The Book of M

What starts out as a curiosity – a man losing a shadow – turns into a contagion when people realise that they are losing their memories along with their shadows. The premise is interesting – what does this do to a sense of self, and identity? But the pace slackens in the middle, and there are some rough edges in the narrative.

The Big Book of Science Fiction

An absolute treasure if you’re even remotely interested in science fiction. The stated objective of the book is diversity, and it does justice to it on many fronts – non-English writings, the setting in terms of geography, gender, sub-genres – dystopian, alien encounters, space operas, post-apocalypse, and even satire. 105 stories spanning 1160 pages, this book definitely needs to be on your shelf!

Speak

Imagine AI as a phenomenon with a singular memory that traces its origins to its current state – Speak is almost that. Through various, very interesting narrators across time – from Mary Bradford, who is making her way across the ocean to Massachusetts in the 17th century to Alan Turing to Stephen Chinn, tech whizkid and the inventor of the babybot, and a few more – we follow the evolution of thoughts which continue to reside inside the AI. The narrative may not throw light on causality, but is poignant and ironic because it conveys what it means to be human through an AI and the flawed humans who worked on it.

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

A timely read, as fascism threatens a sequel across the globe. The book provides a fantastic view of Germany between 1930 and 1945 as it follows Hitler’s dream of establishing a Reich that would last a thousand years. It lasted only twelve, but his iron will, determination and political astuteness that helped him outplay all manners of man, is a masterclass in strategy and self deception!