A surprise in the mail

A late gift from a blog reader.

Thanks a lot, mr. funny man.

Birthday Post

Presented without much fanfare; what I got for me birthday!

You'll immediately notice a distinct lack of the usual suspects, there's in fact only one book here and it isn't even a genre novel.

It is, however, an important one. Top of its class you could say.

Infinite Jest is one of those big titles that anyone with even a passing interest in modern literature will have heard of: A satirical, Post- (post?) modern, mammoth encyclopedic novel, famous for its length and notorious for its use of end-notes.

So far I've read a little under 70 pages of the main novel, complete with the corresponding end-notes, including the 10 page end-note detailing a fictional filmography of one of the story's characters.

That's not as bad as it sounds, depending on how you are geared, as a lot of information can be gleaned from a careful reading and among the avalanche of clutter there's some genuinely interesting and/or funny stuff to be found, there also was some particular information here that cemented my resolution to continue reading.

It's a bit hard to keep track of though: the narrative jumps from one scene to the other with only the barest suggestion of linearity, the method of dating the years coming across as deliberately obtusifying, and several scenes seem to add nothing to the novel's momentum other than adding more background information to the story's universe.

But, as I said, it's quite interesting.

For the rest, first off, let's not dwell on all the food, candy and alcohol I got. Some of it was missing for the picture already, for some reason.

I got a party-chess set, which, as I don't know how to play chess, is kind of mystifying, but as I know how to drink I guess it does hit 1/2. The board itself is actual glass, which is pretty cool.

In the clothing department I got Rick and Morty socks and a t-shirt with self-drawn art from someone I introduced to the 'Vikings' show.

Really quite sweet, though the smiley face does take away from how bad-ass this shirt could have been.

Orphan Black mug, because tie-in merchandise is always welcome.

And then, at the last; new working out gear.

Which is really nice as I've wanted a weighted vest for ever.

This one allows for a 10 kg maximum and it's good to wear during regular strength training.

I've also gone on my normal running route a few times with 4 kg, once with 5 kg, and then another time with 6 kg.

For now I'm going to keep that at 4 kg maximum whenever I do a run for the foreseeable future.

That 6 kg really wore me out when I did it. It also didn't help that I took that run after a hard day at work.

The yellow resistance band has got 25 kg tension and the blue one 15 kg. Good for relaxation and toning (I guess).

The handles are a welcome addition for doing push-ups as my wrists sometimes give out.

With this I can make my routine more regular.

I requested the vest in particular because I needed something to fill in the void that the reduced interest in reading has given me. If you can't or don't want to read and write, if occasionally you can't even think much at all, you better find something new to occupy your time. From the cerebral to the physical, I'll see how it goes.

The Devil's Apocrypha

The Devil's Apocrypha is a book of fiction presenting the reader with an alternate take on Biblical mythology and contains retellings of certain Biblical events.
We are presented with these events through the framing device of an introduction wherein the author reveals he hasn't made all of this stuff up, no, he has merely published a manuscript he unearthed in some forgotten corner of the world. Said manuscript is then revealed to have been written by a heretic priest, who collated accounts and prophecies of a trio (actually, a foursome) of individuals who were gifted with the dark and forbidden knowledge revealing the truth behind an entire religion, and who were driven to isolation, madness and dissolution because of it.

It's not very original, or even well written. And if I'm being very honest, it's not even much good.
Unless you're very into Biblical or Mythological fiction this won't be your cup of noodles.
Even I, whose kind of thing this very much is, was a bit let down on its conclusion. I had my expectations wrong maybe; I was expecting a refutation of all things Biblical, and instead I got what the cover offered; A doubtful account of Biblical history as inspired by the Devil. But even then, I was expecting... well... more.
You see; there's parts I would like to have seen addressed. Things that I thought would've been important to address but that the Apocrypha just neglects to even touch on. I suppose it would have been a monumental task and borderline unreadable.

