Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Roast

Everything was set in motion.
                Janine was sitting in her standard spot in her favorite coffee shop, one that was privately owned and had a new premium roast each week. At the moment, she sipped a brilliant dark specimen from Ethiopia, letting the aroma tingle its way to her brain. A faint red smudge was left behind on the white Styrofoam.
She had chosen this shop as her favorite about a month ago, when she had returned to the city after traveling extensively around the globe. The weekly blends reminded her of those far-flung places, each scent connecting her with different questions that had burned inside her awaiting an answer. The shop also had the added benefit of being at cross-roads, one of which led to her eventual destination.
When her cup sat half-full, she took a pause from her thoughts to look at her phone. Taking note of the time, she pulled out a small compact mirror to check her make-up. She used her left hand to brush her raven hair, feeling the bounce of the strands brush lightly against her shoulders. Perfection, as always. She took another drink from her cup; the coffee had cooled enough that the drink ran long and deep. Finishing, she closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, and waited. For a brief moment, she stroked the small pendant with the red jewel she wore around her neck on a silver chain.
Within moments, the sound of a not-so-distant explosion rent the air. Ripples from the shockwave ran through the other patrons’ cups, and several sugar shakers toppled over, spilling white granules across the tabletops. Amidst the cries of bewilderment, Janine smiled and stood, straightening her maroon blazer and matching skirt. She left her drink unfinished on the table and left the shop for the last time.
Stepping outside, she could feel the air swelling with panic. People had left their cars and stood staring up into the skyline. Some had pulled out their phones, taking grainy pictures of the unfolding events. Sirens had started to wail, gearing the city up for more chaos. The smell of fear was as sweet an aroma as her morning coffee. Her brain tingled with excitement as her purposes became realized. Her contacts had come through. Moving with purpose, she weaved her way through the growing crowds towards her destination.
St. Paul’s Chapel had been built a decade before the city entered into American Revolution. Over the last century, columns of iron and steel had risen around it, two in particular standing high above the rest. At least for the moment. Glancing up at the imposing pillars, she was pleased to see the grey smoke billowing out from one of the two was still infused with hues of orange and red. The camera crews would soon be in place and the chaos and fear of an entire nation would be brought to bear. She paused for a moment at the solid wooden doors, then pressed them open and walked inside.
Near the back of the church, an ornate wood panel stood in a recess of the wall. Janine reached out, touching a carved shield engraved with a fleur-de-lis that sat at about eye level. She whispered an incantation that she had obtained after a rather tortuous trip to Moscow. She could still smell the acrid scent of the electricity that had surged through the man’s body as he screamed out the forbidden words. It was too bad he had been attractive; the world could have used his chiseled features. The whispered words triggered a mechanism behind the panel and it swung open with a pop, revealing a passage that plunged down into the earth. She stepped inside, the cool air brushing against her ivory skin. She removed a small pink Maglite from her blazer pocket and let the panel click closed behind her. With a flick of her thumb, she turned on the flashlight, a cone of light pointing her towards where she needed to go. Checking her phone for the time, she noted that even though she was on schedule, she would need to walk briskly to get down the tunnel in time.
As the passage dropped into the earth, the stonework that made up the walls became grimier and covered in thin roots. At the end of the tunnel, she found herself at the entrance to a large circular chamber, deep under the very heart of the city. Around the perimeter, small round stones had been placed at eye level. She pressed one close to her, and it started to glow green. At the same time, a similar emanated from the other stones. Within seconds, the chamber was awash in a green glow and she was able to behold the destiny she had been working towards for many years.
At the center of the chamber, a great tree grew anchored both by the roots below and the ceiling above. In fact, the roof of the entire cavern was made up of the branches of the tree as the morphed from wood to stone. Near the base of the tree, a pair of roots had risen out of the earth and had joined together to form an arch-way: a beautiful doorway for which she had searched for most of her life. Afraid to pause and miss the moment, she swept her way into the chamber.
Something dropped out of the branches above, landing in front of the door with a soft thump. A small cloud of dust rolled away from the hooded form. Raising a hand, it spoke in a deep human voice.
“You have no true business here. You will not be allowed to pass through the Gate.”
