Tag: Reviews

The Electric State: Billie Bobby Brown Shines Pity Chris Pratt

Hello dear readers, I do hope you are all enjoying the last gasp of summer. This time, I’m writing about an interesting film I watched on Netflix last night – The Electric State. It’s based on a novel, yay for writers everywhere.

From Wikipedia –

In an alternate 1990, a war between humans and robots has left the world in disarray. With the help of Sentre CEO Ethan Skate, who developed Neurocaster technology that allowed humans to upload their minds into drone robots, humanity managed to win the war, while robots were banished to the Exclusion Zone. However, the success of this technology meant many people opted to live their virtual lives in a semi-vegetative state while drones did most of the work.

In 1994, teenager Michelle lives with her deadbeat foster dad Ted. Years earlier, she was involved in a car crash along with her family, in which her parents and brother reportedly perished, and has since lived with a succession of foster families. Michelle is also having trouble at school due to her refusal to use Neurocaster technology to participate in virtual classes.

One day, the sentient robot Cosmo – a robot character of the cartoon of the same name which Michelle’s declared-deceased younger brother Christopher, who was a child prodigy, watched – finds Michelle. He is only able to communicate using gestures and a limited set of pre-recorded words, but manages to convince her that he is controlled by Christopher. Michelle and Cosmo set out across a dystopian landscape to find him by first finding Dr. Clark Amherst, the doctor who confirmed Christopher’s death.

The film has a good cast. Chris Pratt plays Christopher, and the indefatigable Billie Bobby Brown, of Stranger Things fame, plays Michelle. There is little chemistry between them. Like most modern films, it is no longer socially acceptable for any on-screen age gap romance to develop. If this were made during the actual 1990s, that would have been a central plank of the film. Down with that sort of thing! She is clearly a child, at just 21 years of age.

The relationship between Michelle and her brother is warm and authentic. The robots move naturally, and I liked the action scenes. Things get dark at times but not much more than your average Disney film.

So, when you’re sitting on your couch later, maybe give it a try. It gets four stars out of five from me.

Review of “War Bodies” by Neal Asher

First of all, one very big Happy Christmas to all my readers! I just love this time of year and hope you got lots of presents. If you haven’t already done so, please don’t forget to subscribe.

This novel is a real gem for sci-fi lovers. It is set in the Polity Universe. Piper has grown up in Founder’s World. It was created by a faction that rejected AI and left the rest of humanity many thousands of years ago. Still, they idolize machines and like to replace their body parts with machine parts. Many of them have only a few human parts left. They are ruled by a despot called Castron and as a people, they have somewhat stagnated having a much lower level of advancement and population than would otherwise be expected.

However, recently the Polity have made contact. They are made up of the humans who remained on Earth. AI was totally embraced, and now they even count AIs among their citizens. They are much more advanced and numerous in the Universe. They are also fighting against a great enemy called the Prador who threatens all of humanity.

Piper suffers a work accident that almost costs him his life. However, it unleashes a series of events that come thick and fast. You see, Piper has been created as a weapon using technology beyond even that of the Polity. He never knew but his parents were rebels. What follows is great science fiction and a journey through the entire Polity Universe. The story unfolds beautifully and you’re never really sure who can truly trusted until right up near the end.

The descriptions of space and land battles playing out are brilliant. It also makes you ask interesting questions like whether should AIs be counted as war dead. I’d strongly recommend you give this a read with four stars out of five.

Have you read anything by this author?

Let me know in the comments section below.

Pegasus Part 36

Running furiously was not enough. I could hear its steps getting closer and closer and turned my head in despair.

Its mouth was opened wide and I thought its large teeth would be the last thing I’d ever see as it pounced on me. Then I heard what sounded like a gunshot. Blood splattered all over my face and body as its heavy body fell onto me.

Then I heard Tabitha screaming, “Are you okay Ciarán?”

Concern was etched into her voice.

She clasped my hand and between the two of us, I managed to get out from under the body.

“What happened?” I asked half dazed.

“I don’t know, they never gotten into this part before.

“Tabitha, is that you?”

A black man, not quite six tall holding a heavy machine gun was now standing just a few metres from us.

“Tahir?” Tabitha said under her breath.

Tabitha ran towards him and they embraced warmly.

This was the man that had saved my life but I couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

“Tahir, this is Ciarán. He saved me and helped get me here. He wants to join us.”

“Any friend of Tabitha is a friend of mine.”

He shook my hands firmly.

Then he said, “Come this way. It’s dangerous out here.”