The more closely we analyze what we consider ‘sexy,’ the more clearly we will understand that eroticism is the feeling of excitement we experience at finding another human being who shares our values and our sense of the meaning of existence.
Altered Carbon
I read Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan, and liked it a lot. It’s a noir-ish SF novel set in a somewhat dystopian future where, thanks to the discovery of the relics of a technologically advanced alien civilization on Mars, humanity managed to spread over a number of distant worlds, and, more importantly, work out a technology of digital human storage which allows one’s mind and memories to be saved after the death of the body, and downloaded into another. Takeshi Kovacs is an ex spec-ops soldier who gets killed in the prologue and then ‘re-sleeved’ into a new body when hired by one of the most powerful people on Earth to solve a bizarre murder mystery. It’s through the challenges this tasks presents for him that we learn both about the setting and Tak’s not-exactly-amiable character.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
I was thrilled when this game (hereafter TW2) appeared, yet it took me two years to finally play it from start to finish. And even after doing so, I can’t say for sure why it failed to lure me in the way its predecessor (hereafter TW), one of my all time favorites, did in 2008. A mystery by anyone’s standards, because TW2 has it all: the story, the visuals, the combat, the humor. It’s rare that I have so few (next to no) objections to a game. Yet if I was to choose one to replay, I’d still rather go to TW than to TW2.
Best of the Best
Yes, yes, I know it’s utterly uncool to brag – but come on, it’s the Best of the Best banner! In case you don’t know, one gets it as the award for finishing all the challenges in Mass Effect 3 multiplayer, which I finally did yesterday, after many months of dedicated gaming. Woohoo!
Among Others
Acting on a hunch, and seeing how it won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards, I picked up Jo Walton’s “Among Others” and – couldn’t put it down.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
I have finally seen the film. Like many other people I talked to about it prior to seeing it, I was afraid that it would be too stretched out and boring. The book itself is boring despite its relative thinness (being a kids’ book after all), let alone a nine-hour dramatization – or so I thought. It’s not like that at all. It’s pretty to look at and funny and exciting and in the end I sincerely wished I had the sequels at hand – I’d have watched them too, and right after.