Janine did not respond, but waited for the moment to come. At precisely 9:03 (perhaps a minute later than anticipated), the earth shook around them and dust rained down from the ceiling. Janine could just imagine the boom and crash that would have been heard in the world above. Not just in the city, but it would have been heard around the entire nation as the news networks would have already been filming the situation that had happened a little over 15 minutes before. And then, she felt the surge of fear and chaos. A flash of red came out of the red jewel that she wore, its glow washing over her in ember colored waves. The space that made up the root-doorway started to glow as well, a deep purple that was dotted with starlight.
She smiled. It was time. “Sir, I would suggest you get out of my way.”
The man raised his left hand to the hood, pulling it backwards away from his face. Fierce blue eyes and a firm set scowl met her gaze. “A Dragon never backs down.”
Janine gazed at his light olive complexion, wondering what it would look like bruised, battered and torn asunder. She imagined he would look rather dashing with a scar across his cheekbone, almost as stern and majestic as his follow Dragon that she had broken in Moscow.
“I have destroyed your comrades who stood against me so far. Do yourself the favor and save your pathetic life.”
His eyes hardened and he gazed steadily into her eyes, avoiding the pulsing red glow from her pendant. She could the energy rising in the room as he visibly flexed his arms. “Never.”
“I thought so.”
Focusing the fear and chaos captured within the pendant, she concentrated on the Maglite she still held in her hand. She willed the chemicals within the battery to fully react, sending a surge of electricity through the circuitry and into the bulb. Overloaded, the bulb exploded and she wove the escaping charge into a bracelet of energy around her wrist and forearm. She dropped the spent flashlight and then lunged forward.
The Dragon reacted, stomping into the ground, raising one of the floor-stones into the air. In one swift motion, he punched forward and the stone rocketed towards her. As she moved forward, she lifted her electric arm in front of her and pushed her will outwards. A surge of lightning pulsed from her fist, striking and shattering the stone. A few of the pebbles struck her across the face, leaving tiny pock marks in her foundation.
And so their dance began, he with stone and a sense of duty and she with electricity and the stench of fear. Back and forth around the chamber they moved, she trying to dislodge him from his post in front of the Gate, and he trying to withstand her onslaught of chaos. She could feel the fear of the entire city flowing through her; her plan to bring a city and nation to their knees having transpired just as her masters had said they would.
Her moment came as she was able to reflect a bolt of energy off of one of the stones the Dragon had thrown up in defense. It glanced off his shoulder, spinning him around a full circle before crashing him to the ground. She had the thwack of his skull against stone. She paused a moment, brushing the dust off of what was left of her shredded jacket. She brushed the wisps of her hair away from her eyes, smiling. There was the Gate, her doorway to what would be her ascension.
A grunt came from the direction of the fallen form. Amused, she turned just in time to see a stone whizz past her face. She laughed at the man’s continued effort to incapacitate her.
“Looks like you have lost your aim, Dragon,” she scoffed.
He looked up at her, blood streaming into his eyes from a large gash on his forehead. “It’s only you who has lost.” His eyes closed and his faced dropped to the ground.
Janine heard a loud pop behind her and she turned quickly back towards the root archway. And then, she saw what the Dragon had meant. The stone he had shot out had sliced clean through one of the two raised roots, severing it from the connection it had made with the other side. Purple sap oozed from the broken half, and the gathering mist in the doorway had dissipated. It was no longer a doorway to the other realm.
Enraged, she lashed out with her every emotion at the still form of the man. Arc of lightning lifted his body into the air, slamming it against walls and the ceiling up above. Not satisfied, she poured out every ounce of emotion into her rage. Even her tears turned into balls of electricity, coursing down her face and into a chaotic storm around her. Current poured through her and into the very tree that had stood as a guardian of the city for centuries. And it began to smoke and burn.
Branches above and roots below ignited in a purple flame. The ceiling creaked and groaned as the supportive branches gave way. Janine’s every instinct was to run, to leave this doomed place. But Chaos held her in its thrall, the red jewel on her chest burning bright. As the stones began to crash down, her vision faded. Her last memory of the tree covered in flames, flames that matched the two towers of steel that creaked and groaned far above her.
***
                After the collapse of the towers, police and rescue workers worked the area to find survivors of the major catastrophe. In the nearby church, they found a woman in work attire passed out among the pews. Her disheveled manner and scorch marks across her body and clothes led them to assume she had one of the lucky few to escape, probably looking for refuge in a house of God. She had no identification on her, so she was labeled as Jane Doe and taken to one of the nearby hospitals that were already bursting at the seams with activity.
Amongst the chaos of the event, no one noticed the following day that Mrs. Doe had disappeared.

