Tag: simple

The Atrocity Archives

Reviews

I have a tendency to read slow when it comes to books.  Mostly this happens because of the manner in which I read.  As I plow through the prose, in my imagination I am building the book.  I don’t just read the words, I live them.  So when I come across a book that evokes within me extremely vivid visions, I actually read even more slowly as I crawl around in the world being constructed in my head.

This is what happened with Charles Stross’ The Atrocity Archives.  Imagine a world where all the horrors of Lovecraft exist just outside our reality and letting them in is a simple as figuring out the math and science needed to cross the barrier, which people do, all the time, and the only reason the world continues to exist is due to the efforts of government organizations around the globe who track and deal with these sorts of things.  That’s the world that Stross sets his story in, specifically within The Laundry, the Occult branch of Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and Bob Howard, a computer hacker who works for them.

I’m a sucker for math, especially when its confusing enough to sound real and yet not concrete enough to punch holes in, like that TV show Numb3rs.  So when I found that essentially the book takes place in the world where there isn’t really “magic” per say, but instead that what many would see as magic is only advanced math and science and a deeper, less well known, understanding of the universe, I just had to give it a shot.  And I loved it.

I look forward to reading the other book in the series, but not until I’ve taken a break for a book or two.  If I get bogged down again, I’ll never make my 52 in 52.

Scamazon.com

Random Thoughts

Over at not much’a nothin’, Cliff has run into Amazon.com’s price scam.

It’s simple. If you shop there often, they build up a database of the things you buy, the things you look at, and the things you store in your wish list. All of this is supposedly aimed at focusing your shopping experience. If you buy lots of DVDs there, you’ll find that DVDs start getting recommended to you in the genre’s you shop most. Buy a TV and the next time you log in you may find yourself looking at a screen full of TV accessories… DVD players, VCRs, TiVo units, stereos, etc.

But they are also doing something else… the more you buy with them, the more likely you’ll get what Cliff got, a small price increase. Yes, I said increase.

Now, if the only thing you buy there are paperback books, DVDs and pre-orders, you aren’t likely to run into this much, but don’t be so sure. What you need to do to protect yourself is before buying anything, log out and check the price again. You could easily save yourself hundreds of dollars depending on what you are buying and how often you buy there.

You’d think that a company would reward long term patronage, but that’s just not how things work any more. The new customer is king, a returning customer is someone whose business you already have, and it is all about broadening the client base. So, shop safe, shop blind… don’t let them know who you are until you’ve already got your items in the cart. Remember, its your money, not theirs, so keep your eye on it until its time to pay.