Episode 90, Over 40 in Vancouver.

I’m Roland.

I’m Dale.

We’re here in a glamorous Oxford and something park.

Oxford and Lakewood Park?

Oxford and Lakewood, yeah.

What’s it called?

Do you know the name of the park?

I don’t know the park has a name.

I must, but it’s on the bike path.

So, Dale, what are we gonna talk about?

We’re gonna talk about books we’ve read recently.

I read Machine Hood by S.P.

Divya.

She talks about weak AIs.

I think it was written in 2020, you know, in 2021.

She won an award or was nominated for award.

And basically, it’s linear extrapolation of today’s world where drones are everywhere, cameras are everywhere, cameras with drones are everywhere.

Everyone has weak AIs in everything, including the fridge, everything.

And stuff gets delivered by drones.

But they’re not, it’s not AGI.

It’s not reasoning.

She wrote it like four years ago.

How bang on?

Pretty bang on.

If you ask me, I think we’re basically living in that future without, except the drones aren’t delivering our milk, but they will.

They aren’t cooking us food.

Perhaps they will be that too.

They’re trying.

Yeah, I don’t know about cooked food, maybe preheated stuff.

Yeah, people have de-skilled themselves to the point where they can’t cook.

A lot of people can’t cook because the drones help them cook or cook 100%.

So I thought it was good.

A lot of people have already de-skilled themselves at cooking because, right?

Yeah.

The family didn’t have time to cook, so they didn’t learn cooking skills from their parents.

Or if you live in Singapore or Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur, street food is so cheap and not terrible.

In China, my nephew’s in China.

And so you don’t cook because you buy the street food.

The delivery there is so cheap.

Yeah.

He’s like at school, at lunchtime, there’s a lineup of delivery people waiting for the kids to come.

All with the containers that are not recyclable really.

Yeah, I have no idea about that.

But yeah, probably.

Delivery there is so cheap.

He says it’s like you’ll get a burnt out light bulb or replacement delivered.

Yeah.

I mean, I’m okay with the food delivery if it was in a reusable containers, not by drone.

Anyways, what did you read?

I finished a couple books that I enjoyed.

The Fireborne Blade.

Fireborne Blade.

By Bond, I forget her first name.

Maybe Catherine, but I’m not sure.

Sounds familiar.

What’s it about?

It is a fantasy.

It’s a novella.

So it was a really fast read.

Excellent.

It was really good.

It had a really nice twist to it.

It’s basically about a woman knight in a man’s world who gets…

A woman knight in a man’s world.

So it’s an alternate.

It’s an alternate.

Dragons exist.

Yeah.

It’s got a lot of lore.

What do you mean, dragons don’t exist?

What do the Kyoto dragons do?

Yeah.

The other book I finished this week was, yeah, two in a week, which is unusual.

But like I said, the second one was…

Oh, that’s a good week.

I never get those kind of weeks.

It’s one a week if I’m lucky.

Oh, damn.

And I forgotten the other book.

Oh, no, no, no.

Cat Rambo.

Cat Rambo?

Is the author.

Oh, okay.

It’s not called Cat Rambo.

Cat goes on a rampage.

It was Sylvester Stallone.

Nope.

Nope.

That’s the author name.

Don’t make fun of her name.

I’m sorry.

Or their name.

She probably gets this all the time.

I’m sorry.

They probably get it all the time.

I’m sorry, Cat, if I got that wrong.

Sorry, Cat.

It was part of a series of…

Oh, I can’t even begin to describe this.

It’s just really crazy.

Is it about…

But it’s science fiction.

Oh, science fiction.

It’s future.

Okay.

There is a smart organic ship.

There is a couple of big bads.

The heroes make their living by going around and cooking food.

So this is like a traveling restaurant.

It’s not like an E&S Banks.

No.

A culture series.

No.

A little more tongue in cheek.

No, it’s actually serious.

Oh, it’s like organic shit making food.

Didn’t sound serious to me.

No, I know.

It’s the way I describe it.

It’s really bad.

No, it’s not bad.

Check the show notes.

Yeah, I did a really crappy job of describing it.

I also finished a trilogy recently by Naomi Novik who just…

I’ve liked just about all of her stuff.

This was called the Scholomance series.

The Scholomance series.

Solid fantasy.

Three books about basically a school for magicians only it’s really dark.

Basically…

Not Harry Potter.

Only about 25…

Way darker than Harry Potter.

Only about 25% of the students make it out alive.

What?

Because reasons.

Yeah, yeah.

No, it’s really dark.

It was…

Hummingbird.

I didn’t enjoy it as much as some of her other books.

Yeah.

But it was a good read.

So, you had a good year reading in 2024, didn’t you?

This was…

Over a hundred books?

This was…

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

Well, I don’t know if it was…

I forget what the final count was, but yeah.

You felt like it was a good year.

I went on a real streak.

Actually, the other thing I’m excited about is…

Book-wise?

I highly recommend The Murderbot Diaries by Wells.

It’s coming out on Amazon or whatever.

Exactly.

Yeah.

So, I’m trying not to get too excited because expectations…

I read it five years ago or whatever.

I read it five years ago or whatever and I can’t remember what happened.

What happened?

Spoiler alert.

Murderbot Diaries.

Well, I was about to reveal it all.

The thing with…

Okay.

