New releases in fiction, non-fiction and comics that catch our eye.
The Book of Another Place By Keanu Reeves and China Miéville
A few years ago, Keanu Reeves plunged into the world of comics with a series BRZRKR, written with longtime comic creator Matt Kindt. Playing out over 12 issues, the limited series follows a half-mortal, half-God warrior known as B, who lives a violent existence but cannot die. And after 80,000 years of survival, he really wants to. Eventually, he ends up working as a killing machine for the US government.
Netflix the series has plans for a film and an anime spinoff BRZRKR the universe is still growing beyond it. Reeves and author China Miéville, known for their “weird fiction” works that combine science fiction, fantasy and other genres, were published this week. The Book of Another Place, a novel that returns to B’s story in a bloody, gory saga. It’s written in a unique style that starts off turbulently in the prologue before moving on to something else entirely. If there’s one thing reviewers agree on, it’s that this book isn’t afraid to be weird.
Why Machines Learn: The Sophisticated Mathematics Behind Modern Artificial Intelligence By Anil Ananthaswamy
Artificial intelligence is all around us, and these days talk of Big Tech’s race to build better and better systems sometimes seems almost inevitable. But how often do we stop at the sidelines and take a look at how we got here in the technical sense, down to the math that makes it all possible?
In Anil Ananthaswamy’s new book, Why Machines Learn: The Sophisticated Mathematics Behind Modern Artificial Intelligence, award-winning science journalist and author explains the history and mathematics behind machine learning as we know it today. It’s not exactly light reading, but sometimes it’s nice to exercise your brain a little. You don’t need to be a math whiz to keep up – Ananthaswamy said a basic understanding of calculus is enough.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2024) #1, Jason Aaron, Joëlle Jones
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back in another new comic book series from IDW written by Jason Aaron.Batman: Out of World, Thor, The scalp is peeled off), with art by Joëlle Jones (Lady Killer, Catwoman). The first issue was released this week – and it finds Rafael behind bars.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2024) marks the 40th anniversary of a franchise we as a society can’t seem to get enough of (no complaints here). Then the turtles all split up and left New York on their own, and it looks like the first few issues will each focus on one of the brothers. However, they will eventually be brought together to do what they do best – fight bad guys and eat pizza. It should be something that even people who haven’t kept up with many of the series over the years can get into without feeling lost.
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