Alexander Jablokov Brain Thief

Alexander Jablokov Brain Thief

Bernal Hayden Rumi works for an eccentric millionaire. He troubleshoots projects like an attempt to reseed the great plains of the United States with mammoths. One day his employer disappears and he ends up on a chase through wild and strange circumstances. The author is quite original in his approach and his subjects.

This novel is the landscape of fringe science, stolen crogenically frozen heads, black market scientific equipment, planetary exploration robots, and animal experiments gone wrong wind through this story. Alexander Jablokov philosophically challenges scientific experiments on animals and the idea that the singularity when robots become smarter than humans is a good thing.

Bernal gets to experience the worst aspects of human behavior while he seeks his employer; a serial killer, kidnapping, drugs, murder, thievery, and violent irrational philosophy.

The story is an intriguing, fast read without a happy ending. It is a mix of speculative fiction and mystery. The dialogue is crisp, often surprises, and takes unexpected turns. Many of the characters are more than a little deranged. The science is on the edge of the possible. This was a very entertaining read. The writing is quite high quality. There is nothing quite like it.

Daily Thoughts 4/15/2010

Edmund Spenser best known for his poem, The Faerie Queene.

Daily Thoughts 4/15/2010

I finished reading Brain Thief by Alexander Jablokov this morning. It was fun to read. I have not read anything quite like it. He manages to combine a mystery with science fiction. The elements are quite a surprise, a serial killer, a thief of cryogenic heads, and an edgy setting.

I spent a little bit more time going over my orders and reading Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. I also spent some time talking about the poetry program to an older gentleman. I think it will get even better next time.

I also spent a bit of time cleaning my desk and sorting through the donations. I found a few large print donations to add including Salman Rushdie, The Enchantress of Florence.

Digital Eel which makes independent computer software games has a nice selection of free etexts of classic speculative fiction and horror which they call The Dusty Bookshelf. http://www.digital-eel.com/blog/library.htm

On the way home, I read a bit of Shadowtag by Louise Erdrich. It is a story about an artistic family. The story focuses on the strained relationship between a woman and her artistic husband. The woman keeps a set of diaries on her life. I am just starting to get a feel for the novel. It is about jealousy, love, and all the emotions that go into a marriage.

Daily Thoughts 4/14/2010

Ian Fleming oil painting, 16 January 2009, Constance Vlahoulis, Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 2.0 Generic from Wikimedia.

Daily Thoughts 4/14/2010

I finished reading Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks by John Curran. I especially liked the short story at the end of the book, The Incident of the Dog's Ball. I also liked that she was Robert Grave's neighbor. The book was interesting to read. It was mainly a set of notes rearranged to give details on the different works she wrote. Agatha Christie was more than a mystery writer. She also wrote successful plays and radioscripts as well as wrote as a novelist under a pseudonym. This book has notes on almost all of her short stories, plays, and books. If you are an Agatha Christie fan it is well worth reading.

Alexander Jablokov, Brain Thief came in for me to read. It looks like a combination of a cyberpunk science fiction novel and a thriller.

I spent some time today looking at different library fundraising around the county. I also checked on the progress of shifting fiction books and short stories out of the fiction room.

I also spent a little time looking through the gift books. We had some new African American romance paperbacks which were donated to us with popular authors like Rochelle Alers and Brenda Jackson. We also got a few books on cd, including an unabridged CD of a Isabel Allende book.

A patron suggested that I read Chuck Klosterman, Eating the Dinosaur. He compared him to Hunter S. Thompson. I have put it on hold.

Today is the first National Book Mobile Day, April 14, 2010. Our book mobile went out today to do the rounds with the older adults. http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6726127.html

National Library Week 2010 America's Most Amazing Libraries from the Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/12/national-library-week-201_n_533978.html