Monday, February 9, 2015

Advice on Careers

I have been asked this question several times: what advice do you have in pursuing potential careers, such as in the education/training you should get? I know I haven’t figured it out completely myself, but this is advice I have gleaned from other sources, and I think it is important to share.

There are three things to consider when deciding on a potential career:
1)      What do you enjoying doing?
Many would say that this is most important of all. Why be miserable in a job for the rest of your life? However, this is also the area that needs to be the most flexible towards the other two. First and foremost, you need to get into a position that you can at least tolerate. Find the silver lining in the job. Then, take those things that you really enjoy and develop them as hobbies. If you get really good at that hobby, then consider switching it to full time.
2)      What are you good at doing?
To me, this is also a little fluid, as most jobs will provide some training to get you to the level you need to be at. However, you have to have some background in the area for you to be considered as a viable candidate for the position. You wouldn’t apply for a position in astrophysics if you are horrible at calculus and relativistic physics.
3)      Can you get paid (well) to do the task?
There is a reason that the joke goes that starting actors end up waiting tables: they may enjoy it and they might be good, but there are only so many paying positions to go around. What skills do you have that are marketable? Granted, if you are good enough at what you do, there will be someone around who will be willing to pay for what you have. But we all have multiple skills, and some will help you pay the bills better than others.

Good careers will cover two of the three. Dream careers cover all 3.
Note: Not all dream careers are found by getting an academic degree. I have known several blue collar workers who loved what they did, no college education needed. Yes, it is helpful and it can help open doors. But is it always necessary? Certainly not.

My own story:
I recently left graduate school after setting up my entire career path towards getting a PhD in physics and then going into research. Why? As I was sitting in classes, I was just not enjoying myself. I looked forward more to being out of classes than in them. And as I pondered, I realized that is what my future held: endless equations and frustrating days in front of an equation that would not yield. I know there are those who love this, and I sometimes liked the mystery of it all. But I realized that my true passion stemmed from helping others improve themselves.

So I left, and starting applying for jobs meeting my skill set: a background in science and some programming, with the ability to help people and improve daily lives. I am still on the hunt (as the change is new), but there are some good prospects that hold a lot of promise. Will they be my “dream job?” Maybe yes, maybe no. But, what I do know is that I feel hopeful for the future ahead because I really feel that I am moving in the direction of fulfilling all three areas of the career realm.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Gifts

                It always perplexing to me to see someone throw away a gift. A child plays with a new toy then leaves it to gather dust and sorrow for something shinier and new. A man finds the wondrous gift of love and then leaves her shackled to home and offspring in the pursuit of those younger and more pleasing to the eye.

                Once again, the gift I gave the world was being thrown back in my face. I gave order and enlightenment, and now, a 200-lbs brute with mangy hair and darkened eyes had his hand around my throat, my aging frame pressed against the wall.

                “I want to see you quiver in fear as the light leaves your eyes, Chairman.”

                I scoffed, the effort made difficult with the pressure against my windpipes. “I see more fear in your blackened heart than could ever be made to show forth from any part of my body, coward.” And, as always in these situations, I pressed the button I kept on my right lapel with one of my thumbs.

                As in all the previous iterations, his grip began to weaken.

                “What… what is this?” He said, his voice elevated, the foul odor of the fear in his heart leaking out into the room.

