The Apology of Socrates by Plato

"The Apology of Socrates' by Plato. Translated to English by Benjamin Jowett. It was an audio-book by Librivox. Recording by Father Zeile. 

This book is the Socratic dialogue that presents the speech of legal self-defense, which Socrates presented at his trial for impiety and corruption, in 399 BC. The Apology of Socrates is a defense against the charges of “corrupting the young and not believing in the gods in whom the city believes".

Summary of Part 1 is his statement that whatever wisdom he possesses comes from knowing that he knows nothing. That's why he considers himself wiser than those who know nothing but think they do.

In Part 2, he accuses his accuser of making a joke of serious matter. Malitus accused Socrates as atheist but Socrates accuses him to be a liar by pointing the discrepancy in his argument with sound logic that if he believes in Demigods, he believes in Gods and hence he is not an atheist.

In Part 3, he calls himself a Gadfly whose criticism provokes society into action. He appeals to Athenians. He says, I have not made money, my poverty is the proof. He gives examples where he had taken righteous stand without fearing for life. He mentions Plato's presence among others twice. He Proposes 30 Aitna penalty for himself believing that they will not give him death penalty. However, he is condemned to death. In his Closing statement he says, I depart with penalty of death. You depart with penalty of villainy and wrong. Finally he prophesies that his accusers will be punished. There will be accusers of you. He thanks those who supported him.

In Part 4, after condemnation he says, I have not defended myself weeping, wailing & lamenting. He looks forward to after life and meeting and discussing with the departed souls of Heros. He requests Athenians to look after his sons ensuring they put goodness before selfish interest. 

Socrates is not afraid of the punishment, neither is he afraid of voicing his opinions. All through the book Vanity of Socrates is on display. It is laced with supreme confidence in his abilities, capabilities, beliefs and his philosophy. 

He bluntly refuses to accept charges and says if he was given an opportunity he will do the same again, even if they put him to death again. 

Socrates thought much ahead of his time. He wanted to bring change. Others were not up to his speed and considered him a Charlatan. The establishment could not stand his philosophy and hence accused him and put him to death. Although he lived more than 2400 years ago, he is still quoted widely. Thus though he died he became and immortal through his philosophy. 

Why did I read this book? Socrates & Plato. 

What I didn't like? It's a record of Plato. Did he add something? No way to know. 

What did I like? Fearlessness of thought. 

A short and good book. Recommend reading.

The witch's vacuum cleaner by Terry Pratchett

'The witch's vacuum cleaner' by Terry Pratchett. This edition is published by Doubleday Children's in 2016 and has 336 pages.

This book is a collection of 14 funny fantasy stories. All the stories happen in a different world. A magical world. 

The witch's vacuum cleaner: A vacuum cleaner riding witch curses an illusionist. What can he do?

The great train robbery: In the village Llandanffwnfafegettupagogo, a thug decides to rob the train. A police constable wants to foil the plan. Can he?

The truly terrible toothache: A magician from Elizabethan time appears and tries to turn the city the way it was in his times 400 years ago. How can it be reversed?

The frozen feud: Two ice cream vendors fight with ice cream and candies disturbing peace in the Welsh village Llandanffwnfafegettupagogo. Can the police end the feud ingeniously?

Darby and the submarine: One inch high people build a submarine and go duck hunting. What are their adventures?

The sheep rodeo scandal: Two guys try to steal sheep in Llandanffwnfafegettupagogo. Can police stop him?

An ant called 4179003: An ant gets fed up with his monotonous life in the nest and decide to explore the world. What will he experience?

The fire opal: At the time of Troll kings crowning ceremony the fire opal tumbled out of crown and went towards center of earth. Three Trolls chase it. They meet Driad, water nymph, sea troll. Can they recover fire opal?

Lord Cage and the battle for Banwen's beacon: Anthracite is discovered in the town of Llandanffwnfafegettupagogo. Lord Cage claims the land as his. How can villagers expose him?

The time traveling television: A television is discovered to have time travel ability. The owner and a Professor go back millions of years and find a person from their future there. What next?

The Blackbury park statues: One night all statues in this park come alive and wonder why Mrs. Mince has not visited for a while. A search party is dispatched. What will they find?

Wizard war: Wizard Malibor & Wizard Rebellum keep fighting by sending spells on each other. Jack, Rebellum's apprentice and Jerry, Malibor's cat decide to stop it by appealing to The Great Wizard. Will it work?

The extraordinary adventures of Doggins: Doggins goes on adventures in an airship to mysterious lands of money cultivators, fighting pirates with King Eagle and closing a punctured dam. Will his adventures continue?

Rincemangle, the Gnome of Even Moor: Rincemangle, who thought he is the only remaining Gnome in the world, discovers many Gnomes in a mall. There is a threat of displacement. How will he steer his brethren clear?

