Putting down the Controller

I love video games, but that’s not all I like. I’ve been writing for so long, but the only way I got better at this skill is by reading a lot of books. So in this entry in my dust covered blog I decided to share five novels that I found to be the best in my Kindle library. 

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games (Book 1)

The Hunger Games was written in 2008 by Suzanne Collins. Spanning three books the novels centers around a 16-year old girl named Katniss Everdeen, who lives the post-apocalypse world of Panem, where once stood North America. An advance metropolis called The Capital house the wealthy while exercising political control over the twelve districts that supply the raw materials. Once the districts rebelled against The Capital and lost, causing the complete destruction of district thirteen. Now as a reminder of that defeat The Capital created The Hunger Games: an annual event where one boy and girl, between the ages of twelve and eighteen, are taken from their homes, trained, and set into an artificial arena to battle to the death.   

The books tackles issues such as poverty, starvation, oppression, and tyranny. The districts feel helpless in keeping up with the demands of The Capital and Katniss difficulty to provide for her family, after her father’s death and mother’s breakdown, by illegal activities such as hunting only show that people are desperate for the bare minimal. Questions of right and wrong are constantly asked, especially when Katniss volunteers to be a part of the games. Unknowingly Katniss mission to survive the deathmatch becomes more chaotic as she becomes a catalyst that will begin a series of issues that will cause political instability and shift the idea of what is right and wrong, while battling a series of personal issues between her best friend Gale and her savior Peeta.       

Divergent 

Divergent (Book 1)

Written by Veronica Roth and published in 2011 Divergent shares similar aspects to one of my favorite books, The Hunger games. Set in a fictional world where five cities called Candor (the honest), Erudite (the intelligent), Amity (the peaceful), Dauntless (the fearless), and Abnegation (the selfless) people are forced into an aptitude test to determine what city they belong to when they reach adulthood. Regardless of your past or family you are placed into fraction and must become apart of that city or face exile as a fractionless. 

Enter one Beatrice “Tris” Prior, a 16-year old girl who was raised as an Abnegation. Saturated with fear and sweat takes the aptitude test to find out she is a Divergent, someone who exhibits skills from more than one fraction. She is told that this information that must never be told to anyone and fears that she may have been branded a fractionless. Unfortunately Beatrice and her brother, Caleb, choose rival cities. She goes to Dauntless and Caleb selects Erudite, which begins her initiation and followed by test. Without spoiling anything these test and the trails afterwards will be more then she expected. 

The Dark Tower Novels

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1)

 

The Dark Tower novels is a series of books written by the great Stephen King. Including themes such as fantasy, science-fiction, horror, and western it follows a gunslinger named Rolance Deschain in his search for the powerful and elusive structure called The Dark Tower. Spanning eight novels this journey is something that can’t be summed out in a few paragraphs, it’s something that has to be read and experienced firsthand and anyone who has a small interest in the supernatural should get this series. 

Mass Effect Revelations

Mass Effect: Revelation

 

I had to throw in a video game novel and this one is my favorite. Mass Effect: Revelations was written by Drew Karpghyn in 2007 and takes place before the events of Mass Effect trilogy. It serves to fill in background information about Captain Anderson, the Council’s Races, Kahlee Sanders, and Saren. The book deals heavily on the galaxy’s view on Artificial Intelligence such as the dangers they present while maintaining focus on Anderson and his mission. 

The book focuses on David Anderson, during his days as a lieutenant, mission to find the survivor of an attack on a classified Alliance base, Lt. Kahlee Sanders. You later shift perspectives from David to Kahlee and even Saren, who has also been assigned to help Anderson save Kahlee. Fans of the Mass Effect series will find this a delightful story as it remains loyal to the Mass Effect universe and conveys information leading up Saren’s betrayal. And if you enjoyed this one definitely read Mass Effect: Ascension and Mass Effect: Retribution. But stay far away from Deception till it’s rereleased.  

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

 
Written in 1968 by Philip Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, was the primary source for the movie Blade Runner. Set in the post-apocalypse where the worlds was damaged by World War Terminus, due to nuclear weapons, most of the animal population are either endangered or extinct and those who own actual creatures, not synthetic, are seen as higher status. In order to preserve the human race it was encouraged by for people move to off-world colonies and are given a servant android named “Andy”. 

You follow Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter whose objective is to eliminate six escaped Nexus-6 androids. When androids escape the colonies it is up to people like Deckard to track them down and “retire” them. Although they can pass for humans androids posses no actual emotions, and by using a Voigt-Kampff test can ensure that the subject is indeed robotic. Another sub-plot deals with a man named John Isidore, a man of below the average intelligence, finds comfort in the company of the synthetic creatures and aids them. Throughout Deckard’s journey you encounter themes of status, morality, and empathy as he questions how something without a pulse can be so alive in the eyes of those who have one. 

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed (@twitter)