my fear was that the Ledger series blew its load after a 2 hour marathon, leaving nothing for round two.

I was dead wrong… my oh my, how could i ever think such things? Joe Ledger has some stamina to him. enough to f-with folks all night every night till the job is done.

In Dragon Factory, you will run across  mass conspiracy, genetic mods, nazi fringe groups, assassinations. The plotlineis twisted enough to leave MC Escher impressed but looking over his shoulder into the shadows.

If you were to combine the best DNA aspects from Clancy’s Jack Ryan, 24’s Jack Bauer, and Evil Dead’s Ash Williams… The Chimera you would end up with is the fast moving, brilliant, fearless and witty Joe Ledger.  If you were to combine the plots from all of the same DNA sourced character, you would have the Joe Ledger Novels.

Keep up the great work Mr Maberry!
I am sincerely hoping for a third installment ASAP
Di Di mau and get to it my good man!

– Dragon Factory went on sale in the US, March 2nd, go grab a copy.
– UK Readers, grab it early..  ship it from the US so that you can get the good cover as opposed to the really retarded UK version coming in July (seen below)

also a great time for the AudioBook, something i rarely have time for in daily life due to standard books, music, and other daily things.

on our recent trip to California, we planned ahead. Hitting up the Public Library, we gathered 3 Audiobooks. enough that we would not run out while on the road (and if lucky, would be able to finish at least two in out allotted road time).

we made it through 1 and a half. i will have to find time somehow to finish the second.

~~

The Ethical Assassin has been a bit of a desired read. At goodwill, on multiple occasions, both Jenn and I have picked this book up and perused it, waffling as to whether it is one we should invest 3 bucks in.

Turns out, we should have as it was quite fantastic. if not available at goodwill, we will end up purchasing it at powells or someplace full price.

David Liss spins a tale of Traveling Encyclopedia salesman Lem. He is just out of high school, working to get tuition money for his upcoming deferred stay at Columbia University (New York). He is a virgin in the ways of love. he is a damn fine salesman, working all the angles and soaking up the cash he needs.

the story seems to wander back and forth for a couple chapters, culminating in a solid knowledge of lems fears and mental workings. then two of his customers get shot in the head while he is about to receive their book purchase check. the assassin enters the room, seems like a fairly nice guy on the whole, even whilst ensuring that if Lem talks to anyone, he will become the primary suspect, with evidence against him.

1985 is the time setting, and there are no cell phones, no internet, no modern simplicities or plot crutches. It is is Florida, Hot, sweaty Florida… Katrina and the Waves on the radio, melting peoples brains as much as the sun is.

The core of the tale rests on the word “Ideologies” and how our whole existence is based around the comfort zone that all of society requires. it is well thought out and gets the brain juices flowing at some of the simplified concepts described.

some aspects of the book felt like a commercial for PETA. at points i wished i was a vegetarian, and others an ass kicking ball breaking vigilante. in the end though, i am neither of the above. i ate a double bacon double cheese cheesy double burger (with bacon) last night and i would rather screw than fight.

i would recommend this book highly. it will stick out in my mind whenever i see bacon… or encyclopedias.

mm… bacon…

back in town, wedding photos to follow tomorrow (or the day after).. dont have too many as i was standing next to sped. perhaps my dad or sis will hook me up ( pretty please? )

as you can see, the 5 hour mark was tough on jenn, but bob was not phased.. he smelled the oregon air and new when we crossed  over the border.

on the road heading to cali. Speds wedding tomorrow.
we ended up bringing bob dobbs with us so that he would not impregnate jenns moms dogs with pug/chihuahua freak babies… That would be frightening… Puhuahuas.. or would they be chugs?..
regardless, he is not pleased to be stuck in the car with us. Would definitely prefer to be rutting about making dog porn and freakish half bobs … I suppose this is why he is acting out scenes from starwars in the backseat.

A strange twist on the “freaky friday” body swapping idea, Life as I know it takes the standard bodyswap and turns it on it’s ear. Jessica Taylor is walking her dog in a park when a storm rolls in. she is unlucky enough to be struck by lightning, awakening in another womans body.

Lauren, her host, is a married mother of four, very contrasted against Jessica who is single, has a dog, and works long hours.

The twist is what makes this book so above par for the commonly Disneyfied plot process. When Jessica falls asleep, Lauren wakes up, reversing when Lauren passes out.

While slipping between locations/host bodies, Jessica is forced to play the mother role she is unprepared for, the wife role to a complete stranger, and balance it all with her original life.

