Desicritics Author: AJ

Free Hugs: The Triumph of Love and Peace

AJ — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 06:52:36 EST

One of the highlights of the past few weeks have been the Mangalore pub beating incident by the Shree Ram Sene activists. For those hiding under a rock, a bunch of goons physically assaulted girls who were simply enjoying themselves in a pub in Mangalore. All in the name of maintaining Indian culture and preventing the proliferation of Western Culture.

Soon after that, with the imminence of Valentine's Day and to gain more political mileage out of their actions, the group declared that they would "Marry Off" any couple found enjoying themselves.

This declaration probably had the exact opposite affect of their aim. The attack coupled with this declaration resulted in the kind of backlash, from the political to the student to the working people to even the autowallahs pledging support for the Valentine's day revelers.

Not just that, multiple groups sprung up overnight to protest against Shri Ram Sene, it's leader Pramod Muthalik and the moral police. The Pink Chaddi campaign, The Pub Bharo aandolan, the Walk for Love and the Hug Karo, Pub Bharo aandolan all decided to exercise their freedom and civil rights and protest against those who threaten it.

I got a chance to participate in the Hug Karo, Pub Bharo aandolan. It was organized mainly by the Blogaloreans (Bangalore Bloggers group). While there was no Pub Bharo, there was a lot of Hugging in the aandolan.

About 4 of us assembled initially at the corner of Brigade Road-MG Road at about 3 PM of Valentine's Day with posts saying:

- Free Hug
- Happy Valentine's Day
- Dear Daughter, Wish you a fear free society (Get well soon Mamu)

and similar messages.

As we stood there, in one of the busiest streets in Bangalore, people passed us by looking at us curiously but not venturing to show their support by giving or receiving a free hug.

A lot of the younger generation (read MY generation) eventually understood our purpose and came to us either to encourage us or to hug us.

(The initial Hug Karo group)

(The final group when more people had joined us out of enthusiasm)

Though we did not keep a steady count, I'm quite certain that our group gave out at least 50-70 hugs which considering the small group was a pretty good number. However, the entire time, all of us felt that people were hesitant to come for a hug, that they were skeptical of our motives and were simply embarrassed. But a lot of them also showed support, giving us thumbs up, coming and giving us tight hugs or general words of encouragement and praise. That kept us heartened and energised to go at it for close to 2-1/2 hours.

However, what was most important was that we touched so many people, put our point across to the so called moral police and all this in a peaceful process.

We also received media coverage from Deccan Chronicle, TV 9 and other independent journalists and photographers.

Some More pics (courtesy Sanjukta):

Finally, a group has collated various videos of of the protests in Bangalore for Valentine's day and against the Moral police. Visit their youtube channel to view the videos

Book Review: Javascript: The Good Parts by Douglas Crockford

AJ — Fri, 7 Nov 2008 06:28:37 EST

The phrase "JavaScript master" and Douglas Crockford are considered synonymous in the web development world. When I heard that Crockford was writing a book on JavaScript, especially a guide to the better features of one of the most maligned but popular languages in the current web development industry, I was sure I wanted to read that book. I opened the book with very high expectations and unsurprisingly, I was not disappointed one bit.

With the recent explosion in the usage of JavaScript, the interest in JavaScript is at an all time high. When Netscape, which created JavaScript, released the specification of the language in the mid-nineties, it was unable to define a robust and complete specification for the language due to pressures of rushing out a production release. As a result, fair chunk of the language is not well thought out which contributes to bad programming style and promotes some bad programming practices. It is not the programmers but the language which causes this. Programming models based on Global variables, JavaScript eval, inconsistencies in variable scope, and confusion regarding how objects are created and handled in JavaScript can all be the sources of programming errors and give rise to bad programming practices.

This book, as its name suggests, focuses on the "Good Parts" of the JavaScript while cautioning the readers against the "Bad Parts" of the language. All the above mentioned "bad parts" and many other programming constructs are cautioned against in a two-part appendix.

Two other appendices also touch on JSLint, the powerful JavaScript syntax and program correctness verifier and JSON, the preferred and increasingly popular text data exchange format. These two chapters give a taste and a starter for two very important support tools for JavaScript.

