BOOKS

The search for exoplanets has exploded since the discovery of the first worlds in 1992 (around a pulsar) and 1995 (around a Sun-like star), growing from a theoretical possibility into a booming catalogue of over 6,000 confirmed planets as of late 2025. 6 bloody thousand! My personal favorite is HD 189733 b, a deep cobalt blue gas giant about 64 light-years away that looks deceptively beautiful - until you realize that color comes from silicate particles in its atmosphere. The planet is tidally locked to its star and scorching hot (over 1,000°C), which creates winds reaching 5,400 mph - roughly seven times the speed of sound. These winds whip those silicate particles horizontally across the planet at such velocity that they essentially become molten glass shrapnel flying sideways through the atmosphere. It's simultaneously gorgeous and utterly lethal.

  Once again, I was seduced by the title. What is it with me: Why am I so easily swayed by a few words? Anyway the best part of this novel by far was its gripping descriptions of 9/11 which, let's face it, we rarely think about from individual human perspective. However, when it came to fully unfolding the story of said humans the plot was like being violently jerked and twisted in multiple directions. And then a terrible ending. A really terrible ending!

All of my knowledge of Russia seems to finish after Stalin so I decided to read a bit of Khruhchev. For me, he is a great example of the Russian disease i.e. Nikita's entire premiership in terms of Foreign Relations never has anything to do with improving the lives of the Russian people, it's all about some perceived dick measuring contest between him and Kennedy or whoever else is president. I don't know whether it's a Russian inferiority or superiority complex but I just hope that those people one day have a government who actually is trying to work for them.

I was drawn to this initially due to my  love of stories where you discover that your family aren't actually your real family and you have this whole history you didn't know about. This is actually a documented concept from psychoanalytic theory where children fantasize that their parents aren't their "real" parents and that they're actually descended from royalty, nobility, or more exciting/important people. So yeah, as it's something that kids do it's just further proof that I'm retarded. Anyway, You may have noticed that I'm not actually talking about the book, That's because there's not really much to say. It certainly was not a bad book but it was all a little bit too neat around the edges for my jagged personality. 

I never quite understood this whole idea that an AI might take over the world because it's running a paper clip factory. However, the Inhibitors is a much clearer and more compelling exposition of the argument. This is the second book of the revelation space series and absolute solid good read. Worryingly, I know I'm unusual in my tastes but I never suspected I could fancy a pig; I love the hyperpig, Scorpio... so hot🤔

Unfortunately, the only people really paying attention to this stuff and learning are the Steve Bannon types. The book spells out the Big Lie so clearly that when you hear talk of a “stolen” election you'll feel a nasty sense of déjà vu... and that’s because it’s straight out of the Nazi playbook. The fact that people are still falling for those tricks just shows how unqualified some people are to vote. I don't give a **** who calls me an elitist, the idea that just having a pulse gives you the right to vote is just outright stupid. I'm not saying you have to read ******* political philosophy and all that **** I'm just saying you have to prove that you have a basic understanding of what's real and what's not.

A street urchin chica with untapped immense powers, what's there not to love? And in general, I really really did like this series but as mentioned in my title I really could not deal with the flashbacks. I found them painful, agonising and in the end I just gave them up completely.

As this book had two things I'm into - blood and witches - I fancied I was up for one hell of a read. Unfortunately, I was soon deflated as it turned out it was set in a kind of Victorian world (yes I know normally that would appeal to me, but not in the fantasy genre) and was basically just a supergirly love story. Occasionally, it had some redeeming qualities but was pretty tough to get through. (Appended note in late 2025. Despite my lukewarm review, I ended up buying the second book (🤔 why I really don't know) when it came out, and it had all the bad qualities of book one without any of its redeeming ones. Don't be seduced by the reviews - the crimson moth books are mediocre at best.) 

Every day, every hour  (hell, for some people, every minute) we’re using this thing called a computer, whether it’s a desktop or something in our pocket. But do you actually know what a computer is? Not what it does — what it is. I realised I didn’t. So I did a bit of reading. What I discovered is that a computer is, at heart, a mathematical simulation machine. And because mathematics itself is a simulation of certain aspects of reality, the computer becomes in a very real sense — a reality simulation machine. Now, I fully appreciate that this is a wildly deficient explanation of what a computer actually is; but fortunately for me, I’ve already locked myself into fleeting style book reviews, so I don’t have to expand any further 😂.

Wouldn't it be fascinating to talk to someone for hours and hours who lived thousands of years ago? I guess that's why I chose this book. I'm desperate for a different voice... somebody, anybody, a person from a totally different time. You see, there comes a point when you have to stop reading 'dummies guide to', and summaries and actually make contact with one of those persons through the original text. Thucydides is the perfect candidate. Right from the beginning - and his discussions of earlier even more ancient history - I found this voice compelling and disarming... i.e. I got exactly what I was looking for. I can't guarantee you will like this the way I could guarantee Bleak House but if you like history and want something different this work is well worth your time because you will really feel you are listening to a genuinely alien, ancient voice.