Month: 2015. gada jūnijs

T.S. Learner ”The Map”

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Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

From the author of 2010’s biggest-selling thriller debut, an ingenious, exciting adventure In the tradition of Kate Mosse’s Labyrinth and Raymond Khoury’s The Last Templar

London, 1953. Classics scholar August Woodthorpe, son of a prominent American politician, has stumbled upon an extraordinary artefact: an ancient book – a chronicle – that once belonged to an infamous alchemist burned at the stake in 1646. Within the ancient text is a map – an intricate, ingeniously designed labyrinth that will lead August on a spectacular journey to three mazes secreted within France, Spain, and Germany. And at the heart of one of these mazes is hidden the elixir of eternal life. But Western Europe is still reeling from the shock of war, and if he’s to survive his perilous quest, August must translate ancient codes, decipher deadly riddles, and expose a mystical secret three hundred years old – even as he outwits Spanish militants and German spies.

Izdevniecība/Publisher: Sphere

Kā tiku pie šīs grāmatas?/How I got this book?

Nopirku to ‘’Latvijas grāmatu izstādē 2015’’

Vērtējums/Rating: 5/5

Mana recenzija/My review

Augusts pēc kariem(visvairāk ticis ietekmēts Spānijas pilsoņu karā, cīnījies zaudētāju pusē)[darbība vispār noris 1953.gadā] mierīgajā dzīvē šķiet pazaudējis sevi un tai neder, tad nu negaidīta biedra un drauga Džimija van Pītera uzrašanās pie durvīm pamudina viņu atgriezties Spānijā un atrast sevi, kā arī tikt galā ar traumatiskajām atmiņām. Augustam lemts iet pa pēdām Shimon Ruiz de Luna pa dažādām Eiropas pilsētām un lauku rajoniem. Reti kas ir pateikts burtiski un gandrīz viss miklās; simboliskas nozīmes ne mazums.

Lai, kur Augusts dotos senā manuskripta vadīts, šķiet nāve ilgi nav jādaida. Viņš nav vienīgais, kurš ir ieinteresēts atšķetināt noslēpumu un atrast/iegūt iespējamās bagātības. No tiem Taisons ir gatavs iet pāri līķiem, pats tos radot, lai panāktu mērķi; Olīvija toties pielieto atšķirīgākas, raganiskākas metodes, turklāt viņas saistība ar manuskriptu un tās autoru ir stipri senāka, kā varētu domāt.

Patika, kā vienlaicīgi grāmatas sižetam, iepīts vēsturiskais par Spāniju un tās pilsoņu karu. Augusts cīnās ar atmiņām – gan sliktām, gan pozitīvām. Viņš nav ideāls, kas palīdz ticamībai. Ceļojumā palīdz Izarra, motivēta atriebt māsu, kas noder, kad maz ir tādu, kuriem pilnībā var uzticēties.

Vēsturiskie flashback ar Shimon šoreiz pat traucēja, bet tomēr palīdz gūt ieskatu tieši viņa motivācijā, veidojot tik mistiskus, grūti saprotamus pavedienus – arī izmēros ne mazos, jo tie ir labirintu veidolā. Neparasti arī tas, ka pat pēc tik ilga laika visi joprojām saglabājušies neskarti. Paši dārgumi dažam varbūt tādi nemaz nešķistu, un varbūt drīzāk nosauktu tos par lāstu.

Šīs grāmatas noslēgums šķita pieņemams, bet par spīti grāmatas ievērojamajam apjomam prasījās vēl :D. Tā teikt, kas notiek tālāk. Kopumā pat ļoti interesants, nenoliedzami, pateicoties arī galvenajiem tēliem. Savā ziņā atgādināja nesen lasīto ‘’The Columbus Affair’’, bet tikai tādā ziņā, kā par dārgumiem.

