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The Eye of Minds (James Dashner)

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 The Eye of Minds         The Eye of Minds , by James Dashner, is a science fiction novel about virtual reality, the first installment the the trilogy The Mortality Doctrine . (No spoilers)         In The Eye of Minds , we learn about a futuristic society built around advanced virtual reality technology that can completely immerse someone into a virtual world: nerves are directly connected to a machine that translates simulated sensations from the virtual world. It follows Michael, Bryson, and Sarah, three friends who happen to be extremely skilled at hacking, as they are recruited to fight the elusive cyberterrorist Kaine. Kaine is trapping people inside the virtual world, often killing by causing brain damage to their real life bodies by bypassing security measures designed to prevent neurological harm. Additionally, their main goal is finding information about the dangerous program known as The Mortality Doctrine , and its i...

Attack on Titan Chapter 84 Analysis

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Hajime Isayama's Attack On Titan Chapter 84 Analysis MAJOR SPOILER S AHEAD Before the analysis, here is a summary (or at least what you need to know for this analysis) of Attack on Titan: Please keep in mind that this summary only covers the first half of the manga, as the second half is extremely complicated. In this world, humanity lives in a walled city, protecting them from titans, a terrorizing and mindless creature that feasts on humans. One day, the titans manage to break through the outermost wall, killing countless civilians, including Eren Yeager’s mother. Eren, traumatized by what he witnessed, pledges to kill the titan race. He, along with his closest friends, Mikasa and Armin, train to join the Survey Corps. The Survey Corps, a branch of the military, is responsible for the study of titans and the explorations outside the wall. The Survey Corps is led by Erwin Smith with his right-hand man Levi Ackerman. To fully understand this analysis, I definitely recommend reading...

The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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The Complete Sherlock Holmes “The Complete Sherlock Holmes” is a classic collection of short mysteries. Although I have not read every story in the book, I have read a good amount of them. The mysteries have an unexpected plot twist which is a classic Sherlock Holmes ending. Although the endings are always an unexpected plot twist they make sense. In many mysteries, the author attempts at one of these endings but just makes something that would not happen or has such a low chance of happening. The well thought out endings of Doyle’s mysteries makes them unique.  One interesting short story in the book was The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb. Although the mystery is not a great representation of a classic Sherlock Holmes mystery it is still compelling. The story is about Mr. Victor Hatherly, a hydraulic engineer, in London in the 1880s. Hatherly gets a commission from a man to examine a hydraulic press. Mr. Hatherly took the commission and met the man at a train station. Add...

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor RE-REVIEW

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 by evie For my last blog post, I'm going to do another review of Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. I haven't read it in a while, and I want to see if my thoughts on the story have changed. Also because it's a good book and I want another excuse to read it again. Now to the review: summary (again)           This book's main character, a Himba girl named Binti, is given a chance to go to the prestigious school Oozma University. If she chooses to go there, she'll have to leave behind her home Earth, her family, and go against her traditions. Even if she does make the hard decision to leave, getting to the school is a whole other challenge. Making the journey across the galaxy is treacherous, with dangerous people like the Meduse lurking around every corner. Will Binti decide to leave her home to make the journey? Will she survive the trip to Oozma University? Read the book and find out (also, the story continues in the next two books so check those out if you lik...

This Mortal Coil (Emily Suvada)

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  This Mortal Coil , by Emily Suvada         This Mortal Coil  is the first installment of the namesake trilogy. [No spoilers]          Set in the far future, the world has been overrun by an extremely fast acting, fast mutating virus called Hydra-6. It spreads in a unique way: by efficiently and quickly infiltrating every cell in the body, and then destroying each cell explosively, blowing up in a plume of highly infectious mist. Additionally, in the early stages of infection, it causes primal and violent behavior to those around the infected person, resulting in the bystanders to attempt to consume the infected person. In this world, so-called "genehacking" technology has allowed for extremely efficient genetic changes and alterations to the body, allowing programming to effectively control many aspects of the body. The main character, Caterina, is the daughter of a famous genehacking expert, who is needed by a shady worldwid...

The Skies Belong to Us

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    The Skies Belong to Us : Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking by Brendan I. Koerner      My least favorite part of the airport is the TSA portion. Only once in a while do I get an officer who doesn’t scare the living daylights out of me. But I couldn’t imagine living in a time where you could just walk onto a plane without getting through security — a time where hijacking a plane was an everyday occurrence.      I first heard this book through the popular crime podcast “Rotten Mango” (I absolutely HIGHLY recommend listening to this podcast).  In that episode, the host, Stephanie Soo, detailed the events of the hijacking of Flight 701. I was so shocked by the story, and I decided to read the book she recommended.      Roger Holder, a Vietnam war veteran, was plagued by his troubled and traumatic past. Then there was Cathy Kerkow. She had a playful and mischievous spirit. A small world would be the only way I can de...

The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb

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  The Perfect Mile During the 1950s many people thought running a mile in under 4 minutes was impossible. In 1954 Roger Bannister broke the barrier, surprising everyone. The Perfect Mile goes in depth into how Roger Bannister ended up breaking the four minute mile. The book starts back before the Helsinki Olympics in 1952, going in depth about the life of three runners who would later try to break the four minute barrier; Roger Bannister, Wes Santee, and John Landy. Bascomb does a good job of comparing the runners’ lives before they started trying to break the barrier. Roger Bannister grew up in Britain in a working class family and showed running talent at a young age. Wes Santee, like Bannister, showed running talent at a young age. Santee grew up in rural Kansas and won many mile races at local track meets, despite his strict father not approving of his running. Unlike the other two runners, John Landy did soccer growing up in Melbourne Australia, only doing track until later ...