PEN PALS

 

I spent my childhood in a small town. There were no libraries, only comic book rentals that appeared here and there in the front yard of residential houses. Well, there were basically a few make-shift shelves, with very limited-edition comics (as in, there was only one per title), some series were missing, and the conditions were mostly poor. However, visiting one was a highlight of my day. My brothers and I painstakingly saved our pitiful lunch money so that we had something to read.

We also spent a good chunk of our childhood without TV. I’m not that ancient, I’m a ‘young’ Gen-Xer. I’m not fifty yet. However, we were behind in terms of technology and facilities. On top of staying in a laidback town, we were not well-to-do. Our education and knowledge were limited to what we learned at school and our own practical exploration. If you are around my age or older, we know that childhood experiences are precious. It’s a miracle that my siblings and I didn’t break any bones or get kidnapped.

Anyway, another miracle: I had a pen pal. An international pen pal from Austria, a country that I didn’t even know existed back then. If I remember correctly, it was the effort of my language teacher who encouraged us to write a letter. I believe they were some exchange or something. There was no target, no one to address to yet, just a gesture, some kind of friendship invitation. I don’t think my teacher even believed in it. You see, my dad used to work in the jungle (literally), and whenever we sent him letters, it would reach him 6 months later. Kids grew up fast like puppies; 6 months was a very significant delay for sharing stories but letters were the best we could do when he was away. My dad had a very unique workplace, but that is the story for another day.

So, besides the friendship exchange program being unlikely, the long delay in letters, we were also horrible at English. We only had very basic lessons, we had never used it, and it had only been around for a few years since it became a subject. Imagine my surprise when I got a reply. I can still picture everything in my head. It was a two-page letter filled to the brims with neat handwriting on beautiful papers. Attached was a photo of a beautiful girl wearing a lacey dress. She told stories about her and her place far, far away that felt further than the moon because I could see the moon! She chose to reply to my letter! I was delighted. We wrote back maybe two or three times before I moved to a different school. Since the school was handling logistics, I couldn’t continue doing so. I didn’t even know where the post office was, and it served only domestic purposes.

I still think about the pen pal, and I still kept her letters and pictures until they were lost when we moved to another state, together with all my childhood pictures. Yep, I don’t have any childhood pictures with me. They were not digitalized yet. We asked an uncle to keep it for us, but I don’t think he cared, and they were gone.

Anyway, I remember all the blabbering above because most times, I still feel grateful that just by pressing some buttons, you at the other end of the world can read my gibberish. I can ask someone about their dogs or cats and get a reply straightaway on Twitter. I can see the lives and journeys of others and chat with everyone around the globe with no delay. It still amazes me. It’s like having many pen pals!

While I love the more personal touch of the old days, and I’m still reluctant to be reachable 24/7, I can’t imagine doing this without everyone who has supported me so far. Things like sharing and communicating with me about writing, helping me with feedback on my books, and just by being here, enduring my ramblings. Thank you. You matter to me.

As I had mentioned before, I’m doing this writing thing alone. I have mental support from my loved ones, but they are not readers, and they are not involved in the process. So, you are all I have, and I’m glad that this one doesn’t need 6 months to reach you.

Have a great day!

 

BOOK REVIEW: The Alien Contract (David Kilpatrick)

 

The Alien Contract is a book that can be finished in one sitting. I read it for over a week because real life was in the way, but it was easy to pick it up and get into it again. 

The story follows the protagonist, Gary aka The Man, as the PoV switches back and forth between him and the detectives interviewing him. I like this because readers can see Gary’s viewpoint and nod along ‘this is what I would do’ ‘this is insane’ ‘oh duck!’ and when it switches to the detectives, their thoughts also represent what most readers would have in their mind ‘this guy is batshit crazy,’ while pulling a chair and grabbing a popcorn because the stories are high level nut case but entertaining at the same time.

Along the way, there are many things that seem unbelievable, especially the way the detectives deal with The Man after he had done a crazy hit on an unkillable cartel member. Gary seems like an unreliable narrator as his stories get weirder, and they go around like a green man on a Roomba. 

Alien invasion plot has been done many times before, together with the mysteriousness, cow subplot, and rear-end explorer. Each time, there is a sense of familiarity, and each time, I feel like I know where it is going. Sometimes it’s hard to escape a certain formula, just like my attempt to read a classic romance book, the feeling of reading the same story over and over again can be overwhelming. 

Not with Alien Contract. 

Yes, it has everything the usual alien story would have, but it’s packed in such a unique and fun way, and the ending is both satisfactory and ties up the loose ends or whatever questions and doubts I had while reading. 

