Amped by Daniel H. Wilson

Amped is another book that I won from Goodreads. It is a near future science fiction story. It is a world in which some people have brain implants. Many of these implants are used to fix epilepsy, ADD, or other disabilities. They are even given to poor and disadvantaged students by the government through grants to level the playing field in the school systems.

Owen is a school teacher who has an implant to help with his epilepsy.  His father installed the implant after he suffered a horrible accident due to a seizure. Things begin to go wrong for Owen when the Supreme Court disenfranchises people with implants, also called "Amps". This action was pushed through by a political group called Pure Pride. In the course of a day he loses his job and is thrown out of his apartment with no warning. They can no longer makes contracts with "regular" people as they have an unfair advantage, hence Owen losing his job and home.

The situation escalates. Owen discovers he is wanted for questioning, and that his amp is more than he realized. There are also some violent incidents between amps and regular people. The amps are moved into clusters for their own protection. Owen flees to a cluster called "Eden" to meet with a friend of his dad's named John.

There is action, political intrigue, and social discrimination. Wilson uses his robotic expertise to help explain how the amps work and what they do to the brain. I really enjoyed the descriptions and the characters. It was a very fast paced and easy read, perfect for a summer day.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

This was a case in which I saw the movie long before I read the book. We saw the film in 3D, it was amazing, and I'm usually not a big fan of 3D. The images were striking, riveting, and sometimes upsetting.

I am a fan of Gaiman's work in general, I really enjoyed Coraline. I know that many adults find it much too scary for children because it terrifies them. Children have a different perspective on the story, they see it as an adventure story.

Coraline is the tale of a young girl with rather inattentive parents. They are loving just very busy. The family has recently moved into a new home that is part of a larger house divided into several apartments. There is a pair of sisters who are aging stage actresses with dogs downstairs. Upstairs is a Russian man who is training a mouse circus.

Coraline is unhappy and bored with her life, as many kids get. (Especially when they have moved to a new place and don't have any friends.) She begins exploring the house and the area around it, this includes a strange door that leads to a brick wall. Well, it leads to a brick wall some of the time. One day while her mother is out shopping, she opens the door and there is a tunnel. Being a curious child, she follows it. 

 

On the other side of the tunnel, she discovers a world much like her own yet full of disturbing differences.  The "other mother" is awaiting on the other side of the door. She wishes Coraline to stay with her forever, but Coraline senses that something is wrong. She challenges the "other mother".

I really enjoyed the book, and the movie was an absolutely fabulous adaptation. Sadly, my imagination couldn't live up to the visuals provided by the movie. This is a great book for boys and girls of all ages.

Stiff, The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

I ran across this book while browsing through my recommendations on Goodreads. I am a firm believer in organ donation. I have checked the box on my driver's license, assuming that they would harvest any organs that were worth taking to save a life. In the course of reading this book, I have learned that organ donation and donating your body to science aren't the same thing. I have never looked into what could be done with a body once passed it along to science, and I was curious how those that have left us can continue to help us.

I have long been aware that cadavers have been used for medical and criminal research. I was aware of some of the history of mummification, but learned a bit more while reading this book. I'm sure there are many that consider this topic morbid or disturbing. I personally find it fascinating. How do they help improve lives outside of organ donation or criminal research? How long have people been utilizing cadavers to learn about themselves?

Roach is very informative and uses humor well to dis-spell any discomfort the reader might be feeling. She is careful to balance the strangeness and absurdity of some of the situations with respect for those that volunteered their remains for scientific use. She covers topics such as medical school dissection, forensic body farms, crash analysis, heart death vs. brain death, head transplants, and ecological burial.

It was interesting to see how time has changed the way cadavers are treated by scientists. In the past it was illegal, so bodies had to be stolen. Often they were treated callously, and gallows humor was used to put the researchers at ease (this often led to insensitive jokes).  Though the departed didn't notice these slights, it left an uncomfortable feeling with any outside the field and could greatly offend surviving relatives. The attitude towards the cadavers has changed greatly in recent years. It seems partly a PR move (to make it more acceptable to the families of the volunteers), and a result that they volunteered for this important duty.

Another segment I found fascinating was the section about medicinal cannibalism. The old men in Arabia that reportedly dined on nothing but honey for a few months before their death and were then sealed in a stone coffin filled with honey. They were sealed inside for 100 years, then it was unsealed and the honey concoction was sold as medicine for a variety of ailments. What most amazes me is that I know such beliefs still exist, and that often the person that is turned into medicine did not volunteer. There are cases in Africa of albinos being killed for such medicines, which is horrific. I truly wish that this was a thing of the past.

