon. All proceeds go towards cancer research (and seeing as Kamigoroshi’s a cancer researcher, this is only fitting). The sponsorships don’t have to be much — maybe $10, or the price of a couple of frappuccinos at Starbucks — and every dime helps. Considering cancer rates are rising, doesn’t it make sense to help, since there’s a fairly good chance you’ll need the research in the future? Factoid: 0.8% of the total US population is diagnosed with cancer every year. Think about that. Now, go and donate.

(Edit) Why Barack Obama Scares Me: “What really scares me about Obama is that he quit smoking!… We don’t need a president who might nuke Mexico over a bad burrito because he’s having a nicotine fit.” (h/t Roblimo)

Like most other writers I have a desire to write a book. Perhaps it’s the thrill of seeing my name in the spine of a cover which will one day grace the bookshelves of many. Maybe it’s the excitement of possibly meeting people I don’t know, but have read my stuff anyway (this doesn’t happen very often now, by the way). Perhaps it’s the narcissistic exuberance of being famous, or the misguided belief that a best seller will solve all of my financial difficulties and place my name in history’s pages. (I, of course, write this with a jealous and curious glance northeast, toward the home of a certain J. K. Rowling.)

Whatever. The point is that I’m writing one now — my first novel, that is — and the deeper I get into the process, the more obvious my limitations become. This is why I need a plan to help me overcome my weaknesses. I need to study modern writers and their novels.

While I aspire to one day become a successful novelist, I realize more and more that I have weaknesses. A lot of them. This is especially obvious when I see what others have written, how others have capitalized upon their talents and furthered them with trained skill (talent alone, after all, is for amateurs). Without knowing it and without any effort on my part I compare myself myself to them — in between the frequent utterances of “oh, that’s a great line, I’ve got to use that somehow” — realizing every time I do that I have a very, very long way to go. Mind you, I’m well aware of the fact that I have to develop my own voice, and that to imitate someone else will make me but a second class them instead of a first class me. (I’d like to thank all the self-help gurus over the years who have turned deep philosophical truths into quips and one-liners.) Nevertheless, there isn’t a person alive from which I couldn’t learn something, and not a writer somewhere from whom I cannot gain. (Whether I want to or not is another matter entirely.) And if I am to learn from someone, why not do so from the best of the best?

With this in mind, I have decided to put myself on a self-study regimen of sorts. The purpose of this regimen is to study the works of successful authors (from both artistic and commercial standpoints), understand their strengths, how I may use these to overcome my own weaknesses, and learn how to wield the tools they wield in their writing. My studying will consist of reading a large number of these author’s books, starting with their later works so as to see them at their best, in order to permeate my consciousness with their writing methodologies.

Why am I doing this? For too long have I haphazardly leaped about from author to author, reading what they have written, and then thought to myself “Boy, I wish I could write like that,” just to move on to the next author with a completely different style and say the same thing. With a more structured regimen I will be able to better understand what it is that I like about the author, analyze how it is they use those methods, and lean then how to do them myself. The end goal here is the self serving and narcissistic goal of becoming my own favorite author, something I can’t currently say I am. (That honor goes to Issac Asimov, although if you were to judge by looking at my bookshelves you’d think it a tie between Stephen King and Napoleon Hill. Can you imagine a collaborative project between those two? That would be weird!)

After some consideration, I’ve decided to study the following writers (listed here in no particular order):

• Stephen King
• J.K. Rowling
• Gene Wolfe
• Tom Clancy
• Neil Gaiman
• Dr. Seuss
• Douglass Adams
• Michael Crichton
• China Mieville
• George Orwell

I also plan to study the following, though my interest in these is secondary to the aforementioned, particularly in their respective categories (many of these write in similar styles and about similar subjects):

• Robert Jordan* (But not until he finishes The Wheel of Time, damn it! Edit: Nevermind.)
• Terry Pratchett
• Robert Heinlein
• Kim Stanley Robinson
• Orson Scott Card
• Ray Bradburry
• Neal Stephenson
• Michael Stackpole
• Aldous Huxley
• Lewis Carrol
• Mark Twain
• Amy Tan (if I can get past her almost ballistic use of emotional tension through pain)

(If you’re wondering about the lack of female authors here, let me explain: it has nothing to do with my being a male chauvinist pig. Rather, it has to do with the way male and female writers tend to err. Male writers tend to err on the side of the external: they’ll create characters and those characters will move the external story along (at worst, this is to the detriment of character development; hardcore sci-fi is especially guilty of this). Female writers tend to err on the side of the internal: they’ll create characters whose emotions and interpersonal relationships are so deeply explored that the story seems often not to move at all (romances are especially guilty of this). I, of course, tend to prefer the male fault to the female.)

Now, my plan here isn’t to read every one of these authors’ various works: that would take a lifetime! Rather, I intend to study their works enough for me to understand what makes each of these so popular with the different audiences, what methods and verbiage they use, and which methods I can implement in my own writing, tools such as Stephen King’s use of suspense and tension; Orson Scott Card’s characters; Neil Gaiman’s story telling; Douglass Adams’s pseudoscientific, double-take comedy; Tom Clancy’s action sequences; Dr. Seuss’s ability to make nonsensical jibber jabber into enjoyable soliloquies; Gene Wolfe’s depths and double meanings; Michael Crichton’s pacing — the list goes on. By the end of my stint with each I would hope to be able to write in a style approximating theirs. While I know this won’t be the case for all the authors — ’tis much more natural for me to mimic George Orwell than it is China Mieville — if I am able to improve my writing and more completely take command of how I can tell a proper tale, then the purpose for this exercise has been accomplished.