Released in the US by Bantam Books (Random House), Melanie Rose’s Life as I know it turned out to be a very refreshing read. The novel was engrossing and as the last few chapters come closer, you will begin to wonder how the author will be able to close things out. She managed to do so with out rushing the plot, leaving you at the end with a torn feeling of both disbelief and happiness. The ambiguity suits the story well. It falls firmly into the standard fiction genre with a smattering of romance and scifi/fantasy mixed in.

In the UK, this book was originally released under the title Being Lauren in 2005 (Matador). Canadian TV fans will automatically think of “Being Erica” after reading the name, but make no comparison, there is a wit and charm to this that has a similar feel, but they are completely unrelated.

Later, prior to US release, the UK book was picked up by Harper Collins UK under the title Do you believe in Magic?.

The US cover is very housewife friendly, though will detract from the book by limiting interest of male readers… This could have partially been circumvented by using the ISIS “Audio Download” cover image. Maybe after it moves from Trade Paperback to Mass Market PB.

Authors website: http://www.melanierose.co.uk/

this picture was taken after saying the word “Laser” multiple times. she obsesses over lasers. she can chase them for hours. at night, she is my own personal remote control canine.

this photo shows not only her highly dialated pupils, but also the CRAZY world she lives in when the “L” word is said.

no more focused, single purpose dog exists in this world.

Mongo [1:38 PM]:
Im going to type things here
the things I am typing are words
words that mean less then nothing
I will continue to type them
to see what is seen

erisian23 [1:39 PM]:
type type type

Mongo [1:39 PM]:
type words again

erisian23 [1:39 PM]:
pound on keyboard next.. typetty type

Mongo [1:39 PM]:
type FURIOUSLY

erisian23 [1:39 PM]:
ANGER!!!!!!

Mongo [1:39 PM]:
INJUSTICE
words
better words
calming

erisian23 [1:40 PM]:
all better now.. typing slower.
almost placated

Mongo [1:40 PM]:
nearly
words
typing

Mongo [1:43 PM]:
brooding words
smoke? 2:00?

erisian23[1:44 PM]:
indeed..
text goes here

Mongo [1:44 PM]:
further enlightened musings

Being a Firefly fan, i was very excited when, back in 2005, Dark Horse Comics announced and released Those Left Behind, the first of a possible series of Serenity comic books.

I am not much of a comics reader, i go through phases where months of absorption will occur, but generally, i stick to 15-20 issues a year. i help off on reading the Serenity comics knowing that 3 issues would only wet my appetite, with months before more would be available.

after three years, DHC released the next installment (three years folks, that was NOT a typo). Better Days came out, and again, i said, “bottom of the pile..”. i was itching to read them, but at this point, my browncoat soul was “okay” with waiting. i figured, eventually, i would borrow them from the bunny, or SamuraiShy.. It was again, put off. buried at the bottom of the “to be read” pile.

finally, i broke down and located a copy for consumption. good, goddamn.. how disappointing could these have turned out?

both comics exist in the blanks plot canvas between the end of the Firefly Series and the Serenity movie.  with the number of questions fans were left with after series “completion” i was expecting to have a bone thrown to me, but.. nope. didnt happen. one of the tri-part comics was decent, the other was, well.. read on to get my true opinion.

Better days, the second set to be released, happens before Those Left Behind. so far as i am concerned, Better days should be renamed “better never made”. characters were thrown in that had no frame of reference. the story was loose and thrown out with no real cohesion. i had to read it twice through, then jump online and consult wikipedia to figure out the remainder i could not muddle through. instead of plot closure, new info was tossed in that opened plot doors. it is in essence, nothing more than firefly porn, with all of us fans providing the money shot directly into Wedon’s pocketbook.

seriously, never should have been made. the only saving grace of the thing was a single page image of River Tam, which i am including at the bottom of this post to save everyone the waste of time getting to it. do not let it fool you. one page is not worth suffering through the rest. a job goes better than expected, and everyone is rich. they are all describing what they will do with their cut. River’s description of the perfect life was a single page and the only one worth looking at.

~~

Those Left behind, the first comic released, wasnt so bad,it was an enjoyable read. in all, it has a lot of the same issues Better Days had. there was no closure, new questions arise, but you do begin to understand why Inara and Book left Serenity and are separated in the film.. in the end though, it was a quick and mellow read with no real high or low points worth pointing out. it was almost like watching a well done episode, each character got some face time.

ultimately, nothing but geek porn, but enjoyable on a base level.

