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Its a bit unnerving...

It’s a bit unnerving when you walk past something that is as high as three-storey building and it’s rotating around, that was Antu, the first of the Very Large Telescopes (VLT). It moves so smoothly, and it’s so large, are you sure it’s moving or is some sort of weird science fiction space time warp going on. It really is something you should see.

The sun had set half an hour before, well on it’s way across the Pacific, the horizon now painted from red to orange, just enough light to see without a torch. I thought to myself “This is not going to happen many times more, my time in Paranal is on countdown.”

I will miss the big telescopes, the deep eyes on the sky; they have become so familiar over the last five and half years, a home away from home. I shall miss what is Paranal. But, it's onwards to other things, a journey is in store for the Family Walker-Smith (Chile, soon to be ex-Chile).

One last glance back at the darkening faint horizon before I enter the control building.

Hybrids, Robert J Sawyer

Maybe Sawyer has a rule about writing large books; I have yet to read a really thick book, one that takes weeks instead of a couple of days to read. That’s about the only complaint I have about this author. I just finished in a speed read of three days (nothing like a child to slow down your reading habits) Hybrids (ISBN: 0312876904), Sawyers final book in “The Neanderthal Parallax”.

His style of writing I find unique and not found elsewhere except perhaps with Stephen Fry, the exquisite use of English, so readable, the words mould around the story, they do not get in the way (Like Mac OS X as an OS). Fry probably has a wider vocabulary, but then I think Sawyer would not want to use an infrequently used word because why use an obscure word when an everyday one is sufficient.

Hybrids although dubbed the final in this trilogy does not seem like a finish, I am sure Sawyer will open up this world again in the future. The story continues where Humans left off, following our main characters and the shock of the two different worlds being joined by the quantum computer. The book reaches it conclusion with a human trying to destroy the Neanderthals in the other almost un spoilt world, in fact overall humans don’t really come off well in this book, but then the Neanderthal with the sterilizing punishment for crimes to does not ring ideal either, the book pointing out why this wont always work in every case as well. But then as a race are humans really doing the right thing?

A problem I find with the “planned in advanced trilogy’ is a large part of each book is spent on describing stuff, by stuff I mean concepts of course, that have already been described in the previous books. Cut all this repetition, stick the volumes together and you have a good-sized book that stands alone.

Sawyer still remains, since I first read a book of his one of my favorite authors, this book is full of great concepts and ideas, I give this book
4/5

Havana, Stephen Hunter

I have to say Havana (ISBN: 0743238087) is one of Hunters better books, I have read his latest offerings and they were well just stretching reality just a little to far, although this book still stretches reality it does so in a good way with adventure and action all mixed in.

The feeling of Hunters Cuba was good, although I am sure my subconscious was adding to the text after having last year spent three weeks in Cuba on holiday (minisite here). We spent about three days around Havana; you cannot help see what the place must have been like pre-Castro, this book brings that to life. Those big old cars are still there

Earl Swagger is the main character in this book, he somehow gets roped into an assassination mission all the way over on Cuba, with the target of all people being Castro, so you know he isn’t going to succeed; no this is not an alternative history novel. Other characters of note are a Russian spy that saves Swagger ass several times, I get a feeling we shall see him again in Hunters books.

I give this book a
3.5/5

The Jimny, bought July 1999 – sold June 2004

Yesterday was an end of an era for the Walker-Smith family (Chile); they sold their trusty car – the Jimny.

I bought it after being in Chile for a while and since then it’s been all over the place in the North of Chile, and to the supermarket and back thousands of times, it was the best car for a single man, and then a married man, without child whilst I have been in Chile. It was only after Indiana was born that some of the Jimny’s weaknesses were shown - it was small.

I picked the car up when my parents were out here in Chile, we first used it to go to San Pedro, but because it was new and I was so new to driving in Chile we did not go off road. I did however break the speed limit, I at that point could not read nor speak much Spanish, I kept seeing signs saying “fin restriciones” I thought this meant without restrictions, which would have been “sin restriciones”. So to all in the car including my law abiding father we thought this was the case. The roads were so long and straight, how could there be a speed limit. Well there was, it took another month or so for somebody to point this out to me.

The car only got stuck once in its life on the beach, and it was the driver’s fault, you never use the brakes on the beach, you just bury your wheels in the sand, well this is what I did. Luckily someone was on hand to pull me out.

Three great things our Jimny did,
1. Pulled a S10 4x4 Chevrolet pickup from the sand when it got stranded
2. Took my wife to hospital when her waters had broke
3. Brought my son home from hospital

Hmm Apple Juice

My little boy took his first taste of food yesterday (13-Jun-04) with Mum and Dad. Some freshly pulped apple juice, one spoon full fed drop by drop from the dropper. It took his attention away. Overall I would say he enjoyed it and so far no ill effects. Ain’t he growing up fast?

Options

- From Dan Simmons website

The Fall of Hyperion, Dan Simmons

Simmons does it again with this book (ISBN: 0-553-28820-2). I cannot believe it was published for the first time in 1990, some of the ideas about connectivity (web, internet) were not even born then, well not in the main stream consciousness, but in this book it looks like he must have lived through our .com boom, our always connectedness. If you read the book you will understand this, I hope.

Fall of Hyperion is the second in a series of book, the sequel to Hyperion. It continues the journey and story of our pilgrims. Galactic war continues around us. There are three major factions, The Hegemony of Man (basically us), the Ousters (people who left human space), and then the Technocore (AI’s). One of those wants the other two destroyed, this being the crux of the book. So I wont say who and when and go and spoil it.

Characters seem real, story great, another diamond. I give this book
4.5/5