Full marks to author's fantastic imagination. A person rotating the world around, a magician turning the town back to Elizabethan times, 1" people in a submarine, time travel, talking statues, money harvesting etc. For the duration of reading reader is transported to the fantastic magical world. The journey through this world is enjoyable. 

A number of stories happen in village Llandanffwnfafegettupagogo (try pronouncing it!), which is smaller than its name, in the Wild West of UK; Wales. All other stories have magic. They are all good. 

Almost all the stories are short and sweet. However, some stories end abruptly. This is a book that you read, enjoy and forget slowly. A good book to read to your children. 

Why did I read this book? Children's book for a change. 

What I didn't like? Imagination. 

What did I like? Abrupt end of some stories. 

A good read. Read it to your children.

The Emperor's revenge by Clive Cussler & Boyd Morrison

"The Emperor's revenge" by Clive Cussler & Boyd Morrison. This book is published by Michael Joseph in 2016 and has 464 pages. This is Book 11 of Oregon files. 

A navy captain rescues Napoleon Bonaparte from prison replacing him with a double who eventually dies. A Father-Daughter duo has a very big plan. A bank in Monte Carlo and another one in France is robbed. An unstoppable virus is raking havoc in computers. Everyone is after Napoleon's diary and a column. Objective Napoleon's treasure. 

Why attack power grid? How does Oregon get involved? Which crew member will die? What happened to Napoleon? How did he take revenge?

The story is entertaining. There is no slack. Readers are riveted. It's a big plot starting from Napoleon to bank heist to ace computer virus to a yacht, that is faster better equipped than Oregon, to destruction of European power grid. 

Oregon files means advanced technology. In this book it consists of drones, rail gun that can fire special bullets at 7000 km/hr, solid state laser, hydro-dynamically powered ships, fastest yacht in the world and what not. 

Juan Cabrillo puts the technology and his razor sharp mind to use and saves the day for the world, loosing one of his crew member in action. Who is it? Will they gain another member? There is also a love interest for Juan in this book. Will it fructify?

The action sequences are very good. They are thrilling, exciting & interesting at the same time. Credit to authors for handling the action sequences, in particular, and this big plot, in general, deftly. 

In this book, Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala make a guest appearance during an event. Juan Cabrillo and Gretchen from this series made a guest appearance in Last NUMA files book during same event (The Pharaoh's secret). Author has intelligently crossed paths of Heros of two series. It makes business sense and promotes cross reading. 

The title is a bit of misnomer. Emperor's revenge appears only in epilogue. Emperor's treasure would have suited more. 

Why did I read this book? Clive Cussler. 

What I didn't like? Title. 

What did I like? Everything else.

Good entertainment. Recommend reading.

The secret of the Druids by Christopher C. Doyle

'The secret of the Druids' by Christopher C. Doyle. This book is published by Westland in 2016 and has 422 pages. This is Book 2 of Mahabharata Quest series. 

Semiramis, the Assyrian queen, who conquered most of Middle East and Asia, was defeated in India. But she retrieved what she came looking for. 'The Order' is after the secret for 2000 years. 'Task force' is out to stop them. Vijay remembers seeing blue prints of Stone Henge and other such structures in the Library of Nine.

How is that possible? What secret did Semiramis retrieve? Who are the Lords of Light? Did Julius Cesare burn the Library of Alexandria? What is the connection between Druids and Vedic people?

The story is interesting. Present day part happens in UK and Semiramis and Julius Caesare's stories happen in Europe and Asia, 4000 and 2000 years ago respectively.

Caesare got three coins minted from Cleopatra with a specific purpose. They were found in Inverness. The treasure is in Orkney islands north of Inverness. Vijay understands functioning of the weapon whereas the orders doesn't. 

A number of inferences are derived by conjuncture. In the book, all of them turn out to be correct, but there is an equal possibility of all of them being wrong. The logic and ground appears shaky. Mystery of Radha's body is still unresolved. Looks like it will be taken up in the next book. 

Author has provided Photos and illustrations to explain the stone henge, mounds, ditches, hives etc. This was very helpful in comprehension. It was a positive point. 

Although there is a mini prequel to this book (see my book review of 'The secret revealed'), it's contents are covered in this book anyway, making the prequel redundant. 

Why did I read this book? Mahabharata quest series. 

What I didn't like? Conjuncture. 

What did I like? Logic. 

Read if you have spare time.

High heat by Lee Child

"High heat" by Lee Child. The book was published by Transworld digital in 2013 and has 79 pages. This is a Novella from Jack Reacher series.   

A serial killer is killing couples sitting in car. Jack Reacher, 17, is back to US from Korea and witnesses s man molest and slap a woman. He confronts and defeats him. It turns out he is a mobster. He picks up a college girl for date when mobster attacks. The city plunges in darkness to loss of power. 

