Reviews and Comments

A fascinating and enlightening book on quantum field theory and how the Higgs field gives mass (to be more precise, the rest mass) to the particles found in the Standard Model of particle physics. Except, as the author points out, particles don't exist: the best way to understand modern physics is to see the particles as confined standing waves with different level of interactions with the Higgs field.

The first part of the book gives an introduction to physics, starting with Newton's laws of motion and Galilean relativity, which states that the laws of motion are the same in all inertial reference frames, followed by Einstein's Relativity. This would lead to the author's way of looking at the world, in terms of waves, fields and mediums, necessary to understand how modern quantum field theory describes the world. The author admits that we don't really know what kind of medium 'empty space' is: it is the medium that the particles of the Standard Model interact in. For this reason, the author concentrates more on fields (as do other scientists).

Now, the reader has to make the leap, guided by the author, to understand that what we consider as particles are actually standing waves vibrating in the various fields: an electron is a standing wave in an electron field. Protons and neutrons are composites, made up of standing waves of quarks and gluons that vibrate inside the protons and neutrons. And it is the Higgs field, which interacts with these fields, that make the standing waves possible. The frequency (and energy) of these standing waves are what give the 'particles' their rest mass. The photon does not have a rest mass because it does not interact with the Higgs field, so it has no standing wave, but must keep moving (as a travelling wave) at, of course, the speed of light. Once this is accepted by the reader, the rest of the book, briefly covering cosmology, the puzzle of vacuum energy, and so on, should be more easily understood.

By the end, the reader should be able to get some understanding of how modern quantum field theory views the world in terms of fields and waves. The puzzle of the medium of 'empty' space that the field and waves operate in will have be left for future physicists to try to answer.

An interesting "cosy" mystery wrapped up in a fantasy world. Set on a ship making a twelve-day journey, you may be able to solve it before the end based on the information revealed during the voyage. But the world-building in the story is rather basic and could have been better thought out.

The book is set in the empire of Concordia, made up of twelve provinces, each ruled by an heir that is 'Blessed' with a special magical ability, which is usually a secret ability not revealed to others. To mark a thousand years, the twelve heirs have gathered on a magical ship to sail to a sacred mountain. Problem is, one of the heirs isn't Blessed, and he is hiding it from the other heirs.

During the journey, hiding it turns out to be the least of his problems. The heir to the emperor is found dead. Then, over the days, other heirs are killed. The murderer has to be among the heirs left, for the magical ship has no crew, other than magical dragon butlers who, as stated early in the book, refuse to hurt or kill the heirs. The unBlessed heir decides to find out who the murderer is, how the murders take place (apparently with the use of magic) and why they are taking place. Clues are dropped, so those paying attention might be able to figure out what is happening before it is explained.

Complicating the investigation is the political and economic background of the empire, divided into upper and lower class provinces, resulting in rather hostile relationships among the heirs, some of whom look down on others. The unBlessed heir, who is a teen, also has a highly romantic relationship with another heir, which will affect how he investigates the matter.

While the murder-mystery is interesting, the story is let down by the rather basic world building. Each province consists of only one type of geography (ice, mountains, jungles, grassy plains, etc.) and provide one type of material (jewels, fish, and so on). Since they are all on a ship, all of this background information is 'dumped' on to the reader, instead of being experienced.

In summary, an interesting murder-mystery story that takes place in a fantasy world that could have been better crafted so as not to break the reader's suspension of disbelief while trying to figure out who did it before the investigator does.

An average issue, with interesting stories by Alberto Chimal, Esther Friesner, Xinwei Kong and Phoenix Alexander

• "What It Means to Drift" by Rajeev Prasad: the story of an emotional connection between a person and a 'Titan' responsible for the education of thousands of children. The Titan is getting detached from its responsibilities, and need an emotional boost via the connection; a boost that leads to devastating emotional highs and lows for the person.

• "On My Way to Heaven" by Alberto Chimal, translated from the Spanish by Patrick Weill: the story of a family 'weird' uncle, who claims to have been abducted by aliens in the past. Then, during a demonstration against the government, the uncle vanishes, and it is up to the reader to decide whether it was the government that did it, or otherwise.

• "Mister Yellow" by Christina Bauer: a person can access other dimensions to affect what happens in our world. But then the person discovers, too late, what happens when the other world also takes an action.

• "Water Baby" by Tonya R. Moore: in a flooded future, one person tries to keep a colony from vanishing away while looking for her mother. But a visit to a doctor reveals just what happened to her and what may happen to her, as she discovers just what the doctor has been doing in secret.

• "Metis in the Belly of the God" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman: the story of a being who is swallowed by Zeus while pregnant. During her journey inside Zeus, she discovers some of his secrets and desires, and finally gives birth to a child who would eventually become Athena.

