N. M. D.'s Updates en-US Sat, 26 Apr 2025 04:18:34 -0700 60 N. M. D.'s Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review7491643818 Sat, 26 Apr 2025 04:18:34 -0700 <![CDATA[N. M. D. added 'Profoundly Disturbing: The Shocking Movies that Changed History']]> /review/show/7491643818 Profoundly Disturbing by Joe Bob Briggs N. M. D. gave 4 stars to Profoundly Disturbing: The Shocking Movies that Changed History (Paperback) by Joe Bob Briggs
]]> Rating847637779 Tue, 15 Apr 2025 15:07:29 -0700 <![CDATA[N. M. D. liked a review]]> /
N. M. D. liked Robin's review of The World Inside:
The World Inside by Robert Silverberg
]]> Review7445811882 Wed, 02 Apr 2025 02:49:40 -0700 <![CDATA[N. M. D. added 'The Shrinking Man']]> /review/show/7445811882 The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson N. M. D. gave 4 stars to The Shrinking Man (Paperback) by Richard Matheson
]]> Review7363711481 Sat, 22 Mar 2025 19:40:26 -0700 <![CDATA[N. M. D. added 'Outworld Cats']]> /review/show/7363711481 Outworld Cats by Jack Lovejoy N. M. D. gave 3 stars to Outworld Cats (Mass Market Paperback) by Jack Lovejoy
]]> Review6966045924 Tue, 18 Mar 2025 14:35:07 -0700 <![CDATA[N. M. D. added 'Friends Come in Boxes']]> /review/show/6966045924 Friends Come in Boxes by Michael G. Coney N. M. D. gave 4 stars to Friends Come in Boxes (Daw UQ1056) by Michael G. Coney
Friends Come in Boxes displays my favorite aspect of SF: the absurd, ridiculous, and over-the-top "what-if".

What if we decided that prolonging older lives trumped creating new ones? Maybe we'd develop a system that when we turned forty, we transferred our brains into babies and countinued our lives. And in another forty years? We'd do it again. What would we do in the case of falling birthrates? We'd grow android babies in vats. Where would they fall in society as a semi separate species? They'd be undesirable, depsite being better than regular humans. What would we do to clear up space on the transfer waiting list? We'd have an intense legal system that cuts you from brain transfer options for even the most minor crime. What would happen to humanity? Life would stagnate, and we'd become dull and jaded and nothing would be very exciting anymore. And what would happen if there were a waiting list for new bodies. Why, your brain would go in an electronic box, of course, and you'd spend years as a "friend".

This novel (maybe a fix up?) is made up of five loosely connected short stories. Often one begins in sight of the other's ending, but each is a separate story with new characters--with the exception of one, an android named Philip Ewell. This man is the closest thing to moral that this world really has. He wants to help, is not vindictive, even when wronged, and is compassionate.  But, in the spirit of good writing, he also kills babies everyday as a transfer surgeon. But this is the only world he's known, and the morals you've been taught can be hard to overcome.

I really loved this book. It's clearly not a prediction of the future. It's not meant to be feasible or realistic. But it's the kind of fun, weird, twisted world I can really fall into. It inspires me to read more. It inspires me to write more. It's my second Coney and it sure won't be my last. ]]> Rating837570903 Tue, 18 Mar 2025 14:32:20 -0700 <![CDATA[N. M. D. liked a review]]> /
N. M. D. liked Bryan House's review of The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1):
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
"This book surrounds and consumes you.

A must read.

I will forever love Daddy (cough-cough- excuse me) Father Philip.

Iconic.

So brutal and intense. It really hurts. Worth the pain. "
]]> ReadStatus9129952358 Fri, 28 Feb 2025 17:02:39 -0800 <![CDATA[N. M. D. is currently reading 'Outworld Cats']]> /review/show/7363711481 Outworld Cats by Jack Lovejoy N. M. D. is currently reading Outworld Cats by Jack Lovejoy
]]> Review7318602740 Thu, 27 Feb 2025 19:52:27 -0800 <![CDATA[N. M. D. added 'The Best of Isaac Asimov']]> /review/show/7318602740 The Best of Isaac Asimov by Isaac Asimov N. M. D. gave 3 stars to The Best of Isaac Asimov (Hardcover) by Isaac Asimov
]]> Rating830538883 Wed, 26 Feb 2025 19:59:50 -0800 <![CDATA[N. M. D. liked a communityquestion]]> /
N. M. D. liked a question about Eight O'Clock in the Morning:
Eight O'Clock in the Morning by Ray Faraday Nelson
I want to read a physical book, please how is this possible? I'll pay a tenner (Uk Sterling).
]]> GiveawayRequest676574360 Sat, 15 Feb 2025 01:39:01 -0800 <![CDATA[<a href="/user/show/120774201-n-m-d">N. M. D.</a> entered a giveaway]]> /giveaway/show/402934-forget-me-not Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham ]]>