OYENTE

Max Dorisca

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Rise and fight our corporate overlords

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-26-25

I'll give you a bit of a warning right now. I will discuss a bit of the plot of `Daemon.' If you haven't read that book, then you may want to hesitate before reading this review. If you want to know whether I enjoyed this book & if you should purchase it, then the answer is yes. I loved this book & you absolutely have to buy it. However, I will warn you that the fundamental outline of `Freedom (tm)' will give spoilers at the end of `Daemon.' You've been warned, so on with the review.


In `Daemon,' we were introduced to genius computer mogul Matthew Sobol or, rather, to his computer-generated avatar. We learned that he had unleashed a computer creation that threatened to overthrow society. A few select individuals knew about this, some working for the daemon, some against it. Some individuals were wrongly accused of creating the daemon, and one of them, Pete Sebeck, was executed for it. Now we get to learn precisely what Sobol's long-term plans were as Sebeck (resuscitated at the end of `Daemon') is commanded to do a seemingly impossible task: to justify the freedom of humanity or risk being under the daemon's control forever.

Meanwhile, the hyper-intelligent hacker Gragg (now known as Loki Stormbringer) is on a hunt for the Major. Even as he continues his hunt, he alienates himself from the rest of the darknet community and risks doing the daemon project more harm than good. The roguish Jon Ross is still on the run, and his would-be paramour Natalie Phillips is torn between joining him or staying with her government—even as it begins to fall around her.

I absolutely loved this book on two different levels. On one level, you have the sheer enjoyment of a techno/sci-fi thriller. You can't beat the energy in this book- it's incredibly fun to read. On the other level, you have a story with a hidden allegory. It makes you question whether change would show up as good or bad. At one point in the book, a character equates the daemon's change with the settlers inhabiting the United States, saying that at the time, the change was not suitable for everyone but turned into something big.

The narrative continued to jump from person to person, which sometimes frustrated me because I wanted to stay with one specific person to see where they were going. I'll admit it- I had favorites amongst the characters (mostly Sebeck & the sociopathic Loki), which is the only reason I'd gripe about the shift in perspectives. People complaining about the unrealistic technology in the first book should be warned that it doesn't change in this volume. (Hence, I use the term "sci-fi" when describing what type of book this is.) You see more of it in this book, with new add-ons I won't describe here, primarily for spoiler reasons.

I read this book pretty quickly during the Thanksgiving break, primarily because after the cliffhanger in the previous book, I just REALLY wanted to know what happened next. I will admit that while I enjoyed this book immensely, the ending was a little weak. There is the potential for another book if Suarez wants to write one, although if not, there's enough of an ending to satisfy me. If he does write one, I can say that I will read it. I really liked the imagery and the implications of several key characters at the end of the book. (I can't go into detail, but it's safe to say that they ended up as larger-than-life characters.)

Fans of the previous book will enjoy this book. If you didn't like it, you may want to skip it—it's more of the same. And if you haven't read the previous book, I recommend skipping this book until you've finished `Daemon'—otherwise, you will be terribly lost plot-wise.

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Inspirational black stories of resilience.

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-11-25

Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice is a powerful and inspiring book that offers practical advice on how to achieve financial success and prosperity. The book, which is based on the original Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, is written by Dennis Kimbro and tailored specifically to the needs and experiences of black readers.

One of the key takeaways from the book is the importance of having a clear and specific goal in mind. Kimbro encourages readers to set a specific and measurable financial goal, and then provides a step-by-step guide for how to achieve it. The book also covers the importance of developing a positive mindset and cultivating a strong work ethic, as well as the role that education and personal development play in achieving financial success.

In addition to these practical tips, the book also includes stories and interviews with successful black businesspeople and entrepreneurs, which serve as motivation and inspiration for readers. Overall, Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice is a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their financial situation and achieve their goals.

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Walter Mosley's masterful storytelling

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 03-06-25

The first Leonid McGill Private Eye novel was so good that I immediately reached for the second. There's still loads to love about the series, with its protagonist's almost unbearable home life, troubles getting away from his past, and attempts to do the right thing in the present.

