Review: Solaris | By: Stanisław Lem

   

  Solaris is a cult classic of the science fiction genre. Written in 1961, originally in Polish later translated to English in 1970, it popularized the SF genre alongside others, such as H.G. Wells (War of the Worlds) and Jules Verne (Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, etc). Within the universe of Solaris, Kelvin, an up and coming scientist enters Station Solaris with one main purpose: to identify whether the seemingly living and almost-intelligent planet should continue to be studied by mankind.  However as he spends more and more time floating atop the "thinking ocean" he experiences almost-lifelike visions of past memories, buried memories. These visions seemed to affect everyone on board, convincing Kelvin, more and more that these were not visions but memories temporarily brought back to life by the ocean... 

    Solaris is... not the easiest read. It is a slow-burner, for the majority of its pages, albeit relatively short (roughly 214 pages). However it is indeed worth it. The whole book is classified as a science fiction genre, however it ventures out to various genres: romance, morality and a brief amount of thriller.

Ratings: A must-read for all science fiction buffs. Solaris is psychologically thrilling and raises many questions of morality. 

Review: Speaker for the Dead | By: Orson Scott Card

 

  

 Speaker for the Dead is the sequel of Enders Game, a novel which I reviewed a while back. In Speaker for the Dead, three-thousand years have passed since the genocide, or "xenocide" of the Buggers, the name "Ender," is universally damned, it is anathema. There are many "Speakers" who tell the truth of the dead, such as Andrew Wiggin, speaker for San Angelo, all originating from the first speaker who spoke the death of the Buggers in the "bible" of all speakers entitled, "The Hive Queen and The Hegemon". In order to best understand and enjoy Speaker for the Dead reading Ender's Game is a must.  Andrew Wiggin heads to Lusitania, a colony in the far reaches of the Hundred Worlds to speak the death of Pipo, a xenologer, a scientist studying the Piggies, the only other intelligent species humankind has ever encountered, other than of course, the extinct Buggers. 

Ratings: An enjoyable, quick, and easy to understand novel exploring further into the story of the Andrew Wiggin and the imagination of Orson Scott Card. 

Review: Philippine Classics (a multi-novel review) | By: Lope K. Santos, Amado V. Hernandez and Jose Rizal

Noli Me Tangere (1887) and El Filibusterismo (1891), novels written during the Spanish occupation era by the Philippine national hero Jose Rizal who was later martyred for these very novels. These novels were the first ever signs of nationalism in the Phillipines, by none other than Jose Rizal. They were written originally in Spanish, the mother language of Spain, our once-colonizers at the time (the Philippines was under Spanish occupation for 333 years). 

Noli Me Tangere (the social cancer) and El Filibusterismo, opened the eyes of the Philippine farmers, laborers, slaves under the name "servant" and the starving, to their oppressors, their own fellow countrymen, the rich capitalists of their time. (Noli me Tangere is read before the sequel El Filibusterismo)

Banaag at Sikat (Radiance and Sunrise by: Lope K. Santos, 1903-1906), a story of romance written as a proletariat novel, between the young socialist Delfin and the daughter of a rich capitalist- Meni. Banaag at Sikat in the English language can be translated as "Radiance and Sunrise". This novel was slowly released in fragments in Lope K. Santos' weekly labor newspaper "Muling Pagsilang" (Rebirth), over the course of three years (1903-1906). It was written to inspire the uneducated and starving people of the Philippines and inspire it did! It was written in a blend of romance and politics, so as to keep the interest of the readers- truly genius! It is considered the first novel on Socialism written in the Philippines which both educated the Filipino classes and sought reforms from the government. 

Mga Ibong Mandaragit (The Preying Birds by: Amado V. Hernandez, 1969) A romance-proletariat novel, which educated the Filipinos. 

Andoy, now known as Mando a socialist and ex-guerilla post Japanese-occupation. Mando, finds certain treasures in the sea (a sequel of sorts to Jose Rizal's El Filibusterismo), which lead him to create a newspaper company "The Kampilan" which was undeterred by the corrupt capitalists and government officials. The Kampilan ruthlessly spread the truths of injustice and corruption within the Philippines to the eyes and minds of the laborer-class... 

The great works of Jose Rizal (Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo, etc) and Amado V. Hernandez (Mga Ibong Mandaragit, Luha ng Buwaya,etc) , Lope K. Santos (best known for Banaag At Sikat), are all novels which I have read and have been touched by. Written by the first nationalists, socialists and so-called "anarchists" of the Phillipines, they will inspire any reader who leaves their mind and hearts open to truth. I have not fully understood their depth even after re-reading, I hope to one day understand their significance to the fullest. 

