“If America is a lunatic asylum then California is the… Violent Ward.” Deighton’s Violent Ward, which takes place during the Rodney King trial and subsequent verdict and riots not only captures the moment, but the chaotic false bravado of Hollywood as well.
Declassify >Love for Jurassic Park Series is Anything but Extinct, 30 Years Later
Until I became a self-sufficient consumer, there was only one movie I had ever watched on opening weekend. In fact, until I could buy my own tickets, it was the first film I’d seen within the first few weeks of release: Jurassic Park.
It was wet. It might have been raining when we arrived or at some point during the film or earlier in the day, but that’s how I remember it. What I know for sure is that I was 10 years old and going to the drive-in with my parents to see Jurassic Park on the big screen. That kind of memory sticks with you.
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Prey Highlights Man’s Folly in the Face of Technology
Michael Crichton’s Prey is a parable for technological advancement gone amok. It starts with an introduction to “Artificial Evolution in the Twenty-first Century,” which allows Crichton to weave a better story and set the stage for Prey to read more like a play than a novel.
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Quips, References, and Empty Space: JPod Still Thought-Provoking Almost 20 Years Later
JPod by Douglas Coupland Spoiler Free Book ReviewMaking a video game isn’t easy. If your name is Ethan Jarlewski, your day job coding video games is the last thing you need to be worrying about, especially when your personal life is complicated by “Hollywood, marijuana grow-ops, people-smuggling, ballroom dancing, and the rise of China.”
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Deighton’s City of Gold is must-read WW2 fiction
Len Deighton is best known for his espionage and war fiction. He can craft a story with clandestine effects and military precision, and he’s schooled in and has educated many on World War II.
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