Reorientation

Well, It's been awhile. I've had a very busy schedule lately, and have not had the time to get to writing the blog.

I've gotten some reading in, and I'm well past due of turning in a review that I volunteered for. My apologies.

The book, The Wardog's Coin/ Qalabi Dawn by Vox Day is another part of the SF/F genre that Vox has been assaulting the SF/F readers with a blitzkrieg of material.

I'll be honest, this book, good as it may be; was not nearly as rewarding to read as A Throne of Bones, or A Magic Broken. It's good, but just not on the same level.

The Wardog's Coin

So, what's good? The battle. Epic, well played, well written, gives a great visualization. Think Spartacus meets Black Hawk Down. Vox delivers well without fault in this regard.

Weakness? The lead character. He's an roughneck sergeant in a mercenary army in battle. He's character makes you think his life is about war, boozing, and women. My issue is that his character didn't seem *entirely* authentic. During most of the book he seems simple, but in the end he poses an eloquent analogy of life from his perspective. That last notion seemed really out of character, more philosopher than warrior.

It's a small gripe. And it may not bother you at all. I'd give it a 7/10.

Qalabi Dawn

This story is classic Vox. It's out there, starts quickly, floods you with a foreign environment, and just as you move into a territory where you feel like you grasp the situation, the story begins to turn towards the climax. It's a somewhat classic clash of glory blinded officer against a much weaker, and more motivated foe. Maximizing strengths and minimizing weaknesses is what the strategy boils down to. Very much mimicking the Trojan siege of Troy through deception. Interesting characters, and an enjoyable story line. 8.5/10

The price is hard to beat on the two books, and they are short enough to be read in a couple of hours. They provide interesting details into the setting of Selenoth, the environment that A Trone of Bones takes place in. They are worth reading if you enjoyed ATOB, and are looking forward to the next installment. If you haven't yet explored the land of Selenoth but are unsure about tackling ATOB, I'd recommend starting with A Magic Broken.

Koch's MBM

The Science of Success: How MBM built the world’s largest private company, by Charles G Koch.

An ambitious name, no doubt. “How MBM built the world’s largest private company”

So, is it worth it’s salt?

The book starts off with a brief history of the Koch’s including their immigration, history, business background, education and current achievements. It’s a very fortunate list, and definitely a very attractive appeal to the rhetorical ethos. He tells the story of entering into the family business after earning advanced engineering degrees from MIT. After restructuring the business, adding complimentary services, and expanding the customer base; turning the company profitable again. From there, the rest is history.

The Koch’s business is astoundingly massive. Easily in the top ten on the billionaires list, Charles and his brother David each are worth north of $30B. Growing the family business to a 2000-fold increase since entering it in 1961; a chart of the growth looks like an exponential function graph. Currently employing 60,000 people, and generating nearly $110B in revenue or approximately $18.3M/employee. Not too bad. The products owned vary widely in industry, and size. Of note: Georgia Pacific, Stainmaster(formerly of DuPont), and lycra. They are active in mining, forestry, paper, oil, refining, and agriculture.

Now, I know he’s probably smart. But there is no way he is top-dog-know-it-all in all those fields. Which means Charles’s talent in his ability to navigate to profitable ventures, and management of staff. That is where this book comes in. It also lends credence to his ability to instruct on the subject matter.

The formulation for MBM is rooted into Ludwig von Mises and F.A. Hayek's most famouse works in Austrian economics. Often quoted and always apparent.

The gist of the principle is to create a thought process for employees and to align their motivations with that of the corporations, and the cultivation of talent. MBM is specifically broken down into these components Vision, Virtue and Talents, knowledge processes, decision rights, and incentives.