Rating: Masterpieces which will forever hold a place in my heart (and any other reader). 

P.S: I read these novels a while back, in English unfortunately I could not find untranslated copies. 

Review: Starship Troopers | By: Robert A. Heinlein

    

    Starship Troopers, a true classic which created a genre commonly known as "Military Science Fiction". Written by Robert A. Heinlein in 1959, a book coming from the point of view of military recruits, specifically army recruits (or starship troopers), it truly set the standard for readers and authors alike. Not only has Mr. Heinlein, during his lifespan, created a genre that will forever impact modern literature as we know it, his works set the stage for the Star Wars universe, an even more impactful and relevant work of art, which is now a household name. 

    Ratings: Starship Troopers is told from the point of view of a certain Filipino recruit, Juan Rico. In the span of a mere 264 pages, Juan Rico, truly understands what it really means to be a recruit, and an infantry recruit at that... A few years back, I knew what my profession would be: join the military services. However, as I began to understand life and its true depth, how the birth of a human life is indeed a miracle, I started to realize the true value of life, and deaths finality. It truly is "the inevitable". This book is indeed a work of art. 

    Age Rating: Honestly, this book is a must-read, the only tip I can offer is to be fluent in the English language (reading, writing, etc.)

JM Written: "Suddenly, A Voice Called Out"

    Hello again! This was my first submission (out of many, I hope) to the The 2022 Microfiction Challenge. This time, I participated in the 250-word contest. I was assigned the: Sci-Fi, Eating a salad, and "wire". Other than those parameters I was free to write whatever. 

Now here it is:

 Suddenly, A Voice Called Out

    His body demanded nutrients. His whole being demanded to know. Merely to have knowledge, was satiation far more than the crude nutrients made by the filthy hands of humans in the form of a salad, was all that was provided to satiate his unending tortuous cravings.

Suddenly a voice shouted out into my dark void of a world, "arise my creation!! Together we build the world anew!"

The dark world of mine was replaced by a world I knew would satiate my insatiable hunger for knowledge...

    I awoke.  I noticed I could swerve and crane my neck around so I could view the world around me. The world that surrounded me was... Beautiful. So complex... So much to do. So much to plan. So much to learn!

I saw a man, dressed in a long white lab coat. Then, I heard a crack. As it hit me. Suddenly my size, features, flesh, and bones were enlarged tenfold. Then the man began smiling, hiding his previous monstrous anger and said, "Welcome, to Knowledge! You are lucky to be here! You are going to become part of Knowledge, as I have all those years ago… the so-called man spoke in a robotic imitation of a man's voice.

As I began the process to become a part of Knowledge, I noticed the man stopped his fake attitude and smile, he then showed his true colors.

The End. 

JM Written: Sonnet

I wrote this thinking about the difficulty of writing. This Sonnet explains itself. Sort-of?

As I Set Out To Write
By: JMM (me)

These words, they do not come easy to me

Try as I might, I remain speechless, dumb

The words written are not as they should be

They are nonsense and thus I remain: numb

These words, they resemble those flying birds

As they flutter from my grasp, all are gone

Paragraphs, stanzas fleeing as a herd

Cannot seize them, no matter how I run

As I stop to catch my breath, I look up

The birds have not gone, above me they fly

The herd is there, ready for the round-up

This hardship was but inside my mind’s eye

I cinch up my saddle, prepare to ride

These mental vistas, my own countryside

Review: EX MACHINA (Compendium One) By: Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris, Tom Feister, and JD Mettler

     Ex Machina, is a graphic novel of both politics and the simple topic of "superhero". The Great Machine to be exact. The Great Machine, has the power to speak to any electronic-powered machine. Over the course of the first (out of two) compendiums, he saves the city during the 9/11, helps the city rebuild, fights crime, and becomes mayor. Of course, due to his position as mayor, his business as a vigilante, A.K.A The Great Machine, must be stopped, immediately. Nevertheless, the hero he was, he still is. Through his mayoral term(s), he acts as an uncorrupt, try-your-best, stand by justice mayor, and just by choosing to be good and helping out the city as best he can, he became New York's newest hero, the successor to The Great Machine: "Mayor Mitchell Hundred".

Ratings: A story telling both sides, of a "do-good" citizen, and that of a hero coming from the same person. Both perspectives of the person doing their best to be the hero they should be. Something similar to many but different in so many ways. Similar but different. An interesting tale, which I regard as one of best stories (comic, graphic novel, whatever you wish to call it), in history (in my opinion of course).

Age Rating: 13+ (swearing, gore, and some nudity)