However, the meat of the of the book focuses on the better parts of the JS language. In ten chapters, Crockford explains why features like - JS inheritance model, prototypes, objects, arrays and how the language handles regular expressions - are very useful and make JavaScript a fairly powerful language in its own right. Object Oriented programming in JS, how methods and the prototype chain is handled and can be used to write clean and powerful code are all a must read for advanced JS programmers.

The language of the book is very simple and sprinkled with illustrative source code which makes understanding the concept in discussion easy to understand. That said, this is not a beginners book. This book is aimed at those who have programmed in JS and have a working knowledge of the language. Nevertheless, it is a highly recommended book for anyone looking to get into better and more powerful JavaScript programming.

The Significance of the 2008 US Elections

AJ — Wed, 5 Nov 2008 00:37:34 EST

This is one of the few posts on politics I have ever written. I feel it is significant and so I have put across whatever came to my mind.

Elections are currently going on in the US. I feel it is one of the most significant elections in recent US history; not solely due to the current economic crisis (caused in a major part by the sub-prime lending crisis). I think it is one of the most important elections because of the legacy that the new president will inherit. The war in Iraq, America's diminishing power in the world, the whole war on terrorism, China's growing influence. And yes, of course, the current economic crisis.

The presidential candidates (one of who will soon be the president, declaration in the next 24-36 hours likely), John McCain and Barack Obama will have their hands full trying to turn America Inc around and revive the economy on the brink of a recession and disaster. He will also have the sorry legacy that will be left behind by, in my opinion, one of the worst ever US presidents, George W. Bush. Whatever I say about Bush will not be enough. The way he has messed up the entire country and how he won the elections, all have been just a travesty.
Will the new president be successful in getting past these tasks, time will tell. Will it be a significant challenge? Yes.

That said, I have not really followed the policies and agendas of the candidates. Definitely not as keenly as Pramod (who by the way was campaigning for Ron Paul) so I do not really know which of the either would be better for India. The US still has a major influence on the world and as such, relations with the US are an important aspect of Foreign Affairs for India.

: Image by Getty Images via Daylife

: Image by radiospike photography via Flickr

From what little I have heard and read, John McCain seems to be slightly more pro-India than Barack Obama. However, I still think and hope Obama is going to be the next president solely for his more moderate views and his stance regarding the war in Iraq. Where McCain wants to continue the war, Obama is in favor of a withdrawal. And I hope hope that happens. The US should pull out of Iraq where they have no right to be.

Also, Obama seems to have a better grasp of the current economic situation around the world and is more likely to take the right steps in alleviating this situations.

Maybe just an intuition, but I feel Obama might just win this one. Let's see what happens in the next two hours shall we :)

Book Review: Damselflies by Jayel Gibson

AJ — Sat, 1 Nov 2008 08:19:46 EDT

Damselflies is the strongest of the first three books in the An Ancient Mirrors tale series by Jayel Gibson. As with the previous books, the main protagonist of this tale is a female. But different from the first two books is that the characters in this book are by far developed the best. The book is about the enchanted land of Grimmoir� and mainly of Arcina�, the future sovereign of Grimmoir�.

The story starts off with a vivid depiction of the desecration of Grimmoir� by men whose minds have been corrupted by evil and who are bent upon destroying all enchanted beings residing in Grimmoir�. Many of the enchanted beings manage to escape into Revere (an enchanted land in Ǽdracmorǽ); but those were unable to are raped and brutally murdered. One of them who was left for dead, a damselfly is found by a bounty hunter, Ilerion who takes her to a healer in a bid to save her life.

This damselfly turns out to be Aracina�, the future sovereign (Ruler) of Grimmoir�. From here starts the struggle of Aracina� to change her non-violent, docile nature into a warrior so that she can avenge the murder of her family and her betrothed. This forms the crux of the story of Damselflies. The story of Ilerion and Aracina� is followed by the story of their daughters who have a very important part to play in an ancient prophecy.

As I mentioned, this book is by far the strongest and the most tightly written book among the three. The tale held my interest throughout the book. The story of the brutalization of Aracina�, her recovery, her struggle to change herself into a warrior for revenge is built up very well. And of course, there is the romantic element of Aracina� falling in love with, her savior and protector, Ilerion and vice-versa.