• "She’s a Rescue" by Marie Vibbert: a father and daughter (and their dog) are on a desperate journey from Mars to Earth and have to deal with their ex-wife/mother who does not want them to land at Ceres during the journey. But they have no choice, and come up with a desperate plan that, with some last minute changes, may yet work.

• "Snowdrop" by Raul Caner Cruz: an old couple fashion a child out of snow. Then, like in fairy tales, the child comes alive. But there is no fairy tale ending, as the child will have to cope with their passing and decide on what to do next.

• "Dog People" by Esther Friesner: a humorous story involving goddesses from several mythologies on an outing in New York City, suddenly finding that the dead have escaped from Hades' Underworld. Sending them back and finding out what has happened would lead them to discover a side to Hades that they never saw before.

• "What You Leave Behind" by Ken Altabef: the survivor of a terrorist attack that kills her mother keeps the scene in her chest, literally. And there it remains, as a reminder until the day she can remove it and be at peace.

• "Another Such Victory" by Albert Chu: two pilots of huge machines battle strange alien monsters who descend to the Earth. But the constant battles have wearied one pilot, who seeks a way out. But doing so may require her to betray her fellow pilot, something she does not know if she can do.

• "Growth Rings of the Earth" by Xinwei Kong: a story of a future Earth where most people have become digital uploads. One of those that are not uploaded finds his work as a librarian taking care of printed books fulfilling. But one day, he meets a person who has returned from an upload, and gets a promise to meet again to read a book he will write before he dies. That day arrives, but other events would affect what the librarian will do when he becomes the last person left on Earth.

• "Jacob Street" by L. Marie Wood: a short, horror story of a couple who keep getting lost on their journey past that street, with their GPS telling them they are now at the bottom of a bay. But it is really a GPS mistake?

• "Red Ochre, Ivory Bone" by Deborah L. Davitt: an unknown artifact approached a space station with various alien races. An investigation by the station's forensic expert finds ochre mixed in with the remains, which reminds the expert of what some ancient people on earth have done with the remains of their ancestors.

• "The Glass Apple" by Ivy Grimes: a lady receives a glass apple on her wedding, with instructions not to eat it. But as the years pass, the apple keeps 'eating' into her thoughts until one day, she decides to take a bite.

• "Slickerthin" by Phoenix Alexander: on a Greek island, the inhabitants share it with harpies, who give their eggs to the islanders to be eaten. But they fear that one day, they will get an egg with a 'deformed' harpy (or slickerthin), which they have to care for, despite its deformities. The day has come, and the person who has to take care of the slickerthin wants nothing to do with it. But the harpies have ways to make sure the job is done; or else.

An average issue, with interesting stories by Ben Berman Ghan and R H Wesley

• "The Music Must Always Play" by Marissa Lingen: an alien ship crashes on Earth. A linguist is tasked with trying to understand the alien's language, but it is the 'music' that she hears from the ship that would lead to a possible breakthrough, and a way for making the rest of humanity have an understanding of what the aliens are.

• "Fish Fear Me, You Need Me" by Tiffany Xue: in a future where water has flooded much of the world, two people go out fishing. But it is no ordinary fishing trip, for it appears that much of humanity have been turned into fish, and one man searches in vain for his wife.

• "Broken" by Laura Williams McCaffrey: a story, told in reverse, about repairing a broken virtual reality helmet. Only, the player has been in the virtual world for so long, it has become the Real World to her, and the real world is now just a shadow of reality.

• "How to Remember Perfectly" by Eric Schwitzgebel: two elderly people in a nursing home take a special treatment that enables them to change their mood and their memories. In the end, it is up to the reader to wonder if the abiilty was really worth it.

• "The Children I Gave You, Oxalaia" by Cirilo Lemos, translated by Thamirys Gênova: a story about alien refugees from Venus in a Brazilian favela. In this story, one of the alien refugee is caring for human children, and later strikes up a relationship with a human. But things change, when a war on Venus that caused the refugees to flee, is declared to be over. Now, the refugees are being forced to leave the favelas and return home. But for this refugee, Earth is home, setting up a confrontation with the authorities.

• "Those Who Remember the World" by Ben Berman Ghan: a death occurs in a city. But the cause of death may be a fungal infection, and an Investigator investigates. But as the story progresses, it becomes clearer that the Investigator isn't originally human and neither are the city's inhabitants, in a tale where the line between what is originally real and what was created by the city blurs.

• "A Theory of Missing Affections" by Renan Bernardo: a researcher of alien artefacts tries to convince her sister to join her on the alien's world before the gateway between their worlds is closed. But beliefs in the aliens' system of treating each other for an unknown purpose clashes with the needs of their family.

