I've had a few people mention that they like it when I post the books I’m reading. I’ve finished a few good ones recently that I thought I’d share.
This is the third book in Lev Grossman’s The Magicians series. I’ve really enjoyed these books and the last one is easily the best. Lev wraps this story up in a completely satisfying way which seems to be hard for most writers to do. It’s funny and smart and if you haven’t read these books you gotta go grab them today. The series starts off as sort of a Harry Potter with sex and drugs but quickly becomes its own thing. When Lev is pulling from other sources like Harry Potter or the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe he does it with a nod and a wink. He knows what he’s doing and he subverts it or makes you think about it it a new light. I can’t recommend these books enough.
I love time travel stories and this is a fun one. It’s definitely got a YA feel to it but it’s a fun read and has some cool ideas about time travel. The hook is that a young boy gets drafted into a secret organization of time travelers working for the government to research and observe history. He discovers that might not be all their doing and you end up with some cool ideas about alternate universes and the dangers of changing things in the past. It’s a quick read and I liked it.
I really like books that cover science fiction topics but use real science to make it all sound plausible. I was talking to my friend Amber about this and she recommended this book Nexus to me. She used to work here at Penny Arcade but she was way too smart for us and so she left to become a brain surgeon. She’s a doctor now and doing all kinds of incredible research into brain stuff. Anyway I figured if she thought the science behind a book was well researched it must be pretty good. Nexus is a story set in the near future. A drug called Nexus hits the streets and it lets people link up their brains like a computer network. There are people who think it represents an evolutionary step for humans and there are people who think it needs to be destroyed. It’s a really good story that makes you think about medical advances and just how close we might be to some pretty wild ideas.
-Gabe out