                                                                                                                                                

August after all wars (including Spanish civil war where fought on the defeated side)[present for story is 1953] isn’t made for peaceful life and has lost himself, also the traumatic memories and guilt of lost friends and comrades doesn’t help. So when Jimmy van Peters (friend from the good old days) shows up on his doorstep with a mission he reluctantly agrees to fulfill it and goes back to Spain + it’s a good reason to face the past.

No matter where August would go it seems that death as Damien Tyson isn’t far behind, someone who is willing to do anything to have his way and the manuscript of Shimon Ruiz de Luna. Other pursuer is Olivia Henries and she uses far more different methods, more magical (witch). Also hers connection to Shimon and manuscript is a bit earlier than you might think.

What I liked about this book was that besides the main story there was intertwined history of Spain and the civil war. In this world you have to be really careful when to whom to trust.

Flashbacks about Shimon Ruiz de Luna where little distracting but at the same time it helped to understand his motivation to make those labyrinths and leave behind such mysterious clues. Somewhat amazing that they managed to remain mostly undamaged.

Some possibly might the big treasure (and not something really materially valuable) a curse.

The ending was more or less acceptable and despite the big amount of pages I wanted more, to know what happens next :D Without August (also Izarra – motivated to revenge sister) this story certainly would something else. Reminded little of lately read ‘’The Columbus Affair’’.

Paldies par atbalstu! – Patreon

Philip K. Dick ”The Man in the High Castle”

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Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

It’s America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some 20 years earlier the United States lost a war, and is now occupied jointly by Nazi Germany and Japan.

This harrowing, Hugo Award-winning novel is the work that established Philip K. Dick as an innovator in science fiction while breaking the barrier between science fiction and the serious novel of ideas. In it Dick offers a haunting vision of history as a nightmare from which it may just be possible to awake.

Izdevniecība/Publisher: Blackstone Audio

Kā tiku pie šīs grāmatas?/How I got this book?

Lejuplādēju no torenta. Izvēlējos no Top 100 Sci-Fi Books grāmatu listes.

Vērtējums/Rating: 3/5

Mana recenzija/My review

Alternatīvā vēsture par Otrā pasaules kara iznākumu, kur panākumus gūst nevis sabiedrotie, bet gan Vācija un Japāna. Ar zinātniskās fantastikas piesitienu tādā ziņā, ka abas valstis aktīvi pēcāk pievērsušās plašajām Visumam.

Netrūkst dažādu tēlu gan amizanti kā pārdevēji, tie kas iet no vienām durvīm uz citām, gan to, kas cenšas izmainīt/saprast esošo kārtību, un, vai būtu varējis būt citādāk. Turklāt ASV teritorija sadalīta vairākās kontroles zonās un nav vienota.

Vīrs augstajā pilī līdz pat noslēgumam ir noslēpumains autors grāmatai, kura pati šajā pasaulē ir liekama alternatīvās vēstures kastītē, vēstot tieši par sabiedroto uzvaru, Vācijas un Japānas sakāvi. Loģiski rodas jautājums, kur viņš radis tādus faktus un ideju vispār, kuri minēti viņa stāstā, kas izrādās, saistās ar pārdabisko un orākulu.

                                                                                                                                                

Alternate history about the Second World War and the outcome in which Germany and Japan are victorious and not the allies. With just some sci-fi as both countries after that sets their attention to Universe.

There are many different characters in this world like amusing salesmen or those who try to understand the world they are in. Plus the USA is divided in zones and isn’t one whole country.

The man in the High Castle throughout there is some mysterious writer whose book itself could classified as alternative history in their world but not in ours. Logically you would have questions about how he got the facts and idea mentioned in his book. To this there is a very supernatural explanation related to oracle.

Paldies par atbalstu! – Patreon

Vernor Vinge ”A Fire Upon the Deep” (Zones of Thought book 1)

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Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

A Fire upon the Deep is the big, breakout book that fulfills the promise of Vinge’s career to date: a gripping tale of galactic war told on a cosmic scale.

Thousands of years hence, many races inhabit a universe where a mind’s potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures and technology can function. Nobody knows what strange force partitioned space into these “regions of thought,” but when the warring Straumli realm use an ancient Transcendent artifact as a weapon, they unwittingly unleash an awesome power that destroys thousands of worlds and enslaves all natural and artificial intelligence.

