Android Karenina – A Book Review

As a reader of this website, or listener of the podcast, please raise your hand if you’ve read Leo Tolstoy’s classic Anna Karenina (and no, following that link doesn’t count). I’m going to assume that no one raised their hand, and I’m not surprised. I haven’t read it either. A soap opera, with a bunch of hard to pronounce names, based in 19th Century Russia? No thanks. I’m sorry, Mr. Tolstoy, but I prefer my soap operas to have midgets and demons.

Enter Ben H. Winters, who co-wrote Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters with Jane Austen. Mr. Winters had the brilliant idea to rerelease Anna Karenina for a new (much cooler) generation. Take everything that made the novel a beloved classic, and mix in two healthy doses of Steampunk and robots. Quirk Classics, the Masters of Our Public Domain, jumped on this idea, and catapulted Mr. Tolstoy into superstardom (possibly back into superstardom, records are unclear).

Android Karenina, the novel that breaks all the rules (but not those very important three!), is the fourth title which re-envisions classics of literature with a patently geeky bent. Following hot on the heels of Zombies and Sea Monsters, the addition of robots to the arsenal completes the Geek Trifecta.

Need more of a reason to check out Android Karenina*? How about a picture of some swanky dude making time with a robot chick…

*Not so fast, Sparky. As with my review of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, Quirk Classics is letting me clue you in on another fantastic contest! Here’s the deal: Click on this link –> RIGHT HERE <- and tell them about Kneel Before Pod. As before, registration is required, but it’s a small price to pay for this awesome prize pack you will have a chance at winning (prize pack worth nearly $100…that’s a lot of money, children)!

• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith
• How to Survive a Horror Movie by Seth Grahame-Smith
• Dracula’s Heir: An Interactive Mystery by Sam Stall
• Extreme Encounters by Greg Emmanuel
• How to Tell if Your Boyfriend is The Antichrist by Patricia Carlin
• An Android Karenina Poster
• And More!

**Special Bonus! The Official Release Trailer!

A little update.

So, I came down with some nasty thing. It's like a cold on angel dust. It's just rampaging through my head and chest. Needless to say, I have missed two days of work already. I think if I miss a third I will be required to bring in a Doctor's note. So I am trying to get all rested up so I can go back tomorrow and avoid an office visit.

Now, onto some stuff you might actually care about. I got my new computer this week. It's super nice and is so much better than my old one. Where as I used to lag in Capital cities in World of Warcraft with the most basic settings, I can now run through the busiest cities with ease on the high performance graphic settings. I have yet to try anything to taxing on the system, but so far I am really happy.

I have also received my T-Mobile G1 equipped with Google's Android cell phone OS. I don't think I have ever been this happy with a purchase. It is more than a phone. It's a planner, email device and then the apps that are available for no additional cost? Brilliant. A full review will be coming later, when I am feeling up to it.

Episode 4: Top 5 World Creators -or- Two Jerks Running Off at the Mouth...

In this episode I lay down the gauntlet for posting on our blog and we list our top 5 Fictional World Creators **Spoiler - L. Ron Hubbard is not on the list**. From there, we pretty much talk about some things that Ryan found interesting on our RSS feeds including iPhones and "The Watchmen."



Tune in next week as we List our Top 5 Animated Shows both international and domestic!

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