Why I love Dividing by Zero

My novel, Divide by Zero, has been released by Second Wind Publishing. Just go to my Second Wind author page and find that white cat waiting to engage you. Meanwhile the same cat's invading Subtraction with glee, and my protagonist is about to go on a journey. Want to know who the protagonist is? You may have to wait awhile, but his story's woven from one the threads that broke free in Divide by Zero.

Of course, I get some interesting responses when I mention the title of my book. A popular one is "The answer's infinity," though the truth is, if it weren't undefined, there would be an infinite number of answers. After all, try x/x (x divided by x). That's always 1 isn't it? But what if x is zero? And now try 3x/x. Then there's 1/x which grows infinitely positive or negative, depending on x, as x approaches zero. And then... But you didn't want a math class in a blogpost of book reviews did you?
Suffice it to say, I love the mathematical concept of dividing by zero. I love those places where the answers are undefined, in math and in human relationships. And I loved writing Divide by Zero, where a subdivision waits to be torn apart by the unimaginable, and infinite answers resolve into a small boy's voice.

It takes a subdivision to raise a child. But sometimes it takes a child to raise a community.

And now for coffee (to warm me; it's cold outside) and book reviews to clear that growing to-do list:

I'll start with a book that strives to tell way more math and science than I did above. The Amazing Crystal, by Gerard Lizee, translated by Robert Dykes, offers an intriguing answer to the question of evolution, couched in alien nanotechnology, unquestioned new theories, and enormously detailed descriptions of string theory and mansions with many en suites. It's an odd, unsettling mix, and this mathematician wishes the world's best scientists could have been seen asking some more relevant questions. But grab some dark intense 5-star coffee if you think it might be your cup of tea.

Next, and again asking the world's big questions, this time in sociology with a bit of wireless electrical science, etc woven in, is Hunger for Atlantis, by Pandora. It's a weighty tome filled with weighty ideas about education and more. Complex characters mill in a complex mix, blended with touches of Greek myth. Pencil and paper might help you keep track, or a cup of intense dark 5-star coffee.

Moving from sci-fi to horror, Reality Shift, by Rick Carter-Squire blends the "don't go there" feel of a Halloween movie with the casual voice of a campfire tale. Young adults run around making foolish mistakes, but there's a definite sting in the tale at the end, if you read that far. Enjoy with plenty more dark 5-star coffee.

Lots more horrors lurk in the short stories of  Vampires Don’t Sparkle, by Michael West. It's a cool collection of pleasingly original and scary tales about good old-fashioned vampires, and you certainly wouldn't want to fall in love with one of these, or have one dating your daughter. More dark 5-star coffee please.

And for more cerebral (and haunting) horrors, Perfect Flaw, by Robin Blankenship, must be an almost-perfect collection of dystopian fiction, offering a perfect blend of terrifying and tormenting tales set in near and far futures of mankind. Make sure coffee's brewing itself, 4-star, elegant and complex. You won't want to put this book down once it grabs hold of you.

So warm up, grab some coffee, and don't forget, Divide by Zero is out there too, waiting to entice you with hidden, human horror, dividing the peace of the real and everyday.






Comments

CA Heaven said…
Math class is fine. I always loved math. The concept of dividing by zero is interesting, in particular the ways we deal with it in practice, i.e. taking the limit of x approaching zero (then 3x/x = 3, as usual). In particular, the complex plane provides some interesting stuff, since the process of x going to zero depnds also on the direction we approach zero from. That's cool >:)

Cold As Heaven

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