Will the mobster kill Jack? Can Jill be absolved of the accusations? Will the serial killer be apprehended?

The story is not good. It had a lot of ingredients but the final product is bad. Too many questions. How can a 16-17 year boy know all? How can he devise a plan like a professional? How does he find Jill so easily? Why kill one of the protagonist? What is the significance of heat to the story?

Generally when a novella is written by an author in an ongoing series, it is done for a reason, to bridge a gap. What did this book achieve?

It's a small book and author spends a lot of page space explaining which roads and turns and intersections Reacher took to go from one place to another. 

Why did I read this book? Small book.

What I didn't like? Everything. 

What did I like? Nothing. 

AVOID

Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan

"Hammer of Thor" by Rick Riordan. This book is published by Penguin in 2016 and has 512 pages. This is Book 2 of Magnus Chase series. 

Hammer of Thor is missing. It's a secret to be kept from Giants, otherwise they will attack and it will be Ragnarök. Sam, the Valkyrie, asks Magnus and his friends to undertake a quest to recover it quietly. Loki wants to marry of Sameera to an earth giant. Alex, a gender fluid warrior, enters Valhalla. Harth - the Elf and Blitz - the dwarf, who have gone missing, are reunited with Magnus.

Can they find Hammer of Thor? Why does Loki arrange the wedding? What is his ultimate plan? What role will Alex play? Will there be a Ragnarök?

The story is decently paced and keeps you mildly interested. Something is happening all the time. This book too contains Rick Riordan's signature puns and punches. 

Once again the Norse Gods are depicted as powerful but comic figures. All the Gods are quirky. They all have modern fascinations and hobbies. Thor is addicted to TV shows and Heimdall is busy in taking selfies etc. 

The mission only partly success. The failure part being the seed for next book. However towards the very end author brings in (only in reference) his favorite hero Percy Jackson, through Annabeth, cousin of Magnus. They will meet in next book. 

It appears that author needs support of Percy to perk up the story and keep the readers interested. Is he cashing in too much on Percy? Now, however, he has made the next book interesting. But I think it's only going to be a guest appearance. 

Why did I read this book? Rick Riordan. 

What I didn't like? Necessity to use the crutches of Percy. 

What did I like? Entertainment. 

Read it if you plan to read the series.

A happy death by Albert Camus

"A happy death" by Albert Camus, translated from French to English by Richard Howard. This edition of the book is published by Penguin Modern classics in 2013 (first published in 1971 and has 106 pages.

Patrice Mersault, kills a man, but is not arrested. Then he sets out to search meaning of life. Search of happiness. 

Why does he kill? How does it impact him? What does his search reveal? Does he get a happy death?

Marsault wants a lot from life but his eight hour job does not allow him what he seeks. He wants to find the meaning of life,  discover life. In search of happiness Patrice travels from Marseille, Prague, Breslau, Vienna, Genoa and back to Algiers; attempting various life styles. Here he leads a life, close to nature doing nothing. A life that will lead to a happy death. A death without any wishes and regrets. 

Characters are vivid.  Zagreus, who has earned a fortune, to live a happy life but lost both legs immediately after disallowing him the pressures he had earned and confining him to a chair got life.  Cardona, the barrel maker, who is uncouth,  loves his dead mother who he teased and  harassed all the life. Lived with his sister who also left him one day due to his behavior. He remembers his dead mother and cries. Marthe, who is very beautiful,  had ten lovers before Marsault but is falling in love with him. Three young girls, adopted by Patrice. Dr. Bernard who doesn't speak much. Perez, the one armed fisher. 

Some of the sentences in this book are profound. E.g. 'There is a risk of being loved and that would keep me from being happy', 'While his imagination and vanity had given her too much importance,  his pride had given her too little', 'Doubtless that path opened a way which leads to supreme art of doing nothing', 'What matters - all that matters,  really - is the will to happiness', He would find a reason for dying in what had been his whole reason for living'. 

It's a very different writing style. He writes only what is essential, doing away with necessity of fillers and background text. Direct cut to chase. Separating wheat from the chaff! Author has explained what Albert sees from his balcony one afternoon to night through evening. It's so simple yet so vivid.  

This book is heavy. It has a lot of philosophy, abstract concepts, meta physical thoughts etc. Only serious readers should attempt reading it. Casual readers will be quick to abandon. 

Albert Camus was born in Algeria and worked in France. He was part of  resistance to German occupation of France. He is winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. This novel was published posthumously. 

Font used for this edition is small. Thus the number of pages must have reduced. The cover picture is apt for the book title. 

The book is basically the journey of self discovery of a young man.

Why did I read this book? Recommended by Shirish Karve.

What I didn't like? Abstract. 

What did I like? Way to look at life. 

Read if you have time and interest.