The second part of the book is about Aracina� and Ilerion's daughters, damselfly halflings who are part of a prophecy to destroy the heteroclites and subsequently rule all men. This part of the story starts very abruptly and is quite a bit rushed. Probably because the story was getting quite long. I felt that this should probably have been spun off into another another independent book because the tale is worth its own and has a lot of potential.

I also noticed a few disconnects between Damselflies and The Wrekening. Mainly related to what Cwen was touted to be in the second book and what she was portrayed in Damselflies. Whereas in The Wrekening, Cwen was to have resurrected the House of Lochalaen, here it is Aracina� who actually retrieves the "gryphonstone" which is important to Lohgaen to resurrect his dead house. But that is probably a minor plot detail.

Overall, I have very minor quibbles with the book and like it a fair bit more. I quite recommend reading this book. Though some parts of the book refer to the previous two books, his book can probably read just by itself.

Book Review - The Art of Black and White Photography By Torsten Andress Hoffman

AJ — Thu, 7 Aug 2008 11:56:34 EDT

In recent years, tremendous advancements and innovation in digital cameras have turned everyone into photographers. With the developments in the last few years digital cameras have become equal to and in some aspects surpassed analog (film) cameras in terms of image quality and features which aide in photography. Some high-end cameras have so many features that it is hard for many to even use all of them.

That said, digital photography is not solely about technology alone; it is more about the images and their expressions. The content, formation of the elements and the mood of the images are much more important. The Art Of Black And White Photography has been written to help become familiar with digital photography, focusing on the images as art than the technology. The book covers the beginning - getting a camera, some accessories (like filters and polarizers) and then moves on to concepts in photography. This focuses heavily on the various genres and the mood the photographer tries to convey through photographs. This section includes advice on a gamut of photographic subjects like portraits, architecture, surreal etc. From there, the author Torsten Andress Hoffman moves on to an extensive section on composition of photographs and the various rules which should be adhered to in order to achieve a good image composition. Finally, once you have clicked one or several photographs, Hoffman details the use of Adobe Photoshop CS3 and some of the newer features in this software that helps you enhance your photographs and make them look even better.

The author, Torsten Andress Hoffman, is a renowned photographer from Germany with considerable experience. In this book, he shares experiences and knowledge of photography — specifically black and white photography. Over 100 black and white photographs are included in the book to illustrate the topic of discussion, and through which Hoffman explains how images are formed, the intention of the photographer behind the image and the expression contained within the image.

An interesting point made in the first few chapters is why shooting entirely in the raw mode is better and more preferable, and why, even though the latest cameras have features to shoot in B & W, the author recommends shooting images in color and then converting them to B & W in digital workflow by using the grayscale mode or the channel mixer in Adobe Photoshop.

The second chapter is a joy to read. The sheer range of genres of photography covered is a treat for most photographers. There are tips and advice for everyone no matter what genre of photography you specialize in. However, in this section, Hoffman's explicit references to the Canon 5D, makes the technique too manufacturer specific. I personally own a Canon so was able to follow the feature being detailed in those terms but photographers using cameras by other manufacturers (Nikon, Pentax, Sony etc) might not necessarily follow due to the differences in terminologies used by the manufacturers (for example, Image Stabilization by Canon vs. Vibration Reduction by Nikon). This is not a major concern because Hoffman has provided example images from many cameras including some film cameras too and I am only nitpicking on this fine book.

Of course, knowing what you want to photograph is not sufficient. It is very important to know how to shoot the subject right and how to enhance and bring out something more from your photographs. For this, knowing the rules of composition is very important. These rules help you draw the eyes of the viewer as you like them to follow the subjects in the photo and how balanced the image is. Some of the most important rules like maintaining the Golden Ratio, number of subjects in a photo perspective from which the photograph are dealt with in suitable detail. This section is very good and useful for photographers of almost all experience levels.

