Category: Audiobooks

The last time I picked up a Peter F. Hamilton book was about a year ago. Unfortunately, Misspent Youth wasn’t very impressive compared to the rest of the Commonwealth Universe. However, it gave me a goal: to finish all the books in the Commonwealth Universe. Jumping ahead, I must say: I love the Commonwealth Universe. It might start slow with Misspent Youth, but it picks up steam quickly in the following books and doesn’t stop until the very end.

The final series, The Chronicles of the Fallers, consists of two books: The Abyss Beyond Dreams and Night Without Stars. The story takes place both within the Void and outside it, recounting the tale of humans trapped with a highly hostile alien race and their desperate struggle to survive. The author masterfully weaves an intriguing story about a society that once thrived on advanced technology but is forced back to 21st-century tech levels as it attempts to return to the Commonwealth—all while fending off the Fallers.

The series brings back two main characters: Nigel Sheldon and Paula Myo, who both work to rescue humans from the Void and the Fallers. Hamilton expands on the inner workings of the Void, giving the story an exciting twist while managing to keep the Void series on its own unique path. Additionally, he delves into how the Void’s mechanics became so convoluted and expansive by the end of the Void series.

I enjoyed The Chronicles of the Fallers immensely. It connects beautifully with the previous books while developing a new, exciting storyline. The entire Commonwealth Universe is a sublime experience, and I wish Peter would continue working on it, but otherwise, it is a great place to stop.

I know I haven’t discussed much of the plot, but I feel I wouldn’t do it justice. The Chronicles of the Fallers must be read as a sequel to the earlier stories. That way, you’ll be fully immersed in the experience. If you enjoyed the previous books, you won’t be disappointed—I certainly wasn’t.

In a nutshell:
+: Well-written and easy to read
+: Continuation of the Commonwealth Universe
+: Old characters in a new setting
+: New and exciting storyline
+: A wonderful finale to the entire universe
=: Excellent books, but I highly recommend reading them only after finishing the previous series

Title: The Chronicles of the Fallers
Author: Peter Hamilton
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Critical Mass is the continuation of the Delta-V storyline. The focus now shifts from the journey home to a rescue operation. To save their crew mates, the team must also save the world. It is gripping and entertaining to follow. What intrigues and bothers me is the notion that the environmental crisis on Earth is inevitable, and the only solution is to consume and build more using resources available only in space. While I understand that this is just a plot, it resonates chillingly with our current state of affairs, which is one of the reasons I appreciate Daniel Suarez’s work.

Just to step aside for a moment, yesterday I was thinking about Daniel’s book “Kill Decision”, which I read about 11 years ago. It’s striking how, less than a decade later, we have “killer drones.” Anyone following the Ukrainian war knows about the thousands of drones, both small and large, flying over the battlefield. Although we have not yet reached the point of swarms and autonomous machine decision-making, we are getting closer.

Returning to Critical Mass, while I enjoyed it, I found the first book (Delta-V) a bit more thrilling, perhaps due to the adventure of going to space. Critical Mass feels more predictable, even though the author has left room for surprises and twists. I also feel there is a lack of technological elaboration, especially concerning cryptocurrency. When reading about non-existent fictional technology, providing details is challenging. However, when the technology already exists, it’s a shame not to delve into it. But this is just my selfish desire. Overall, it is an enjoyable book, though I wonder if I will pick it up again in the future.

In a nutshell:
+: Pleasant read
+: Realistic feel of near-future tech
+: Fair continuation of the previous book
+/: Some technologies could have been explored more
-: Less thrilling than the previous book
=: Critical Mass is a nice book and hard to pass up after diving into Delta-V. However, it is less thrilling, and the tech isn’t elaborated as much as I would like. Overall, a nice read.

Title: Critical Mass
Author: Daniel Suarez
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The last time I wrote about Daniel Suarez’s book was nearly a decade ago (Influx), even though I revisit Daemon and Freedom TM every so often. I don’t consider myself a fan, but I do check on Daniel’s books periodically.