Vision is the most obscure in nature. I don't believe this can be helped, as it is a strategic element that is going to be very industry specific. The rest of the principles are better explained, and more insightful. Even then, there is a large amount of vagueness throughout the book. It does a good job of creating a framework of management, but it is hardly weatherproof. However, to go much deeper, the book would have to get much more technical, and resources regarding those particulars are readily available. Once again, the book lending itself to the policies and procedures, and less towards the mechanical aspects of ROI, P&L, capital allocation, and risk management. In fact, rubrics are only used in passing, and never elaborated on.

It is thought provoking, and challenges alot of norms seen in todays business. Especially that of the tyrannical CEO micro-managing the minute details of each facet of the business. However, the framework Charles is trying to established seems lost at times in the lack of some detail.

Ultimately, if you're in management, whether public or private, the this book can probably serve you in some form. It's also not a very long read, maybe 200 pages, making eat fairly easy to digest. At worst you'll gain some insight, if not appreciation for the world's largest private business, and at best it may help you become the next Charles Koch.

The Koch's stay fairly active politically and philanthropically through various foundations and publications including Cato, Charles Koch Institute, and various other activities. They are some of the more famous libertarian leaning individuals involved in politics, and a great asset in the promotion of liberty. We need more men like the Koch's, active in politics, with a foundation in libertarianism and the Austrian business cycle.

Book Review: A Throne of Bones

The first book that I've completed reading since the unceremonious inception of this blog has been A Throne of Bones by Vox Day. The book is a Christian SF/F novel printed by the newly minted Marcher Lords Hinterlands. The press, from my admittedly limited understanding of the publishing industry, was created specifically for this book, and has since expanded to Vox's other works.

This book is monumental. The sheer size of the hardback version is simply staggering. On the cover, there is an intricate array of bronzed scrollwork surrounding a skull. Its quality, finish, and attention to detail are readily apparent. It sits on my bookshelf and carries a commanding prescence that is only rivaled by Webster in mass, and very few in quality. Each chapter has a header using the skull and some artwork, it's a nice touch.

But you don't buy the book for its cover, so onto the details. The book uses multiple points of view throughout the book highlighting and interlocking web of storylines. Based in a timeframe that would be very similar to the Roman Republic. There are a dizzying number of characters, both overtly talked about and viewed in their own perspective, as well as substantial covert character array that I can only imagine will work it's way out in future installments. The book to me was initially very complex, between the characters, terrain, alliances, politics and military strategy. During the first 10 chapters I found myself spending more time than I'd liked to find out some basic Roman Republic terminology, study the map of the world, and re-reading certain sections to be clear on their meaning. Not a large complaint, but it was something that mildly annoyed me. By midway through the book, it really didn't seem to be an issue. There is no predictability for the first 2/3 of the book. I had absolutely no success in predicting future events. When you think you would know how something was going to go, or how you expected it should go. A significant change of course would send you reeling back from what you thought you know. This happened on more than one occasion, and although startling, it was entertaining.

The characters are well developed, accurately portrayed, and are consistent in their portrayal. Their variances are far and wide, from the rebellious teenage girl, the gruff dwarf, the crafty mage, the honorable general, the savy politician, and the child prodigy.

The ending of the book is a little coarse, with no real closure to any aspect of the storyline. It's been confirmed that there will be future installments in the series, and for most readers this probably won't be an issue, but if your a single serving type of reader, don't expect closure.

I read an advance copy of Vox's previous work A Magic Broken. At the time I assessed it as on par with the quality of work to which this book will be most commonly compared to, A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. Many will know Martin's series has been converted to a successful HBO series. I stand by my previous assessment of the author's work. If the author can successfully complete at least a trilogy from this world he has created I think it can stand to become one of the great SF/F series's, and garner him accolades along with Martin, Tolkien and other fiction greats. I would recommend this book, without reservation.

Favorite character: Marcus

Favorite event: Corvus speech at the naturalization debate

Favorite quote: “You can bargain with everything but trolls and devils. Trolls are too stupid, and devils are too damn smart.”

My prediction is that Corvus was based on one Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus.