I just love this cover...

What's this you say? Tesla and Einstein juggling the universe and electrcity? Is this some kind of mad Sci-Fi mash-up? Well, no. Not even a little bit. But it does looks like a heck of a lot of fun. They Called Me Mad falls under the Science History category, which is an area of the bookstore I always find myself drawn too despite not mentioning those types of reads here much. With this one I couldn't help myself. The title alone was enough to sell me.

Discover the true genius behind history's greatest "madmen."

From Dr. Frankenstein to Dr. Jekyll, the image of the mad scientist surrounded by glass vials, copper coils, and electrical apparatus remains a popular fixture. In films and fiction, he's comically misguided, tragically misunderstood, or pathologically evil. But the origins of this stereotype can be found in the sometimes-eccentric real life men and women who challenged our view of the world and broke new scientific frontiers.

They Called Me Mad recounts the amazing true stories of such historical luminaries as Archimedes, the calculator of pi and creator of the world's first death ray; Isaac Newton, the world's first great scientist and the last great alchemist; Nikola Tesla, who built the precursors of robots, fluorescent lighting, and particle beam weapons before the turn of the twentieth century-and more.

They Called Me Mad is probably going to end up on my Christmas wishlist as it comes out December 7.

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REVIEW | Survival by Storytelling - Issue One

A few months back I received review copies of two genre magazines thinking it would be good to start talking about them since I wanted to get into more short fiction.  After reading I didn't have a nice word to say about either so I was a bit trepidatious when Shawn Duke, the editor behind Survival by Storytelling sent me a review copy. My fears were unfounded as this collection was quite enjoyable and shows great promise.  

Survival by Storytelling is a collection of mostly short stories plus poetry and a little non-fiction all written by people 25 years old or younger.  The magazine is an extension of Your Writers Online.  Divided with non-fiction to start followed by fiction, an interview, and ending with poetry.  I think it would have been better to mix-up the sections a bit more with a poem mixed between the short stories instead of sectioned off as such, but that is a very trivial. That said the collection did flow well from one story to the next.  The interview with Paul Genesse was particularly interesting as was Genesse's article on crafting memorable characters, which offered some very sound advice such as writing your characters a bio.

The fiction section starts off strong with Chrysalis by Josh Roberts, which explores the loss of ones first love well.  It is still a bit depressing, but an honest look.  Honor Roll Bound by Dru Ervine stands out as the most memorable to me.  It involved a young woman struggling through school with the demands and stresses she goes through.  She meets someone who could be the love of her life and an angel.  The ending was very depressing, but it stays with you as she left it all behind for something different.  Dried Flowers by Adrienne Copeland is a world where plants are virtually unknown.  This is the story out of the whole collection that could be expanded upon the most and is also the closest to Sci-Fi.  I'd certainly welcome more from Copeland as it feels like she has more stories to tell about this strange future.  I was certainly surprised Copeland was one of the youngest contributors at 17 so we can only hope she continues on this path.

Survival by Storytelling is definitely worth checking out if you are a short story fan.  Themes of the dark side of love, loss, and stress are all in attendance throughout, which is something you expect from those under 25.  I would check out a second issue if it happens, but I do think a bridge idea that all the writers aim for would be good.  For a first effort this comes off better than most lit magazines I've read in recent years.

Survival by Storytelling can be purchased through Amazon, CreateSpace, or Lulu.


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MINI-REVIEW | In the Land of Invented Languages by Arika Okrent (Spiegel & Grau)

Have you ever wanted to learn about the origin of Tolkien's Quenya language spoken by the Elves? Or about other made up languages? Than In the Land of Invented Languages is the right book for you. Journey with the Arika, a trained linguist, to Klingon Conventions where she attempts to earn her beginner's certificate. Discover how Esperanto became one of the best known invented languages and why it is dying along with the system and history of many others.

This is the type of book that could be dry, but Arika averts that danger by interjecting jokes liberally such as wanting to find out what the word shit is in these languages first and foremost, because who doesn't want to swear in other languages? The lighthearted and informative style will keep you intrigued even when some of the translations and diagrams can get tiresome, although they do help explain the formulas for many of the languages. I give In the Land of Invented Languages 8 out of 10 Hats. Fans of Stefan Fatsis's Word Freak or Kurlansky's Salt: A World History would enjoy this one.


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