Book Review of "V for Vendetta"

Politically charged and heavily metaphorical - “V for Vendetta” is one of those “must-read” graphic novels. To me, the writing, character development, and the overall unraveling of the plot were top notch but I didn’t particularly enjoy the artwork - hence the 4 stars. 

This is also one of the few times where I had seen the movie adaptation before reading the source material. Even though I liked the movie and would rate it as above average, I can see now, why the writer, Alan Moore, preferred not to be associated with the movie publicly. The book is about juxtapositioning fascism and anarchy blaming society for inaction whereas the movie puts a definite hopeful spin at the end. Nevertheless, this is a thought-provoking read - especially if you like action and drama taking place with a socio-political backdrop.

Book Review of "Upgrade"

“No one teaches you how to handle the death of a dream.”

I was really looking forward to “Upgrade” - Blake Crouch’s latest novel. Having thoroughly enjoyed his last two books, I had high hopes. Now I wouldn’t call “Upgrade” disappointing - it is just plainly underwhelming. I look at Blake Crouch’s novels as “escapist SciFi” - superbly entertaining & thrilling and not necessarily anything more - which I am totally fine with. In “Upgrade” however, the story is way too outlandish and sometimes bordering on illogical that I couldn’t
just turn a blind eye anymore and focus on the “entertainment”. Giving it 3 stars because it is still definitely enjoyable - especially if you dive in with adjusted expectations.

Book Review of "Childhood's End"

“And besides, no one of intelligence ever resents the inevitable.”

Arthur C. Clarke was truly a masterful storyteller. Published in 1953, “The Childhood’s End” starts out with aliens arriving on Earth and creating a utopia for mankind - removing all social,  political,
and economic obstacles. So mankind should be happy now, right? Well, not quite.

The story has quite a few metaphorical themes. One can notice the deep influence of the early post-colonialism world and the cold war geopolitics. That being said, this book is definitely a “slow burn” and not necessarily for the impatient. The best part IMO was the execution of the final act - which surprisingly left me in a melancholy state. Be wary of the fact that this is published almost 7 decades ago and isn’t “politically correct” per today’s standards.

Overall, a definite recommendation for the Sci-Fi/philosophy nerd.