Arthur Conan Doyle – The Lost World (Professor Challenger #1) (audiobook)

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Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

Irish athletic reporter Malone narrates tale of bold squat quarrelsome Professor Challenger seeking remote Amazonian plateau where “the ordinary laws of Nature are suspended” with prehistoric creatures and ape-men. Other armed British whites are spare skeptic Professor Summerlee, and ginger dead-shot Lord John, supported by colored bearers.

Izdevniecība/Publisher: Tantor Media

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

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

Vērtējums/Rating: 3.5/5

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Clifford D. Simak – Way Station (audiobook)

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Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

Enoch Wallace is an ageless hermit, striding across his untended farm as he has done for over a century, still carrying the gun with which he had served in the Civil War. But what his neighbors must never know is that, inside his unchanging house, he meets with a host of unimaginable friends from the farthest stars.

More than a hundred years before, an alien named Ulysses had recruited Enoch as the keeper of Earth’s only galactic transfer station. Now, as Enoch studies the progress of Earth and tends the tanks where the aliens appear, the charts he made indicate his world is doomed to destruction. His alien friends can only offer help that seems worse than the dreaded disaster. Then he discovers the horror that lies across the galaxy…

Izdevniecība/Publisher: Audible Frontiers

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

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

Vērtējums/Rating: 4.75/5

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Cormac McCarthy – The Road (audiobook)

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Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

A searing, post apocalyptic novel destined to become Cormac McCarthy’s masterpiece.

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.

Izdevniecība/Publisher: Recorded Books

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

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

Vērtējums/Rating: 5/5

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David Brin – The Postman (audiobook)

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Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

This is the story of a lie that became the most powerful kind of truth.  A timeless novel as urgently compelling as War Day or Alas, Babylon, David Brin’s The Postman is the dramatically moving saga of a man who rekindled the spirit of America through the power of a dream, from a modern master of science fiction.

He was a survivor–a wanderer who traded tales for food and shelter in the dark and savage aftermath of a devastating war.  Fate touches him one chill winter’s day when he borrows the jacket of a long-dead postal worker to protect himself from the cold.  The old, worn uniform still has power as a symbol of hope, and with it he begins to weave his greatest tale, of a nation on the road to recovery.

Izdevniecība/Publisher: Brilliance Audio

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

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

Vērtējums/Rating: 4/5

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Edgar Rice Burroughs – A Princess of Mars (Barsoom #1) (audiobook)

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Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

1866 Arizona, Confederate officer John Carter, Gentleman of Virginia, forever aged 30, wakes naked on Mars. Low gravity increases his speed and strength exponentially, so he impresses green alien Thark captors with fighting, wins high rank. He frees Dejah Thoris, Princess of red men in Helium, only to lose her to the Prince of opposing red Zodanga.

Izdevniecība/Publisher: Tantor Media

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

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

Vērtējums/Rating: 3.5/5

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Robert A. Heinlein – The Puppet Masters (audiobook)

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Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

First came the news that a flying saucer had landed in Iowa. Then came the announcement that the whole thing was a hoax. End of story. Case closed.

Except that two agents of the most secret intelligence agency in the U.S. government were on the scene and disappeared without reporting back. Then four more follow up agents also disappeared. So the head of the agency and his two top agents went in and managed to get out with their discovery: an invasion is underway by slug-like aliens who can touch a human and completely control his or her mind. What the humans know, they know. What the slugs want, no matter what, the human will do. And most of Iowa is already under their control.

Sam Cavanaugh was one of the agents who discovered the truth. Unfortunately, that was just before he was taken over by one of the aliens and began working for the invaders, with no will of his own. And he has just learned that a high official in the Treasury Department is now under control of the aliens. Since the Treasury Department includes the Secret Service, which safeguards the President of the United States, control of the entire nation is near at hand.

Izdevniecība/Publisher: Spectrum Literary Agency

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

Lejuplādēju no www.

Vērtējums/Rating: 3.75/5

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Greg Bear – Eon (The Way #1) (audiobook)

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Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

The 21st century was on the brink of nuclear confrontation when the 300 kilometer-long stone flashed out of nothingness and into Earth’s orbit. NASA, NATO, and the UN sent explorers to the asteroid’s surface…and discovered marvels and mysteries to drive researchers mad.

For the Stone was from space–but perhaps not our space; it came from the future–but perhaps not our future; and within the hollowed asteroid was Thistledown. The remains of a vanished civilization. A human–English, Russian, and Chinese-speaking–civilization. Seven vast chambers containing forests, lakes, rivers, hanging cities…

And museums describing the Death; the catastrophic war that was about to occur; the horror and the long winter that would follow. But while scientists and politicians bickered about how to use the information to stop the Death, the Stone yielded a secret that made even Earth’s survival pale into insignificance.