I guess I really missed Daniel’s writing, so it was time for a new book. I skipped over “Change Agent” and jumped to “Delta-V”; I guess I really wanted something “out of this world.” While half of the story is set on earth, the other half is set in space. I wish the author spent more story time in space, but missing all of the groundwork, struggles, training, and building relationships that got developed on earth is important to the rest of the story. Regardless, the space part came out a bit rushed and a bit superficial. While the story provides some thrilling and unexpected turns, those moments are slightly dull and short-lived.

Even though I have a couple of axes to grind, overall the story is good. I enjoyed it from the beginning to the end. I couldn’t let the book go; I just wanted to keep on going. One of the trademarks of Daniel’s SciFi is the proximity to not-so-far-away reality. Yes, it is still a plot of imagination and science fiction, but it is just close enough to contemporary technologies to give you the feel of near-future possibility, which, in turn, makes it feel more realistic. In addition, the author provides enough technical details to make technology feel real and not an abstract concept, such as “wormhole engines.” Reading the book makes me want to learn more about the science behind diving, planetary alignment, and space technologies, and in my book, the promotion of curiosity is a solid sign of the author’s good writing.

In a nutshell:
+: Pleasant read
+: Can’t put the book down
+: Feels realistic due to proximity to contemporary technology
+: Promotes curiosity towards described science and technology
-: Some thrilling parts are slightly dull and short-lived
=: Daniel keeps this traditional trademark of “near-future” SciFi with a good space story that is hard to put down.

Title: Delta-V
Author: Daniel Suarez
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I picked up the book because it is a prequel to Peter Hamilton’s Commonwealth Saga, and I love those books. “Misspent Youth” is a short story that takes place before rejuvenation and memory crystals. The story is well-written and pleasant, but that’s about it.

While I love most of the work done by Peter Hamilton, there are books that I don’t enjoy as much as others, and “Fallen Dragon” springs to mind. Unfortunately, “Misspent Youth” is added to the list today. The story feels more like futuristic romantic drama rather than science fiction, but that’s not the main issue. The primary problem is the lack of twists and plots. It feels like the story just lacks the punch.

I’m not sure where the author was going with the book. It doesn’t add or remove any value from the rest of the Commonwealth Saga, perhaps just slightly disappointing if you have expectations. But overall, if you go in without expectations, then you will enjoy it.

In a nutshell:
+: Easy going
+: Short
+/-: No expectations, no disappointments
-: Lacks twists and plots
-: No punch to the story
=: Nice short story, but that’s it.

Title: Misspent Youth
Author: Peter Hamilton
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I been developing software for a while now and managed to read few books on the subject. Some books are general purpose, some with narrow focus on a particular subject in the development process. Pragmatic programmer is general purpose book on the subject.

I picked up the book in hopes of learning something new, something I haven’t seen or read before. Surprising enough I did find few things, but not nearly enough to justify going through the entire book. Now let me be very clear, the book itself is a good book, if you are starting out and want to improve your skills and understand what’s out there. However it might be a waste of time if you been in the game for a while and read a few things here and there. Also I can’t help but notice that some topics are not well covered even at a basic level (IMHO).

Since negatives are largely based on the amount of knowledge/experience a developer has, let’s talk about positives. The book is well written and relatively short. There is no fluff or metaphysical discussions, just practical and pragmatic advice. The book outlines and talks about all the useful basics that each developer should have, like: structures, clean code, testing, design, refactor, thought processes, personal & team behaviour, project organization and development methodologies. There is no deep dive into any subject, just essentials – which should spark enough interest in a developer to start researching more on any particular subject of interest. The author’s personal experience also comes in handy, some things don’t change over decades.

Overall, the book is good for inexperienced developers and for the experienced developers this book might be a trip down memory lane.

In a nutshell:
+: Well written & short
+: All the basics
+: Discussions
+: Some hands-on examples
-: Some subjects are not well covered even at basic level
=: Good book for new developers, but not much value for experienced devs.