The last section teaches the reader on how to "develop" digital images using Adobe PhotoShop as a "dark room". As advised in the first chapter that it is better to shoot in color; and this section closes that loop by teaching how to use the channel mixer of Adobe PhotoShop. The section further details other features in PhotoShop to further improve and process your images to get the most visual appeal out of them. I do wish that Hoffman had intermingled references to Gimp as well or referenced equivalent functions since Gimp is the free software used by many photographers who cannot afford the high cost of Adobe PhotoShop. But that is a minor point since those well versed in Gimp will be able to understand the chapter equivalently.

While this book is intended primarily to take good black and white photographs. The concepts of photography and image composition explained in this book apply equally for color photographs. This book however is not meant for absolute amateurs but will be very useful to medium to high experience level photographers. For me, the best feature of the book is the large number of sample images, which are an absolute treat with some of them really beautiful. I recommend the book heartily for anyone interested in black and white photography or just photography in general.

Rating:

Content 5/5
Writing 4/5
Concepts 5/5

Book Review: Core Memory: A Visual Survey of Vintage Computers by Mark Richards and John Alderman

AJ — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 05:41:20 EDT

Remember your high school computer theory class? References to the "ancient" (in computer innovation time) machines which utilized vacuum tubes, drum memories, ferrite rings? Remember ENIAC, UNIVAC, EDVAC etc? If these terms bring back nostalgic memories of your high school computer course and the thoughts imagining what these machines looked like, then Core Memory is the book to refer.
Core Memory, named after the Ferrite Rings or Magnetic Core Memory, is a photographic journey by Mark Richards accompanied John Alderman's informational text. The coffee table sized book travels through the major developments in computer history via a series of high definition, glossy photographs. The photographs cover both the computer systems themselves and some of the more innovative (for that time) technologies used in those computers.Most of today's generation identify computers as the beige boxed PCs or the candy colored iMacs. But computers were not always the basic 4-piece combination of monitor, cabinet, keyboard and mouse. The computers of the beginning of mankind's trysts with electronic calculation and computation were as varied as they got. Room full of equipment, weighing tons apiece, most of the early computers cost millions of dollars to construct and provided computational power to perform a few hundred or thousand calculations per second.

One of the first was the Alpha Z3, constructed by Germany prior to World War 2. The computer was unfortunately destroyed during the Allied bombing of Berlin. Around the same time, the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was being constructed to compute the trajectory for missiles and other airborne weaponry. Though it was not completed in time to be used in the war, ENIAC, along with its successors EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) and UNIVAC (UNIVersal Automatic Computer) started the revolution of electronic computing machines. Core Memory traces the humble beginnings of our tryst with computers and leads up to the modern, ultra powerful computers we use today, the most basic of which are more capable than the costliest systems of that time.
The high quality photographs of this book show the history of computers in a different light and the text provided by John Alderman enhances the value of the book. The text usually described the manufacturer, the purpose, cost and basic architecture of each of the computers to provide context to the computers against the others. That said, none of the images have an informational blurb. So when an ultra close-up of a component is shown, the reader only can guess what it might be. This sometimes is quite frustrating and would have greatly enhanced the value of the photographs since the readers would be able to connect to the images in the book to a more intimate level.

The information contained within the book is quite basic and not a comprehensive history of computer systems. In fact it does not cover all the systems that have changed computing landscape over the course of history but only those which are on display at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. Also, while the images are quite detailed, there is no sense of scale. Shots of computer systems are placed along with full-page images of Vacuum Tubes. Also there is no consistency in the types of shots. While showing detailed component level images are good, at least one shot of the full system should have been included for each of the computers to give a better idea to the readers. Obviously, the images have not been chosen to give a overall view of the system but more for their artistic value.Don't get me wrong. This book is good. Very good and evokes a strong sense of nostalgia. The images are of a very high quality and give great detail. But it is not very comprehensive. So approach this as an photography and art book, not as a descriptive manual or a tome of history. But for the sheer pleasure of its contents, I highly recommend this book, both for your personal library and as a gift to your "geekier" friends.

Book Review: A Lifetime of Secrets: A PostSecret Book by Frank Warren

AJ — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:49:14 EDT

I have secrets. So do you and everyone else. We keep secrets out of embarrassment, fear of hurting others or importantly hurting ourselves. But a lot of times we keep secrets because we just do not know how to express our feelings - elation, hurt, sadness, love. The liberating effect of letting a secret out is the focus of the community powered and supported PostSecret project.