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

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

Vērtējums/Rating: 1.5/5

Mana recenzija (pārdomas)/My (thoughts) review

Debesīs ne no kurienes pēkšņi uzrodas milzīgs akmens, un lielvalstis katra sūta savus cilvēkus augšā to izpētīt. Diemžēl tā vietā, lai apvienotu spēkus un zināšanas, lai vairāk un labāk varētu izprast akmeni, savstarpējo lietu dalīšana ne vien saglabājas, bet pat eskalējas vēl tālāk.

Idejas, no kurienes akmens nācis, ir visdažādākās. Viens gan ir skaidrs, ka no nākotnes, jo vienā no septiņiem kambariem/istabām tiek atrasta bibliotēka ar izdevumiem no 2010.gada! :O Bet, vai tā ir mūsu pasaules un dimensijas nākotne? Vai jauniegūtās zināšanas jebkādā veidā ietekmēs notikumu gaitu? Iespējams, tā vietā, lai aprakstītos notikumus novērstu, savstarpējās nesaskaņas starp frakcijām tos padarīs reālākus.

Akmens tikai no ārpuses izskatās salīdzinoši ne pārāk liels, jo bez plašās bibliotēkas tas sevī slēpj arī vairākas pamestas pilsētas un ne tikai. Par nelaimi, visu sabojā septītais kambaris jeb ‘’The Way’’ un, kā tas tiek izmantots stāsta virzīšanai. Pēdējais kambaris ir kā portāls uz neaptveramajiem Visuma plašumiem. Lietu vēl trakāku padara citplanētiešu=nākotnes cilvēku un akmeņu radītāju ieviešana stāstā. Neizprotamā kārtā beigās nonākam arī Senajā Ēģiptē pie Kleopatras.

Man Eon bija pārāk politisks, īpaši jau spekulācijas par kodolkaru starp lielvarām, un kaut kā jau vairs nepārsteidz, ka PSRS vēl eksistē. Bet pārsteidza tas, ka šajā pasaulē īsais laika posms, kad var droši atgriezties ar radiāciju piesārņotā un kontaminētā vidē. Iespējams, autors iedvesmojies no Kubas raķešu krīzes.

Arī no tēliem, izņemot Patrīciju, neviens īsti neizcēlās. Ja idejas vēl labas, tad izpildījums ne tik ļoti.

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Suddenly out of nowhere in the skies appears a big Stone and each superpower sends their own team up to inspect it. Unfortunately instead of combining their power and knowledge to better explore the Stone, division and power struggle not only remains but escalates even farther.

The ideas about where the Stone has come from are many. But one thing is clear, it is from future, because in one of the chambers they find a library with texts from 2010. :O The question is, is it from our world’s and dimension’s future? Will the new information about the future events change the course of our time and evens? Perhaps instead of preventing them, the conflicts between different groups make them actually come true.

From outside the Stone looks smaller than it is because besides the big library there are also some abandoned cities and even more. Unfortunately everything is ruined by the seventh chamber and how author used it in the story. The last chamber is like a portal to the vast Universe. Everything gets even more crazy when the aliens=people from future and the creators of the Stone are introduces into the story. Plus, in some mysterious way at the end we end up in the Ancient Egypt with Cleopatra.

For me Eon was just too much political, especially the speculation about nuclear war, and it doesn’t surprise me that USSR still exists. What did surprise me was the short time after the area is contaminated by the radiation it is safe to live in those places. Maybe the author was inspired by the Cuban Missile Crisis.

From the characters the only one that stayed in mind was Patricia Luisa Vasquez. If the ideas were actually quite good, then the execution not so much.

Neal Stephenson – The Diamond Age: or, A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer (audiobook)

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Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer is a postcyberpunk novel by Neal Stephenson. It is to some extent a science fiction coming-of-age story, focused on a young girl named Nell, and set in a future world in which nanotechnology affects all aspects of life. The novel deals with themes of education, social class, ethnicity, and the nature of artificial intelligence.

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

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

Vērtējums/Rating: 2.75/5

Mana recenzija (pārdomas)/My (thoughts) review

Lai gan sākums šķita potenciāli labs, jau apmēram no vidus grāmata sāka lejupslīdi, turklāt beigas neradīja pabeigtības sajūtu, un, ka kaut kas atrisinājumam pietrūkst.

Visvairāk ieinteresēja meitenītes Nelas piedzīvojumi, kuri lielākā daļa norit tādā kā interaktīvā pasaku grāmatā. Īpaša tā ar to, ka teksts un darbība attīstās to lasot un ir katram individuāla, kā arī šajā procesā piedalās aktieri kā citi tēli. Cik sapratu, pati Nela to neapzinās.

Šajā ziņā interesanti padomāt par virtuālajām realitātēm, bet drīzāk videospēļu aspektā, kur jau tagad tam ir labs potenciāls ar Oculus Rift, nekā grāmatu ziņā. Šaubos, vai literatūras pasaulē, kas tāds tuvākajā nākotnē varētu būt gaidāms.