The final segment in the book is about ecological burial, it did not feel as well developed as the other segments but I found it interesting none-the-less. I have always planned to be cremated. I consider cemeteries land that is wasted (it could be used for housing or growing food, etc.) and the embalming chemicals can't be good for the environment. In this segment I learned that cremation can cause mercury to get into the air, I already had figured there was some issues with greenhouse gasses but that it was a relatively small amount in comparison to other things we humans do. I have now learned of two methods that are more environmentally friendly (at least one is even cheaper than cremation): Water reduction and organic burial. I will leave the methods used a mystery for you to discover through the book or in other research. Sadly, I was only able to find them located in Scotland and Sweden. I'm in the process of seeing if there are any places in the US that provide either of these options. I will choose one of these methods if my body is determined unfit for organ donation/scientific research. I see no reason why I should stop being useful after my death.

Good reading!

The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro

The Strain is a vampire novel by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, it is the beginning of a trilogy. Mr. Del Toro is predominately known for his film direction, being behind such films as "Mimic", "Hellboy", and "Pan's Labyrinth". Mr. Hogan has received the Hammet Prize and praise from Stephen King for his novel, The Town. Del Toro and Hogan co-wrote this book and its two sequels.

In many ways, the book reads almost like a movie. I've said this in the past, though usually in a negative light. Maybe it is because Del Toro is known mostly for his visual work on films, but that same feeling did not turn me off of this book as it has done in the past. There is a definite focus on the visual description of things, yet the narrative doesn't linger on them in an overly long fashion. The descriptions are graphic and to the point at the same time, allowing them intensity and brevity at the same time.

The vampires in this story are appropriately vicious and horrifying. I am not sure who is scarier though, the vampires or the rich eccentric old man that brings the vampire to New York and destabilizes a long standing truce between the seven ancient vampires. (Don't worry this isn't a spoiler, this is all shown to the reader at the beginning, or at least strongly hinted at.)  

We meet our main protagonist,  Dr. Ephraim (Eph) Goodweather, after a plane mysteriously lands with everyone on board dead. Well it seems that way at first. There are actually four survivors of the initial landing though they appear dead upon first examination by several medical experts. Eph is a member of the CDC, his job is to contain outbreaks of disease before they reach pandemic levels. Dr. Goodweather is torn between his work and home life as this tragedy causes him to cut short his weekend with his son and to miss a custody hearing relating to his rights in regards to his son, Zach.

Other main characters include Nora Martinez and Professor Abraham Setrakian. Nora is Eph's partner at the CDC, while Prof. Setrakian is first dismissed as a crazy old man. Prof. Setrakian is an expert in fighting vampires, having witnessed one of them feeding while he was in a WWII concentration camp. He has made it his life's mission to destroy them from that point on.

Our heroes are not just fighting the vampires, but their extremely wealthy backer. The vampires in this story are not of supernatural origin, but spread like a virus. This includes altering the hosts' DNA and bodily structures. Giving a scientific rational doesn't make them any less scary or dangerous.

I can't say exactly where the next two books will take the reader, but I don't see there being any huge surprises or plot twists. Readers that are familiar with the vampire genre will probably see most of what is coming next before it happens. The story isn't dynamically original, but it is a well paced adventure tale. The characters aren't completely flat, but they are not fully developed either. If you enjoy the visuals of Del Toro's film, I think you'll get some of that through the descriptive passages in the text. This series will never be considered a classic, but the first book is an enjoyable read for those that wish a little excitement in their life.

Happy reading!

The Silver Linings of the Zombie Apocalypse

May is Zombie Awareness Month, for those of you who are unaware. Most of my friends are aware that I'm a huge fan of zombie stories and movies. The Zombie Apocalypse is my favorite end of the world scenario to contemplate. Last year for Zombie Awareness Month I ran daily survival tips on my Facebook and Twitter pages. This year I decided to look on the bright side of the end of the world. I've decided to compile my entire list here on my very modest blog. Feel free to add your own silver linings in the comments section.

1. No more bills to pay.
2. Don't have a work schedule to worry about.
3. Reading time galore. (When not running from zombies.)
4. Get plenty of exercise without a membership fee.
5. Carbon emissions will drop to almost nil, so no more global warming.
6. All groceries will be free.
7. No more rush hour traffic ever again.
8. Lost of extra clothes lying about.
9. No more doctor visits.
10. No more lawyers or lobbyists.
11. Overpopulation is no longer a concern.
12. Paranoia is a plus rather than a minus.
13. Freedom to travel without a passports.
14. A sudden surplus of natural resources.
15. It's a chance to practice all those survival skill you learned watching Bear Grills.
16. Plenty of material for making your own horror movie.
17. No more news media scare tactics.
18. It's the cheapest diet plan.
19. Zombies can't drag race through your neighborhood.
20. Zombies can't blare their stereos or throw wild parties.
21 All those annoying neighborhood dogs are now an early warning system.
22. Credit card debt disappears.
23. Political parties are now extinct.
24. No more politicians.
25. Insomnia is an asset.
26. High fat and sodium diets aren't an issue any longer.
27. The neighborhood will be quiet (except the moans of the zombies.)
28. No need to set your alarm clock.
29. The phone won't ring in the middle of the night.
30. No solicitors knocking at your door.
31. Perfect excuse not to bathe. (Water is for drinking.)