In 2004 Frank Warren launched a social experiment in community art, inviting strangers to mail him anonymous homemade postcards with their secrets written on them. The only rule is that it has to be a true secret that you have never before shared. Be creative he told the masses. The response he received was overwhelming.

The PostSecret idea to ask the community to send their deepest secrets anonymously, written on postcards, decorated (usually as a collage) however the sender wants. Of these, Frank, as the editor of the PostSecret project selects the ones that touch him, and posts them on the blog, in a book (four books so far) or on the traveling exhibit. Warren doesn’t select for any particular theme just those which touch - some are happy, some sad; some are humorous, some morbid and some just of desolation. Almost all secrets are personal, many times an incident from the sender's life, while some are just how they feel towards the world and life. Most times, those that connect the most with readers are the simplest (like “I still love you” or “I am stuck in my marriage”) and the most profound.

Each Sunday the PostSecret blog is updated with all new secrets sent by readers from all over the world. Each week it's different set of secrets, which make the blogs readers laugh or cry, feel happy or sad and almost always empathize with the sender. PostSecret has become a social phenomenon in such a short time that it is one of the most widely visited blog on the Internet. The popularity of PostSecret can be explained by its therapeutic effect on the reader, the connection they make with the sender and most importantly the realization that others have deep, dark secrets too and hence they are not alone. Over time, the project has gained a cult following of readers of all ages - angst ridden teens, mid-life crisis affected women to the aged who miss their lost loved ones.

Over the course of the project, Frank has released four books containing a selection of the postcards sent to him over the years. The latest book, “A Lifetime of Secrets” is the most different. In A Lifetime of Secrets, Frank says “I've selected postcards that show how secrets can reveal a momentary impulse or haunt us for decades and arranged them by age to follow the common journey we all take through childhood, adolescence, adulthood, maturity. Stretched over a full lifespan, the secrets expose the meaningful ways we change over time, and the surprising ways we don't.”

This fourth PostSecret volume, like the blog, is a collection of postcards. “A Lifetime of Secrets”, however, approaches the secrets a little differently, in that they are arranged chronologically, approximating the stages in one’s life. While the previous books were arranged thematically, this book is literally an attempt to present a progressive story — of life, a lifetime of secrets. Starting from childhood, the book span a child's fear in the kindergarten, to the teen who wants to spill their love, to the elderly who "Just wants to die happy" The predominant feeling, while reading this book, is like taking a journey through life, and simultaneously going through the changing experiences as we grow older.

I have been following PostSecret since 2005 and have always found it to be thought provoking and on many occasions therapeutic. The connection that I made with many of the PostSecret writers, the feeling of "I feel the same as you" when reading any of the cards is sometimes just overwhelming. When I received this book, I lent it to a cousin who had just gone through a traumatic experience in life. As she read it, she found comfort in reading the secrets and a little peace of mind connecting with the others. I heartily recommend this book to any and everyone, of any age!

While I have not written any secrets myself, if you have a secret, Share it! Let it go, write to the project and I'm sure there will be someone out there who will identify with your secret, or come to the realization that they are not alone nor life as unforgiving as it seems. Liberate yourself and send your own secret to

PostSecret
13345 Copper Ridge Rd
Germantown, Maryland 20874

Book Review - The Wrekening by Jayel Gibson

AJ — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:13:26 EDT

(Review of Part one of the Ancient Mirrors Series The Dragon Queen)

In the second Ancient Mirrors tale, author Jayel Gibson continues the tale of Ædracmoræ two decades past the reunion of Ædracmoræ by the Dragon Queen, Yávië.(Refer The Dragon Queen - An Ancient Mirrors Tale). The Wrekening tells the story of Cwen, niece of the Dragon Queen, Yávië, daughter of the guardians Näeré and Nall, accompanied by her friend Talin, a Feie Brengven and a thief Caen who likes Cwen.

