Дерек Кюнскен, «Квантовый Волшебник». Новый для меня автор, на которого я наткнулся, пока искал себе какое-то лёгкое чтиво в перерывах между серьёзной фантастикой.
Внезапно, роман сильно превзошёл мои ожидания и оказался совсем не простым. Хотя по сюжету это что-то вроде авантюрного кино в стиле «Друзей Оушена» — герой набирает команду для совершения хитрого дела, только события происходят в далёком будущем в космосе, а в команде есть люди-мутанты со сверхспособностями.
Сам центральный персонаж тоже мутант — генетически изменённый человек, которому в грудную клетку вживлены электропластины наподобие тех, что у угрей, а к органам чувств добавлены магнитосомы — специальные клетки, которые умеют улавливать электромагнитное поле и ограниченно им манипулировать. Но это не всё — способность управлять электричеством это не оружие, а механизм для модификации токов в коре головного мозга. Входя в особое состояние, мозг героя превращается в квантовый компьютер. Кстати, отдельно отмечается, что герой в этом состоянии теряет свою личность, поэтому перестаёт быть наблюдателем и не производит своим воздействием редукцию фон Неймана :)
В общем, научная составляющая в книге хорошая. Она не гениальная и не без изъянов (например, сцепленные частицы в сюжете таки передают информацию), но крепкая, и не ломает лично мою приостановку неверия. Возможно, специалист по квантовой физике читал бы с меньшим удовольствием, но я прямо кайфовал.
Команда тоже интересная. Автор делает своеобразную отсылку к фентези: есть аналог гномов, аналог людей-рыб, сам центральный герой это «маг», есть «воин» (девушка-солдат с усиливающими имплантами), и есть «вор» — искусственный интеллект, взламывающий замки. Короче, очень прикольно, чтиво для гиков. А конкретно я ещё и больше люблю технологический сайфай, нежели средневековое фентези.
При этом текст не глупый и не легкомысленный. Диалоги отличные. Герои, конечно, несколько поляризованы, но они задаются глубокими вопросами и ведут любопытные обсуждения. Есть сюжетная арка про генетические эксперименты с религией, и она настолько ошеломительно крутая и полна неожиданно свежих идей, что я напишу как-нибудь про это отдельный пост.
На английском выпущено ещё две книги, вторая в переводе выходит в этом месяце, очень жду.
#fiction
Mike Tyson — about those who should not be messed with.
🥊The journalists asked Mike Tyson, a boxing legend, a man who knows what a real fight is, for his opinion on a "hot" geopolitical issue.
His response was typically Tysonian—without diplomacy, on the edge, but impossibly honest:
"Do you want to fight the Russians? Good luck in hell! Seriously? Have you ever seen these people? They've been through things that we can't even imagine.
Stalingrad. Chechnya. Winters when they survive at -40.
These are not people who can be scared. I've been there, I've seen Russians. They are ready to do anything for their land.
What are you ready for? Don't make me laugh."
🥊This is not politics. This is a view from a world where the price of victory and defeat is measured not in ratings, but in blood and fortitude. When Iron Mike speaks, who knows everything about confrontation, it's worth listening.
Video: Ri00
#brief_and_interesting
#RussianCulturalCode
🟠RCR | Support | Boost
Чем русские на самом деле занимаются на даче.
What Russians really do at the dacha.
▶️На самом деле
#just_a_joke
#RussianCulturalCode
😎RCR | Support | Boost
Well done, professional drifters cry...
🔻The wife is a professional driver with nerves of steel, every man's dream.
🔻Am I the only one who has the feeling that she deliberately took an advantageous position with the help of drift, and then she will fire a couple of AK47 shots at a white SUV?)
🔻The husband of the Russian Mrs. Smith did not guess who she was for a long time...
⚠️Do not attempt! Dangerous!
Performed by a professional Russian woman!)
Video: АВТОДОК
Song&music: Pink Panter
#Russian_culture
#RussianCulturalCode
😎RCR | Support | Boost
A quiet winter evening in Russia
🔻A young guy returns home after work, the winter sun is setting. It turned out to be a good day with no incidents, no unexpectedly falling meteorites, no mutant bears, no tank columns suddenly crossing the road.
🔻Silence, the engine sounds soothing, he is discussing something with a friend on the phone. There is slow traffic on the winter road, polite and careful drivers...
🔻Nothing can distract a Russian driver from talking to a friend...
❤️May your Friday be just as serene!
Video: РОБОТ
#Russian_culture
#RussianCulturalCode
😎RCR | Support | Boost
Еven fear itself was afraid of this girl…
🔻Well, back in the 19th century, the Russian poet Nekrasov in his poem Мороз, красный нос (Frost, Red Nose) (1863) wrote about Russian women:
• Коня на скаку остановит, в горящую избу войдёт...
She will stop a galloping horse and enter a burning hut…
⚠️Do not attempt! Dangerous!