                He soon slumped to the floor, followed by his comrade that had been keeping watch at the door. Her face smashed against the wall as she fell and left a bright red splotch of red on the light blue paint.

                After catching my breath and messaging my throat, I allowed an answer. “I took away the gift I once gave you. I granted you godhood amongst men, and now, I have ripped it away from your ungrateful soul.”

                A look of bewilderment crossed his eyes. I leaned down over him, studying his quivering form.

                “The key to the serum that gave you your strength was an enzyme I developed long ago. This enzyme acted as a… holder… to keep your genetic code open.”

                He was still lost, but, a good teacher never gives up on a lecture.

                “You see, the genes that enable you to have these powers act like a spring. They can be read and utilized when they are stretched open, but they resist it. So, the enzyme keeps the gene open to be read, to be manipulated by proteins in your body, and to be made manifest in the powers that you no longer have.”

                I stood, and kicked the man in the groin. Not too hard, but enough to hear a moan escape his quivering lips. He had squeezed harder then previous assaulters; I would have to see a doctor to evaluate damage the next day.

                I continued. “But if that enzyme were to detach, as the ones in your body just did, you would once again become just another member of the sea of nothingness that makes up humanity. And all it takes to do so is a specific low frequency radio wave, which is now being broadcast in this room.”

                I walked a few feet over to my desk, righting the toppled chair in which I had been sitting. I was unafraid of the man lying prone on my floor: the effects due to the loss of Numinousity had previously been shown to last a full 30 minutes. I pressed the red button under the desk, summoning security.

 I sat back down to continue reading the file that had crossed my desk, yet another ingrate who had to be eliminated. This one had been younger, and his termination, although unfortunate, had given important data concerning the effectiveness of the new monitoring nanobot technology coming out of the lab.

                The sound of a groan brought me back out of the file. I looked up to see the brute trying to prop himself up on his elbows. The gall of the man. And then he spoke, his voice strained.

                “You bastard. We are all just an experiment to you.”

                I studied him as he struggled to rise. He barely managed a few inches, and then the security hustled in, guns drawn.

                I addressed them. “The one by the door is of no use to me. Remove her and do what is necessary.”

                Half the group saluted, then shouldered the rifles and lifted the prostrate woman into the air. The man on the floor moaned again, the sound forming something like a name.

                “And this one. Take him to the lab. He showed interesting potential, a certain resilience as you would.”

                He lifted his head, and stared at me. The stench of fear grew strong again.

                “He may have rejected his gift, but he will still help in giving a gift to humanity.”
 

Thursday, November 13, 2014

The Numinosity Sequence

The Numinousity Sequence: Unlocking Mankind’s Ultimate Potential
Authors: Carlos F. D’Martinez1, Abner H. Wallington2
1 Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL. 2 Biotech Industries, Pasadena, CA.

Paper rejected for Publication
Abstract
Previous studies of the human genome have unlocked the possibilities for the current human condition. Experiments were conducted on a previously stationary genomic structure to understand its potential role in human evolution. The consequences of the activating the sequence resulted are reflected in the name of the Numinousity Sequence, the gift of greater abilities beyond the normal scope of human existence. We speculate on possible methods to activate the latent sequence in living subjects; however no actual testing was performed towards that end.

Key Words: Human Genome, latent genetic sequence, genetic therapy, Numinousity

Introduction
The mapping of the human genome has been of high priority to enable the understanding of human capacity. We understand now the genes that regulate gender, hair, eye, and skin color, muscle strength, genetic disorder, amongst others. Within each human being, their genes mark the endless possibilities to who each of us can be or could have been. In recent years, research has been undertaken to assist in our understanding if and how we could manipulate one’s genes to “tailor” the ideal man or woman.
Part of human existence has always been entwined with the history of the supernatural. Some of the earliest records show marvelous feats, such as the act of splitting the Red Sea as recorded in the book known as the Holy Bible. These events have most often been related with a connection to the divine, to forces beyond human control. It is our postulate, based on research undertaken within recent years, that these events may have had a larger human connection than previously thought.
Even today, supernatural events go unexplained. Many fall squarely into what can be called colloquially as hoaxes; however, a few events can fall without that general category: men and women experiencing dreams and premonitions of natural disasters within days of the event occurring, men and women surviving the collapse of buildings or living through horrific accidents with not much more than minor skin lesions.
It is our postulate that there is a genetic sequence, called the Numinousity Sequence, that is latent in most of human-kind. Under duress, it can be unlocked within a select number of individuals, who can then complete actions that seem improbable. With proper experimentation, it will be shown that this latency can be permanently reversed.