Diemžēl no pārējā maz kas rūpēja. Bija sajūta, ka saliktas kopā tik daudz atšķirīgu ideju, ka kopā sanācis vien mikslis. Situāciju vēl vairāk sarežģī autora izdomātie termini un tehnoloģijas, kuras nereti netiek pienācīgi apskaidrotas.

Šī ir otrā Neal Stephenson grāmata, kuru noklausījos. Vai nu neesmu vēl atradis īstās, vai diemžēl autora stils nav man piemērots.

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Although the beginning was promising already the book started its nose-dive(?).  Plus the ending had a felt incomplete and unfinished.

The most interesting story line was about little Nell and her adventures as most of the time she interacts with her play book. The special thing is the text and action evolves as you read it and is different for everyone, also there are actors the play other characters. If I understood correctly, Nell doesn’t know that.

Considering this, good discussions could be about virtual realities but more likely thinking about video games and Oculus Rift than books. I doubt anything like that would be that soon also in literature and books.

Unfortunately the rest didn’t catch my interest that much. It seemed that bunch ideas are thrown together and what you have is just a bad mix. Everything gets even more confusing as all the new terminology and technologies are presented without much explanation.

This is the second book I have listened to by Neal Stephenson. Maybe I just haven’t found the right one or even that this author’s style isn’t for me.

Mary Shelley – Frankenstein (Audiobook)

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Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein when she was only eighteen. At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of committed science student Victor Frankenstein. Obsessed with discovering the cause of generation and life and bestowing animation upon lifeless matter, Frankenstein assembles a human being from stolen body parts but; upon bringing it to life, he recoils in horror at the creature’s hideousness. Tormented by isolation and loneliness, the once-innocent creature turns to evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous revenge against his creator, Frankenstein.

Frankenstein, an instant best-seller and an important ancestor of both the horror and science fiction genres, not only tells a terrifying story, but also raises profound, disturbing questions about the very nature of life and the place of humankind within the cosmos: What does it mean to be human? What responsibilities do we have to each other? How far can we go in tampering with Nature? In our age, filled with news of organ donation genetic engineering, and bio-terrorism, these questions are more relevant than ever.

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

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

Vērtējums/Rating: 3.25/5

Mana recenzija (pārdomas)/My (thoughts) review

Beidzot saņēmos un noklausījos Frankenšteinu, pēc tam, kad bija redzēta ļoti laba teātra izrāde (mūzika vienkārši super!). Šķiet, man pagadījusies stipri saīsināta audio grāmatas versija, tāpēc, jāsaka godīgi, ka skaidrības un saprašanas par notiekošo būtu mazāka, bez jau pieminētās izrādes. Tādēļ laikam atvadīšanās no literārā Frankenšteina nesanāks, un vajadzēs šo darbu kaut kad izlasīt.

Tātad Viktors Frankenšteins tik ļoti vēlējās noskaidrot, kas ir dzīvības pamatā un atšķir mirušo no dzīvā, ka cītīgi nodevās medicīnas studēšanai un eksperimentiem. Diemžēl uzreiz pēc Radījuma atdzīvināšanas, Viktoru pārņem drausmīgas sajūtas par izdarīto un sevis radītā neglītumu, riebums pret to, bet, ko tad var gribēt, ja Radījums salikts no vairāku cilvēku ķermeņa daļām, nevis atdzīvināts viens vesels.

Protams, var ieslīgt tēmā, ka cilvēkiem nepatīk atšķirīgais un viņi nekautrējas uzbrukt tiem, kuri izceļas, izlec starp pārējiem vai ‘’normas’’, kas Radījuma gadījumā izraisa ļoti agresīvu pretreakciju. Noteikti tāda reakcija nav vienīgā iespējamā; tā vietā, lai atriebtos kādam, cits varbūt izšķirtos nodarīt pāri sev, vai pilnībā noslēgtos no apkārtējās pasaules.

Bez šaubām priekš sava laika pat ļoti labs darbs, no kura citi vēlāk smēlušies iedvesmu. Varētu pat teikt, ka Radījums ir tāds staigājošais mironis/zombijs.

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Finally I pushed myself to listen Frankenstein after I had seen the theatre play (music was fantastic!). I guess my audio book’s copy is a much shortened version of the book itself, so without seeing the mentioned play I think it would be harder for me to make sense of what did happen. Therefore I can’t say goodbye to Frankenstein yet!

So Victor Frankenstein wanted to find out what makes life and what detaches a dead thing from a living person that he dedicated himself to studying medicine and experiments. Unfortunately immediately after reviving the Creature Victor feels horribly about what he has done, the ugliness of it and feels disgusted, but what can you wish for if you put the Creature together from many human parts instead of reviving a whole person.

Of course you can discuss how people don’t like everything that’s different and that’s why they attack to those who stand out or aren’t the ‘’norm’’, which in the Creatures case creates a very aggressive opposite reaction. Definitely someone else instead of revenge might react by closing of from others and the world, or even hurting themselves.

Without doubt to its time this book is very good from which others later have inspired from. You might say that the Creature could be a living dead/zombie.