HARRY POTTER author J.K. Rowling said at least two characters will die in the last installment of her boy wizard series, and she even hinted that Harry Potter himself may not survive either.

Fans of the series are eagerly awaiting the seventh and final installment in the long running saga of the boy wizard and today J.K. admitted that she has considered the possibility of killing the lead character (Harry) off in the final book because it means an end to the story, and also eliminates the option of any non-author written sequels.

She is remaining tight lipped about which characters will get the bullet (or wand I suppose) as expected, but I guess there will be rabid speculation between now and the final book release. All she had to say on the subject is that “The final chapter is hidden away, although it’s now changed very slightly. One character got a reprieve, but I have to say two die that I didn’t intend to die.”

Don’t expect anything this year however, it’s looking like a 2007 finale at this point.

IT’S ALMOST TIME to get the bags packed and jet off to Japan for the holiday of a lifetime with SusiQ. I’ve been stocking up on what I generally refer to as ‘holiday reading’ – in other words the sort of stuff I don’t have to concentrate too hard on and can enjoy while in holiday mood.

It’s been hard enough these past few months between the hectic work schedule and the busy debauchery schedule, but as the saying goes “It’s a dirty job, and someone has to do it”

Japan beckons, and I’m already fascinated with anything I’ve read about the place. It looks like it could be a great trip but the flights out and back are long haul (literally) and then there are some internal transport gigs as well (bullet trains and the like) so I’m gonna need to have some reading material with me.

The current list of books waiting to be squished into the suitcase looks something like this:-

1. Singularity Sky (Charles Stross) – Had to get some sci-fi in there!
2. Hegemony or Survival – America’s quest for global dominance (Noam Chomsky) – Couldn’t resist
3. The Blue Eyed Salaryman (Niall Murtagh) – A Dubliners life in Japan, should be intersting
4. Warrior King (Chris Bunch) – Had to slap some fantasy in there too for good measure
5. The Day After Tomorrow (Allan Folsom) – Not the Hollywood movie, this is from 1995 or thereabouts
6. Moon Dust (Andrew Smith) – An account of what happened those who walked on the moon, when they adjusted back to Earth
7. Hitching Rides With Buddha (Will Ferguson) – Recommended by someone living in Japan so it’s gotta be worth it

So there you go – seven books to keep me out of trouble, and perhaps a small insight to the deranged mind behind http://www.avalon5.com and what I like to read while travelling.

I CAME ACROSS TWO EXAMPLES OF THE ART of shameless publicity today in the forms of Microsoft and Jermaine Jackson. It seems that brother dearest has a book coming out (of course he does I hear you scream!) and has decided to dish the dirt on his more famous (or infamous) brother, Michael Jackson. Jermaine makes various allegations about Jackson’s conduct with young children and the star’s young nephews, but he says he refused to talk about this during the trial because he feared that if Michael went to prison, he would commit suicide rather than face up to it.

So that’s all right then.

On the other end of the shameless publicity trail today are Microsoft, pitching their Step User Interface which the “Beast of Redmond” claim is an innovative technology prototype that encourages people to control their computers using their feet in addition to their hands. Yup – you read that right… think dance mats and energic youngsters bouncing around and now picture yourself trashing up and down, and around of course, in order to open up an email or folder on the screen… oh I can’t be arsed even finishing the sentance it’s so insane.

And what do both of these items have in common… just the fact that neither are particularly likely to deliver on their promises. I’m betting the Jackson story is just publicity for the new book which probably fails to deliver the goods and the “Step User Interface” is just another example of Microsoft trying (and failing) to prove how ‘hip’ they are; Google must be really chaffin’ their asses for them to release this crap

MORE THAN 6 MILLION BOOKS and other culturally significant works are to go online via the European Digital Library over the next five years. I mentioned this ambitious project previously, however things have moved on significantly since then. Back then heads of state in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland and Hungary declared their intention to get the project off the ground, but today that project has taken one step closer to becoming a reality.

By the end of 2006, the European Digital Library should involve collaboration among all the national libraries in the EU. Over coming years this will be expanded to include archives and museums. Two million books, films, photographs, manuscripts, and other cultural works will be accessible through the European Digital Library by 2008. A figure that will rise to at least 6m by 2010, as potentially every library, archive and museum in Europe will be able to link its digital content to the online resource.