The book is set a couple of decades after the quest by Yávië for the rebirth of Ædracmoræ. Nall and Näeré's daughter, Cwen is grown up, in her early twenties but in opposition to Nall, has refused to take the oaths of Guardianship and instead roams freely along with her friend Talin. When a chamber filled with an evil army of petrified soldiers known as the G'lm is found by the feie, the Dragon Queen's council convinces Cwen, Talin, Brengven and the thief Caen to try and locate crystal heart shards of the wyrms. The wyrms were dragon like creatures that hosted the Wreken, a race of powerful beings. These shards are the source of power to reawaken the G'lm and use them to cause massive destruction to the world.

Most of the book deals with the group’s quest to recover the shards as they race against time and others who intend to acquire the shards and use it for evil. The individual quests are handled quite well. The author keeps a good flow between the quests so their recovering thirteen shards do not get tedious though some of them seem just too easy. This is likely a result of the author's style to keep chapters fairly short, usually 3-5 pages in length. In a similar vein, while the recovery of the shards is enjoyable, the battles between the guardians and the G’lm are not described to its potential. What should have been an epic battle was won overnight with ease.

There are quite a few characters in this book that come and go through the story. Of these, Cwen is the most developed character followed by the character of Caen. Both are shown to change progressively and the fears and thoughts of Cwen are depicted quite well. Why she chooses not to be a guardian, why she kills poachers etc. While the Talin's character is not given too much depth and seems quite weakly built. Two characters are introduced deus ex machina, Klaed and Lohgaen. One frustrating issue with the story is that even though Laoghaire turns out to be an important character, his background, past nothing is explained. Nor is the reason for Cwen's fear of a man from her past, Aidan, treated with depth. The fear Cwen has for Aidan is strong. But why that is so, is not explained satisfactorily.

Another point that I found indigestible was the how the characters "break character" abruptly. For example, in one scene, Yávië puts the point of her dagger at Sorel's (her husband) neck, drawing blood. It just does not seem realistic and definitely does not make scene believable. Who shows anger in such a manner? Especially towards their spouse and the one they love? Sorry Jayel, it's a no go.

Despite the above flaws, the book has a very good story and an open ending with a potential for a sequel. Overall, the book has a very good storyline, a lot of potential but needs tighter editing.

My ratings

Story 4/5
Writing 3/5
Characters 3/5
Overall 3/5

Related Article: Book Review: Quondam by Jayel Gibson

Book Review: The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps Edited by Otto Penzler

AJ — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:37:56 EDT

During the Great Depression, many authors wrote stories at a penny a word to make ends meet. Some of these authors wrote up to a million words a year, usually in the form of detective stories, mysteries and thrillers. A lot of these stories, featuring smart, cynical but brave detectives, were first printed in the wildly popular fiction magazines of the 20's, 30's and 40's such as Black Mask, Dime Detective, Gangster Stories, and Gun Molls, printed on incredibly cheap pulp paper and were the medium for popular stories during the period between the world wars, through the great depression. This was the start of the fiction genre known as Pulp Fiction

With the popularity of comics, cheap paperback novels, radio and television, the popularity of pulp magazines declined, eventually shutting many of them down for good, and thus depriving many of our generation of the guilty pleasure of this writing style. Yes guilty pleasure since the rate at which the authors churned out these stories did not allow them to write elegant prose or proofread and rewrite these stories. In a way, this actually established the form and style of writing, making them more gritty and identifiable with the populace in a period when earning a livelihood was tough and money was short.

The decline of the pulp magazines however, has not entirely deprived us of this genre of fiction. The Black Lizard has released a huge compendium of pulp stories collected in a single anthology called The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps. Edited by Otto Penzler, one of the most authoritative sources on pulp fiction, owner of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, the book is telephone directory sized tome at over 1,000 pages contains 52 crime stories from the 20's, 30's and 40's with their original artwork and also features two full novels. The book is printed in the two-column format as the old magazines were printed. Penzler provides the foreword to the book and has written notes before each of the stories, usually about the author and his other works.

Featured in this book are some of the best stories and every major writer who ever appeared in the popular pulp magazines of the time. The book contains three stories by Raymond Chandler, Cornell Woolrich, Erle Stanley Gardner, and Dashiell Hammett, the masters of the pulp genre and many other lesser-known authors of the time. The featured novels are by Carroll John Daly, the man who invented the hard-boiled detective, and Fredrick Nebel. These are the classic tales that created the pulp fiction genre and started the trend of the hard-boiled detectives.