• "A World of Milk and Promises" by R H Wesley: the survivor of an accident while surveying an alien world discovers that life-forms there survive by cooperating with each other, rather than competing. This would have an effect on the development of the survivor's children.

A fascinating book (apparently the first in a series) set in a Victorian-era world involving two investigators that use Hexes to solve crimes. Well, only Iz Ann Always Wilby (hah!) uses Hexes, while her husband has his own resources. And their current investigation is a doozy, involving a King who wants to be cooked, a possible bastard son, and various spirits and denizens of other worlds. Like most investigative stories, the clues are there, but it would be a challenge for the reader to solve it before Iz does, even with the various Hexes and other magical incantations and objects shown and explained.

The story starts with the King's cooking situation explained by his secretary and a letter from the apparent bastard son, before action explodes on to the scene (literally). Iz and her husband are then off to investigate the origins of the possible son. But it becomes clear that some forces would be happier if they drop the investigation. The investigation would lead them into the realm of the dead, interactions with a shadow world, and encounters with monstrous creatures from another plane of existence. But even with the case closed, things are not settled, for the Wilbys are now aware of an even more powerful magical force at work in their world, and it would not do to antagonize it unduly, for the force is aware of them and is willing to leave them alone: for now.

In the Wilby's world, the system of magic is divided into four branches: the Wizards, Necromancers, Alchemists, and Hexology. The Wizards and Necromancers are now banned and strictly controlled, while some Alchemists are busy creating new sources of power and raw materials, sometimes from other worlds. Iz uses Hexes (drawings of arcane symbols) during her investigation to help her, and also magical items that have come into her possession from her long-lost (and dead) father, who was an explorer and collector of magical items.

The story is written in a light-hearted way, but with moments of high emotion during important revelations in the investigation. The book would conclude with Iz making a controversial deal with a magical being that would reveal a truly power magical being at work in her world that she would rather avoid if possible. Presumably, a confrontation between them in the future is inevitable, but that would be for a future book in this interesting series to reveal.

A technical and fascinating book on the history of Japan's Shinkansen, the world's first high-speed railway. It is amazing to think that it was created in the 1960s, well before modern computers, and the engineers had no option but to use hand computations, paper tables and graphs to simulate all aspects of the design of the trains and railway lines.

The book covers three main parts: the first part covers Japan just after the end of World War II, when Japan was still under the occupation of the Allied Forces. Former designers and engineers from Japan's military now work on railways, and put their minds on making them better. Their theoretical and simulation work on Japan's trains and railways would include making them faster and quieter (more suitable for moving passengers instead of just cargo). These would pave the way for some to publicly state a desire for a high-speed rail network, with trains able to travel at 200 km/h or better.

The second part covers the design of the high-speed trains, looking at various aspects of the trains (aerodynamics, vibration analysis), rails (manufacturing, reliability), power supply and communications. Remember that this was in the 1950s and 1960s, so engineers have to come up with simplified theoretical models and run simulations on scale models and, later, full size models, to discover how the trains and rail networks would behave. At the time, in the west, few believed that trains could travel at 200 km/h, so the Japanese had to depend on their own research to push on. The engineers also had a short time-line to come up with the design and testing of a high-speed rail before starting production on the actual trains.

The third part looks at the early commercial history of the train and the lessons learned from running it. After an initial start, when problems tend to occur, the book concludes that the major lesson learned was to get at the root of all problems. Even minor problems must be thoroughly investigated, for the problems, if ignored, may later cause major ones. Earthquakes, and the derailments caused by them, lead to redesigns to minimize the possible damage that can occur when such events occur.

The book closes with a brief pictorial history of the various Shinkansen trains, from the earliest ones, to the ones now running in the 2020s.

This is a highly technical book, full of equations and graphs and technical discussions on aspects of trains and railway network design. Those looking for a book that goes deeply into the design of a high-speed railway will find many fascinating details: details that may cause the less technical to quickly skip over to pick out the more general details.

An interesting addition to the 'cosy fantasy' category where the stakes are not very high (but high enough for the protagonists), with a dose of romance. It helps that the main character is a librarian who gets to show off her librarian indexing skills.

At the start of the story, she is happy taking care of her corner of the Empire's library full of spell books with the help of a magical sentient plant. But it all comes crashing down when a revolution gets out of hand and the library is put to the torch. Saving whatever spell books they can, the duo escape in a boat before heading to the only place she can think of: her childhood home on an outer island.