Performed by a professional Russian woman!)
Video: Женское счастье
🎵: Женя Любич
#Russian_culture
#RussianCulturalCode
😎RCR | Support | Boost
Russians don't smile without reason
🔻83% of Russians, according to the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), consider themselves happy. However, there haven't been more smiles on the streets, and foreigners continue to perceive us as a gloomy and unfriendly nation. But we perfectly remember the proverb: Смех без причины - признак дурачины. (Laughter without reason is a sign of a fool).
🔻For a European person smiling upon meeting someone is a demonstration of politeness and goodwill towards the interlocutor. For Russians, however, "дежурная улыбка" ("a perfunctory smile") is not a desirable quality and is rather alarming. Russians rarely smile at strangers and are not always ready to reciprocate a smile.
🔻The uniqueness of the Russian smile lies in the fact that it must be sincere, have a valid reason understandable to those around, and be appropriate. Smiling for no reason is not accepted.
🔻Russians have their own smile, which in its mysteriousness is not inferior to the Mona Lisa's smile. Not strained, sincere, from the depths of our soul!
#RussianCulturalCode
#Russian_culture
😎 Stay with @learnRCRussian
-73 degrees Celsius (С)? Not the limit for the Russian Vityaz!
❄️As Fyodor Biganov, an engineer-tester at the MK-Vityaz enterprise (part of Rostec's UVZ concern), recalls, during a winter expedition in Antarctica, the "outboard" temperature dropped to -73 degrees C:
The equipment held up. They added diesel fuel to the lubricant to prevent it from thickening too much in extreme cold. The main danger was that the rubber bands on the tracks would crack like glass. We had to warm up for a long time and move very carefully. We managed to deliver the cargo and return safely.
❄️The Vityaz two-link tractors were designed for such extreme conditions. They can navigate through swampy, snowy, and even sea environments. These all-terrain vehicles can withstand waves up to three points. They can even be used to unload ships.
Вездеход ДТ "Витязь"
Video: УралВагонЗавод
#Kulibin_and_the_Red_Army#RussianCulturalCode
🟠RCR | Support | Boost
31 декабря: Не трогай, это на Новый год!
December 31st: Don't touch that, it's for New Year!
1 января: Ешь, а то испортится!
January 1st: Eat it, or it'll go bad!
#memes
#holidays
#RussianCulturalCode
🟠RCR | Support | Boost
When it comes to adaptation of favourite food to Russian reality:
🍕Dumpling Pizza (found in a Moscow restaurant:
☆ Mini beef and pork dumplings
☆ Mozzarella cheese
☆ Red onion
☆ Ketchup+mayonnaise sauce
☆ Dill
😉Would you dare to try it?
#Russian_cuisine
#RussianCulturalCode
😎 Stay with @learnRCRussian
A cat exhibition is being held in Moscow - featuring dozens of artworks dedicated to fluffy friends. 🐱🐾
Until May 10th, you can see the works of 20 artists who have presented cats as part of our cultural code.
• Выставка (выставки) (femin.noun)
[vys-taf-ka (vys-taf-ki)]
An exhibition(s)
Source: JDMax
#RussianCulturalCode
#news
#Caturday
#useful_vocabulary
🟠RCR | Support | Boost
🔢🔢🔢 Possible answers to Как дела?:
• Как (твои/ваши) дела?
[kak (tva-i/va-shi) di-la]
How are you?
1. Отлично!
[at-lich-na]
Exсellent!
2. (Очень) хорошо
[(o-chin' kha-ra-sho]
(Very) good/well
3. Нормaльно (= slang Норм)
[nar-mal'-na (norm)]
Аlright, OK, decent
4. Ничего
[ni-chi-vo]
SLT: nothing
It's OK, nothing much
5. Неплохо
[ni-plo-kha]
Not bad
6. Так себе
[tak si-be]
Not very good, could be better
7. Плохо
[plo-kha]
Bad, not good
8. Хуже некуда.
[khu-zhe ne-ku-da]
Couldn't be worse, terrible
😉Be sure Russians WILL TELL you why they are (not) good/well today, because this question isn't just a sign of politeness in Russia. Just be ready to listen or run!
▶️Other ways to ask Как дела?
🎧🗣👇 А как ваши дела сегодня?
#365_marathon
#survive_in_Russia
#RussianCulturalCode
#spoken_Russian
😎RCR | Support | Boost
Olympic figure skating champion Alina Zagitova performed an ice dance on Lake Baikal with her partner.
"Lake Baikal ice, -30 degrees. What are you ready to do for your dream project?" she wrote.
🔻Alina hasn't revealed the details yet. According to the figure skater, the project took about six months to complete. It was one of the most challenging shoots of her life, but the result is amazing!
😉Russian cultural code is like...
Video: IRK.ru
#news
#Russianbeauties
#Russiannature
#RussianCulturalCode
😎 Stay with @learnRCRussian