It doesn’t take itself too seriously, in line with the style of Man In Black. It doesn’t try to be subtle. Here is the green guy with all the classic alien look and gotcha, built-in fleshy uniform! I almost spit my tea (it sounds way less cool than spitting my coffee, but that is my life now), reading how Gary deals with them, most times with no questions asked. Poor carrot nose.

Besides all the light-hearted shenanigans (my light-hearted shenanigans might be different than yours), I think the main idea of the book is intriguing, especially because it alters Gary’s way of thinking from someone who is very stoic. Put himself in someone’s shoes, literally and figuratively. 

The timeline is not linear, but it flows smoothly, and there is no point at which I was confused in the book. 

This book is fun, entertaining, fast-paced, and as sharp as extraterrestrial titty twister.

5 of out 5 stars

 

BOOK REVIEW: The White Room (Christopher Cooke)

 

 

The White Room is a long tale about a relationship gone wrong, and everyone and everything that comes with that.

IMO, this book feels longer than it should because the flows aren't compacted. For example, the dragon kid is totally unnecessary and does nothing to advance the story or help familiarize readers with the important characters. Then there are times when I think it’s very clear the story is leading somewhere, yet it takes forever to get there. One of the most jarring ones is Christian’s revelation to Francis. The other one is the courtroom scene that takes away too much of the flow. Some repetitive reminders also put little faith in readers’ attention to detail. We are reminded of the hair and picture of the chain every time. I don’t blame this, because some readers are indeed very inattentive. Besides that, it feels very directed. I can’t help but feel that readers are sometimes steered in a certain direction.

It’s obvious that The Raven is created to be an omnipotent villain. A genius, menacing, hidden under the shadow, and untouchable. Unfortunately, he does little to convince me of all those. He doesn’t really make smart decisions. This probably bothers me more than it should. Characters that are described as meticulous (it appears many times) aren’t doing that. Being an old-timer, these are the things he does: he burns the victim’s car; his idea of making a vehicle disappear is an effective method to draw attention instead. He deletes local records, just around the suspicious time, he takes a trophy, and he buries ALL his victims in one place. Another character, who is an expert in ‘retrieving’ things, takes the only thing. No staged robbery, no diversion. It becomes quite a suspension of disbelief when supposedly expert characters are not as skilled as they are portrayed, yet readers are supposed to buy it.

The contradiction and incompact storytelling are the reasons why I don’t rate this book higher. They affect me throughout the reading, but it’s a matter of personal preference. The story is creative, and there are many things to unpack from start to end. The technical appendix is a great addition and shows the effort the author had put into the main device of the story. The glimpse into the Raven’s past is a great shoo-in to what I assumed is a planned sequel with the same character. The book also leaves no end unturned; there are backstories for most of the characters, and each is crafted well.

 The story has great potential, and I can see it becoming powerful if it flows better.

3 out of 5 stars

 

BOOK REVIEW: Grease Monkey (Evie Del Rey)

 

Grease Monkey is a love story novella. The main character, Itzel, is on the run, trying to escape her life. She has been tormented forever and is treated as a business trading object. However, her car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, where she meets Josh, who happens to have a workshop.

I can see this works for readers looking for a slow-burn romance. The build-up to the two characters getting to know each other is good. The story is well written and focuses heavily on how the characters feel. This is the strength of the story.

However, I have read this many times before. It feels cliché; everything is very predictable because it follows the recipe of a romance almost part-for-part. Nothing is suspenseful, and the plot doesn’t feel unique. The blurb also tells everything about the story, it’s a summary because everything is there instead of a tease.

Some things feel like merely plot devices. For example, as mentioned earlier, Itzel wants to run away, but she is fully aware that she is being tracked. She is also fully aware that she could endanger someone’s home. Julio, the villain, apparently builds an empire based on lies, but there are so many holes and weaknesses in the empire that it crumbles just because of someone he has been controlling his whole life. I would imagine he feeds the authorities and even has the power to extort them. For someone who has made a living by controlling others’ lives with extortion, blackmail, murder, and every other shady thing for decades and is so powerful, it’s hard to believe that he is so easily taken out.

The main problem that has been established since the beginning turns out to be nothing, easily settled in a few sentences, literally. The villain is just one-dimensional, the evil, bad man, while both main characters are idealistic.

The book works for those who are looking for a quick romance story. The characters have good chemistry, the novella is well-written, fast-paced, and has a feel-good, happy ending.