Fleeing the threat, a family of scientists, including two children, are taken captive by the Tines, an alien race with a harsh medieval culture, and used as pawns in a ruthless power struggle. A rescue mission, not entirely composed of humans, must rescue the children-and a secret that may save the rest of interstellar civilization.

Kā tiku pie šīs grāmatas?/How I got this book?

Lejuplādēju no torenta. Izvēlējos no Top 100 Sci-Fi Books grāmatu listes.

Vērtējums/Rating: 1.75/5

Mana recenzija/My review

Laba ideja par Visumu sadalītu zonās, kas būtiski ietekmē tajās esošo civilizāciju spēju attīstīties ne vien uz savas planētas, bet arī galaktiski. Gandrīz vai vienīgais grāmatas pluss. Ja nu vienīgi dažas citplanētiešu rases.

Sākums šķita daudzsološs ar kāda mistika un šķietami ļoti spēcīga spēka atbrīvošanos, bet nejutu, ka pilnībā būtu izmantots šis stāsta virziens.

Toties sižeta līnija ar zinātnieku ģimeni un bērniem vispār vairāk haotisks kā kaut kas cits. Kā arī tēlu skaits drusku par daudz.

                                                                                                                                                

The idea about Universe being divided into zones that have major impact on civilisations and their development not only on their own planet but also galactically. If not some cool alien races then it would be almost the only pluses to this book.

The beginning seemed to be promising with some mysterious and powerful force being released but I didn’t felt that this part of the story would be exploited enough.

In addition the story line with family of scientists and their kids was a bit chaotic than anything else. Also he amount of characters were a bit too much.

Paldies par atbalstu! – Patreon

Steve Berry ”The Admiral’s Mark” (Cotton Malone book 0.5)

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Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

Eight years ago Cotton Malone was an agent for the Justice Department, handling the toughest and most sensitive international investigations. But sometimes things became intensely personal. In his latest eBook original short story, New York Times bestselling author Steve Berry lays out just such a tale—one with shocking historical implications.

Cotton Malone never cared for the shady dealings of his brother-in-law, Scott Brown. But when Scott dies while scuba diving, Cotton’s wife and her grieving sister demand more than just a secondhand police report. So Malone heads to Haiti. There, beneath crystal clear waters, he learns that Scott found the sunken wreckage of the Santa Maria, the fabled flagship of Christopher Columbus, and he paid for the discovery with his life. Setting out to piece together what happened, Malone quickly realizes that he’s not the only man there with questions. An Israeli intelligence agent is in top secret pursuit of what Scott died trying to protect. And a sinister Austrian with a hidden agenda has no qualms about killing for the mysterious prize. On the hunt for something that has been lost for 500 years, Malone is suddenly enmeshed in a deadly cat and mouse game being played across the north shore of Haiti and beneath the Caribbean Sea—and he’ll have to fight just to get out of there alive.

Features an exciting preview of Steve Berry’s much-anticipated new thriller, The Columbus Affair

Izdevniecība/Publisher: Ballantine Books

Kā tiku pie šīs grāmatas?/How I got this book?

Kā bonuss ‘’The Columbus Affair’’ beigās

Vērtējums/Rating: 2.75/5

Mana recenzija/My review

Malona sievas brālis Skots miris noslēpumainos apstākļos nirstot netālu no Haiti, tieši tāpēc viņa sieva mudina noskaidrot kaut ko vairāk, nekaitē, ka Malons ir aģents.

Malons tiek ieintriģēts, jo darbībā parādās gan Izraēlas slepenais dienests, gan arī Saimons, kas vien liecina, cik dziļi nepazīstamā teritorijā bija iekūlies Skots. Toms pieminēts vien dažos teikumos tā starp citu.

Notikumi risinās astoņus gadus pirms ‘’The Columbus Affair’’, nebūt neprasās būt lasījušam šo stāstu, vien kā interesants papildinājums.