Of course, the study isn’t limited to these authors. There are others who I seek to study, but these are more limited in scope. These are, for the most part, classic authors, such as Cervantes, Poe, and Shakespeare.

Finally, there are the poets, like Neruda, Byron, with whom I’m not yet particularly well acquainted (to what I realize is my own detriment). This is mostly the fault of my judgment: in my mind, most poetry could easily be categorized as the emotional ramblings of people with not enough skill to create a real story and should, appropriately, be discarded lest it ever be read. (In other words, they’re the paper/literary equivalent of MySpace.) The same, I’ll admit, could be said of blogs, and rightfully so. Nevertheless, for every hundred horrible poems by whiny, teen angst-ridden crybabies, there is one which actually graces the paper (or web page) on which it is written, instead of merely staining it.

For the record, I don’t intend to actually read all of these with my eyes. Some I’ll be reading with my ears by way of audio book. While I realize that some deride this as not really reading the book, frankly, I don’t give a damn. I’ve little use for commercial radio and, honestly, how many times can I listen to Chihiro Onitsuka or the soundtrack to The Matrix: Reloaded? This, of course, is my preferred method of taking in classics, by the way: I’m more interested in listening to The Iliad and The Odyssey than I am in looking at it, if nothing else but because it is the imagery in these which I seek. Also, they save me a ton of time, because classics usually make for slow reads.

Anyway, so here it is, my plan of action. If you’re interested in chirping in and telling me who I’ve grievously omitted from my list, or which book I’ve just got to read, or why you think this is a great idea (or a complete waste of time), feel free to tell me here.

• Books: Did you know they sell books in thrift stores? Yes, I know, this probably seems like a completely ignorant, inane, and likely insulting statement, but until about a month ago I didn’t know they did. Furthermore, for those of us who live in Broward county (I’m not sure about anywhere else in Florida), the county libraries have a section called “Friends of the Library” in which you can buy donated and retired books. Here’s the cool part: many of these books are almost new!

  Here’s what I’ve noticed: if you go to a thrift store (I’m talking Goodwill and Salvation Army here, since my experience with used book stores has been less than stellar), most of the books will look used, some a lot more than others. These stores tend to have a fairly good selection of books (at least the ones around here do), and the books there, while not new, are in fairly good shape about half the time. Once in a while they’re pretty much brand new. Prices here tend to be between $.75 and $1.00 for paperbacks (both trade and mass market) and $2.00 for hardcover.

  If, on the other hand, you go to a Library, there your luck gets better (especially if you live in a “good” area like Weston or Southern Ranches). The books sold at libraries go from OK to brand-spanking-new, and the prices can’t be beat: $.25 – $1.00 for mass market and trade paperbacks (depending on where you go) and between $.50 – $3.00 for hard cover, depending whether the library uses a flat price (usually $1.00 per book) or whether it prices according to how recently the book was published.

  On the average, the books I’ve gotten lately run at about $.75 a piece, and I’ve been able to expand my library by adding a few collections I didn’t think I’d be able to add. For example, I now have almost all of the “Jack Ryan” books from Tom Clancy in hard cover, and they’re all in like-new condition. (I’m only missing The Hunt for Red October.) I’ve also acquired a large number of Stephen King books (mostly hardcover, though some paperback), as well as books by Michael Crichton, Robert Heinlein, Kim Stanley Robinson, Peter F. Hamilton, Robert Ludlum, Amy Tan, as well as a number of biographies, self-help, and reference books. Now, I know some people will say “Hey, you know that nothing of that money goes to the author?” to which I reply “If it wasn’t for these libraries and thrift stores I wouldn’t even have tried most of these guys. Also, this money is used by the people I buy from for good purposes (helping the community and buying more books) which is how I justify buying second-hand books from these sources. Besides, when I finish reading a book, if I’ve liked it, I’ll talk about it to everyone around me. That’s gotta translate to sales somewhere, right?” (Trust me, if you’re looking for a mouthpiece, I’m the guy you want to talk to.)

  Now, there are a lot of authors you’ll find and a lot you won’t in thrift stores. The ones I’ve found the most of include: Stephen King, Tami Hoag, Mary Higgins Clark, Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, John Grisham, Michael Crichton. In addition, I’ve found a lot of Star Trek and Star Wars universe books, as well as some Dragonlance (mostly Weis/Hickman) and Forgotten Realms books (though surprisingly few by R. A. Salvatore or Troy Denning; Dear Troy, more Dark Sun, Thanks.). Finally, in every book store — almost without fail — I’ve found a copy of Lee Iaccoca’s biography. (I even sent one to a friend in Malaysia, Pelf, which I got for a grand total of $.35 in a Tampa Goodwill.) What I haven’t seen many of are books by Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Michael Stackpole, Richard Dawkins, Carl Sagan (other than Contact at any rate), Larry Niven, Ben Bova, Anne McCaffrey, Neil Gaiman, Robert Kiyosaki or Donald Trump. I guess the good stuff people keep for themselves, unless you’re talking about the Iaccoca biography: that one’s just so popular that you can’t help but see it everywhere, in light of the fact that most people don’t realize its true worth. Also, I’ve yet to see any Harry Potter books in thrift stores. (This from a guy planning to buy the whole darn collection once it comes out in a boxed set. And no, I don’t care if Harry dies, even if Steven King asked Rowling not to kill him off.)

  Now, if you’re looking for new authors thrift stores are NOT the place for you. Stick there with Barnes and Noble’s and Amazon. But if you’re looking for books by widely read authors with established careers and lots of best selling books, then take a peek at what thrift stores have to offer.

