Spark by John Twelve Hawks

just finished Spark by John Twelve Hawks.  I liked it.

i had read his whole The Traveler series and really really love it.  i am a sucker for a dystopian, rage against the machine, fuck the man kind of story, and The Traveler  was that and then some.

this book, however, was a bit different.  it still had the "we need to fight for our freedom, the banks and government are controlling us and treating us like sheep" message, but it was wrapped in a cool hitman story.

it was written well, i thought, the action moved along nicely, the story was interesting enough,

i'm not sure it was completely amazing and awesome though.  world class amazing literature?  nope.

it was fluff.  bubblegum.  and i enjoy bubblegum and fluff, so i liked it.  it had some parts that make you think, i had some parts that could make you wonder and perhaps entice you to be just a bit paranoid, but overall.....it was a good  book.  that's it.  not great, not OH MY GOD YOU GOTTA READ THIS, but very fun and enjoyable, if you like that sort of thing.

i like that sort of thing.  not sure i would recommend it to anyone though, unless they are the types of folks to have a few months of beans and rice and powdered water in their basement, and only deal in cash.

good fun story.  glad i read it.  i was entertained.

Velocifer, perhaps a new American God?

went for a pretty great ride last night, the weather was absolutely perfect, and, for some reason (i am in no way complaining) my legs were strong, i rode like a fucking lion last night.   along the way i started thinking of the God of Cycling.

I recently finished Neil Gaiman's American Gods and it was a fantastic book, i loved it and wished there were more like it.  I had read Douglas Adams' long dark teatime of the soul about Odin and the old gods that people stopped believing in, and that is where i got the tip about American Gods, which is quite similar in some ways.    the book talks about how the old gods were brought over to america and now, since no one believes in them, they just sort of wander around.  gods apparently are brought into existence through belief, and if you believe in something strong enough, it manifests, it takes hold, it becomes real.   it is such a well written and interesting story, it has lots of little things that make you think about the world around you and look at the world in a different way.  i like when a book does that.  i really really would recommend this book to most people, not all, it's not for everyone, but most, especially anyone with an open mind.   there is a great scene in the book where Odin talks to a waitress, she tells him she is Pagan, he asks who she worships, and how, and she spouts out dumb tripe which means nothing, and i can picture it in my head.  lots of good stuff in that book.

so, last night, pedaling up a hill and feeling rather good about it, i thought about the god of cycling, if there is one, or should i create one?  the name that came first to me was Velocifer.   this morning i googled it, the name is around, but doesn't seem to be a god of cycling at all.  so there is that...

i thought about how i would manifest this god, or, what would make this god grant favor on me, give me strong legs, keep me safe, etc?  of course a sacrifice is expected, and the obvious sacrifice would be blood, followed by beer, or alcohol, and then, just to make it specific, perhaps chain lube.

Blood is easy, i usually leave a bit here and there on the rocks.   the alcohol? no worries, tipping a bit out, not for my lost homies, but for my new god, is pretty easy.  and chain lube? same thing.

how would i go about worshiping this new god?   i do it almost every damn day, every time my legs are pushing pedals.  for all i know, between the spilled beer and blood i've left behind, he already exists.

and if he does exist, he seemed mighty pleased last night.  and i give him thanks.