Life in Pixels

haud ignota loquor

  • Russian Roulette (Review)

    What makes someone a hero? What drives them to become a killer?

    These are the core questions at the heart of the much-anticipated sequel to Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series. Russian Roulette takes a look at the series’ main antagonist, Yassen Gregorovich: his life leading up to the fateful moment when he joins SCORPIA to become a contract killer, and explores just how inextricably linked both Yassen and Alex’s lives are.

    Friends, family and readers of this blog will know that I’m a huge fan of Anthony Horowitz, so this review is probably a bit biased. But after reading this prequel, Horowitz’s skill at crafting such a complex story with multilayered themes cements his position as one of my all-time favorite writers. And returning to the shadowy world of Alex Rider took me back many years as a reader, to when I first discovered the series.

    I did not expect this book to be so emotionally charged. We grew to hate Yassen in the earlier Alex Rider books; what he supposedly did was despicable and rooted him as our teenage hero’s nemesis. But in Russian Roulette, we explore the portrait of a child desperate to survive in a post-Communist Russia ravaged by conspiracies revolving around ruthless foreign investments and deadly technologies.

    First-person narrative is a powerful device to get right into a character’s mind, and Horowitz uses this well in the main portion of the story, through the format of a memoir. Indeed, presenting Yassen’s story as a memoir makes for a rather romantic attitude to the whole assassin tale. We move with Yassen as he grows up, alone, into a harsh world and develops a hatred for the man who destroyed his entire existence, his entire childhood: Vladimir Sharkovsky.

    Horowitz probes the very psychology of how a killer is made by tracing Yassem’s story from the quiet village of (fictional) Estrov, to the hustling streets of Moscow; from the timeless beauty of Venice and the sinister Widow’s Palace to the sweltering jungles of Peru, skyscrapers in New York City and, of course, the island of Malagosto, where Yassen’s transformation begins.

    Fans of the series will recognize allusions to events in the future, especially the fateful moment with Yassen and Hunter (trying to avoid spoilers here!) that Horowitz wrote as a prologue to Alex’s fourth mission, Eagle Strike.

    It is difficult to justify a hero as someone who kills for a living. But in Russian Roulette, Horowitz writes Yassen as a character that we truly feel for, and root for to the very end. It is true that one should never be quick to judge character based on mere assumption. In Russian Roulette, we see how an innocent boy, a child who had dreams and aspirations, is so easily transformed into a cold-blooded killer thorough the subtle events that subsequently influence decisions leading him down a path to the fearsome SCORPIA.

    For any fan of Anthony Horowitz, and of his Alex Rider series, this book is a must-read. The epilogue alone makes it worth the read, deftly tying this book to the first of the Alex Rider stories: Stormbreaker. 5/5 Stars.

  • The modern writer’s toolbox

    The modern writer sits at the intersection of the digital and the analogue. Both sets of tools have their equal power in enabling the writing process.

    Throughout my (short) writing career, I’ve walked the fine line between digital and analogue tools to facilitate getting words out of my head and into the world.

    I try to maintain the philosophy that no tool is superior to another; I try not to engage in the epic battles of technology – Windows vs. OS X, Android vs. iOS… Etc. You’ve got to discern for yourself what setup is right for you, what combination of tools will help get those words down on the page. At the end of the day, it’s the content that matters far more than what was used to create it. Technology – both digital and analogue – is just a conduit for ideas to transfer from the mind to the page (or screen).

    My setup isn’t perfect, and it’s constantly evolving – such is the nature of technology – but it works. And I like it.

    When I’m on the go, I capture thoughts on Evernote. It’s on my Mac and iPad too, so my ideas are with me no matter where I am. I store ideas for possible blog posts in there too, but if I have to write a post while away from my laptop (such as now with this post) then the WordPress app for iPhone is great. In landscape mode it offers a nice typing experience on a touch screen, and helps productivity by only showing a few lines at a time.

    I’m still busy on that elusive manuscript, and Scrivener by Literature & Latte is unparalleled for complex, exceedingly long form work. Coupled with my MacBook’s chiclet keyboard, it’s the best creative environment for weathering the storm of words that is a novel. My drafts are always backed up automatically with Dropbox.

    But like the great postmodernist architect Robert Venturi posited, complexity and contradiction adds wonderful colour to the palette of life. So when things get too loud, when the chatter generated by tech gets too much, it’s time to break out the Moleskine ruled notebook and my trusty Parker Sonnet. Writing longhand with a fountain pen is a deeply meditative experience. It slows down life, allows you to contemplate things wonderfully. There’s no live word count, hyperlinking, hastagging or entire Internet. It’s just you, the writer, your mind, and the infinite possibilities of the blank pages.

    The digital is quickly overtaking the analogue; as a techno person myself I love embracing new ideas and software. But I find mixing digital and analogue tools adds great variety to my writing pursuit and keeps things fresh.

    The modern writer is faced with a world that is changing at an unprecedented rate. Writing is becoming a critical way of chronicling this new dawn, and the right system of tools – from both the analogue and digital worlds – will be the weapons of choice to face this battle.