• Writing: Interesting that for someone who hasn’t been blogging, writing has been a big concern. Nevertheless, it is true that this is one of the reasons I haven’t been blogging. I’ve been honing in my writing skills by working on fiction. Specifically, I’m writing a novel. For the record, the story I’m working on now didn’t start as a novel. It was supposed to be a short story, 10,000 words. Yet here I find myself, 20,000 words later, realizing that I could easily put in a few thousand more. Might as well just make it a full 100,000 worder, no?

  Anyway, along with my writing I’ve enlisted the help of author Michael Stackpole. Inasmuch as I wish I could tell you “yeah, a best selling author’s been coaching me on how to write a damn good book and get published”, the truth is I’ve been getting help from the guy via his newsletter for writers (The Secrets) and his podcast (also titled The Secrets). You can grab the podcast for free at his site, Stormwolf.com (which has just recently been totally redesigned). You can get the newsletter from there, too, but it costs $2 per issue, or you can get a 25-newsletter subscription for $25. For me the newsletters have been worth it, since they’ve helped me fine tune a number of issues within my writing which are apparently commonplace among beginning novelists. Anyway, I recommend you listen to the podcast and maybe pick up a copy of one of his books. (I believe his most famous book is I, Jedi, though personally I really liked A Secret Atlas and will be reading its sequel Cartomancy fairly soon).

  (By the way, Matt and Quantum, if you’re reading this, trust me, you two will be the first to receive copies to the text. I’m looking for your feedback most of all.)

  For the record, whenever I’ve told people that I’m in the process of writing a book, they all decide to give me the same piece of faux-sage advice, usually speaking in hushed, patronizing tones as if to tell me some sort of deep secret while laughing under their breath: “There are only [X] number of plot lines: Man against self, Man against man, Man against…” Frankly, I’m getting seriously sick of these people, since not a one of them has ever written as much as a bathroom-wall graffiti poem. To quote Stackpole on this point:

  Lots of people try to reduce creativity down to numbers and patterns and motifs to suggest, for whatever reason, that it’s all been done before. The fact is, for example, that there are probably only a half-dozen routes for driving a car from Phoenix to Chicago, yet every journey from Phoenix to Chicago will be different for the people making it. So it is with stories. They may follow the same basic plot lines and have similar characters, but the differences are what will make one story more memorable than another.

  Are there a lot of books that are hopelessly similar to others? Sure. Why? Because the authors got lazy or just didn’t have the skill needed to raise that story out of the ordinary to the extraordinary. I think that is where each author owes it to himself and his readers to push himself to excel. They day I stop doing that is the day I stop writing. Every writer may be using the same bricks to construct her story, but that doesn’t mean the final product has to look anything like someone else’s story. That’s where true

  [Source] Also, I’d like to punch these people in the face. Repeatedly.

• Work: I know I don’t often talk about work here, and I’m not about to start now, but if I can pinpoint one thing that’s been keeping me from writing lately, this might take the cake. There’s a big conference coming up soon and I’ve been tasked with a few presentations, so I’ve been pretty busy with those. It’s only gonna get worse from here, at least until next week. Then, mercifully, it all cools down for a little while.
• Money: While most of us equate work with money, that’s not what I’m talking about. Lately, The Wife and I (especially The Wife) have been on a learning kick when it comes to finance. Though our finances aren’t too bad, we realized that we’d been doing some seriously stupid things with out money recently. We learned this after buying the game Cashflow 101 by Robert Kiyosaki (the Rich Dad, Poor Dad guy) and running through it a few times. After seeing how much money we’re letting slip by and how much we could be doing with what we have, we decided to start taking action towards improving our financial position. Translation: the acquisition of assets. (Funny enough, I wrote about that before, but seeing as The Wife is now full throttle into it, the subject has taken on a completely different dimension.)

  Once we awoke to the fact that we could do more with what we have, we started looking for places to learn about how to diversify a bit and increase our asset base. We got advice from friends who are a in much more stable financial position than us, in addition to signing up for a few workshops in order to learn about not only business, but also programs designed to help young entrepreneurs. (Many of these are government programs like the Community Development and Building Grants (CDBG) which are great for me, since they’re very closely related to the field I write manuals for.) As it happens, next week will be a killer one for the both of us: Saturday and Sunday we’re at a 2-day conference in Orlando; Monday night we’re at a grants workshop; Tuesday we’re at a business building and networking workshop; then the following Saturday and Sunday we’re at another 2-day business educational seminar. Lots of learning. Very exciting.

  Of course, all of this really started when we bought Cashflow 101. At almost $300.00 this is by no means a cheap game, but between that and Monopoly (I recommend the “Here and Now” edition), you can learn a ton about not only business, but about your own attitudes regarding business.

Alright, so that about does it. Reading, writing, work and money have conspired to keep me from the blog. From the looks of things, it may yet be a bit sporadic over the next two weeks, but I’ll try to keep the content coming. I have a few pieces in the back end that need to be cleaned up, but are ready to go, and I might post up one of my first endeavors into fiction (a horrible little short story full of clichés and bad humor about God being pissed off at humanity and taking it out on Florida. (Yes, it’s supposed to be funny, in a Terry Pratchett sort of way. Hopefully it’s not too horrible.)

By the way, if you don’t get the title reference, let me help you out. Hint: I saw it on Digg.