What the Apocrypha then offers, through an expanded and altered view of certain Biblical historical events, is a lens to re-view the Bible as it is, instead of giving us an entirely new re-written/corrected Bible.

It is fiction, of course, but, you know, past all contrivance and all the woeful and lamentable try-hard, there's actually some intriguing concepts at play here.

After one pushes through the un-compelling introductions, come the 14 'books' that make up the meat of the Devil's Apocrypha.
And though my anticipation for the story to come had dwindled drastically after the amateurish set-up, only two pages into the first book; the book of Beginnings, I found myself faced with a rather compelling origin story for a divine mythology.

 In my own words, mostly just to clarify the proposed mythology for myself:


The origin of the Angelica.

We begin at the end. In truth, we begin at a point past the end, or rather; Past A end. This ending is not the ending belonging to us, or rather, belonging to our universe, but the ending of a universe different or earlier than our own.

What came before the ending of this universe different than ours is a time which can only be referenced by tying it to the beings that survived it. And this is how they came to be like this:

In the time before the ending to their universe there were creatures of blood and bone, and they evolved. They were numerous and their races were many.
And as each individual member of these races found solace in the likeness of itself within others, they would join up to become more one with themselves. Over yet more time all individuals within a race would join up. And with every joining the power and knowledge of the ones would increase and with the final joining a singularity would be achieved: The becoming of a One.

And in time there were many Ones, because each of the races to become One was unique and found It could not join with any others to have become One. Some of these to have become One had, over the course of their evolution, transitioned from the mortal plane to the realm of the spirit.

Of these there was One who, before being severed from its mortal bonds, had spread itself further over the cosmos than any other race before it. Over time they became so far removed from each other that each part of that race forgot the others existed. Over yet more time three parts of this race, each separate from the other, ascended to become Ones. And these three, in their ascension, found each other again and joined with each other. And this One became known as He Who is Three, the Almighty Trinity; for He was the most powerful of all the transcendent races.

But though most mighty, He was only the second to ascend. The First race to ascend and become one was very wise even in its individuals, and when Oneness was achieved Its wisdom grew greater still.
He was known as the Teacher and he would share his council with whomever asked. Some of the Many, who were the Ones, moved by his words, granted him the honorific of Lucifer; the Bearer of Light.

Some of the Many were close in power and wisdom to these first two, but many more there were who were not. Those with Major Powers were the Angelica, the Chosen, and they were ruled over by the One Who is Three, who was mightier than all.
Those with Minor Powers were many and they were divided into two groups; the Seraphim and Cherubim. The Seraphim were made the servants of the Angelica. And The Cherubim were made to serve them, to both amuse and to perform small tasks.

Though even the lowest among them had ascended to Oneness in its own time, earning wisdom and power through singularity, in power combined all of the lesser Angelica could not match even a single one of the higher Angelica. For few passed from mortal to immortal, from corporal to spiritual, and of these few, fewer still could wield true power.

 In all, those ascended were not many. For all of the races that found the path to ascension, fewer than a thousand found sentience in the spiritual realm.

In time unending there came at last a time wherein the Angelica foresaw the death of their universe and they made plans to outlast this ultimate and final ending, and though it was a difficult and hard won thing, they managed, in the split moment of the last second of the implosion of their universe to harness the wild energies released therein that would propel them to a new universe. This did not come without cost, for many among their number perished and, for those who survived, with their reintegration into the fabric of a new universe not their own, they gradually found that they were firmly and inextricably tied to it. And more than this, they found that this universe did not operate on their own laws and that they had nothing here to give them sustenance and that soon they would cease to be. A way forward would have to be found.

That pretty much is the origin story for the Angelica.

-----

I mentioned in the reading side-bar that after 2 pages I was dumb-founded. I had had a realization.
This isn't because the concept behind what was being presented here was so original or so well delivered, because, really, it wasn't, but rather that there was a scale behind the ideas used which was mind-bogglingly huge.

