1984

When you're about to read 1984, you already think you know what it's about. I did too: totalitarianism, surveillance, Big Brother watching you brush your teeth.

The world Orwell builds feels almost absurd in its oppression. But it works.

Telescreens. Thought Police. Informants everywhere. Sure. But then Orwell goes deeper.

This isn’t just a system that controls what you do, or even what you believe. It controls what you think — and turns your own mind into a prison.

That’s where doublethink comes in.

It’s the ability to hold two contradictory beliefs at once—and accept both as true.

The Party says it plainly: War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength.

It’s nonsense. But that’s not the point. The point is submission. If you can accept contradiction as truth, you’ve already lost control of your own mind.

And you don’t need to live in a totalitarian regime to see it.

• Politicians cut programs and call it reform
• A company gets caught — and responds by saying how much it cares
• Your boss lays off half the staff and tells the rest they’re the company’s most valuable assets

The contradiction is right there, in plain sight. The only question is: do you notice it?

Once you understand doublethink, you start seeing it everywhere.

And that’s Orwell’s real genius.

John Titor: Terminal Deviation

I published on Paranormalis my first John Titor fanfiction. Nothing crazy, about 2 500 words, which is pretty short. 

It's mostly a rehearsal and proof of concept of my writing process. 

You're welcome to check it out here: 

John Titor: Terminal Deviation

Deepsix

Deepsix is a smaller story than The Engines of God, but no less engaging. The pacing flows naturally, the action is good, and the archaeology remains the real star. Every fragment of lost civilization we uncover feels genuinely exciting.

My only wish is that we learned a little more about the civilizations encountered along the way. But maybe that's just McDevitt keeping us hungry for more.

Clever storytelling, excellent read. Makes you wonder what's next for our heroes.

Highly recommended.

The Engines of God

I picked this one up at my local used book store. I'm glad I did, what an adventure, for only $4.00. The Engines of God scratches a very specific itch: ancient alien mysteries handled with actual care and patience. No cool stuff. Ruins, dead civilizations, and the creeping sense that something very bad happened to a lot of species a very long time ago. Gloomy!

The alien archaeology angle is where the book really shines. The monument builders and vanished races. Lots of mysteries. You're piecing things together alongside our heroes, and the enigma of OZ — this ancient, inexplicable structure — is exactly the kind of thing I find compelling. It's not explained right away. It just sits there, out of place, old and fascinating.

Pacing is solid. There's a survival sequence at some point that lasts a little too long — minor complaint, here. Nothing deal-breaking at all. The rest of the book keeps you excited and engaged.

If you like the idea of humanity stumbling through the ruins of civilizations that somehow didn't make it, this is worth your time. It's quiet sci-fi with a dark undertone.

Anyone else read this one?

At the Mountains of Madness

Man, I didn't stop to read a book in ages. I hope this will last. 

I'll be honest. I don't scare easily when reading a book. But Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness fascinated me and gave me chills. What a ride!

What makes it work so good is what it doesn't show you. The horror is always kind of out of frame. You get bits here and there, impressions, suggestions… and your brain fills in the rest. That's scarier than any detailed description could ever be, period.

The other thing that hit me was the sheer scale of the evil at hand, here. We're used to monsters our heroes can fight, villains they can outsmart. The ancient eldritch forces in this story don't care about us. They predate us by geological epochs... We're not even a footnote. That kind of cosmic indifference is deeply unsettling in so many ways I never thought of.

And excellent story. Streamlined, atmospheric, and quietly devastating. Highly recommend if you haven't read it.