This is a wonderful idea and will hopefully encourage other areas of the planet to do likewise. Future generations of people (assuming we don’t vapourize this spinning rock we call home) will have online and immediate access to the most amazing historical, cultural and political resources.

Every now and then I get the urge to read some light hearted trash. I generally refer to this type of read as a ‘holiday’ or ‘airplane’ book. Something that doesn’t require too much thought, which pulls the reader along page by page and keeps the entertainment value high, without requiring much by way of investment from the reader. Sometimes I’m just in the mood for books like this… sometimes I just want to be entertained without learning anything whatsoever

Ice Station by Matthew J Reilly is just such a book, concerning the exploits of one Lt. Shane “Scarecrow” Schofield and his recon team of marines as they converge on an Ice Station in the Antartic in order to secure potentially one of the most amazing scientific discoveries of the century from competing hostile forces.

The Plot

At a remote ice station in Antarctica, a team of US scientists has made an amazing discovery. They have found something buried deep beneath the coastal ice shelf. Something trapped inside a 100-million-year-old layer of ice. Something made of metal. It is the discovery of a lifetime. A discovery of immeasurable value. A discovery men would kill for…

Led my the enigmatic Lieutenant Shane Schofield, a team of crack United States Marines is rushed to the station to secure this discovery for their country. They are a tight unit. Tough and fearless. They would follow their leader into hell, and that is pretty much where they find themselves as all ‘hell’ breaks loose when the story kicks into ovedrive.

What Are We Dealing With Here?

Make no mistake – this is hollywood style writing, where the pages literally leap up and scream “ACTION MOVIE!!” at the reader. It’s a military thriller, with the emphasis on guns, technology and the most mind bending action possible within the context of the plot. Once you throw away your incredulity at some of the situations the lead character survives, you get used to the moves and the style, and it all just washes over you as you turn each page with a stupid grin on your face. It’s not great literature. It’s certainly not booker price material. It is however entertaining!

Is It Worth It?

Well – as I said at the opening of this article, it’s a lighthearted trashy book, perfect for those times when you just don’t want to have to concentrate, don’t need to know the intricate details and really want to avoid having to ‘think’ about the plot, the characters or the outcome. This is a thrill ride for your brain. Think of it like mental bubblegum – pure fun with no committment required

I enjoyed for what it was – and it served the purpose for which it was intended. I read it in three nights flat, both because it’s written in a fast paced style with simple dialogue, and because I was in the mood to just eat up some fun writing and get my brain off work for a change and on to something light and fluffy, and most of all fun.

Conclusion

If you like military thrillers with absolutely no investment required of the reader other than the power to turn the pages in rapid succession – then this author and his books are for you, and this book, the first in the series about the Scarecrow is just good enough to get you hooked.

If you are looking for something deep and meaningful – avoid this like the plague. You won’t find any solace in it’s pages and you will regret ever hearing the term ‘scarecrow’

In conculsion – as long as you know what you want, and what this delivers – why the hell wouldn’t you pick it up? I mean – look at the price FFS! Get it, stick it in your suitcase and then you will have something handy for the next time you are stuck on a flight beside some annoying kids, or you find yourself on holidays with some time to kill and a need to forget about the worries of work for a while.

Following on from reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time I was directed (by public vote) to read Cloud Atlas next, but instead I opted for Howling at the Moon becuase it looked just like the sort of read I was in the mood for. This is a biographical piece covering the rise and fall of Walter Yetnikoff as he shagged, drank, snorted and bullied his way through the 70s and the 80s. It proported to offer insights into the music business, the shakers and the makers and most of all, the musicians themselves as seen through the eyes of the record execs.
I hadn’t heard of Walter Yetnikoff before, but I knew CBS record for the multimedia empire they became, and I’d lived through the 70s and 80s so I was very curious to see just what kind of slant this book had on the decades of excess.

