Cowboy Angels by Paul McAuley

Cowboy Angels by Paul McAuley.




Cowboy Angels by Paul McAuley combines the genre of alternate history with thriller writing. The Real is an America where Alan Turing created the theories which led to gates to alternate histories called Turing gates. There are some wonderfully dry thoughts on Schrodinger's Cat in association with the Turing gates.



This is Paul McAuley's best book. I like the main character Adam Stone, an orphan who is recruited into the CIA to change the course of different alternate histories preventing fascism, communism, and rebuillding where there is nuclear war. The descriptions of the visits to alternate America's are wonderful.



Paul McAuley successfully creates a sense of different Americas. There are descriptions of the art of The American Bund where for a short time the "Dear Leader" created monumental art, or the space where an atom bomb fell devastating areas of Manhattan.



I also like that the story starts in the past in 1983 when Carter is elected in the Real. This makes it feel like both a historical novel and an alternate history novel. The novel touches on so many different styles of writing.

Adam Stone is a very hardcore character. He shoots, interrogates, suffers beatings, and keeps on going. He is after a secret plot to change the alternate histories timeline. His actions are extreme, violent, and polemical. This may turn some people off, but I found it interesting.

Most of the technology is todays technology. The money is similar, the guns are similar, the art and culture are different. The differences are often philosophical. Adam Stone describing his past actions as an agent of the "Real" is describing a form of imperialism which can be hard to stomach. He kills for his countries beliefs.

The novel hinges on many philosophical and political ideals. Is it right to create one America under many skies? Is it manifest destiny to push your will in different worlds?

This is a fantastic story. It is full of constant surprises, strongly opposed ideals, and constant tension. It does not end they way you might expect it would. This book will create strong opinions for and against the story.

Daily Thoughts 01/27/2011 (Web Content, Cowboy Angels)

The Artist's Father, Reading "L'Événement," 1866, Paul Cezanne

Daily Thoughts 01/27/2011

On the way to work, I read some more of Cowboy Angels by Paul McAuley.  Some of the alternate Americas are very interesting. 

I got to work a little late because of the snow today.  I spent some time working on a grant for ereaders.  I still have quite a bit to do.  I have been looking at the Sony Reader Program for devices and ebooks.  http://ebookstore.sony.com/library-program/  I also spent some time on the Overdrive site looking at compatible devices for the ebooks which we get from them.

I also took a few minutes to look at the new library survey which we have.  We are going to look at it a little more.  It needs some work. http://www.mountvernonpubliclibrary.org/node/111

I put the Web Content Strategists Bible by Richard Sheffield and The Content Management Bible by Bob Boiko on hold through interlibrary loan.  No libraries in our system currently have them.

On the way home, I read some more of Cowboy Angels by Paul McAuley.  It has gotten even better, there is now a twist in the turing gates.  The main character adds an element of time travel to the ability to travel to alternate histories.  This makes the reading captivating.

Daily Thoughts 1/25/2011 (Cowboy Angels)

MICHELANGELO Buonarroti The Persian Sibyl, Fresco, 400 x 380 cm Cappella Sistina, Vatican, 1511

Daily Thoughts 1/25/2011

I read some of Paul McAuley Cowboy Angels.  I think it is his best book so far.  It is really fantastic.  It is a story of an America that spreads its ideals to alternate earths.  Each earth is reachable by a Turing gate.

I love the line:

BROOKHAVEN:  GATEWAY FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND RECONCILIATION
DEMOCRACY AND SOVEREIGNTY FOR ALL AMERICANS.
ONE NATION UNDER MANY SKIES.

I also went to the Content Strategy Meetup which was very interesting tonight.

Daily Thoughts 1/24/2011 (Ebooks, Cowboy Angels)

Discourse into the Night, Blades, William: “Pentateuch of Printing with a Chapter on Judges” (1891)
Daily Thoughts 1/24/2011

I checked the displays this morning and placed some orders for the month.  I also posted a question on Quora and on Linked In, as well as the Linked In group, Ebooks In Libraries.  Quora has been useful for professional questions.  It is an answer system like Twitter.  The question I posted was, "Does anyone know of an example of a successful grant for ebooks and ereaders for public libraries?"

The book, 10 Rules For Strategic Innovators From Idea to Execution by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble has come in for me to read.

We had a meeting where we discussed inventorying the collection in the storage area.  I am also probably doing to be doing some weeding in the 800s in storage.

On the way home, I started reading Cowboy Angels by Paul McAuley and flipped through a book on web design.  Cowboy Angels uses Turing Gates where people can travel to alternate Americas.