Methods and Analysis
 
Link to Project Page

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Short Circuit

Note: If you haven't read Introduction to a New Project, read that first to understand a little of what's going on.

Short Circuit

Rhyn hated the glaring lights that his employers used to illuminate the room. He had tried to dim them at first, but they hadn’t liked him exerting that kind of control on their equipment. They hadn’t liked it when he had short-circuited the shock therapy generator either. After that, they had encouraged him to adjust his attitude, and, after seeing the options they presented, he had decided to get adjusted to the bright white lights, the white walls that could be easily wiped clean, the table with the sharp metal edges, and the scratchy white outfit that he had to wear to work every day.
On the table, lay his latest study subject. He liked to look these types of things over with his eyes first, before pouring into it with his mind. He had gotten pretty good at guessing what his machines were. It seemed that his employers had him look at things that fell into one of three categories: computing, memory storage, or robotics. Seeing as this had no arms, legs, or anything that could constitute semi-sentient servitude, robotics was out of the question. As he gazed over the chrome surface, he didn’t see any buttons or ports. He had heard that those types of things had been standard on devices in years past, but the lack of such was un-perplexing to him now. The chrome seemed to wrap around a tube that was probably as long as two palms, with a stunted cone on one end.
Without other visual clues, he had to follow the flutter in his gut. Memory storage, he reasoned. Probably activated wirelessly, with the capability to download and store any open data within a certain radius. Probably some sort of satellite in the cone to boost the range.

