Valentina Rybchak Rybchak itibaren Trèves, Fransa
Just how was it possible that Doom, a computer game about mutated humans, gore, and a Big Fucking Gun, would define the pop culture of the 1990s? Enter stage David Kushner's Masters of Doom, a book that fictionalizes the true story of the Two Johns (the tight, algorithm-oriented Carmack and the loose, game design-oriented Romero) on the road to richness, fame, and ultimate collapse. What's so interesting about this? Five ninth the (typical?) American story, with the outcasts getting the one-up against society through hard-work and self-belief, peppered with (typical?) characters such as American McGee, "Burger" Bob, and billion-dollar businessmen. Two ninth of the two guys who started by cheating their bosses, copying others' software, and then creating their own niche in the entertainment industry. One ninth about the company that gets built from scratch and, en-route to glory, dispenses from the services of most of its founders. One ninth of the bit on the growth of the computer entertainment industry. Seasoned with trivia and humor. Served hot by inspired writing. Just too much to palate at five stars, but a must-read nevertheless.
Heartbreaking and uplifting all at the same time. The story flowed and was a page turner.
This is the August 2009 selection for my Book Club and though I would never have reached for this book on my own (which is why I join Book Clubs), this was an enthralling read that I just barreled through. This book also won the Man Booker Prize of Literature (U.K's prestigious) and I almost always love Booker Prize winners. The Narrator is an extremely poor driver from the "Darkness of India", a very small, impoverished village who basically learns the tough way of the streets by driving a private car for a rich but very corrupt family. Though the narrator is a murderer (he confesses this right in the start of the book), you find you are sympathetic to him for he speaks for a huge population of Indians who are poor and can never have any hopes of rising above their servant class. His observations of life in India are acute and educational. The story is narrated over the course of 7 nights and thus the book is split up into 7 chapters.
Crichton is intriguing as always, but there is certainly a bit stronger of a social purpose to this novel. Definitely read the Author's Statement and appendices at the end. I agree with the overall thrust of his argument, but I think he is too simplistic in his view and frankly I feel that his point attempts to justify inaction. Climate change is NOT the only sustainability issue we face and I feel he ignores this to some extent.