­                                                                                                                                                

Brother-in-law of Cotton Malone dies mysteriously while diving near Haiti, that’s why his wife urges him to investigate and find something more. It doesn’t harm that Malone is an agent.

Cotton Malone gets intrigued after knowing the involvement of Israel and also Zachariah Simon which makes clear how deep his brother-in-law Scott was. Tom is mentioned only briefly.

This story tells about events eight years ago before ‘’The Columbus Affair’’ but there is no need to read this before, just an interesting addition.

Paldies par atbalstu! – Patreon

Steve Berry – The Columbus Affair (Cotton Malone #12)

17907500

Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

A mysterious and ruthless billionaire, eminent international politicians, and a covert arm of the American government–all are linked by a single puzzling possibility:

“What if everything we’ve been told about the discovery of America is a lie? What if that lie was designed to hide the secret of why Columbus sailed in 1492? And what if that 500-year-old secret could violently reshape the modern political world?”

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Tom Sagan has written hard-hitting articles from hot spots around the world. But when one of his stories from the Middle East is exposed as a fraud, his professional reputation crashes and burns. Now he lives in virtual exile–haunted by bad decisions and a shocking truth he can never prove: that his downfall was a deliberate act of sabotage by an unknown enemy. But before Sagan can end his torment with the squeeze of a trigger, fate intervenes in the form of an enigmatic stranger who forces Sagan to act–and his actions attract the attention of the Magellan Billet, an elite and top-secret corps of the United States Justice Department that deals with America’s most sensitive investigations. Sagan finds himself stuck in the center of an international incident, the repercussions of which will send shudders through not only Washington, D.C., but also Jerusalem. Coaxed into a deadly cat-and-mouse game, unable to distinguish friend from foe, Sagan is forced to Vienna, Prague, then finally into the Blue Mountains of Jamaica–where his survival depends on his rewriting everything we thought we knew about Christopher Columbus.

Izdevniecība/Publisher: Ballantine Books

Kā tiku pie šīs grāmatas?/How I got this book?

Nopirku to ‘’Latvijas grāmatu izstādē 2015’’

Vērtējums/Rating: 4.5/5

Mana recenzija/My review

Kolumbs un notikumi pirms vairāk kā 500 gadiem ir saistīti ar grāmatas tagadni visai intriģējošā veidā, uzdodot jautājumus par iespējamiem dārgumiem un leģendām, kā arī par pašu Kolumbu.

Toms, izbijis žurnālists, kurš novests tik tālu, ka ir gatavs sev padarīt galu, neparastā veidā tiek no saviem nodomiem aizkavēts un iesaistīts šajā piedzīvojumā.

No visiem tēliem varētu teikt, ka Toma meita Alle man patika vismazāk. Gan sava naivuma dēļ, uzticēdamās neīstajiem(viegli iespaidojama), gan savu dubulto standartu dēļ. Viņai vieglāk ir izdomāt dažādus iemeslus un dusmoties uz tēvu, nekā mēģināt rast risinājumu. Jāatzīst, ka arī pats Toms nav bez savas vainas.

Par šī stāsta ļaundariem varētu uzskatīt divus bagātus, savā ziņā līdzīgus, bet atšķirīgus vīrus – Zachariah Simon un Bène Rowe. Ja Saimons vēlas atrast zudušos dārgumus un atjaunot Trešo templi(ebreji…), kādēļ gatavs novākt jebko, kas stājas ceļā, tad Benē vairāk motivēts ar leģendu un dārgumu materiālo vērtību kā tādu. Bet kopumā, lai gan abi nekautrējas izmantot kriminālas metodes, Benē šķita labāks.

Pa lielam stāsts labs, netrūkst intrigas, bet būtu paticies, ja beigu notikumu noslēgtos citādāk, bet tāpēc jau esmu lasītājs. : )

                                                                                                                                                

Columbus and the events 500 years ago are linked with the present in a very intriguing way, asking questions about possible treasure and legends, also about Columbus himself.