• Nova by Matt Murchison: Written as just a “let me try it and see what happens” novel by an old friend of mine, this first effort is a page turner that’s fun to read, and should be completed in at most two sittings. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a very fast reading, page turning, fun story and have the attention span of a commercial break. Also, if you like Michael Crichton, you’ll probably like this.
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: A look at a future in reading books is illegal and firemen are sent in to burn the houses of those who dare own them, televisions are the new family, kids race up and down the streets killing each other for fun, and wars are sold to us with sound bytes and slogans. Basically, a book describing the world of today if reading books and newspapers was outlawed, instead of just stigmatized like reading and intellect are stigmatized today. Scary part is that it was written about 50 years ago.
• Empire by Orson Scott Card: The story of an second American civil war brought about by Red State vs. Blue State differences. The book seems like a pretend-centrist, right-wing diatribe until about the half way point when mechas invade New York. Then it gets really fun. It’s sort of like reading Tom Clancy, but without the wooden characters and the way-too-in-depth descriptions of everything from facial hair to nuclear submarines. The only big problem I had with this book was that parts were just not believable and had a deus ex machina feel to them. (Why did all the characters, even minor, unrelated ones, start comparing themselves to movies? Is the book trying to make fun of itself?)
• A Secret Atlas by Michael A. Stackpole: A story that takes the idea of China discovering the Incas in the 1400’s and puts it into a fantasy world that was ravaged by wild magic. Great story, very complete characters, but don’t start it unless you’re willing to go through the second and third books: It ends on a cliff hanger. (The second book is Cartomancy and the third is The New World.) Also, the book is full of words no human mouth was ever really meant to utter.
• I, Robot by Issac Asimov: If you’ve seen the movie you still have absolutely no idea what this book is about. Seriously, only a couple of scenes in the movie match the book at all, and those only loosely. This is the story from the future about how robots have been made part of our society, as told by the head of a major “Robotics and Mechanical Men” corporation. Although it shows its age, the book provides a lot of food for thought, in the way only Asimov can. A very complete psychological story of a very real future that’s already happening in the far east.

So that’s about it. Last night I started reading Chris Hazelton’s new graphic novel A Steel Wing Shattered, which I only didn’t finish because I started it pretty late. (I’ll be finishing it today.) On my list next are Orson Wells’s 1984, Hemingway’s A Farewell To Arms, Steven Kings’s Bag of Bones, and Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys. These, of course, are only the fiction works. Non fiction books include the autobiographies of Gandhi, Mandela, and Malcolm X, as well as some books from Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad series I’ve been wanting to read, some for the first time, some as a review. The order in which all these will be read, however, is yet to be determined, but I’ll likely read these over the next couple of months. (The biographies will take longer. They always do. It’s the only way one can really appreciate them.)

Now what about you, what have you been reading? If you have any recommendations, I encourage you to put them here. And if you’re a new author tell me about your book. I might even end up reviewing it here.

Here’s the lowdown: My friend Melissa (Little Woolgatherings) is writing a book and she needs your help.

Basically, Melissa’s writing a book about what she wishes people and other books had told her during the pregnancy and the first year. Now, I know there are already a plethora of books on the subject (for example, the amazingly popular What to Expect series), but this one’s different. This book’s about the stuff no one ever warned you about, not even those other books. Here are a few examples from her own preview.

• I wish someone would have told me about throwing up in the middle of labor. Yes, I was the one yakking while the doctor, anesthesiologist, two nurses, and pediatrician looked on. Although I thought I was done with the whole morning sickness bit, wacked-out hormones can make you toss your cookies even as you’re trying to push out a baby.
• I wish someone would have told me that husbands aren’t always very reliable in the delivery room and that other women, be they people you know or a complete strangers, are often more helpful. Ask me where my husband was during the epidural. He was white-as-a-ghost in a chair at the far end of the delivery room, having almost passed out. The nurse actually had to catch him! I was sitting on the bed with my back curled like a cat, head in my husband’s chest and going through one hellacious contraction. All of a sudden, I could feel my husband buckling. “He’s fainting! He’s fainting!” I remember yelling.
• I wish someone would have told me about wearing a supportive nursing bra while sleeping. When my milk came in (with my first pregnancy), it was the middle of the night and I woke up soaked and confused. The whole front of my nightie was completely drenched. Silly me, I was under the impression that boobs had some magical on/off switch. I didn’t know that milk came out on its own volition sometimes!

For the record, after I told The Wife about some of these she was pretty surprised. While she knew about the husband passing out bit, she had no idea people threw up during child birth, and was also under the impression that the ta-tas tap only ran when it was plugged in.

Now, Melissa’s only one person, so she only has limited experience. While she’s been getting help from others, she needs all the help she can get. It doesn’t matter if the rest of the world seemed privy to what you perceived to be a big secret, help her by sharing what you truly didn’t know and wished someone would have told you.

So, what are the advantages of helping out? What do you get in return? Aside from the great feeling you’ll get from being able to point to a book on your bookshelf (because, let’s face it, you’ll buy your own book, right?) and tell people “look, I’m quoted in a book, I’m a good parent!”, the book will come in handy every time you meet a couple who’s about to have kids and they ask you “do you have any books you’d recommend?” You can just say “Why, yes, I helped write one!”

Cool, huh?

(Hint to Melissa: Include a list of “thank yous” in the back of the book. People will appreciate it.)

