David Nadas

Science Fiction

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Surfer, Marine Biologist and Technologist = The ingredients of writing the perfect Sci-Fi

  • Mindscan

    • Author              : Robert J. Sawyer
    • Year                  : 2005
    • Amazon            : click here

    My Review            :

    Robert Sawyer is my current favorite writer.  I love his writing style that flows easily, yet delivers such rich and technical information–I feel more like I am watching a movie than reading. Mindscan is such a good read and raises some very interesting ethical questions on living forever, age is obsolete, death & taxes–we will soon need to deal with.  All that and a great sci-fi… what more can you ask for.    This was like 2001 A Space Odyssey meets AI.  I am hooked and going back to read a few more books….

  • Heavy Weather

    • Author              : Bruce Sterling
    • Year                  : 1994
    • Amazon            : click here

    My Review           :

    This was one of the first Bruce Sterling books I read–and I do not remember putting it down until I finished.  This hooked me on Near-core Sci-Fi.  I describe Near-core as Science Faction–something plausible and not to far from now.  In this work, you can see Bruce has a good foundation of Unix.  It was accurate and I loved every bit of this read.  I loved the characters, the scenes, and the texture of living in the field chasing storms with hi-tech gear.  The ending concept was absolutely brilliant.

    I think Crichton & Martin (2 years later) may have ripped Bruce off on creating Twister, which sucked more air than the twister itself… and I have read a lot of Crichton books–some I really liked.

  • WWW:WAKE, WWW:WATHCH, WWW:WONDER

    • Author              : Robert J. Sawyer
    • Year                  : 2009
    • Amazon            : click here

    My Review           :

    First, Sawyer can write like no other and brings to life the images and textures of his stories.  This is the first book of a trilogy about a brilliant witty young girl, blind from birth who regains her sight through technology, but the sight she first gains is the raw balls and string topology of the internet and then soon thereafter the ‘Other’ discovers her…. read on and you will not stop.  All Three books are terrific and I can’t wait to see how WWW:WONDER ends (reading it now)  Book two is WWW:WATCH and finally WWW:WONDER

  • Infected & Contagious

    • Author              : Scott Sigler
    • Year                  : 2008
    • Amazon            : click here

    My Review           :

    Not since Alien, have I been left wondering what is happening after I finished reading the last word. Scott Sigler has you scratching from the first page – Look for an equally terrific sequel – Contagious , I am now waiting for a 3rd, but not sure if that is happening. Visit the author’s creepy website

     

  • The Cobra Event

    • Author              : Richard Preston
    • Year                  : 1997
    • Amazon            : click here

    My Review            :

    After Bill Clinton read this book, he assembled a task force to look into the validity of this being used by terrorists. By the end of this book, you will be washing your hands 10 times a day and will not touch a door knob or get onto public transportation for a week. This is a perfect blend of Fact & fiction and makes the H1N1 virus look like a common cold.  This book followed Richard Preston’s “The Hot Zone”.

  • Star Fish; Maelstrom; Behemoth B-Max & Behemoth Seppuku (Trilogy)

    • Author              : Peter Watts
    • Year                  : 1999
    • Amazon            : click here

    My Review            :

    This is a true “Hard Core” Sci-Fi Trilogy, so take it slow. What a start to an incredible adventure “Rifters” trilogy (followed by Maelstrom, Behemoth, B-Max [Bk-1] & Behemoth Seppuku [Bk-2]). Terrifically accurate Marine Bio and great insight into the deep water trenches on this planet that we know so little about. Think of this trilogy as the Andromeda Strain of the deep. The main character–Lenie Clark makes Lara Croft look like a girly-girl.

  • The Traveler

    • Author              : John Twelve-Hawks
    • Year                  : 2005
    • Amazon            : click here

    My Review            :

    Very Apropos to what is going on today (Arizona Immigration – targeted selection) as well as the proliferation of surveillance in this country and around the world. Are we re-creating the Panopticon. Was the signing of the Patriot Act the downfall of society as we know it? The Sequel is equally compelling  The Traveler (Fourth Realm Trilogy, Book 1)

  • Snow Crash

    • Author              : Neal Stephenson
    • Year                  : 1992
    • Amazon            : click here

    My Review            :

    This was the “Blue Print” for every Dot Com in the height of the bubble–the internet’s future as told through a twisting Sci-Fi Thriller. Words like Avatar, Bimbo Box (Mini Van) were coined here. This is a “Must Read” for every technologist. Neal was a definite UNIX Admin. The internet cult site “Second Life” was created from this.

  • Cryptonomicon

    • Author              : Neal Stephenson
    • Year                  : 2002
    • Amazon            : click here

    My Review            :

    This is as rich in history as it is a fantastic Sci-Fi adventure. If you ever wondered where cryptography came from, it was developed in the NJ Pine Barrens, on a bicycle ride by some Princeton graduate students. The story moves in two directions–from the past to the present and from the Future to the present on a delicious crash course. Great for any Security Engineer to keep in their quiver.

  • Fool’s Experiment

    • Author              : Edward M Lerner
    • Year                  : 2008
    • Amazon            : click here

    My Review            :

    This is Tron a short time from now–what if an AI with a paranoid personality got onto the web–how would we ever get rid of it. This is a great read with some very clever twist to an old idea. The author has some definite programming background, which can get very technical, but stick with it.