Tom (ex-journalist) has gone so far that he is ready to take his own life but in an unusual way gets disturbed and included into this adventure.

From all characters I could say that Alle(Tom’s daughter) I liked the least. Trusting the wrong people, being naïve and also because of hers double standards. It was easier for her to blame her father and make up excuses than to search for solution. Of course Tom isn’t without fault himself.

Of this books villains you could consider Zachariah Simon and Bène Rowe, both wealthy and in some ways similar but definitely different. If Simon wants to find treasure and restore the Third temple by all means (Jews…) then Bène is motivated by the material value of treasure and legends surrounding them. I would like to think Bène as the better one of them two.

Overall the story was good with enough mystery but for me the conclusion could have been a bit different. : )

Paldies par atbalstu! – Patreon

Isaac Asimov ”The End of Eternity”

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Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

Andrew Harlan is an Eternal, a man whose job it is to range through past and present Centuries, monitoring and, where necessary, altering Time’s myriad cause-and-effect relationships. But when Harlan meets and falls for a non-Eternal woman, he seeks to use the awesome powers and techniques of the Eternals to twist time for his own purposes, so that he and his love can survive together.

Kā tiku pie šīs grāmatas?/How I got this book?

Lejuplādēju no torenta. Izvēlējos no Top 100 Sci-Fi Books grāmatu listes.

Vērtējums/Rating: 3.75/5

Mana recenzija/My review

Galvenais varonis Endrū Harlans ir viens no Mūžīgajiem, kuri uzrauga laiku, lai viss noritētu, kā vajag, un, ja nepieciešams, veiktu izmaiņas, pēc pašu domām cilvēcei vislabāko un piemērotāko. Bet arī Mūžīgajiem ir savi ierobežoju tādā ziņā, ka bezgalīgi tālu nākotnē ieskatīties nespēj, un tiek nodēvēti par slēptajiem gadsimtiem, kas uzreiz ir aizdomīgi un liek aizdomāties.

Starp Mūžīgajiem ir dažāds profesionālais darba iedalījums pēc ranga un spējām. Mūžīgie man atgādināja Observers (šāds nosaukums arī pašā darbā) no seriāla Fringe. Kas zin, varbūt ideja šeit aizgūta!

Viena no idejām(vairāk uz beigām), ka tieši notikumu koriģēšana ir tā lielākā kļūda, nevis pašu kļūdu atstāšana, ļaujot sabiedrībai tikt ar tām galā un atrisināt. Arī šajā ziņā saskatu līdzīgu Mužīgo galu.

Noÿs Lambent(ne-Mūžīgā) – viņai negaidīta loma ne vien Endrū dzīvē, bet arī pavisam globāli. Interesanta abu šo tēlu attiecību attīstība. Protams, Endrū nav vienīgais šajā stāstā esošais Mūžīgais un ne pat tas svarīgākais ranga ziņā, kuriem ir pašiem lietu kārtība un plāni.

Šis sanācis pirmais no lasītajiem/dzirdētajiem Azīmova darbiem un gan jau ne pēdējais! : )

                                                                                                                                                

Part of Andrew Harlan’s work being Eternal is to observe time make necessary changes if needed and of course only for the good of humanity. But Eternals aren’t completely powerful because although they can look into future they can’t do it infinitely which is suspicious by itself so they call them the hidden centuries.

There are different ranks between Eternals according to their power. They reminded me of Observers from TV series Fringe. Who knows! Maybe they got their idea from this one. Also the end of the Eternals is similar.

One of the ideas was that the correction of time and events is to be blamed and not the mistake. By doing so (correcting) actually harming more than if it would be left to society to make right.

Noÿs Lambent not being Eternal has big role not only in Andrew Harlan’s life but also globally. Fascinating and interesting relationship development between these two characters. Of course Andrew isn’t the only Eternal participating in this story who have their own plans and agenda.

This is my first book by Asimov and probably/hopefully won’t be the last one! : )

Paldies par atbalstu! – Patreon