Before continuing with this review, it’s worth pointing out (for anyone too young to remember) that a lot of the events covered in this book have been pivotal in the music industry. The time period covered by this account includes the birth of Dual Cassette Taping and it’s impact on the music industry; the birth of CDs; the start of MTV and music videos, the crossover from singles to albums to EPs and more. The music business has changed a lot over the last three decades, sometimes driven by technology, other times driven by greed or politics. From this perpective, I found the book an addictive read and a great insight into the life and times of a CBS mogul in a time of extreme success and excess.

The style of the book is very much visceral and ‘in your face’. The author pulls no punches when recounting the good and bad, and for the most part I was impressed with the honesty on display, except perhaps in the closing chapter which is more about regret than anything else. From very small beginnings, Walter Yetnikoff rose to become the most powerful mover and shaker in the business, and also the most feared. This is because he developed a reputation for being a ruthless bully with absolutely no limits or boundaries. There was no low to which he would not stoop, no trick he wouldn’t pull in order to get a deal or a new artist signed to the label. He because the epitomy of the times, snorting coke like candy, drinking like a fish, screwing around with anything that moved and becoming the legend in his own lifetime.

So – what did I think of this book then? Well, actually I quite liked it for the most part. Mostly because I found it insightful, on several fronts. For starters, it’s a great example of what life (and business) was like back in the late 70s and 80s, where success drove everything else. If you had success, you could pretty much do anything you wanted, any way you wanted; the music business was no different to any other at the time. In this respect I found it very interesting to see how things changed as the record companies merged and the times moved on from excess to accountability.

The book also provides an insight into the artists themselves. The actual truth behind some of their successes or failures is pretty interesting. The story of Marvin Gaye’s demise was quite a shock, as I hadn’t heard the real details until this book; the progress from innocent child star to multi media meglomaniac and weirdo for Michael Jackson is particularly interesting given his current circumstances. Barbara Striesands craziness, Billy Joels crises of artistic ability, the Rolling Stones commercial accumen.. it’s all here. Loads of interesting snippits of good and bad, about bands and musicians who have carved out a place for themselves in the history books.

Lastly, it also provides a very public and honest insight into an addictive personality, the main player in this tragi-comedy story. Yetnikoff freely admits he ‘bought into’ his own bullshit, and lived the life to the max. This included destroying the only real relationship in his life and alienating himself from family, it included loosing friends and being betrayed by people he trusted; it included many many examples of excess on his part and numerous occasions of bullying and fucking with competitors and other professionals in the music business ‘just because he could’, essentially for his own amusement.

In summary, it’s a hell of a ride, reading this book, but I enjoyed the journey from young jewish boy to media mogul feared by everyone right through to his demise as the world changed around him and he couldn’t adjust. I particularly enjoyed reading about events and musicians whom I’ve grown up with, but seeing them again from the inside looking out, getting the real story behind the headlines and understanding some of the motives as a result. Not for the squeamish or prudish amongst you, this book will absolutely keep you engaged if you have the stomach for it. But be warned, it’s not for everyone. There is a huge amount of drugs, sex, language, violence, racism, sexism etc.

I approached this book without any preconceptions, and used a very democratic way of deciding to read it in the first place. Having made the decision I settled down and found myself immersed in the world of Christopher, an autistic 15 year old boy who is both gifted and cursed; gifted with an amazing memory, an aptitude for mathmatics and scientific subjects, cursed with no way of being able to deal with emotions, no real way to understand the human condition or to relate to those around him. He has a structured life, and an ordered way of dealing with life – until the day he discovers a neighbours dog, dead in the garden – murdered. This incident sparks a wonderful voyage of discovery for Christopher, and the reader, as he moves outside of his ‘comfort zone’ and has to take on the full force of people, policemen, buses, trains, and just about everything else that we take for granted.

So – what did I think of this book? Well – it’s the first book by the author, Mark Haddon that I’d ever read, and I have to say I was very impressed. It’s not a book for everyone though. I found myself wonderously caught up in the world of Christoper, where he deals in prime numbers, and favourite colours and crazy routines in order to survive. His innocence was completely refreshing and I believe the author captured something here that is rare enough, which allows us as readers to walk along side Christoper and experience things from his perspective.