Title: The Pragmatic Programmer, 20th Anniversary Edition your journey to mastery
Authors: Andy Hunt, David Thomas
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I don’t have any particular curiosity towards soviet or post-soviet history. I watched the HBO mini-series “Chernobyl” and “Chernobyl The Lost Tapes” documentary, so I got enough of an idea about what happened. Since I was born in Russia and spent good chunk of my life there, I don’t need to be explained about corruption, incompetence and the Soviet ways.

So how did I end up with the book? I have a Canadian friend, really sharp guy, reads books, thinks things through, really fun to talk to. Many years ago, yet another regular conversation took a turn towards the topic of corruption in Canada. Before long he made a broad statement: “… it is the same in Russia”. I disagreed and he disagreed with my disagreement. This was the first time when I realized that people in Canada and in the west, don’t really understand Russia, more specifically that there is a difference between corruption and Russian corruption. In nutshell it is like comparing teenage hockey and professional hockey. Not long ago, my friend, came back to the subject of corruption, but now with a totally different position, now he no longer disagreed with me. I was surprised and he elaborated on his revelation – “Midnight in Chernobyl”, insisting that I should read the book as well.

So how is the book? Well, without a doubt the book is good, very good. It is well written and can be gulped without breaks. What you don’t find in any show or movie is nitty-gritty details and the book does a lot of justice to that. You can feel and see the system at work, incompetence, secrecy, economic and social struggle in “full HD color”. I believe the book represents a relative short and concise case study of the Soviet Union and how people though, operated and sacrificed. To some degree you will be able to understand even current situation and decision making of Russia today (including Russian invasion of Ukraine). The book is about Chernobyl, it is about the tragedy but Chernobyl story spans way beyond boundary of one location and far across entire USSR.

In a nutshell:
+: Well written & easy read
+: Lots of details
+: Brief history of soviet reactor building
+: Great insight into how the state operated
+: Overview how people lived, all equal but some are more equal than others
=: It is a good book, if you have any interest in historic events, pick it up. Chernobyl is one of the greatest disasters and perhaps it is worth while to learn about it, at the very least for the sake of not repeating it.

Title: Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster
Author: Adam Higginbotham
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Business is a very strange beast to me, on the one hand I understand importance of it, on the other hand I never wanted to dive deep into it. I guess business to me is like forbidden fruit – it is there, it is tempting but I never got enough desire to take a bite.

Something changed over last few years and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to learn a thing or two about marketing. This book was chosen almost randomly. As I scrolled over a blog, someone highly recommended the book, without much thought I picked it up.

This is my first book about marketing and since I’m fairly clueless on the subject, it is hard to judge the content. However I can cross reference some ideas from other books and materials:

• Story telling ( Presto! By Penn Jillette )
• Honesty & Accountability ( How to get Rich by Naval Ravikant )
• Social & Peer pressure ( Influencer by Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler )
• Not a perfect product & MVP ( Toyota 14 principles by Jeffrey K. Liker )
• Customer focus ( from Stanford startup course )

And so as I read the book, I came across some previously acquired knowledge (good refresher or reinforcement) and since the book is focused on one topic, there were more interesting tidbits.

Now I’ve been dragging my feet with this book for a very long time, embarrassingly long. It is a short read so what the problem? Well, the delivery is… for the lack of better word – ugly. Whenever I picked it up, shortly after I find my mind wondering away, loosing focus and interest. Often I had to put it away and say to myself: “may be tomorrow”. The book just simply does not flow. It is like a bumpy ride, might be entertaining for a bit but ultimately wears you out. Some books you can’t wait to pickup and keep on going, this one is the opposite – delay delay delay.

In a nutshell:
+: Interesting aphorisms, anecdotes and stories
+: General case studies and analysis
+: More on psychological side
+/-: Short book but hard read
-: Lack of concrete recipes and techniques
=: It is hard to make a conclusion on the book in the subject matter that I don’t know much about. I guess if you have to read it (because of a job or deep interest in the subject) then go for it. Otherwise it is not a pleasant read, you will have to commit to get through.

Title: This is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn To See
Author: Seth Godin
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Ah mastery, who doesn’t want to be a master? A rhetorical question, yet an important one.

