pro libertate net

It was quite sad news when a friend of mine told me about Robert Jordan’s death in 2007. I started to read the Wheel of Time series in the mid-nineties, then it was the German translations that were split up in two or three books for each of the original books. Since each of these shorter books costs about as much as one of the originals I soon switched to the original English version. International book imports just became affordable and I discovered my preference for original versions of books and movies… So I started over. And now, a decade later the series was about to suddenly end without a conclusion. Sad news, indeed.

So it was quite good news when the publisher Tor Books announced that their will be a conclusion nevertheless. Jordan had left enough material so that another author could take over the task to write the concluding volume. A kind of licensed fan-fic. And it is certainly better than most fan-fic I know. Brandon Sanderson – I had never read anything by him before – did a great job. Though he did not try to imitate Jordan – thank you! – his style keeps true to the spirit of the series. There is less of the Tolkienesque descriptions of the environment, there is definitely a faster pace than in the other installments. This faster pace may, of course, be due to the looming conclusion of the series. Yet, finally some loose ends are tied up. This is rather satisfying. Jordan seemed not to be able to round off any of the many sub-plots. There was always another twist that prolonged the story.

As I was not following any of the discussions and (p)reviews when the imminent publication of The Gathering Storm finally was announced – I did not want to spoil my own reading experience of the book – I was rather surprised when I learned that this last book is not the last book. There will be another two installments of the Wheel of Time series coauthored by Sanderson as there was too much material to cover it in just one book. And indeed, The Gathering Storm does not leave the impression that Sanderson needed to pad the story.

In 2000, George Akerlof and Rachel Kranton published Economics and Identity in the Quarterly Journal of Economics proposing a way on how to acknowledge the influence of identity in the standard economic framework. The published paper was surprisingly non-technical, it focused rather on empirical examples that are consistent with their model than on theoretical derivations, i.e. the rigorous use of mathematics to obscure any intuition one might have. Their book Identity Economics follows in the same tradition. It is basically an accessible summary of their papers on the topic that they published so far. In a number of chapters they present first the intuition of their model and than some applications by enumerating a long list of empirical observations that are consistent with their model.

This style of presentation is both fortunate and unfortunate. It is fortunate because the book becomes consequently accessible to a non-economist audience. Though I doubt that a lay-person may actually be interested in how economists deal with the influence of identity on economic decision making and in the fact that they (the economists) did not care to do so previously. After all, identity is not really a new concept. Ask a sociologist or psychologist about this… Therefore, the general style and choice of content of the book is also unfortunate. The actual audience may rather consist of economist and researcher from fields that have acknowledged identity as an important factor long ago. This audience – and here I include myself – is certainly also interested in the underlying math. A technical appendix would have been nice. Luckily, Rachel Kranton published some material (an earlier, more technical version of their paper Identity and the Economics of Organizations) on her webpage.

In a nutshell, identity determines the optimal choice for someone belonging to a certain identity class. If the individual deviates from this “class action” her individual utility is reduced. Hence, utility is just the sum of the standard utility and an identity penalty term. The problem, of course, is then to define identity categories, to define the optimal “class action”, to assign an individual to such a category, and to determine the appropriate penalty.

All in all, the whole approach is rather interesting. I like that the individual is finally put into a (social) context. It certainly enhances the descriptive power of the standard model. Its prescriptive power is, however, rather ambiguous. There are too many unknowns. Consequently, the general reception of these ideas in economics seems rather lukewarm (as already noted in another review at whimsley worth reading). Nevertheless, others are picking up on the topic. There will be, for instance, another book on it published this winter by Cambridge University Press: Individuals and Identity in Economics authored by John B. Davis that seems rather interesting as it promises a more broader overview and also some more rigorous illustrations.

With Angel Fire East Terry Brooks continues his rather dark pre-apocalyptic fantasy series of The Word and The Void, a kind of prequel to his Shannara cash cow. It tells basically of the same characters and the same struggle as the two novels that came before: Running with the Demon and A Knight of the Word. While there was a significant development of characters in the first two installments, no such thing happens here. Also, the female protagonist’s commendable community service pales against the worthy cause that was the center piece to which Brooks directed the readers’ attention in A Knight of the Word.

Though still a work that provides some diversion and, yes, entertains it is all too skillful and leaves an impression of mass production. Indeed Brooks seems to re-cycle ideas from his other contract work. Angel Fire East ends with an understanding that there will be a child born of magic, a savior to The Word who will bring balance to the Force. The same year Angel Fire East was published, 1999, Terry Brooks published the novelization of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace as well. And this joint theme is just too much of a coincidence.

Ice Limit is one of the few non-Pendergast novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. They seem to have specialized in mystery novel that allude often to the supernatural. Ice Limit is, however, more closely linked to science fiction. First, its all about a meteorite; more specifically a possibly interstellar meteorite. Something that is extremely unlikely. In the end, the object of interest is even considered a proof of Panspermia, establishing a strong link to science fiction. Also the feats of ingenious engineering, a lot of the story is about moving an extremely heavy object (the meteorite), is more typical of a science fiction novel than a thriller.

Nevertheless, there is murder, mayhem, corruption, secrecy, a kind of villain – though he is actually an honest citizen with a lot of conviction and loyalty to his country and family – and a kind of good guy. The novel breaks with some stereotypes rendering it slightly more interesting.

On the other hand, the novel does not really deliver what is advertised on its back. The mysterious meteorite is much less mysterious. The flawless expedition is far from flawless. And the frightening truth is not about the meteorite, as implicated, but about human tragedy. Yet, thanks to the well honed skills of Preston & Child the novel is still entertaining; good material for the nightstand.

Finally I took the time to read another of the classics, Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene, on my to-read-bookshelf that waited there already for quite some time. Not being a biologist and having been trained in Game Theory I have to admit, I do not see the controversy this book had caused. Even when he starts to discuss implications for human society and culture, the evolution of ideas and, yes, social norms I do not feel the urge to object. But, it is the 30th anniversary edition. Things were different back in the seventies.

I was a bit surprised, though, to find extensive references – basically a renarration – to Robert Axelrod’s The Evolution of Cooperation in one of the two chapters that were added later to this book. It is certainly instructive and somehow fits the general theme. Yet, this chapter has a different “feel”.

Not surprising was, however, that you cannot fail to notice that Dawkins certainly is not a devout catholic. Other works of his make this more explicit. Yet, the Selfish Gene is already a good indication of his conviction about religion.

My conclusion: The Selfish Gene is still an interesting and instructive text that should (also) be read by social scientist – right before or when they start to learn some Game Theory.

Here is one that is not part of a series. Not given how the book ends. Wrong.

As a rule I collect some information about the author before I buy a book. Usually to make sure that I buy and read the first book of a series first – if the book I want to to read happens to belong to a series. OK, this time I obviously did not do my homework. Will Adams’ The Lost Labyrinth is the third and most recent novel in a series of three books that share the same protagonist. I have to admit I did not notice nor did I suspect that The Lost Labyrinth is part of a series. This speaks in favor of the book and Adams.

The Lost Labyrinth is one of those – here nice and well written – mystery thrillers where the protagonists belong to a certain academic circle; here it is archaeologists. The story is embedded in some well known historical myths and facts. Adams may be a little too ambitious in trying to link several historical myths and facts at the same time: Atlantis, the Golden Fleece, and Minos’ Labyrinth. On the upside, realism in fictional works like this one is often sacrificed in order to increase the suspense and make the protagonist more hero-like, not here. All the fights and villainous acts feel rather real and befitting.

Even though I rather enjoyed the book I am not quite sure yet whether I will read the first two installments of Adams’ heroic archaeologist…