  • We’re living outside our minds

    The internet and connected technologies have resulted in subconscious reliance on these systems in order for us to feel that we’ve fully lived.

    Where before, accomplishing rigorous labour as part of a hunter-gatherer society ensured fulfillment, today we rely on our technologies as a crutch.

    It’s interesting to note – and I, too, am guilty of this – how much we depend on the Web just to think. I’ve often caught myself wandering about abstract topics that are at first seemingly unrelated, but that suddenly form some sort of connection, which spurs me on to Google or Wikipedia to find out more. Even more prevalent is the constant spell-checking and trawling through my Mac’s Dictionary.app to look up words and then go off on a tangent with etymologies and related words. It’s like a never-ending cycle, an infinite loop of procrastination station.

    This intrinsic ability of ours, the power of cognition and questioning, is propounded by the power of the Web. They call it the “collective consciousness.” I like that phrase; it represents our transcendence from collecting ourselves around campfires beneath starry skies and sharing tales, to the digital equivalent – a far more potent equivalent, I might add.

    Our minds exist out there in the cybersphere just as much as they exist within our skulls. We don’t allow our minds the quietness that often spurs traditional thinking. Thinking today is permeated by trending topics, tweets, posts and the latest bytes flowing through the air. It serves us well, then, as we progress into an ever-more connected society, to remember the power of our own minds and the potency that comes with thinking within before seeing what others think.

  • Remembering Mandela

    “There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

    – Nelson Mandela

    As a South African born into a free country, and as a writer touched by the work of blazing souls such as Nelson Mandela, I felt compelled to write this piece.

    I, along with the rest of the world, am saddened by the loss of such a great man. Whilst I was not alive during the most atrocious period of our country’s history, Mandela’s legacy has ensured that I am able to sit here and write this post, that I’ve had the opportunity to be educated and to be able to live in a free society.

    With the great loss of Madiba, the world remembers his fierce spirit, his steadfast belief in the idealistic vision that fuelled his long walk to freedom. We ruminate on how his values and his philosophies helped deter civil war and instead set this country on a path to peaceful reform and reconciliation.

    Why, then, do we constantly remind ourselves of Madiba’s values, share his quotes of idealism and inspiring wisdom, but mostly fail to actually carry out their messages? Mandela was a man who studied theory intently, and then put into action his ideas. He seized his ideas and turned ideals into realities. We equate him with the status of an icon – and, indeed, he deservedly is one – but let us not forget that he was a man, a human being just like you and I, with all our flaws and uncertainties and mistakes. Thus, if he, as a mere human being, could dream and then put into motion those visions, why can’t we do the same? Why have we become so complacent in our newfound democracy, diminishing any prospect of change to mere complaints of the ruling party, the oppositions, the government, or to relics of the past regimes?

    As Mandela leaves this mortal coil, he reminds us to never settle, to constantly better ourselves, and to seek out the best in ourselves and our fellow human beings. If each one of us were to embody – to study and practice Madiba’s philosophies of peace, action and compassion – I truly believe we can prosper as a nation. It is not enough to rely on politicians for change. A democracy is defined as a system by the people, for the people – not by the politicians, for the people.

    Farewell, Madiba. You inspired a nation, and illuminated an entire planet with your presence. Thank you for everything that you’ve done – your time on Earth was indeed spent well, and you forever altered the stream of history. Your impact will resonate for countless generations to come, and I am honoured to have lived for a brief moment in the glow of your life.

    You live on in the hope of a new generation eager to build a prospering nation in your vision.

  • My December 2013 Reading List

    Last November/December, I read five insanely great books: Oblivion by Anthony Horowitz, On Writing by Stephen King, and The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games trilogy was one of my most favourite reading experiences in a long time – you can read more about it in my review of the trilogy here.

    So with yet another long holiday, I’ve decided to set out a list of books I aim to get through. Being an avid reader with limited time during most of the year, I’ve been looking forward to devouring these titles for some time now.

    So without further ado, here’s the 2013 December Reading List:

    • Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
    • Russian Roulette by Anthony Horowitz
    • David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
    • Story Physics by Larry Brooks
    • The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith/J.K. Rowling

    I’ve been wanting to read Fight Club ever since I saw the film; Russian Roulette is a must, being a die-hard Alex Rider fan; David and Goliath stems from my interest being piqued by Gladwell’s writing and insights after reading Outliers; Story Physics is a must after reading Story Engineering, and I hope to learn more from it about the intricate process of crafting novels. And then there’s The Cuckoo’s Calling, a surprise entry which I have to read after finding out that J.K. Rowling, one of my all-time favourite writers, was behind the mask of Robert Galbraith. Oh, and it’s apparently a brilliant thriller too.

    This list is as much a public commitment and a tracker for myself, as it is a way of sharing my reading interests with you, dear reader. Be sure to check back on this blog to read my thoughts on these books as I finish them. Also, if you’re on Goodreads, you’re welcome to add me (https://www.goodreads.com/rahuldowlath <– that’s me on the reading social network ;)). And leave a comment below if you have any suggestions for good books to read.