Cracking his knuckles and straightening his back, he breathed in the stale air that moved through the room. He felt a slight surge of energy; he must have breathed in one of those nano-robots the company deployed to monitor him remotely. Not the first time that day either, they were getting sloppy. Maybe he would try the lights again later. But not now. He was curious about this device before him, its mechanical voice calling out to him from behind the circuitry. Letting out a sigh, he flexed his hands, then placed them on the cylinder and pushed his mind through his fingers into the wires behind the chrome surface.
---
It had been almost five years ago that his employers had hired him away from his parents. He had been 10 years old, almost missing the cut-off. He remembered testing day at the school the week before, where a lady with black hair and a blue face mask and pulled blood out of his arm through a needle. He had wanted to cry, but the other boys hadn’t. He didn’t want to be made fun of: there had been enough of that already. Then it was done, and he had gone back to class, a blotch of blood making its way through the thin gauze and seeping into his only blue t-shirt.
They had come that day during dinner time. His parents were, as usual, not hungry so Rhyn and his two older brothers had split of the pot of rice and the two slices of bread. In mid bite, pound pound pound. Mama had opened the door, and two men announced that he, Rhyn, had passed the blood test. They said something about a stipend and then Rhyn had been sent to his room to get his favorite toy, a red yo-yo that had blue stars on the sides. His mother had tears in hers eyes and had gotten his hair wet as she cried into his straight brown hair. One of the men was glaring at his father, gripping his pistol that he had by his side. Father was glaring back and didn’t move as Rhyn hugged him. His brothers had stayed quiet, but he could see they were already chewing on the piece of bread he had left on his plate. Then, one of the large men placed his hand on his back and steered him out the door. He hadn’t seen his family since.
---
                Particles of his consciousness flowed amongst the electrons floating in the copper and fiber-optics. Within seconds, Rhyn knew the intricate web of wires weaving through the core connected a small dish in the cone to the motherboard that lay extended in the middle of the cavity. As he scanned through the junctions that crisscrossed the CPU, he noticed a batch of memory that hadn’t been locked down. Did the company accidentally give him an active unit? He pushed a little more of his thoughts through his fingers, scanning the memory to see if it was corrupted or infected. He didn’t think a computer virus could infect his mind, but his bond with machines always made him cautious. Seeing none of the inherent signs, he willed the memory subroutine to show its secrets.
                The image of a girl with blond hair and piercing blue eyes popped into his vision and a voice of twittering birds entered his mind. He released the capsule he was holding, and the image and voice faded into the quiet static of the room. Rhyn looked around. Same white walls and bright lights. Memory of the type he had accessed usually didn’t have picture or audio, just pure data. And yet, it had been there in his mind. Should he access the memory again? He thought it over, but he curiosity was telling him that, considering it was a part of the coding, it was just part of the project. He flexed his fingers once more and pressed them against the metal surface.
                Test One Point One, contact. My name is Eloise and if you are seeing this you are a Circuit Feeler like me. We make things, we break things, we are the reason that our world has advanced exponentially in the last decade. I send this message in the hopes that somewhere there is someone like me. Someone separated from who they once were, who wants to see their family again and be freed from the curse that the Company has clamped onto us.
                I speak freely because this message is specially encoded to be read only by one with the powers that you and I possess. This device can be restructured into a communication device that would be connected by our minds, instructions at the end of the message. The access code is Freedom. Together, we may be able to retire from employment and return home.
                The image in his eyes flickered, the last vision of the girl being a confident smile. After a few moments, the sight of her face was replaced by a black box with a blinking orange cursor. He closed his eyes and released the cylinder, letting it clunk down on the table.
                Freedom? Family? No longer employed by the company? He got up from his chair, the scratchy outfit lined with beads of sweat. His hands trembled, a nervous tic leapt through his thumbs. He remembered during his re-education he had been told that he had no need for his family, that his sole allegiance lay with his employers. But could it all be true, that others like him had doubts, that others were uncomfortable under the bright lights and inside the white rooms?
                The thought entered his mind, and as the synapses fired, he knew he would follow through. He sat back down, breathed in deep, and touched the surface of the chrome. Finding the file in the memory once more, he activated the video, and looked into the eyes of Eloise once more. When the text box formed, he uttered FREEDOM, watching the letters form alongside his thoughts. And underneath his finger tips, the capsule sprang to life.
                The sound of static in the room amplified, and he could feel tiny points of energy dropping in onto his skin. He pushed his will through the circuitry forwards to the cone. The receiver had been reversed, and was now transmitting a raw signal. As the surges of energy increased against his skin, he felt them interacting with his mind. The nano-robots. And they were receiving a message.
                Destroy all life in the room.
---
                “Sir, the specimen has been terminated. He put up a fight, sending out surges of energy for 5 minutes before succumbing to the Seeker Drones.”
                “It is unfortunate. I had hoped he had been properly re-educated. We will have to put an inquiry in place for his instructor. And we will have to inform the engineers to enhance the durability of the drones.”
                “Yes sir. Any other further actions?”
                “See that our other test subject is properly rewarded. She did a decent job disguising the Trojan. I believe the code was embedded in the eyes of the image.”
                “Yes sir.”
                “Oh, and make sure to remove the family. No need to keep them on stipends now that the asset is gone.”
                “Of course, sir. Actions will be undertaken by tomorrow evening.”
                “Keep it classified too.  Only our division… And the chairman, of course.”
                “Of course, sir.”

Introduction to a New Project

So, it's November, which, among many things, means NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). As I am a busy guy with school and all, I don't have the dedicate towards trying to write a whole novel. However, I have an idea for a project I have been thinking of pursuing, and now is a good time to announce it.
Project: Untitled
Objective: Write a series of short stories all taking place within a futuristic world where the ability to do magic has been unlocked by science and is controlled by the Company.

As it is November, it is a good time to start putting these together. I hope to generate 1/week during this month, at least in some shape or form. Mind you, because of this, they will be fairly rough. Any comments and suggestions to help me make it better will be greatly appreciated.

Enjoy reading!