I mean, think about it: you’re a parent. Every parent I’ve ever met seems to purposely seek out non-parent couples in order to encourage them to have kids, as if it suddenly became their mission — their jihad, if you will — to evangelize the virtues of parenthood. I don’t know how many times in the past three years The Wife and I have been asked “So, when y’all planning on popping out some poop machines?” or something like it. (Come to think of it, I don’t think we’ve ever actually been asked that question, but you get the picture. Especially if you’re a parent, since you’ve probably been the one doing the asking.) Anyway, The book would make a perfect gift for you to give, since it will serve as a complementary volume to the What to Expect books, which they’ll receive at least 100 recommendations for. And it doesn’t have to be a gift: think how grateful they’ll be when you show them your copy and they go get it. They’ll remember you for the rest of their lives, all because you recommended a damn good book to them, one you helped out with. Tell me that’s not seriously cool?

Alright, by now I’m sure you’re sold on helping out. (If you’re not, thanks for getting this far anyway. Go play a game. You deserve it.) If you’re interested, awesome. Here’s what you need to do: drop a note to Melissa and tell her you want to help. Or if you just want to check out her site go and do that.

Finally, in the spirit of your local public television station, as a thank you, feel free to drop me a line in this thread and post in it your home URL. (Nothing vulgar, please.) I’m sure if you’re putting in your own tips others with similar interests may want to check out your site.

What are you waiting for, write up your hint today!

How to Get Rich

Be a General

• If you are careful when finding employees, management becomes a lot easier.
• Keep the big picture [your ultimate goal] in mind while attending to the daily details. This can seem like a balancing act, but it is absolutely necessary for success in running a company.

Stay Focused

• I work as had today as I did when I was a young developer…

Maintain Your Momentum

• No matter how accomplished you are, no matter how well yo think you know your business, you have to remain vigilant about the details of your field. You can’t get by on experience or smarts.
• No matter what you’re managing, don’t assume you can glide by. Momentum is something you have to work to maintain.

Get an Assistant

• [An assistant allows you to leverage your time in the best possible way. A good assistant will allow you to get to the important things faster, while keeping the non-important things from cluttering your radar.]

Remember: The Buck Starts Here

• Set the standard. Don’t expect your employees to work harder than you do.
• Winners see problems as just another way to prove themselves. Problems are never truly hardships to them, and if you haven’t got any problems, then you must not have a business to run.
• Regard your company as a living, breathing organism, because that’s what it is. Those figures you see on your spreadsheets will reflect the health of that organism. Watch out for bad cells while allowing good cells to flourish.
• Having a passion for what you do is crucial. If you can’t get excited about what you’re doing, how can you expect anyone else to? If your employees can see and feel your energy, it is bound to affect them.

Don’t Equivocate

• [Call things as they are. If something is good, say so. If something stinks, say so.]

Ask Yourself Two Questions

• Is there anyone else who can do this better than I? … If your competition is better than you are, you need to offer some quality they lack.
• What am I pretending not to see? … Before the dream lists you into the clouds, make sure you’ve looked hard at the facts on the ground.

Bullshit Will Only Get You So Far

• I never try to dissuade people from quitting. If they don’t want to be here, I don’t want them to be here, either.

Every New Hire is a Gamble

• Do you work wholeheartedly or halfheartedly? Are you just going through the motions and hoping no one will notice? The only person you ever fool is yourself. You can’t fool others, even though you might think you can.

Ideas Are Welcome, but Make Sure You Have the Right One

• I like people who don’t give up, but merely being a pest is detrimental to everyone. Once again, fine-tune your discernment. Know when to ease up. Keep your antennae up for another idea and a more appropriate opportunity. Sometimes we hesitate with good reason.

Focus on the Talent Instead of the Title

• Very often, your resources are greater than you might think. I don’t like it when people underestimate me, and I try not to underestimate anyone else.
• [T]ry to see beyond a person’s title. you can find talent in unlikely places.

Manage the Person, Not the Job

• Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.

Keep Your Door Open

• Learning begets learning. I’d rather be stimulated than passive. You can’t wear a blindfold in business. A regular part of your day should be devoted to expanding your horizons.
• Learn something new, whether you think you’re interested in it or not. That’s the opposite of having a closed mind — or a closed door.

Think Big and Live Large

• The possibilities are always there. If you’re thinking too small, you might miss them.
• [W]hat’s the difference between losing $100,000 or hundreds of millions of dollars? Either way, you’ve lost, so you might as well have really gone for it.
• If you’re going to think, think big. If you’re going to live, live large.

PART II: YOUR PERSONAL APPRENTICESHIP (CAREER ADVICE FROM THE DONALD)

Take Control of the Job Interview

• [If you know you can do a job, don't be afraid to ask for the chance to do it, even at minimum wage, for a trial period. Action is worth a lot more than words, and your actions will prove to them you're the person they're after.]

Ask For Your Raise At the Right Time

• The best way to ask for a raise is to wait for the right time. It also indicates to your boss that you have a certain amount of discernment and appreciation for what he might be going through.

Be Tenacious

• At times, just about every executive will appear impatient, but to build something that endures, you have to take the long view.

Play Golf

• Being an entrepreneur, even within a large company, is a solitary game.
• [T]urn your passion into profit. The results of that passion will reward you in more ways than you ever could have expected. Passion is enthusiasm on a big scale. It is all-encompassing and consuming. People with passion never give up because they’ll never have a reason to give up, no matter what their circumstances may be. It’s an intangible momentum that can make you indomitable.

Brand Yourself and Toot Your Own Horn

• If you’re devoting your life to creating a body of work, and you believe in what you do, and what you do is excellent, you’d better damn well tell people you think so. Subtlety and modesty are appropriate for nuns and therapists, but if you’re in business, you’d better learn to speak up and announce your significant accomplishments to the world — nobody else will. [Gnorb's Note: From personal experience, this applies only when you are building something from the ground up. When you're part of a system, edifying the system will usually result in the system edifying you in turn, since people with just as much credibility (and more) as you will be the ones tooting your horn. Inform the system of your accomplishments and the system will inform the world of them. Leverage whatever tools you have in the process of self promotion.]