The actual story (or mystery to be solved if you will) is very simplistic and really takes second place to the central character and his views on everything as he progresses from routine to completely alien activities driven by desperation – but always supported by his own peculiar brand of logic. The writing style will not be to everyone’s taste; I guess some people will find it too simplistic – but I thought it was perfect for the subject matter. This is after all a childrens book.

There are times when Christoper takes a flight of fancy, and explains things which are absolutely irrelevant to the story and the plot, but where as this may frustrate some readers, it only served to remind me of his condition and I thought it worked perfectly. I would suggest you approach this book as I did, with no preconceptions and an open mind. If you do – you will be rewarded hansomely, but be warned, you will complete the book in two sittings. It really is that easy to read!!

The public have spoken, the results are in, and who am I to argue… 62% of people voted for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time so that’s the book I’m going to start with. Cloud Atlas came in with 25% of the vote, and Howling at the moon ended up with 12%. Thanks to all who participated and helped me test out the voting functionality at the same time. I probably won’t get to start the book in anger until next weekend (my work schedule is a bit insane at the mo) but I will get through it and post a review as soon as I can. If you are interested, the results of the vote can be viewed here. Thanks again

How’s this for democracy in action? Instead of deciding on which book I will read and review next, I will open it up to the masses to make my mind up for me! I’ve just installed some new voting functionality on the site (thanks to the WP-Polls plugin from GaMerZ over on the sidebar (look right!) and to help me test it I decided to abandon all rational thought and let you (the public) decide on which book you want me to read/review next. I’ve been getting a lot of good responses to the Book Reviews I’ve posted lately so I decided to carry on the effort with the addition of three new books. Go vote for whichever one you want reviewed first and thanks for the interest!.

Twenty years after William Mandella and Marygay Potter have mustered out, they are living on the “Paradise” planet set aside for veterans of The Forever War, both having declined the opportunity to join Man, the genetically identical construct which humanity turned into while they were fighting the Taurans. The Mandellas however grow restless as they see themselves confined and marginalized by the entity known as man. They, along with other veterans who elected to settle with them, conceive of a plan to hijack a ship to travel out to the farthest reaches of the galaxy and retun again, hoping that the impact of relativity will change their situation when they arrive 40,000 years later, but things don’t quite go to plan and that’s when the story gets interesting…

I approached this novel with some trepidation, having recently completed Forever Peace, which I wasn’t particularly impressed with. Unlike the previous novel Forever Free was intended as a direct sequel, and carries on where the first novel left off. In this respect it was easy to drop back into the main protagonists as characters and get interested in their lives all over again. The writing style this time around (thankfully!) was very accessible and made this an easy novel to drop and pick up again at will, without loosing the plot or central themes.

The plot takes on familiar twists and turns right up to the middle of the story, at which point the author switches into overdrive and treats us to a seriously unexpected event which turns the main plot on it’s head. This works really well right up until the ending (but more on that later). One of the more interesting subplots, which could easily have been expanded, is William and Marygay’s relationships with their children, Bill and Sara. In rebelling against their parents’ generation (whenever that might have been), Bill and Sara have each toyed with the prospect of joining the Man overmind, tantamount to going over to their parents’ enemy. Haldeman handles the interplay between parents and children well but it never quite develops into much and I feel he could have done more with that.

For the most part, Forever Free works well as a sequel to The Forever War. At times, it even approaches the first novel in terms of quality. The novel does have a tendency to fall into a common science-fictional trap of turning the main characters into almost ubermenschen, who are integral to the completion of any successful project; they seem to be at the center of almost everything that happens in the storyline which can get a bit irksome at times. It’s an enjoyable romp of a novel which I was happy to read until it approached the end phase. At this point things got a little too silly and I really didn’t appreciate the devices used by Haldeman to resolve the plotlines. He suddenly resorts to deus ex machina to provide a conclusion and it just doesn’t work for me. There are no hints that point to his device, which, unfortunately, undermines nearly everything which has gone before.

So – in conclusion I think it’s a worthwhile successor to the original story, and it is written in a style which makes it accessible, however the plot takes a very weird turn for the worst towards the last few chapters and the ending leaves a lot to be desired. If you are intent on reading this book, make sure you read The Forever War first.