Sunday 3 September 2017

Proof of Heaven

by Even Alexander

I have to admit - this book was not my favourite. This book is about Eben Alexander, an American neurosurgeon who survived bacterial meningitis and had a Near-Death-Experience, or NDE. As a neurosurgeon, he understands the brain in a different and deeper way than most of us, so the book deals with his disease and the science behind what was happening to him very well. 

The novel also deals with Eben Alexander's experience during a coma, while physically his brain was pretty much in shut down. He writes of his memories of visiting with the divine, and journeying to a realm beyond Earth. I had a hard time getting through this novel - it took me weeks, and for a very short book it should have been finished in days. 

In my opinion, the book was far too heavy on 'heavenly cliches'. While there wasn't a "bright white light", at least, it felt like any other NDE story, and considering Eben Alexander's background, I was hoping for more than that. 
-Cat

The premise of the book is what made me want to read it: a neurosurgeon goes into a week-long coma where the parts of his brain that are responsible for consciousness are pretty much dead has vivid visions of the afterlife and now feels that Heaven is real. Cool premise, based on a true story...

Dude's a better neurosurgeon than author. Like Cat, I should have finished reading this quicker than I did (although I did finish before her 😛). There was a lot of repetition, and I feel like a lot of the terms he used jive a little too closely with other NDE stories, which reduces credibility.

I'm glad I read it, but I think I'll only read this one once.
--Mikie

Ready Player One


by Ernest Cline

Well hey there! It's been a loooong time. I went on a trip to Canada last month, and then Mikie moved back to the US, so there's been lots of upheaval in our lives the last couple months! We're a few books behind on our blog now, so let's jump right in with Ready Player One. 

Ready Player One was an awesome book. I've never read anything like it, and it was really cool. If you're into 80's pop culture, or gaming, you will LOVE this book. I had a hard time following many of the references (I'm not an 80's baby...), but that didn't mean I couldn't enjoy the story. It's a future-dystopian book, that imagines a world ruled by a virtual reality technology. Ernest Cline creates a vived, and scarily realistic possible future, and I was fascinated. 

The book was incredibly detailed, and really fun! Interestingly, there is now a Ready Player One movie being made, which is something I didn't think would be possible, so it'll be interesting to see how that turns out! 
-Cat

Holy crap, this book was a nerdgasm on every page for me. The references to '80s and '90s pop culture made me smile a lot. I knew almost every video game that Cline mentioned in the game (a few of the older PC games weren't familiar to me because we grew up with Atari, not PC games). The point is I found myself marking out on every page, and that made it even more awesome.

"What if I'm not a nerd?" you ask. Shame on you! Also, Cline gives enough information so that the important references have meaning, and the lesser ones can be taken in without much confusion.

The juxtaposition of the idyllic Oasis and the crumbling real world gives the quest in the book some interesting layers of meaning. I don't want to give anything away, I really want you to go read this.

And holy crap, how the heck are they making this a movie? The licensing issues alone would be a nightmare! I really hope Ready Player One will be more than one movie, because otherwise they'll have to cut lots of stuff.
--Mikie