Literature of Horror, Fantasy, Sci Fi

  Technologically speaking, in my lifetime alone there have been crazy advancements.  In the 21 years I've been alive, we've went from dial-up internet to everyone carrying a little device in their pocket that can give them any information they need.  Some people hate this new technology, and think that it actually hurts the way we learn and communicate.  However, I think the access to information that we have now compared to 20, 30, 40 years ago is incredible, and the most valuable thing we have as humans.  It's important that people have the resources they need to inform themselves about whats happening in the world so that we as a society can grow and develop in ways that benefit everyone.  I can only hope that in the future we continue this growth of knowledge and information sharing. 

A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy  was a great read.  There was a lot of irony, British humor, and intelligent comedy that intertwined to create a really enjoyable story.   An obvious example of things that mirror the real world and a created one is actually in the book itself.  In the beginning of the story the main character, Arthur Dent, is trying to save his house from being torn down by a bulldozer that's trying to make way for a highway. In the end his whole planet is destroyed by Vogons (aliens) to make room for a intergalactic bypass. This is one of a seemingly endless number of parallels between the life on earth and the workings of the galaxy.   Things from our real world that the book depicts is mankind's constant fixation on advancement of technology.  It's human nature to want to know all the answers, and we as a race are always trying to invent things in order to help us gain more knowledge about our surroundings, and about each other.  In the book, the

  A Clockwork Orange  by Anthony Burgess is one that I've been waiting to read for a long time, and I'm happy I finally got around to it.    Violence.  When I first started reading this book, I was shocked by the detail of the violence that Alex and his gang brought onto others.  While it was shocking, it wasn't off-putting, and I think that the use of language in the novel helped.  The characters had their own sort of language, and while it took a few chapters to get used to, it ultimately left me feeling more set in this dystopian time and place.    The descriptions of the violent crimes was intense, and you as a reader could see how Alex saw it as almost euphoric.  The turn where Alex goes to jail and is "cured of his violent tendencies" through the "Ludovico Technique" is really quite interesting.  Alex isn't violent anymore, but he has lost one of the things that makes him the happiest (classical music), and wants to kill himself.  I see this

  Lilith's Brood  by Octavia Butler was split into three short stories.  The first of the three, Dawn , introduces Lilith and the world that she has been brought into.  The story overall is very telling about being human, and that that means and what it comes with.  The Oankali offer to save the humans, but only if they agree to breed with them and therefor form an interdependence.  Lilith ultimately ends up pregnant with the first Oankali and human child.  The second story, Adulthood Rites,  shows a humanity that is divided by those who think that it's wrong to breed with the Oankali, and some who think that it's fine.  The society is separated essentially by people who are acceptant, and those who are resisters.  This does not reflect a majoritarian society at all.  Akin is Lilith's son, all grown up, and is conflicted about how he is half human and half Oankali.  Therefor, he understands both sides; that the humans want their own children and humanity, and that the O

  The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers focuses on an alternate reality in the early 1800s.  An alternate reality set in Egypt, where time travel is a key element.  Time travel stories are always interesting, but this one was particularly fascinating.  I took an art history class focusing on Egypt, and really loved the Egyptian mythology aspect of it.  I think my interest in Egypt definitely influenced my liking for this book.  Another thing that I liked about it was that it has some fantasy aspects incorporated, such as sorcerers and magicians.  Weirdly enough, the time travel aspect of it reminded me in some ways of one of my favorite books, Stephen King's 11/22/63 .  In King's novel, the protagonist is brought back in time to the late 1950's-early '60's and has to try to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy.  Brendan Doyle in The Anubis Gates also goes back in time and creates a life there, mostly because he's forced to do so.    The world that Tim Powers has

  Last week I read The Martian , which I really loved.  This week, I returned to not being the biggest fan of science fiction reading Babel-17  by Samuel R. Delaney.  I found this story and its characters hard to relate to, and the idea of mind experiments in general doesn't interest me very much.   A language that can essentially be used as a weapon in warfare seems like an interesting concept.  While the concept is interesting, I felt as though Babel-17  wasn't the best execution of the theme.  I found myself confused at times with the world and plot points.  Maybe this book just went over my head, maybe I didn't give it a fair enough shot with my hesitation to read science fiction, or maybe it had too many elements that to me, just didn't fit together.  The strange surgical modifications mixed with the ghosts mixed with telepathy made me feel both confused, and like something was out of place.