Before she has a chance to settle in her old home, her nosy (and rather handsome) neighbour intrudes, to try to help renovate the place. Now lacking an income, she decides to start selling jam, with the help of her mother's old recipe book that she discovers. But finding fruits to make jam is hard on the island, especially since the Empire's sorcerers have stopped visiting the outer islands, casting spells to help make living easier. She decides to use the spell books she saved to help her grow the required fruits, as well as revive the plants on the island. This has to be done surreptitiously, as using magic is forbidden, except by approved people, which she isn't.

As first, it goes well, as her jams are a hit with the island folk, who she starts to get to know, including her nosy, handsome neighbour. But then an outsider intrudes, claiming to be an Inspector, out investigating the improper use of magic. And now she has to somehow hide that fact that she used magic for her jams. But the Inspector would turn out to be the least of her problems when other visitors appears, and this one may use military force to bring back what they believe is hidden on the island.

In this book, magic takes place in the form of incantations in a language with the proper ingredients. So anybody could do it, if they knew what they were doing. And at first, the librarian has to experiment to get things right, as the writers of the book may sometimes be vague about how a spell actually works; and that is assuming the handwriting can be correctly read. The island itself is full of magical creatures that the librarian gets to know when they sense her using magic and come to her for magical aid.

The tone of the book is light-hearted and full of humour. Even the 'bad guys' in the story turn out not to be so bad after all, and she learns to deal with them, with the help of the islanders who are mostly friendly and willing to help out one another. For life on the island is already hard enough, so having helpful neighbours is a good thing. And in the end, the librarian gets to come out and help the islanders with her use of magic to make their lives easier.

An average issue, with interesting stories by Lyle Hopwood and Noah Lemelson.

• "Hate: A Genealogy" by Fábio Fernandes: a somewhat meandering story of a person who, after an attempted suicide attempt, gets recruited into an organization that polices alternate times and places by transferring their consciousnesses. This gets wrapped around a story about him planning to kill his father, which does not appear to get resolved.

• "Joanie from Rupture to Rapture (Once Again Under the Spotlight)" by Carlos Norcia: a story of the journey of a musician through space.

• "Fables" by Rachael Cupp: a series of fables with morals as told in a shelter after the end of the world.

• "Swim With the Space Whales" by Lyle Hopwood: a private investigator is hired to find a package that goes missing during a transit in space. But things get serious when the investigator's companion ends up dead during another investigation, and they may be linked together, along with some intelligent space whales that aren't really whales.

• "The Complete Expiration Records of Nebu Inc. Colony KE-4-01" by Noah Lemelson: an interesting series of scenes of a mining operation on a planet that goes seriously wrong when the planet's native lifeforms turns out not to be as harmless as originally thought.

A fascinating book that looks at the history of Machine Learning (ML) to show how we arrive at the machine learning models we have today that drive applications like ChatGPT and others. Mathematics involving algebra, vectors, matrices, and so on feature in the book. By going through the maths, the reader gets an appreciation of how ML system go about the task of learning to distinguish between inputs to provide the (hopefully) correct output.

The book starts with the earliest type of ML, the perceptron, which can learn to separate data into categories and started the initial hype over learning machines. The maths are also provided to show how, by adjusting the weights assigned to its testing input, the machine discovers the correct weights which can allow it to categorize other inputs.

Other chapters then cover other ways to train a machine to categorize its input is shown, based on Bayes Theorem and nearest neighbour. They have their advantages and disadvantages: choosing the right (or wrong) way to train a machine will have an impact on how well the machine can categories its data.

Matrix manipulation, eigenvalues and eigenvectors are then introduced. When there are many input parameters, it can be hard to categorize them based on all the factors. By using eigenvalues and eigenvectors, it is possible to discover which factors cause the most variation among the data, and thus categorize them. And, in an interesting reversal, it is also possible to manipulate the input by putting them into more categories, which can reveal patterns that can then be used to categorize the input.

These ML models categorize input data using one level of 'neurons'. The next step would be to introduce a 'hidden layer' of neurons that can be used to combine the incoming data in many ways, which provides new ways to manipulate the data for categorization. This would provide a boost in the abilities of machines to recognize input data.

Lastly, the book catches up to current day ML models, which feature a huge increase in the number of hidden layers and weights used to manipulate input data. The book then points out that this huge increase has caused the theory of how machines learn to fall behind: the machines now exhibit abilities that theory cannot account for. The ability of such machines to pick out patterns in data through self-learning, rather than being pre-fed known data, is also an unexpected feature that current ML theories cannot account for.

These unaccounted features of current day ML systems are a probable cause of concern. So too is the concern over the kind of data being pre-fed to the systems: data that comes with various biases that only cause the system to make yet more biased decisions. Until we know better how these systems behave, it would be best to treat their outputs with caution.