Now. the book actually suggests an origin story for God and his angels that's very attractive if you have some understanding of a few concepts. Most specifically, the concept of the human singularity; the hypothetical final point (omega point) in human evolution, wherein mankind as a whole, through a complete unification of all their disparate consciousness, will achieve an ascension into a form of godhood.
It's an idea that anyone familiar with Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos might already have some knowledge of. This concept of Human Singularity was first proposed by French philosopher Teilhard de Chardin. But what is so impressive is that Teilhard started his idea out from just the single human premise: Of man and God: from one race of many evolving into the One.
What the Devil's Apocrypha suggests is that in this universe different/earlier from our own, there were once many races, and that they, or many among them, ascended to their own omega points, separate from eachother. And that they then co-existed in the universe.

If you need a frame of reference for this mind-numbingly large canvas: think Warhammer 40k.
Yes, let's get nerdy.
In this Empire of a million worlds that stretches across the galaxy there are numerous sentient races: Man, Tau, Orcs, Eldar and so on and so forth. What if all of these, instead of clinging to their stagnant hateful xenophobia, their endless outward war, would rather focus inward, on bettering themselves, and on attaining their respective Omega points? Go even further, into specifics: If the spacefaring Empire of Man, scattered already so widely across the cosmos, would lose sight of itself, through some cataclysmic event that would somehow divide the universe, and that it would then achieve several Omega Points instead of just the one? What if there were three of those and that, after their respective ascension they would join up? And further, of these races: Would the wise Eldar be the first to ascend?

You can see what I'm getting at: the scale of this thing is off the charts.
It is what makes it credible.

It's what I like best. A plausible explanation for the mythology behind the divine:
Clive Barker's Next Testament gives an explanation for the 2000 years of divine silence and the startling difference in the bloodthirsty god of the Old Testament and the forgiving one of the new.
The Hyperion Cantos proposes that the creation of god is yet to come. Preacher submits that God is a parasite feeding on faith. Etc.

The Devil's Apocrypha, by the scale of its opening pages alone, manages to convey a compelling origin story for a divine, or, multiple divine entities. It then restructures the universe to make of God a parasite by necessity, and orchestrates a cattle dynamic between god and humanity.
And then, over the course of the tale, it does one better by explaining and building up the reasons for why the God of the Old Testament was so bloodthirsty and why the God of the new one preached a message of forgiveness and peace. It weaves all of this into a narrative that serves as a semi-credible basis for why there is an age of divine silence right now, where before there was an age of Miracles.

It touches a lot of what I wanted to see; the questions that arise when I look at the Bible.
But of course; besides the weakness of the writing, there is another problem.

Of course: It makes of the devil the underdog benefactor of mankind; the hero to God's villain. Which, you know, fair game: upsetting the dynamic is great, it's what I like to see.

But then comes the 'shadow-side' of history: The whole aspect of the children of Cain, the undying element of Lazarus, the four slave races out in the universe, the Fallen slowly regaining power. All of which leads up to of course... a book of prophecy.
... it's just so... pedestrian... so expected.
Ancient cabals working against god, perpetuating their war for the truth. A man, cursed by god to undying, who carries the secret of the afterlife. Slave races newly created by God, 'un-corrupted' by the devil who can be altered and coaxed to His every whim. A mythical apocalypse to come, in mirror image of revelations, where God will bring his wrath to mankind and when Lucifer and the children of Cain, and the Lazuri, will stand against Him. "All is not lost, hold on to these things..." Bla bla bla.

These elements are such an obvious route to take. Take everything out that is set-up for the prophecy and you have some decent stuff, and it would have been much better for it.
But I get it though; there has to be a point to this 'apocrypha', some reason that justifies the story that is being told. It might be perfect for some but I just thought it was a little disappointing.

So in summary:
Great concepts, mediocre execution, boring conclusion.