It was announced a few years back that there would be a new comic coming out focusing on Shepard Book and all of his mystery. this is yet to come to fruition after two years. to be fair though, if it ever comes out at all, following the above trend, it will be another year, and will not be worth picking up except to place on a shelf next to your firefly lunchbox and Mal Reynolds action figure.

here is the Better Days page. heed the warning. enjoy this and then let it rest.

there, now you have see it.. the rest is crap.

like an unconcerned lover, meeting you for a “nooner”, Death Troopers is quick and dirty. it doesnt ask you how you are doing or if you are getting close. when it is finished, it rolls out of bed and leaves you staring, asking “what exactly just happened”. you feel a little dirty, then you shower and get back to work. in the end, it is still a nooner, so who can scoff at that? not i.

a little background info to explain the above..

as a kid, i was an avid book reader. you put it in front of me, and it would be consumed. scifi, conspiracy, historical fiction.. even the babysitters club.

i was a blank template for the DnD dice rolling dork who, if 40, would still be living in the basement. a virgin, who had +60 defense against magic.

i was a sucker for sci-fi movies. i watched starwars, star trek, battle star (original), buck rogers.. my dad ended up recording over our copy of The Beastmaster because my brother and i watched it far far too often.

as i got older, conspiracy’s became more of a focus, zombies and the occult.. i began theorizing how i would reinforce structures in case of a zombie apocalypse. i became the dice rolling dork, and escaped with only minimal scarring.

although i have been considered a geek for most of my life,  i have been able to keep myself out of the uber geek, fanboy, socially scary category.  Joe Schreiber screwed that all up for me.

by combining Starwars and Zombies into a novel, Joe forced me to pick up a Starwars universe book. this is the first that i have ever read, and as we all know, addictions always start with a single experience…. so.. damn you Joe.. and thank you joe…, . but ultimately.. damn you Joe. i am one step closer to becoming the “starwars kid”. someone keep video cameras away from me for a while.

when i bought this, i found that the dust cover on the book was reversible, a poster for the book. the cover itself, instead of being blank as many hard covers, sported the books image.. inside, a timeline for where this book exists in the universe (between 1-5 years before “A New Hope”).

The plot is pretty basic, Prison barge breaks down in the abyss of space. a Star Destroyer is found, which has only 10 life forms aboard. prison guard enters the Star Destroyer to scavenge parts, then all hell breaks loose.

For those who say “i dont like star wars, so i wont read this” get over it. this is a horror/zombie novel. Starwars is almost cursory in most places. with the exception of references to familiar starwars species and verbiage, there is not much here that is out of the ordinary for a space/sci-fi storyline. no magic microbes that let you levitate stuff, no “laser swords” or cryptic green man doling out advice from a swamp.

for the avid starwars fan, you wont be disappointed by some of the surprises either. some references just cant be made in a review, doing so would just be bad form on my part.

in the end, i would suggest this book for any sci-fi or horror fan. at 230 pages, it was fast and fun. i look forward to reading it a second time, and loaning it out.

~~

To ballantine/del-rey books:

Great job on the design of Death troopers. there is one aspect that kinda pissed me off though.

What is the point in putting an excerpt in the end of the book for marketing purposes when you choose to put in chapters 3-5? do you realize that with out chapters 1 and 2, we are less likely to read it? that it makes little sense and therefore has a negative impact on the choice to buy the book you have excerpted?

in the book you chose, the characters exist nearly 40 years (thank you timeline!!) after a new hope. the book looks good, but it took far too long to get to the point where i understood what was happening. to be honest, if i were to buy the book, i would not read the first two chapters, as i am already far past their usability.

i have never run into a teaser excerpt that was mid book, and i hope i never do again.

what were you thinking..? very annoying

stroke to enlarge

Is this likening the sacrament/host to “Sugar pills” aka placebos?

i thought the sandals were a nice touch.

–

obviously, this is a bit of “old news”.. hell, just look at where it has been before me.

This was sent to me by a Tom originally, but a higher quality image was available on cherrybombed.com (who swiped it from loljesus.com).. this is better anyway as originally he found it on the SA forums, which make me cringe to ever link to.

as stated there, if anyone knows who this is inked onto (or by)… let  me know so credit can be given.

fuck it though, old news or not, its goddamn awesome.

I cannot tell you how much this book will continue to affect my brain going forward. Other scifi book series, movies, and even music i love seems to have some direct influence stemming from the Hyperion “Cantos”. As a simple and poor example, The Matrix in many ways, almost seems like an homage to the Hyperion series, with significant portions of plotline directly influenced.