I didn't enjoy the pacing quite as much as in the first book. This one felt looser—almost as if we were really following a day-by-day account of a hard-boiled P.I.'s work and life. This culminates in a climax that didn't entirely feel climactic for me. Nonetheless, Mosley's writing is so good that I never felt like abandoning the book—something I do all too often with mystery fiction lately. In fact, I might have to check out the third book in the series right away . . .

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What's real when you wake up one morning and find your life is false.

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 03-06-25

Imagine you woke up one morning and discovered that your entire life - your job, your kids, your friends, all your experiences - wasn't real. It still feels real. You remember it vividly. But you also suddenly remember another life; your real life. And you are told that the life you remember is a result of FMS (False Memory Syndrome)-- an illusion created by your brain.

I don't know about you, but that thought is horrifying.

In this book, New York City cop Barry Sutton investigates the suicide of a woman with FMS. She killed herself after trying to make contact with the husband from her false memories and finding him married with a child. How strange it is that she remembers an entire life with a man who exists, but he doesn't seem to remember her at all. Barry finds himself needing answers.

Eleven years earlier, neuroscientist Helena Smith conceives of a technology that can preserve memories and could eventually be a cure for the Alzheimer's that is stealing away her mother's mind. Funded by a mysterious billionaire, Helena builds something that enables people to relive their precious memories. But she never foresees the darker side of the project-- the side that triggers an unraveling of, not only the past, but reality itself.

Needless to say, these two stories collide and it is some mind-bendingly awesome stuff. Crouch has written yet another weird, compelling and oddly romantic book. Like Dark Matter, you can expect this book to get bigger and wilder than you ever imagined before even a hint of a solution rears its head.

I do also really enjoy how the author brings a lot of heart to these sci-fi thrillers. Sometimes sci-fi books feel a little cold and emotionally-distant, but Recursion is ultimately a very emotional and human story. Stories about memories really get to me, because our memories and experiences make us who we are. I am my memories. And one of the saddest things I can think of is not being remembered by someone you love deeply.

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Basic financial literacy

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 03-06-25

I often recommend I Will Teach You to Be Rich, the second edition, to new investors or young people wanting to dip their toes into personal finance. That book is for an urban tech dual-income crowd, or so it seems. He also has a podcast. This book is more down to earth, written by someone who tells it like it is in words readers will quickly follow. She says that many privileged people learn these things around the dining room table, but this book is for those who didn't. I applaud this, you can gain control of your finances with understanding and discipline. She encourages people to get off the "hedonist train" or pause to evaluate things.

My mission is to teach young women to be financially independent, and I will buy this book in bulk to share with young people who come to me for advice about investing. I ask them to read Your Money or Your Life before I give my time to them. I will now give them the choice of that book or this book, Finance for the People.

I have a "recipe" to start teenagers on low-cost Roth IRAs for as little as $25 a month. It's like planting trees. I will never live long enough to see them retire in style, but I will have left a positive legacy. No one that I have gotten started on monthly direct deposits has ever stopped making them; even through college, they work and watch their balances grow. They learn the basics from books like these and can speak the lingo with their friends. I will recommend This marvelous, approachable book to people of all ages.

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Kothoga on the loose

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 01-28-25

It's not like the lamb to mourn the lion. Days before the New York Museum of Natural History is about to have a colossal gala exhibition, people are getting murdered within the museum. Is it a serial killer or something even more dangerous?

This was a delightful thriller, and I had difficulty putting it down. I loved the setting: a very large museum with tons of dark, creepy rooms filled with rare artifacts, dinosaur bones, and winding tunnels running underneath. I really liked some of the characters, like Pendergast, Margo, Dr. Frock, and Lieutenant D’Agosta. Some characters were annoying, and I looked forward to them getting bumped off. The creature was quite horrible and scary.

It's a very entertaining read.

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Not so golden for me

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
2 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 12-13-24

There are but a few gems that I can take from this book; auto-suggesting is one of them some success stories that he mentioned also is another, but not much that sticks out to me, just more of the recycling self-help positive thinking, no matter your situation. It’s a good read for those trying to be a salesman and businessman, but I'll pass.

