The Raw Shark Texts Review

Some of the members at one of the websites I frequent, the gaming community EvilAvatar.com, have started a book club at goodreads.com. Having the books selected by a group who has similar interests makes the selection process easier. Additionally, I have already read two books that I would not normally have even known about and am reading a third. The first was the Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, which was a book that I would never have picked up on my own, just due to the feminine nature of the cover, but was pleased with the story. I started reading another that was suggested but wasn't a book chosen to be the book for the month, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, which is, again, a very good read. However, the book for the month was selected and I decided to interrupt my previous choice to join in on the reading of the Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall, and I was not disappointed.

Like the Time Traveler's Wife, I was able to get through this book quickly, in only one evening of reading. The story is about a man who doesn't remember anything: where he is, how he got there, what his name is, his past, his friends -- all this information is missing. He soon discovers that he has a disorder known as a "dissociative condition". It is an interesting mystery where the hero, Eric, tries to figure out what has happened to him.

It seems like there are several ways to look at this book. The first is the logical, what-could-happen-in-the-real-world possibility. From this point of view, it is clear that he has a severe disorder that eventually leads to his demise. The other way to look at this is the anything-is-possible, we-can't-assume-a-logical-world-in-books view. In this case, we can assume that everything that Eric reports is actual fact: the problems he describes are real and to blame for his memory loss. Or, there is the take a bit of both approach, where his memory loss comes from his suspected source, but some parts of his journey/disorder are not what they seem to be to Eric.

Without revealing spoilers, it is difficult to talk about this book. It is thought provoking and interesting enough where I would consider going back and reading through it again before returning it to the library to analyze it further. Some of the elements of the book are overlooked, intentionally or otherwise, and that can be a little frustrating, but that it keeps me thinking about it, and enjoying my thoughts, is enough to overlook any frustrations. I give it a four out of five stars.

Temporal Book of the Month for March

I started and stopped reading a couple of books in March, mostly because I really wasn't interested in my choices and also that I wanted to spend all that time playing Team Fortress 2 instead of reading. So, March passed and no book was read, seemingly meaning that I am not accomplishing my book-per-month reading resolution. Since I was in April and needed to read a book for March still, what better choice than "the Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger.

The characters and story are interesting and it was quick to read: I finished the five-hundred some pages over the course of two evenings. The way the story is told is in what could be considered mini-stories, jumping across time, though in most cases, the stories occur linearly. The concept was interesting and the storytelling was well done. The sometimes complicated subject of time travel was addressed simply and handled easily. That said, there were a couple of things that bugged me about the book.

One of my gripes with the book is that some events seem extraneous and unnecessary to the story, either detracting from the plot or introducing elements that the reader expects to be more relevant but are never developed. Another issue I have is that the characters are too accepting of their inability to alter things; with a little thought, there are routes that could be explored that never are addressed.

Additionally, several paradoxes throughout the novel indicate that there must be ways to alter the time line. An example of this includes certain facts that are passed from the future to the past and back again without there ever being an origination. This is glossed over for simplicity's sake, but it implies that the information came from somewhere originally and was then the origination point became unnecessary and never occurred.

The ending was unsatisfying. Without revealing spoilers, it seems that the ending resolves nothing, leaving some plot points introduced but never explored.

Regardless of the flaws, it was still an enjoyable, page-turner of a book. While it is, at best, lite sci-fi and outside of what I would normally consider for reading, I would still recommend it. I give it 3 or 5 stars.

A Group of Updates

I went to a wedding several weeks ago, and one of my old friends there mentioned that he enjoyed my infrequently updated blog. So, this is for you, Mike. :)

At Work

Work has been dying down a litte now. At least, from my perspective. The big rush on the HD project has mostly been resolved, with the only issue being something outside the scope of what I am working on. So, I've been moved onto another project, one which is going to be vacant of people soon, since the last person working on it is going to be deployed to Iraq in a couple of months. This new project is much smaller and has had fewer people working on it, but there are a number of things that need to be resolved. It will be a nice change moving from bug fixing to more general problem solving / design.

Biking

I've become the crazy biking guy at work. There is a nature preserve, Al Sabo Land Preserve, near my house. Well, I had my bike serviced at the local bike repair shop and also bought a bike rack for my car. Since it takes about five minutes to get to the trails, I will often go after I put Katy to bed (when Kendra is home, of course.) I have actually gone enough now that I have lost track the number of times I've been there this year. I've also encouraged my group of co-worker/friends to come join me on Sunday nights at 6:30 for a biking excursion together there. The response has been much more favorable than I thought it would be, and there are about five-six of us that will meet. So far, the largest turn out and one time has been four. I think we will be short one person for awhile, since my boss wiped out and smashed his knee up pretty bad. :(

My best record is 28.58.40 for the first lap, 26.21.25 for the short lap and a total 55.19.65.

Gaming

I used to wonder why anyone would be excited about a portable gaming device, namely the Nintendo GameBoy; it always seemed like there would be limited opportunity to play it, since you really are only going to play while you are away from home. If you were at home, why wouldn't you just play a console hooked to a TV? Well, my eyes have been opened to the wonder and beauty of portable gaming devices, namely the Nintendo DS. The thing I overlooked was that the answer to when and where you are going to play isn't "when you are away from home, sometime" it is, "everywhere." I spend a bunch of time on "my little game" and even will screw around with it while we are watching something "light" on TV. Mucho fun.

Books

Well, I was able to actually drag myself away from my DS for several days when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out. Since I was afraid of encounter spoilers online, posted by a**holes, I took a break from the internet until I was done. Without revealing anything, I'll say it was a decent ending, but I really enjoyed the first five books more than the last two. These last two seemed to really be written with the intent of them being made into movies.

I've borrowed a book from one of my biking / Guild War playing co-workers, Matt, called "the Zombie Survival Guide" by Max Brooks. It is an amusing read, since it takes the threat of an attack from zombies very seriously. I wouldn't call it a hilarious book, but it is a fun read due to the subject matter.

I have a couple of books from one of my neighbors, the Hyperion series. I will probably take a quick read of those once I'm done with the zombie guide.