3 out of 5 stars

 

BOOK REVIEW: Black Hat Blues (Gene Kendall)

 

I think a Gen-Xer like me or beyond would appreciate the book more than the younger generation.

The book doesn’t start smoothly. It takes a while to understand the situation because it’s confusing in the beginning. When it becomes clearer, the story is much easier to follow. I have to admit I had a little trouble with the ending as well, especially a chapter that seems unnecessary, the #666. It would be great if this character were mentioned in a more memorable way previously, because it appears out of nowhere and puts a bit of a pause in what should be a decent ending. Maybe this is a setup for a possible sequel? Maybe this is an irresistible meta ending that always teases something more, which was quite common back then in older series, when after everything was said and done, the camera zoomed in to some unexpected (it became expected eventually) unfinished business?

Nevertheless, I think the story idea is interesting. It would be a nightmare for almost every author whose genre is not cozy, romantic, or other harmless adventure. Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Dystopian, and Post-Apocalyptic authors wouldn’t want their characters to show up at the door (cough).

I appreciate the humor. Sometimes they are very subtle, but those are the best kind. It also shades the current clown world: the protest, the debate, the way classic literature is sometimes perceived without regard to its original time. The weird world of the internet and society's fascination with popular culture are also shaded here. I appreciate the cleverness, and some parts are really funny.

I have to admit, I don’t get some of the references. Some are beyond my time, and I am also living under a rock. Sometimes it takes a while to get which character is talking, especially for the vague chapter in the end. If not for a few clunky chapters in the beginning and the end, this is a good read that can be consumed in one sitting. It is my favorite work of the author so far.

4 out of 5 stars

 

BOOK REVIEW: Who Am I (Jane C.R. Reid)

 

I finished Who Am I in one sitting on a Saturday morning. I haven’t done this for a while, thinking I would just take a brief read for one or two hours before my daily task, but what the heck, I kept turning the pages. 

The plot keeps me going as it flows. It’s an easy read with an entertaining plot as the readers follow the journey of a woman who has just lost her memories. Going back to a home she doesn’t remember, with a stranger as her husband, she also learns that she was not a pleasant person in her past. The circle she was in and belonged to was superficial, filled to the brim with shallow people who stroked each other's egos and over-the-top appearance. The main character, Freya, can’t even bring herself to restore her hairstyle. She recognizes nothing from her past, including herself. 

This book is entertaining. I imagine that while it would make an excellent soap opera or drama, and the plot is not unpredictable, it does a good job in portraying the horror of losing grip of reality. The realization that you don’t even like yourself would take a toll on anyone, and when trusting yourself becomes something that is questionable, too, it would be the horror beyond comprehension. The main character experiences that, plus the fact that no one else believes her. The emotional journey shows satisfying character growth.

 The supporting characters play big roles as well. There are satire and humor in how out of touch and artificial the ‘elites’ can be, and sadly, it’s very realistic, as we live in a clown world. Their actions are, unfortunately, believable, from the gossipy housewives to professionals whose service and silence can be bought. People who think money is the answer to everything, and sometimes it is indeed the motivation for many, whether they are being forced to comply or whether selling their souls is also an option.

4.5 rounded up to 5

 

 

BOOK REVIEW: Unnatural Selection: The Catastrophic Cost of Misusing AI (Pafel Dubois)

Unnatural Selection is the perfect title for this book, taking a jab at what we have known for a long time, proposed by Charles Darwin.

I am someone who is always cautious about privacy and AI. Unfortunately, I’ve been called paranoid way too many times by my own friends and family. Imho, I am not even at the paranoia border line. The things I do are basic, from covering my front cameras, clearing cache, only installing very necessary apps that don’t ask unrelated permissions, never signing up for lucky draws, and opting out of pesky unwanted services. I fact-check and question things I see or are sent to me, and that is apparently not fun. Just this morning, I had to opt out of another Gemini integration. This is not right; the option should be opt-in instead of opt-out, but the world is ridiculous right now.

This book educates the readers about this AI world, not in a preachy way, because it approaches everything logically, presenting facts and explaining what makes things happen. It gives real-life examples (and of course, I fact-checked some). I think it’s very well-written and inspiring. Everyone should read this, even the sceptics, and intellectually-challenged social media zombies who worship AI.

It feels optimistic. While I think the power of ordinary people is very limited, and without the power of the masses, there is nothing much one can do (because look at the political and social climates around the world right now, it’s very disheartening), optimism is still necessary. The challenge now is the education and awareness that can hopefully be improved by books like this.

I really recommend this book.

5 stars out of 5