The Little Book of Chaos - Craig Brown

Advantages: Teaches you thoery and history of Chaos
Disadvantages: It's a difficult theory to understand!

.... How could it be done!? --------------------------------------- What Is Chaos? --------------------------------------- Right. Explaining Chaos would take a 317 page book by James Gleick. But I’ll see if I can get some basics across. I don’t fully understand it myself. We live in a turbulent world. In every experiment, you get experimental noise. Little things that you can’t control like fluctuations in heat. A small change in heat can lead to a large change in the data. That’s why you can’t predict the weather. The saying goes: “If a butterfly flaps it’s wings in China, it could cause a storm in New York” Which means the very small change caused by the butterfly can change the system entirely. But underpinning all this unpredictability is something else. Chaos. It turns out that what we assumed was being caused by butterflies... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Clever concept, well written
Disadvantages: You'll be lucky to find all the books in the series

...Characters: Good Plot: Excellent Readability: Very good Concept: Very good This is the first in a series of books by Modesitt, based around a world where both Order and Chaos co-exist in a precarious balance. In this volume the main character is Lerris, who is a disappointment to his father as he has little patience for the order-based joinery he wishes him to do. Instead Lerris has an aptitude for Magic - which seems very chaotic to the order based country he lives in. Lerris is sent off to "dangergeld", where he meets others who don't fit with the ordered Recluce. After an initial assessment the group is sent away from Recluce to discover who they really are and where their talents lay. This is when Lerris's adventure of self-discovery begins. He will learn about the order-chaos balance, and how... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: hilariously funny
Disadvantages: nil

...i absolutely loved this book, it was really funny, but also thought provoking. this book is cleverly written and full of quick wit. The main character is a female doctor who is having an affair, but instead of her being the sinner, she has a vulnerability that makes you able to identify with her. This book is about being human, but striving for more. The comedy in it comes from the faith healer, who enters the family's life and causes chaos, turning their world upside down. I laughed so much that my sides hurt and i couldn't put the book down. If you enjoy books that make fun of the little ironies in life and if you are only human too, you will really enjoy this read. I would highly recommend it.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful