Douglas Rushkoff's Testament

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As Douglas Rushkoff belongs among the most enlightening present-day thinkers and writers (blog, interview in BoingBoing podcast), it's worth noting that the final part of his last work, Testament (Amazon), has recently been published (free first issue in pdf). I've now finished reading it, and can safely say that it really is one of THE psychedelic comic books, achieving a place alongside works like Alan Moore's Promethea and Grant Morisson's The Invisibles. Well recommended. And now I'm off to actually buy the whole thing - both this piece of inspiring mythology in a contemporary appearance and it's author pertain among the scarce phenomena of today that are worth supporting.

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Vim - next level in text editing

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As someone who spends considerable time in front of a computer screen (or two), I knew that there were two groups of people, supporting two text editing systems - Vi/Vim and Emacs. The relations between these two is like the relation between Windows and Linux - both are considered superior by their supporters. I knew that both are supposed to take text editing, particularly for coders, to the next level in speed and possibilities, and that both are supposedly harder to learn, because most people are used to "classic" style of working with text using arrows and ctrl-arrows, shift for selecting, home/end, etc.

I also knew that this style of text editing is very limited - getting the cursor to the right place on a page full of text takes numerous arrow- and ctrl-arrow key presses, or requires you to grab the mouse. For a large group of computer users, this is no problem. However, if you're using your computer for programming, and are interested in seriously boosting your productivity (not to mention other advantages, like being able to switch between platforms), everyone who's made the jump will tell you that it's worth it.

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Robert Charles Wilson - Spin

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is a scifi book which I've just finished, and I'm so excited that I have to write this short review. I've read other Wilson's books, namely Darwinia and The Chronoliths, and they have quite a lot of common features with Spin. They all describe the world as we know it after it was hit by some unpredictable and completely mindboggling event. In Darwinia, a continent disappears and is replaced by an unknown land, in Chronoliths, gigantic statues from the future begin to appear around the world. Wilson manages to plausibly describe what these events do to the world, how the society and individuals react, and how everything is trying to stay normal. Also the main characters are a bit similar in their nature. However, while Darwinia was interesting and The Chronoliths engaging and massive, except their dissapointing (lack of) ending, Spin is simply perfect.One day, the stars and the Moon dissapear from the sky. The sun comes up, as warm and blinding as ever, but there's no activity to be seen on it. As we find out, the Earth has been wrapped in a kind of capsule, which simulates the Sun and gravity of the Moon on one hand, and slows down time inside on the other. One minute inside is about a thousand years in the rest of the Universe.

And that, as strange as it may sound, is of course only the beginning of a brilliant book. When I read half of it, I was breathless already, as it was about at that stage that The Chronoliths ended. But this time, not only is there another half of the book, but it's even getting more and more interesting, everything falls logically into place and things get explained in the end - I didn't believe that it was possible. There is even a kind of elegant happyend.

Politics is mixed with a plausible depiction of human relationships in the shade of upcoming Apocalypse (the Sun outside goes through its natural life cycle, which doesn't concern us since it takes billions of years, but suddenly in the book it becomes a key issues), the longing to lead a normal life is contrasted with apocalyptic cults and the chaos of the end of days. It is unbelievable, how many topics Wilson managed to include and touch in his book, and how compact and solid it stays all the time. It is believable, it is thrilling and at the same time it makes you think.

Well, simply thumbs up. One of the best books I've read lately. Robert Charles Wilson - Spin @ Amazon.

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A few recommended books

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I've been reading quite a lot throughout the summer, and thought I could recommend books that might be worth your time. I've been discovering America however, as they are mostly classic ones. Nevertheless, if you haven't read these, I suggest you do some catching-up too. And, by the way, if you're not into science fiction, these might be just the right books, as it is good science fiction. I've got hold of a few Ursula Le Guin books. I remember trying to read one when I was about twelve, and it didn't seem to be my cup of tea then. Not this time however - she's got me so good that I'm preparing to read everything she's written. I read The Lathe of Heaven first, and I was astonished. It's about dreams and how little we know about these everyday miracles.

The Word for World is Forest is a bit more moralistic, or how to put it, but it reflects Le Guin's understanding of human nature woven in a classical topic, the clash of technology and nature.

The last book worth recommending so far is called The Dispossessed. Again, it's a book with interesting and quite utopian ideas, as a large part of it takes place in an anarchistic society, which is being contrasted with a depiction of capitalistic system.

The second author is John Wyndham I loved his Day of the Triffids when I read it years ago, but I never got to read anything else from him - until now. Chocky has been a surprise, I definitely didn't expect the kind of plot it puts in front of you - family and relationship issues, parents raising their kids... but throw one unusual thing into the mix, in this case a kid's imaginary friend, and you have an interesting story with a message.

Last author I've been catching up with is Neal Stephenson. I've read The Baroque Cycle Series a while ago, and now I got to his older works, The Diamond Age and Snow Crash. While Snow Crash seemed like it is trying too hard to be a cyberpunk novel, it turned out as very interesting, since the cyberpunk world (which I got used to in no time anyway) serves as a background for topics like memes, human mind and Sumerian civilization, which I wouldn't expect. The Diamond Age takes place in a more advanced world where nanotechnology is the common way of producing everything, and where there are no nation-states - people can belong to different organisations with different possibilities, goals and power structures. The world is depicted in utterly convincing and believable manner, and for me, the actual storyline was less of a priority - and while I had that with other Stephenson's books, I don't think it matters at all. They are simply incredible.

And then I've read Clive Barker's Imajica once again. Its often described as a monumental epic, and it really is monumental. While Barker is renowned for horrors and weird stories, Imajica is more of a fantasy/alternative reality thing (there, I've said it...). It's got nothing to do with sci-fi, but it still is connected to the previous books with a red line - it is again a book which points out how little we actually know about ourselves and our own perception of the world, and what other possibilities there might be - now, or in the future - without us actualyl noticing anything, our perception caged by seemingly relevant pieces of information, fed to us first from the outside and later hungrily sought after by ourselves, when we've shaped our perception accordingly.

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