I’ll come back to the question later, but for now, how is the book? I like it, strange to say from the get-go but yeah… I enjoyed the story, examples & discussions. The book takes mystery of being a genius and breaks it down into concise, foundational sequences of events that each master had to go through in order to climb to the top of their respective field. Each event and a sequence is analyzed by the author and discussed. If you ever wanted a guide on “Mastery”, this might be it.

As I was going through the book, I couldn’t help but ask myself: “well, alright, but who is this book written for?”. Is it a recipe book? I’m not sure, some of the recipes are kinda long – start when you are 5 or 10 year old. Sure, mastery takes long time, you can’t be on the top of a field in just couple of years or by following few “easy” steps. I get it, but it doesn’t answer my question. If you got this book and comprehended it by the age of 17, perhaps you can make it, but for anyone over 30 there aren’t that many recipes in the book. To be fair, the book is fascinating and at any age you should take some ideas out of it, but let’s be real, in order to take full advantage, you should be at the very young age – perhaps you can prepare your children for the journey?

But do you want to be a master? Is it even a conscious choice? I don’t know, but overarching theme seems to be outliers. Those masters have a very different view of the world, some don’t even fit into society. It feels to me that the journey starts with a perceived defect in a person. Something deep inside drives those people forward, some get unlucky and go to live on mountains (figuratively speaking), others get lucky (timing, resources) and lunge forward through many years of hard work but in the end some become dazzling stars of our society, providing example and direction for others to follow.

In a nutshell:
+: Easy & fun read
+: History, analysis, discussions
+: Examples from different eras
+: Useful bits and pieces even if you are not planning on a mastery
-: Is mastery a choice?
=: I don’t know if mastery is a choice, but I can still learn quite a few things from the book. Perhaps if you are young, you should read the book early on. If you have children, perhaps you want to read it as well and set your child on a journey. But perhaps you want to explore minds of the masters for the fun of it, then please enjoy.

Title: Mastery
Author: Robert Greene
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The book wasn’t on my reading list, but I had a long drive and a friend suggested it, so here I am. Now I’m not into “self-help” books, however I did read a couple related books in the past.

• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
• Outliers: The Story of Success
• Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
• Emotional Intelligence

So should you give a f*ck about this book? The book is well written and quite interesting but by no means deep. Like many other books, it essentially calls for you to figure out your priorities and focus on them. Unlike other books, this one seems to fill a particular niche – millennial struggle. One has to admit, life nowadays is different from the past and the pace of change is accelerating. It is not a bad thing per se, but presents different challenges. Perhaps you have less chances to be physically harmed or abused, but mentally… I say more. Information stream is just overwhelming and it comes from every part of the world, depending on your web-preference, you can be endlessly bombarded by good or bad news. On top of that there is instant-gratification phenomenon, press a button or better yet just imagine it and you are the winner.

Now one thing that got my curiosity peaked is: “counterintuitive approach” – which took me a bit by surprise, but let me explain. Due to my background, upbringing and some personal challenges in the past, I’m not what you would call a cheerful person. I consider myself a neutral, but I would not blame you if I come across as pessimistic. As a kid I never could answer: what would I like to achieve or be when I grew up. As teenager I adopted “avoidance strategy” (I also call it “working from negative”) – do anything to avoid A or B or C outcomes. So I went to university in order to avoid being a disappointment to my mother and working for low wage for the rest of my life. By default I always pick to do something in order to mitigate or eliminate an obvious or bigger problem (in my estimation) that is coming up. But no-one is perfect and self-delusion is an evolutionary tool, so drinking, smoking and junk food are my guilty pleasures. So to my big surprise the author actually explores, explains and recommends the “avoidance strategy” to achieve things and make a better life for yourself.

In a nutshell:
-: can use a bit more depth and some examples are questionable
+: well written & easy read
+: recipes and methods
+: a counterintuitive approach
+: short
=: it is a good book, with some out of the box ideas and discussions. It is short, hits all main issues and doesn’t overburden – can be read in one (perhaps long) sitting – well-worth ROI.

Title: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
Author: Mark Manson
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