The shrike (agent smith), a machine boogeyman whos intents are sometimes inline with those of the web, other times seemingly contrary. Thousands of Shrike (Smiths) working toward a common goal.

Squid like creatures, Artificial Deities, the convergence of mankind and machine. i dont want to give too many examples as every reference i make could be seen as a spoiler, and i dont want to be the person who ruins well earned surprises.

the fictional references located while reading the first two books in this series astounded me. it is like a holy grail of geekdom.

i fail to even mention that the plot is beyond incredible… but again, lets not get too much into that. it is after all a sequel. if you dont know where this is headed, you obviously need to read book 1 still.

Reality has a strong mirror of the story as well. with recent announcements that “teleportation” is on its way, farcaster devices and other kick ass technology seems to be around the corner. developments in the last decade have proven that we can cause particles to recreate properties of other particles, end point to end point. we have passed atoms, photons, information, and now raw energy.

for a quick recap of the decade and links, read: Popular Science Feb 2010 (article: physicists prove teleportation energy theoretically possible)

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-02/physicists-prove-teleportation-energy-theoretically-possible

not saying simmons was some kind of oracle, just that he had his finger on the right pulse, checking the timing of all the right heartbeats in theory and thought. then built this master work around what was absorbed.

Dan Simmons successfully blends the poetry of John Keats into a multi world existence, replicating poetry, creating new poetry, and detailing a spiderweb of mental imagery that can only be referred to as scholar deification at its pinnacle.

based on the pure impact of info in these stories, along side mirrors in our existing world (and possible unconfirmed referenced in popular media..), i would have to say this is one of the greatest/most influential series i have ever read.

only two more to complete the whole series, but i am not sure how it could get better. hope you keep surprising me simmons!

notice the slightly reddened pallor? the twitching right eye? (his, not yours). notice the disheveled hair and seemingly dark aura of spite, rage, and boiling grey matter? with the exception of the hair,(as i am balding) this will be me…

i will spend the entirety of my day seething with the hatred of a thousand dead civilizations, pumping at least a gallon of black caffeinated nectar into my belly. i will roam my imagination eating my enemies and stomp through their strawberry fields. in reality i will be chained to a desk like corporate gimp.. waiting to take it in the ass while Zed fucks Marsellus Wallace in an uncomfortable place.

as such, my only hope for escape is to slink off to a happy place, where bruce willis is not a whiny “Friends” crybaby, but the terrorist fighting cop boxer god who will cut the dick off those fucking me and then toss them (sans phallus) off a tall building.

~~~~

on a completely different note… thanks to kim (via jenn) for the below.

women are actually good for four things: cooking, cleaning, vaginas, and their sister’s vaginas.
video by Jon LaJoie – http://www.jonlajoie.com

end of the meal, jenn received a fortune: “You will always have good luck in personal affairs”
Mine?:  “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.”

possible interpretation of this is that she can cheat on me all she wants because she will be successful. likewise, i should just get used to it because.. what a depressing load of bull-”fortunes”..

her interpretation is very different. it involves more traditional readings, and possibly the addition of the age old “in bed” trailing.

mine readin: “fortune? what fortune? you gonna eat that cookie?”

(strangers image from http://eatdrinksurf.com/2009/01/14/hong-kong-and-macau/ )

happy valentines day!

had a great holiday, spent the whole day hanging with jenn, napping, and playing with the dogs.

read for a while. jenn made some fantastic lasagna from scratch.

jenn gave me some cool books and movies to occupy my brain.

all in all, a nice end to a mellow weekend!

there is absolutely nothing, NOTHING like an awesome new pen… there was a certain amount of luck on my side a couple nights ago. after 15 minutes staring at the wall of pens, i found my new favorite.  normally, when you start looking for a replacement brand/style, it takes some trial and error.  so yeah, luck, mystical moon power, whatever.. it worked in my favor.

as you can see, it distracted me during my meeting today.. i drew a lot., i scribbled joyous little circles. i filled in all the o’s and all the P’s and E’s and A’s and B’s and D’s.. every loops junked and blacked out.

i made precision angles and semicircular moon shapes.

sharp pointy teeth and , of course, i took some real notes as well…

it is smooth and nice and only slightly bizarre when writing too fast at a slant. otherwise, a-okay.

_________

mmm. oh, and i found an awesome website that does nothing but obsess over finding the perfect pen.

The Pen Addict (www.penaddict.com) – Uniball Signo 207

mine, at least till they discontinue them seems like it could very easily be the Uni-Ball Signo 207 Medium.

$3.24, 2-pack… hip hop hooray