Lee

Despite the slew of tragedy in this masterfully creative work, I can't help but feel a sense of underlying optimism and human spirit in perseverance. Slight Mass Effect vibes á la Reapers, and another reminder that our own creations/reliance on tech will lead to our downfall—as every scifi story has depicted.

A collection of short stories that give you a general sense of the world, and Geralt & company as we tag along various different Witcher jobs of varying difficulty. S01 of the Netflix show does not do The Last Wish Justice. But Henry Cavill is a damn good Geralt (despite not looking like him and being too handsome frankly). If you thought that the first season’s non-linear approach to storytelling and plot pacing were confusing and unnecessary, reading this will clear things up much better and (obviously) with more detail.

On reread, I still stand by the film being better. Dick created the world—but as the cliche goes—Scott filled it and brought it to life.

Having re-read this now after having seen Blade Runner 2046, I do think it's interesting that there are some elements towards the end shared with the sequel film. So good on Villenueve.

Keep in mind the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon. The most startling aspect of this prescient conspiracy theory is that much of it may actually be true and is happening now more than ever to mainstream eyes. Politicians in shadowy groups, assassinations, government cover-ups, alien proof, illegal research, society controlling experiments, censorship and silencing, and much more. You know, everything we've been reading and hearing in the news this year especially. William Cooper’s banned conspiracies even predicted how the author himself was killed, nearly a decade prior. While a lot of the elements touched upon within sound like a perfect match to current events and past historical moments if you connect enough strings on the board, it’s still key to keep yourself grounded from going too far off the deep end. The biggest section I strongly disagree with the part where Cooper claims the government will quickly try to revoke the Second Amendment to disarm its citizens. That’s highly unlikely, especially given that a large majority of gun owners in the United States support that very government—not to mention the behind-the-scenes alliances with the NRA and Republicans.

All in all, a very entertaining reads that do get the brain cogs moving. Worth a read for the curious and wise enough to separate any confirmation bias and take it with a grain of salt.

If you enjoyed Calypso Protocol, this will be right up your alley. Imagine that Dead Space influenced space prison barge setting of infected zombie convicts paired with the a Star Wars theme. Less Jedi/Sith than in the previous book Red Harvest, but more eerie atmosphere and gore with the entrapped and dark setting. There’s also a pretty cool cameo I was not expecting!