Part 1:
Short Circuit

Part 2:
 Numinousity Sequence

Part 3:
Gifts

Monday, August 25, 2014

Summer Reading

I meant to write over this summer. And some words did get put to paper, but nothing substantial enough to place here. However, there was something else that was just as worthwhile.
Upon moving to a new state, one of the first things that I did was get myself a library card. And boy, did I use it. My wife probably wishes I had spent more time with her this past July than in the various mystical realms I ventured. Don't worry, we went to the Zoo so all is well.
Here is my list, as well as a brief synopsis and review, of the 10 books I read this summer (mostly in July and August).

      1.  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by JK Rowing.
      2.  Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
I grouped these two together because I have already read them countless times before. It felt like a good time to read them again, a chance to walk down memory lane. And I can’t help but ask myself, ‘Now that I've seen the movie versions, does that change my perspective on the books themselves?’ I especially thought about this reading #2.
      3. Chains, by Laurie Hals Anderson
This is a historical fiction piece about a young slave girl and the Revolutionary War. It was a very good read, and I was extremely surprised to find that it ended in a cliff hanger and moved on in a series. The interesting part, her master is a large supporter of the British. So this book serves as look at the opposing sides.
      4.  Five Kingdoms: Sky Raiders, by Brandon Mull
I am a big Brandon Mull fan. I have read both the Fablehaven and Beyonders series and I rejoiced to hear about both this new series and an eventual 2nd series to Fablehaven. So when I found this at the library, I was so excited. But after the first few chapters, I wondered what had happened to my man B Mull. But I continued and was completely satisfied by the end, which capped the story well but set it up nicely for the next one. The fantasy is just as imaginative as his previous books, but, you've got to let him set it up first.
       5. The Magic Thief, by Sarah Prineas
       6. The Magic Thief: Lost
       7. The Magic Thief: Found
A couple of years ago, my wife and I listened to the first book of this series as we drove across Wyoming. I really enjoyed it as it places an unlikely hero into the spotlight: a street urchin pickpocket becomes a wizard’s apprentice. I spotted the book at the library and saw it had two other books. So I got them all. The first can stand alone and is the best of the lot. The other two should be read together. The mythology behind the story is really unique (involving the nature and existence of magic). But, the first is the best of the three.
       8.The Rithmatist, by Brandon Sanderson
This was the first book that really made me think this summer. It is technically a fantasy, and the magic system was awesome. If you think combining religion, geometry and sidewalk chalk into a magical form while living in an alternate version of our current world and history sounds intriguing, this is the book for you. And to through in an interesting mystery to boot, sign me up for the whole series! Unfortunately, the rest of the series is on hiatus while B Sanderson finishes the bazillions of other books he is working on.
       9. Steelheart, by Brandon Sanderson
I loved the previous book so much that I wanted another from Mr. Sanderson. And this one did not disappoint. A science fiction romp through an alternate history of Chicago, the story tells about a calamity that gave certain people on earth ‘superpowers.’ However, instead of becoming heroes, the men and women become tyrants, egotistical, and willing to destroy all civilization on a whim. The story follows a young man who sees his father murdered in front of his eyes by Steelheart, a villain with powers similar to those of Superman. Already, this book is generating buzz in the realm of cinema as a new tent-pole feature. Dystopia? Check. Superpowers? Check. Something entirely different from anything else out there? Read it and see.
    10. The Accidental Hero, by Matt Myklusch.
I saw this book at the store a few years ago, thought it seemed interesting, and then forgot about it until I saw it at the library. I had a few days before school started (and I wanted a clean 10 books), so I gave it a try. It is very imaginative, but you can tell in the first few chapters that it is the author’s freshman effort. However, by the middle of the story, I was so caught up in the story that it was easy to look past some of the writing quirks to enjoy the engaging story. To catch the bug, the author splits the power of imagination into 6 groups: Medieval times, the Far East (Ninjas and Samurai), Espionage, Aliens, the Future/Technology, and Superheroes/villains. Throw in an intergalactic viral alien entity for good measure. It was a satisfactory end to a good summer of reading. And yes, there are at least two more books in the series. Something to look forward to.


Well, that’s my list. If you would like to know any more about the books or just want to talk about them having read them, feel free to comment below!