Go with Your Gut

Being an entrepreneur is not a group effort. You have to trust yourself. You may have superb academic credentials, but without instincts you’ll have a hard time getting to — and staying at — the top.

Be Optimistic, but Always Be Prepared for the Worst

• The ups and downs are inevitable, so simply try to be prepared for them.
• [Get a couple of stone tablets and carve this into them. Into the first, carve "Problems are Always Solvable." Into the second, carve "Problems are Unavoidable".]

Look Closely Before Changing Careers

• Anyone with more than a little curiosity and ambition will at some point be tempted to try a different challenge on new terrain. Take the risk, but before you do, do everything you can to learn what you’re getting yourself into, and be as sure as you can that you’ve got the right mindset for the job.

Avoid the Handshake Whenever Possible

• It’s a medical fact that [shaking hands] is how germs are spread. I wish we could follow the Japanese custom of bowing instead.

Pay Attention to the Details

• If you don’t know every aspect of what you’re doing, down to the paper clips, you’re setting yourself up for some unwelcome surprises.

Connect with Your Audience (The Art of Public Speaking, Parts I & II)

1. Think about your audience first. The rest will fall into place. Granted, having useful information will help, too.
2. Involve your audience. They will appreciate being included.
3. When you’re speaking, it helps to be prepared…if you read every day, you will already be prepared.
4. Be a good storyteller…Storytelling is a skill, so work on it. It’s helpful to listen to comedians. The good ones can teach you the art of great timing.
5. Think about the common denominator.
6. When you are on the podium, you are the entertainer.
7. Study Regis Philbin.
8. Be able to poke fun at yourself.
9. Learn to think on your feet. Memorable public speaking involves a good deal of spontaneity. [If you're not good at it, learn. Knowing your topic inside and out also helps. A lot.]
10. Listen in your daily life.
11. Have a good time…Before you speak, remind yourself that it doesn’t matter all that much. Don’t feel that the weight of the world is on you. Most people in the room don’t care how well or poorly you do. It’s just not that important. It’s merely a speech — not an earthquake or war. You’ll have a better time and be a better speaker if you keep it all in perspective.

Change Your Attitude

• If you have the right attitude, you can get where you’re going, fast.
• Having a high frequency will attune you to a wavelength that exudes confidence and clear-sighted enthusiasm. I’m a firm believer that this is half the battle of any enterprise.
• [M]y productivity was increased by a large percentage simply by learning to let go of negativity in all forms as quickly as I could. My commitment to excellence is thorough — so thorough that it negates the wavelength of negativity immediately.
• Negativity is also a form of fear, and fear can be paralyzing.
• Very often, negative thinking stems from low self-esteem. You have to work on this yourself.
• [S]ee knocks as opportunities and as insight into whoever is doing the knocking.
• [F]aith over fear. Faith can overcome the paralysis that fear brings with it.
• People who persist have courage, because often it’s a lot easier to give up.
• Maybe you’ve gotten to the point where you think you can’t get through another day. That’s shortsighted of you. You’re missing the big picture. You’re on the runway, but your fuel supply is the problem. You won’t get off the ground without it. Fed yourself some positive thoughts and you can take off at any time.
• Get going. Move forward. Aim high. Plan for takeoff. Don’t just sit on the runway and hope someone will come along and push the airplane. It simply won’t happen. Change your attitude and gain some altitude.

Start Visualizing Positively

• Keep a book of inspiring quotes nearby, so you can change a negative wavelength the moment it descends on you. Here are a few of my personal favorites:
  • Know everything you can about what you’re doing. — Fred Trump
  • I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you can to see happen. — Frank Lloyd Wright
  • A leader has the right to be beaten, but never the right to be surprised. — Napoleon
  • He who looks outside his own heart dreams, he who looks inside his own heart awakens. — Carl Jung
  • Imagination is more important than knowledge. — Einstein
  • Continuous effort, not strength or intelligence, is the key to unlocking our potential. — Winston Churchill

Read Carl Jung

• As a safety factor, I very often see other people as a revolver that could be pointed at me. They are the gun. I, however, am the trigger. So I speak and tread carefully. It’s an effective visual aid to avoid conflicts, and I was unwittingly among people who were actually psychos underneath their dignified personas. We never know what will trigger another person’s killer instinct. It can be something that happened when they were five years old. So avoid being the trigger, and the revolver will not be a threat.
• You have to know yourself as well as know other people to be an effective leader…reading the work of Carl Jung [is] a step in the right direction.
• Reading Carl Jung will give you insights into yourself and the ways in which you and other people operate.

Have an Ego

• Having a well-developed ego, contrary to popular opinion, is a positive attribute. It is the center of our consciousness and serves to give us a sense of purpose…”Show me someone with no ego and I’ll show you a big loser.”

Keep Critics in Perspective

• There is constructive criticism, and then there are is destructive criticism. Here’s how to assess both types:
  1. First of all, consider the source. Should this person’s opinion even matter to you?
  2. If it does matter to you, take a few minutes to consider whether anything helpful can result for the criticism. Others can often see things that we have overlooked. Use their keen eyes to your advantage.
  3. Critics serve their purpose. Sometimes they serve a larger purpose, and sometimes they serve their own purpose.
  4. Everyone has an opinion. In most cases, it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.
  5. If the opinion is worth the paper it’s written on, and it’s written on a paper people are buying and reading, then realize that if people didn’t find you interesting enough for public consumption, they wouldn’t be taking the time to criticize you. Think of their criticism as a compliment, proof of your significance.