So, The Murderbot Diaries, it’s a little bit misnamed because the aforementioned Murderbot is actually not.

Yes.

Basically, it’s a constructed android who has consciousness, but the evil corporations…

Yes.

Of course.

Very much limit what they can do.

So, a lot of times…

This was written a long time ago.

Working against their will.

Yes.

And this particular android finds a way of bypassing the security checks and all they want to do is watch soap operas.

But they have to put on a good show so they don’t get caught.

Okay.

Now, I remember.

Now, I remember.

Yes.

That’s what I showed.

Really, it’s the writing style.

Like Wells…

Like Butter?

Captured…

Oh, yeah.

I read it like…

Smooth like butter.

Cut through it like butter.

Melted butter.

I went through that series so fast.

Soft butter.

Highly recommended.

I don’t know if the TV show…

I mean, I don’t know.

The TV show can’t meet my expectations.

I know that.

What if it meets what?

75%?

Who cares?

If it’s a good read.

Yeah.

A good watch?

If it’s a good read.

If it’s a good watch.

Yeah.

When does it come out?

April, right?

No, next month.

Next month.

I think March.

March, i.e.

tomorrow.

We’re recording this on February 28th, 2025.

Episode 90.

I can’t remember when in March.

Over40inVan.com.

It’s March.

Yeah.

Unless I’m misremembering.

No, I think it’s March or April.

I think you’re right.

So, yeah.

Excited.

And fingers crossed.

But I fully admit, because I have such a strong image of what…

Of like who Murderbot is.

I don’t know if Scarsguard…

But it’s internal.

That’s the beauty of words.

It’s a thing in your mind.

Unless you’ve drawn it or painted it or something.

I mean, but you’ve also touched on one of the big challenges.

Yeah.

There’s a lot of self-dialogue, and I don’t know how that’s going to translate.

Well, like they do text messages, right?

They could just have subtitles or something.

Well, I mean, maybe…

Or a screen.

Maybe a voiceover.

Yeah, or a voiceover.

There’s ways.

It could be done properly, I think, this book.

But we’ll see.

There is a lot.

It’s like…

Was that a TV series?

Slow Horses.

Pretty faithful to the book.

I only read the first two books so far.

They pulled dialogue…

They have six books off?

Yeah, I mean like…

Oh, I think there’s more like 10.

Yeah, so I have eight books to go.

And I’m kind of not taking them out of the library.

They’ve pulled dialogue straight out of the book.

Because I want to savor it.

And you know what I’m going to do is just read all eight in one week.

I’ve watched all the series.

All the remaining one.

I’ve watched all the series.

Yeah, I have watched.

But I never read the books.

And then I read the book.

Yeah.

And then I re-watched the first series after I read the first book.

Oh, okay.

Interesting.

I’ve never done that.

Cool.

And it was really cool.

Yeah, like you said, they were really faithful.

They had to cut out one of the characters because they…

Who’d they cut out?

It was one of the spies.

Oh, okay.

It was a pretty minor character.

A couple.

And yeah, I was just amazed at how…

If they’ve made four series…

Four seasons out of two books.

No, no, no, no.

Each season is a book.

So we got eight seasons to go.

No, six.

I don’t know.

Ten books, you said.

I don’t know if the actors are going to…

There’s at least…

Yeah, there’s at least six.

I thought there was more than that.

But we’ll see.

But yeah, no.

Highly recommended.

Yeah, the whole character of the…

All the characters are fascinating.

Rodney.

Yeah.

We have 42 seconds left, folks.

Rodney the…

Rodney Ho.

That’s part of what is…

The glamour boy.

The golden boy gone wrong whose father was…

Grandfather was the head of MIA whatever.

All of the characters are characters.

All of them are great.

That’s one of the great things about it.

In the books and in the series.

I just…

At least the two books I’ve read.

I just love how the main character, whose name I’ve forgotten, just doesn’t give a damn.

I mean, it’s just like he’s done…

And the thing is, he is deadly.

Yes.

Oh my.

It makes me wonder…

I have to complain about people…

Got 30 seconds.

I have to complain about people who…

Who…

Are not smiling outwardly ever, it seems.

I have to complain to myself inwardly and like…

But then I think about, you know, maybe they’ve gone through some trauma.

Some trauma.

Maybe they were like in China during Tiananmen Square.

Maybe they were like in Berlin and they saw these…

Stasi take somebody out.

And maybe they were, you know…

And as you get his backstory, you understand he’s been through a lot of…

You see a burning…

Maybe he saw a burning person in Cambodia.

You know, like…

Well, and I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen it, but…

Read the books.

You find out fairly quickly…

If you’re a book person, read the books.

If you’re a video person, watch the video.

Both are good.

You had to do some really nasty stuff.

And if you’re both like I…

But I’m mostly a book person.

Do both.

And it doesn’t really matter what order.

Oftentimes, it feels like it matters which order you read it in or watch it in.

Maybe you should read before you watch or watch before you read.

I don’t think it matters in this case.

I think it does.

Wow.

For slow horses, yeah.

I don’t care.

I mean…

So…

You’re right.

But I think for most people, either order would work.

Hey folks, what’s your favorite read in the last little while?

All right, we’re 11 minutes.

Signing off from Lakewood and Oxford Crossroads Park or whatever this is called.

I’m Roland.

I’m Dale.

Ciao, tschuus.