However, the stories are not collected by authors but are instead divided into three sections - Crime Fighters, Villains, and Dames with the stories in each section following that theme. The Crime Fighters are the quintessential cynical, honest hard-boiled detectives who are either saving a damsel in distress or setting right wrongs perpetrated on the innocent. These detectives were so popular that they became iconic thanks to this genre. Some of the characters include Sam Spade, Captain Jerry Frost of the Texas Air Rangers, Phillipe Marlowe and others. The Villains section is interesting because many of the stories featured Robin Hood'esque characters who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. There were exceptions of course, like the unrepentant sociopath teenager in "You'll always remember me" or the precious stone smugglers from The Monkey Murder.

In the age when these stories were written, there were not many women (outside of the movies) who accomplished a lot in the public eye. And this is reflected in these stories. The women in pulp fiction were usually secretaries, damsels in distress or in many cases, femme fatal on the arms of a crime boss. But a good many stories featured them in the role of the protagonist who used their beauty and brains to solve crime and save the day. Notable characters were Angel Face, or Ellen Patrick in The Domino Lady.

For pulp fiction fans, this book is a collector's edition. While not all stories are great (or equally good to the others) the vast collection will ensure that almost all fans will find a lot to enjoy the book. Each of the stories are prefaced by Penzler's editorial notes; especially helpful in putting the author, the stories and the heroes in perspective as well as serving as a background for readers who have not read pulp stories before. A highly recommended book for entertainment for many a days, this collectors edition is a must have.

Book Review: Dragon Queen - An Ancient Mirrors Tale

AJ — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 14:33:21 EDT

The Dragon Queen is the first part of the Ancient Mirrors Tale series by Jayel Gibson. This tale, based in the fantasy world of Ædracmoræ (pronounced Dracmor), is the story of the guardians Yávië and her companions Nall and Rydén resurrected and sworn to protect Ædracmoræ along with the help of other guardians who also become part of the central group of characters.

The book starts off with an interesting background describing the destruction of this world and its subsequent shattering by the Sojourner Alandon. However, Alandon, who is also Yávië's father establishes prophecies for its rebuilding. Along with the shattering, the souls of the guardians are sent into the stars in a death slumber, awaiting their reawakening. Once resurrected by a group of ancient beings called the Ancients, the first part of the book then deals with the training of the three guardians and certain quests they must perform and gain command of the Dragon Clans (referred to as Flytes) inhabiting their world.

In a similar vein, they go through a variety of tribulations and challenges to reach their eventual goal, the rebirth and reuniting of the shattered pieces of Ædracmoræ. There is another quest which is revealed in the middle parts of the book, the quest for Yávië to regain her birthright, that of the Dragon Queen of Ædracmoræ and finally to resurrect Ædracmoræ by reuniting the seven worlds

The book is fairly long as most fantasy books go but is divided into small comfortable and easy to read chapters. They are not overtly long and usually centered around individual tasks/mini-quests, which are closed within that chapter. However that is the story's undoing to an extent as well. But more on that later.

Jayel Gibson has described the world of Ædracmoræ beautifully, spending lush words in describing its beauty. Even the physical description and skills of the guardians are described in detail, which give a good idea about the guardian being described. The tale itself is very good and holds a lot of promise and creates anticipation within the reader and covers a lot of ground in encompassing three major quests and wrapping it up nicely with the ending suitably closed but open ended enough for a sequel.

The writer however does not satiate the anticipation created in a quest entirely. To ensure the short chapters, a lot of the plot points and tasks feel too rushed. Many of the tasks defined to be "extremely" difficult are achieved with ease and very quickly. It is like Gibson takes us on a crescendo and then let's go abruptly.
And while the character development is quite good and tight, sometimes they behave inconsistently with their defined characteristics and make the reader feel if they are reading about the same person or someone else entirely.

It would be unfair to compare this book to some of the classic fantasy books but nevertheless; this book stands on its own. It is a good book to read on a long weekend and will provide ample fantasy elements to satiate the reader. However, do not expect the plot development like done by say, Tolkien.

My ratings

Story 4/5
Writing 2/5
Characters 3/5
Overall 2.5/5