Homework Is Required and There Will Be a Test

• People who think achieving success is a linear A-to-Z process, a straight shot to the top, simply aren’t in touch with reality. There are very few bona fide overnight success stories. It just doesn’t work that way.
• Every industry and profession has its bottom line for what is required to succeed. If you can’t stand to practice every day, being a musician is out of the question. If you hate to exercise, being an athlete is not for you. In business — every business — the bottom line is understanding the process. If you don’t understand the process, you’ll never reap the rewards of the process. You’ll never last long enough to achieve your ‘overnight’ success.
• We can learn from our mistakes, but it’s better to learn from our successes. When I hear people say, “Well, it was an interesting experience,” I can usually safely assume they are deferring to something that didn’t work out the way they’d planned. I don’t find my goof-ups to be amusing or interesting.
• We all know what it’s like to pretend to study. There are some courses in school that just don’t hold our attention. If you are choosing a career, keep that in mind. What most holds your attention? [What do you like about your business or profession? What do you not? How can you turn this into an advantage?]

Again, these were just a few of the nuggets I got from Trump’s book How to Get Rich. There was a ton more information in there, so if I were you I’d pick a copy up and start reading it. Even if you’re not in business, and even if you don’t like Trump, you know he knows his stuff, and his stuff is a lot more than just real estate and casinos.

Synopsis

Myst: The Book of Atrus begins with the story of Atrus, a young boy living with his grandmother, Anna, in “the cleft”, a fissure near a dormant volcano. Atrus was abandoned to Anna by his father, Ghen (Anna’s son), after Atrus’s mother dies giving birth to him. (Ghen abandons Atrus before Atrus is even named.) Through the years, Anna teaches Atrus a number of things about their D’Ni heritage, including how to speak and write the language, as well as how to observe the world around him. This is emphasized by Atrus’s notes and drawings, which are presented throughout the book, and should be familiar to anyone who has played the game.

When Atrus is about 13, Ghen comes back in order to take Atrus away to study with him. Ghen has been living in the D’Ni homeland, studying the remnants of their lost civilization. The civilization was apparently only recently lost, and according to Ghen it was all Anna’s fault. Nevertheless, Ghen is studying (and wants to teach Atrus) “The Art” of building Ages, in order to rebuild the D’Ni race and in the process make themselves gods.

Ages, as explained by Ghen, are special worlds built by the D’Ni. Maybe. This is where some of the major confusion starts within the book: while Ghen is insistent upon the idea that he has created the Ages, Atrus believes (or discovers) that instead the books are links to preexisting worlds. This point isn’t ever made clear, however, as every action taken by Ghen, Atrus (and Catherine) after that revelation pretty much indicates that Ghen was right.

After about 200 pages and three years, Ghen gets tired of Atrus questioning him all the time, and along with his Lurch-like servant (who, while a potentially cool character is left almost entirely as an enigma) traps Atrus in a hallway where the only way out is Ghen’s fifth age, Riven. (Ghen, by the way, isn’t all that imaginative about his Ages or their denizens, naming them such things as “Person One” and “Age Thirty-Seven”. The fact that some people and places have other names given them previous to Ghen’s arrival is what tips Atrus off that Ages are links, not worlds. Again, this point is rather confusing in the book.)

In Riven, Atrus meets Katran (Catherine), who ends up teaming up with Atrus’s grandmother in order to help him escape the wrath of Ghen and at the same time trap Ghen in Riven, which like all other worlds created by Ghen, are falling apart due to shoddy construction. (The fact that the worlds are falling apart tells me that the worlds are indeed created by Ghen, and that they’re just links. Again, this point is never really made clear during this book.)

Eventually, Atrus escapes to a world he thinks was created (linked to?) by Katran, Myst.

Review

If you’ve ever played any of the Myst game, regardless of whether you loved them or hated them, you will likely concede that if nothing else the games were visually stunning. With worlds (called “Ages”) so realistically imaginative, it wouldn’t be all that difficult for someone with enough gumption (and funds) to create lands like those in real life. If you not only liked the visuals, but also the games, then you likely enjoyed the game for its puzzles as much as (if not more than) the landscapes presented. While the novel attempts to carry this tradition on by spending pages describing the scenery, it does so at the expense of the rest of the novel.

By far the weakest point of this book is the character development. The game really doesn’t have characters, since the player is supposed to be the main character. As such, not much character development is necessary in the games. Sadly, this is made painfully obvious in the book. As I read, I found it increasingly difficult to really care about any of the characters, save for Katran (Catherine) and Anna, both of whom have their big scenes near the very end of the book.

The book contains no more than about ten characters, three of which are explored, six of which can be considered minor, and one which can be considered in between. While this is well and good for most novels of average length (about 100,000 words, with about 30,000 words dedicated to each main character), it seems as if everything we learned about the main characters could have been said in a third of the space.