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Gangsta lopsided storytelling

Total
1 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
1 out of 5 stars
Historia
1 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 12-03-24

This book is dull. Even the erotic scene makes you cringe. The narrator is as lifeless as a mannequin. How this turns into a series is beyond me. I have read some terrible crime street literature before, but this one must be in my top five for me.

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Great suburban mystery

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-22-24

A good detective mystery should have enough twists and turns to keep the reader enthralled until very close to the end, yet it should not have a solution that comes entirely out of nowhere. All the Sinners Bleed checks both boxes quite adequately, plus it has the distinction of featuring a Black Sheriff in a county in rural Virginia. Titus Crown probably surprised everyone, including himself, when he was elected the sheriff of Charon County. He had grown up there but left to attend the University of Virginia, then went on to earn a law degree from an Ivy League school. He didn't return home then but spent several years as an FBI field agent. He presumably returned home after a hip operation when his father needed his presence. (There do seem to be some skeletons back in Indiana, including the fallout from a raid on a cult and a girlfriend.)

Charon County is relatively peaceful, so Titus's first year has gone by without concerns. Then, one afternoon, there is a shooting at the local high school, and two of the deputies shoot down the culprit, just as Titus thinks he has convinced him to turn himself in. The shooting victim is a much loved and respected WHITE man; the shooter is a BLACK man who graduated a few years earlier, and the deputies are both WHITE. The situation puts Titus on the spot, of course, but there are questions to unravel. First, why did the shooter go after the teacher and what was he raving about that both the students and the deputies heard? As it turns out there are deep concerns that tear apart the town, upset the community's relatively calm racial relationships, and pull into Titus's personal and familial situation.

All the Sinners Bleed is unique because it is a story with a Black protagonist written by a Black author. (No one is likely to question his authority to write from the Black man's experience.) Cosby has written some other novels, but this is a stand-alone. Nevertheless, I would like to read others by him. Titus is an excellent detective; one might assume that his abilities along those lines reflect his service with the FBI; he is very athletic but also very well-read, reflecting his admission to UVA on both a football and an academic scholarship and, critical to this story, he knows his Bible and Christian religion well, reflecting on his early upbringing in the Church even though he has rejected its teachings following his mother's death.

My only quibble with the book is his lack of knowledge regarding geography in its set area. One cannot possibly drive from southeastern Virginia to Baltimore City in ninety minutes; not only that, one could not quickly jump over from US 301 to I-95 to avoid heavy traffic, and College Park is not a suburb of Baltimore. If he didn't know better, an editor should have. Also, Richmond seems too easily accessible, but Charon County is fictional, so it's hard to pinpoint where it would be in Virginia. These points aside, I liked this book very much

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Unlocking Success: The Genius of Outliers"

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-22-24

Malcolm Gladwell’s "Outliers: The Story of Success" is an enlightening exploration of the factors contributing to high achievement levels. With his signature storytelling style, Gladwell delves into the lives of extraordinary individuals, revealing that success is not solely a result of talent or hard work but a complex interplay of opportunity, culture, and timing.

One of the most compelling aspects of "Outliers" is Gladwell's ability to challenge the conventional narrative around success. He presents that extraordinary individuals often benefit from unique circumstances that set them apart. For instance, he famously illustrates this with the "10,000-Hour Rule," suggesting that mastery is a product of dedication and practice rather than innate ability.

**Five Memorable Quotes from "Outliers":**

1. “Success is not a random act. It arises out of a predictable and powerful set of circumstances and opportunities.”

2. “It is a matter of timing. It is a matter of where you come from.”

3. “The people at the top don’t just work harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder.”

4. “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”

5. “No one can be a success without a lot of help from other people.”

Gladwell’s meticulous research and engaging anecdotes invite readers to reconsider their perceptions of success. He emphasizes the importance of community, cultural heritage, and even geography in shaping the paths of the successful. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to understand what truly drives achievement in our world.

In conclusion, "Outliers" not only challenges the traditional notion of success but also inspires us to recognize and seize the opportunities that may lie in our own lives. Gladwell’s insights are profound and thought-provoking, making this book a timeless resource for anyone interested in the dynamics of success.

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