• Early on, we learn that Atrus is your basic Anakin Skywalker/gifted wonder child type, kind and extremely observant and intelligent. Sadly, that’s about all we learn, and the rest of the novel is spent hammering this point home while adding almost no more.
• Likewise, Ghen is your run-of-the-mill megalomaniac, power-hungry, over-zealous father/bad guy bent on the idea of godhood, who decides Atrus needs his learning and that everything out of his child’s mouth is pure idiocy unless it agrees with him. (He get’s pissed when he finds out Anna has taught Atrus a thing or two about D’Ni.) If nothing else, you learn through out the book — over and over again — that he’s a small minded asshole with apparently few redeming qualities (if any). Again, this point is made repeatedly, and the reader knows without question that this is one of those bad guys who you never really sympathize with. Oh, and he’s hot for Katran/Catherine, supposedly because of her ability with The Art, which only the D’Ni are supposed to know. (That she was able to use Writing was another confusing part of the story which was unsatisfactorily explained at the end, if at all.)
• Finally, there’s Anna, who’s the sweet, loving grandmother. Her character, while ignored for most of the book, is potentially the most interesting, since it is when secrets and elements are revealed regarding her background that the story moves and gets really interesting. She’s artistic, caring, intelligent, and as we learn later on, cunning. Too bad we learn all this in the span of about 10,000 words: I wouldn’t have minded spending some more time learning about her, although I guess I can do that in the prequel, Myst: The Book of Ti’Ana.

What the book lacks in character development, it partially makes up in story. The discoveries made by Atrus are very much in line with how the player would feel during one of the games, and for that the book gets points. The way Atrus observes those things around him, while simplistic, do color the story in such a way that you’re looking to explore more of the world. Of course, if I wanted to do that I would play the game or read National Geographic: I certainly wouldn’t pick up a novel for that.

Conclusion

Overall, the novel makes for a nice, light read if you have some time on your hards and enjoyed the games. Otherwise, I wouldn’t much bother with this novel, unless you’re willing to spend a lot of time immersing yourself in the worlds of Myst. As such, if you decide to pick up the book, get a copy of The Myst Reader (Books 1-3), since it has all of the novels for about half the price you’d pay for them individually. (This is what I did, mostly to save myself a little room in my already crowded bookshelves.)

Do I plan to read the next book in the series? Maybe. Just not now. The story was simple enough to ensure that I wouldn’t forget it, and lackluster enough to ensure that I don’t feel the need to read more.

1. Maybe it was the age, maybe it was the author’s sick mind, but for some reason, this book’s pages are almost literally dripping in blood. Seriously, there’s death everywhere, all the time, in just about every page. In fact, within the first 1/10 of the book over 60,000 people are already dead. At that rate I can only infer that all those people being shipped in from France were doing so not to support any sort of invasion, as the history books would like you to believe, but for the sole purpose of dying gruesomely, which is the only logical explanation as to why, with numbers like these, the entire population of England didn’t die out during the time of Arthur. Frankly, I can’t help but wonder how in the hell Britain didn’t become a deserted island, or a land full of inbreeds. (I’ll come back to that last item in a minute.)
2. Arthur isn’t exactly the sharpest crayon in the box. In fact, it seems as if every five minutes or so the guy is heading off into a fight with someone else, usually at the call and beckon of Merlin (I’ll talk more about him later). The king, it seems, sees it fit to challenge random strangers to fight over insipid little things like wells and where they’re standing. Arthur’s lack of intelligence is a fact apparently not lost on Merlin, who gets his giggles from making Arthur look like an idiot on a regular basis, usually by shape-shifting and telling Arthur all manner of strange tales in order to get him to fight or to make him paranoid. Seriously, Merlin must be incredibly bored. In fact, this little mock-conversation of something which actually happens in the book should tell you a little bit about the beloved wizard:
   

   Merlin: Hey Arthur, you know that sword and scabbard you just got from that lady in the lake?

   Arthur: Yeah, what about them?

   Merlin: Uhm, well, if you had to pick one, which would you pick: the sword or the scabbard?

   Arthur: Well, from my understanding, the sword is what you fight with, block with, and generally survive by during battle, while the scabbard just sort of sits there and holds the sword. I’m gonna have to go with the sword on this one.

   Merlin: YOU FOOL! YOU FOOLISH FOOLISH FOOL! That scabbard is a magical scabbard which makes it so that you never ever bleed no matter how bad your injuries.

   Arthur: What the… how what I supposed to know that?!

   Merlin: Never mind, stupid, let’s just go back home.

   Arthur: Hey, can I go fight that guy at the well? The one who beat me when we were heading over here?

   Merlin: Nope. Your magic sword won’t make up for what an utter loser you are, stupid. Let’s just go home and I’ll introduce you to a few of the fine ladies over yonder…

   Note that Merlin eventually gets buried alive: I’m betting he pisses someone off with the whole doppleganger bit, but continually insulting people plays its part in the event, I’m sure.

3. Almost as much as he loves killing, Arthur loves finding beautiful women to knock boots with. To put it bluntly, Arthur is a hornball. Of course, given the level of deaths that take place it’s no surprise that the chicks he ends up banging are almost always directly related to him: his aunt, his sister, his cousin… you get the picture. To be fair, most of this is Merlin’s fault who, taking advantage of Arthur’s room temperature IQ, makes himself Arthur’s pimp and goes out representing him to these ladies. (“Hey, baby, how about one night with the king? Awwww yeah…”) This entire situation is made all the worse by Arthur’s apparent magic super-sperm, which has a habit of quickly impregnating any woman the dude walks close enough to. Enter Mordred.

   (Side note: The combination of the king’s low intelligence and Merlin’s “incest is best” attitude makes you wonder whether Uther Pendragon — who also went to Merlin for help with the ladies — was Arthur’s father and uncle.)

   Here’s a prediction: by the end of the book, England is covered in French people and the Pendragon family tree looks more like a pretzel than a tree.

After about the first hundred pages I had to put the book down. This whole episode leaves me wondering why on Earth the British are so keen on laying claim to this guy. Still, given the level of death and incest, it’s no wonder attempts have been made by historians to tie every British royal family for the past thousand years to Arthur: they’re all probably right.