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Welcome - 5Ws About the Author and Books

Hello reader,

Allen W. McLean is a Canadian author of metaphysical speculative fiction, whose scifaiku sci-fi haiku poetry and book reviews compose the HaikuPrajna Collection; a library made of his study notes, for readers yet or who never plan to consume the stories just as much as they are for those who have.ﾠ

He was born and raised in the Greater Toronto Area’s suburban city of Brampton Ontario, and identifies as non-binary; obsessed with books since elementary school, he has been forming stories since he started playing pretend as a child, and had his first start while indulging in creative writing homework assignments and working on webcomics with his longest friends.

His wife April Salisbury-White produces psychedelic music and art as "Electric Armchair"; together they formed The A² Production Team in 2017 for their releases, and at her behest Allen began sharing poetry on his book reviews and works in progress as “HaikuPrajna”, prajna being a Sanskrit word meaning “wisdom” or “insight" and his favorite poetry forms being related to haiku and senryu--such Alchemic Wisdom & Bite-sized Insights have been collected online, in print and can be read in public libraries.

Allen W. McLean's books focus on transcending hindrances to one’s concentration, and touches on ideas studied from topics that he is passionate about, such as neoplatonism, metaphysics, identity and theology, alongside practices like yoga and mindfulness meditation, while being inspired by a childhood of digesting pop culture, with a preference for science fiction, philosophy and superhero comics and manga, preferring hobbies like television or video games done with loved ones; in addition to his book reviews, he finds inspiration through seeing events and creators in other media--as seen in APRILandALLEN’s Project Roadmaps.

Allen outlined his first novel “Escape Perennial City” in 2017, which he published in 2021 after first releasing the novella “SM-SARA” in 2019, and has since released over a dozen stories along with poetry and fiction collections including “The Elephant in the Room” and “Fishing for Caribou”.

Thank you for reading.

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PS. This blog links to sites where readers can make purchases and where royalties are collected from one's membership; thank you for your support.

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. Read all of my books and writing online at HaikuPrajna

https://aprilandallen.square.site/haikuprajna-books

. April's psychedelic music videos, art and poetry is available on all streaming platforms at Electric Armchair

https://aprilandallen.square.site/electricarmchair

. Visit our Patreon to submit to our public poetry prompt and view more free features

https://patreon.com/asquaredproductions

. Follow online or by email; all readers get book reviews in their inbox and can claim an eBook for free!

https://aprilandallen.square.site/social

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Book Page Links [ previews available ] :

. The 'Fluke' Series

... BATT-LE Colosseum

... ULTRAVIOLET

. The Wisps Book

... Summond the Scarecrow [Book IV]

... Ado the Owl [ FREE! ]

. Together in Forever

. Fishing for Caribou

. Escape Perennial City

. SM-SARA, Poetry and Other Stories

... Hector Blake [ FREE! ]

. Elephant in the Room

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. Book Review Analysis Summaries https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/book-review-summary-study-notes.html

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. 5Ws About the Author and Books https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2022/05/welcome-5ws-about-me-and-this-blog.html

20241226 - 2001: A Space Odyssey ... HaikuPrajna [Book Review] [Project Roadmap Update Q3 2024]

A stark monolith, \\

Openings in space, time, mind, \\

Brighter than the stars

... 2001: A Space Odyssey ... HaikuPrajna

Read online at HaikuPrajna

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Hello reader,

Thank you all for the birthday wishes! Hope you had a good holiday season. April has been real busy keeping the festivities going since Halloween, which has been keeping my spirits high. We took advantage of birthday offers from a few restaurants, hiked through -18C weather for an anniversary picnic in a national park, and as of writing we are in progress of visiting our families; feeling all sentimental, really feeling everyone's love, am very thankful for all of my loved ones.

Read on for a Project Roadmap Update at the end of this review! Also, stay tuned for a Year in Review themed update in the new year.

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In all of the books I have read by him, let alone 2001: A Space Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke wrote about characters that felt relatable despite their amazing and then-futuristic professions.

2001 and the rest of the Odyssey series are an effortless blend of science fiction and the hard facts of the era. I loved how well grounded the fantasy elements were in this mixture. Philosophical and physics problems are evoked that we today are still faced with, and which we continue to answer with uncertainty, through this story’s balance of memorable cast members and feats of humanity.

Arthur C. Clarke’s stories are great examples of hard science fiction. 2001 tackled the idea of a realistic approach to first contact with life beyond our planet, which occurred long before civilization began with Moon-Watcher’s tribe on the brink of being wiped out while being studied and modified by a Monolith.

A short glossary of humanity’s rise from Moon-Watcher brings readers into the then-futuristic twenty-first century, where society has risen from their planetary cradle to being held together by pressure and compression in orbit around the Earth and on the surface of the Moon.

Some of the best parts of 2001 lay in these lived-in descriptions, reminding me of Moby Dick’s sub-plot detailing, where readers get a real feel for scenarios such as what it is like being David Bowman while repairing the Discovery as if it were a simple cell or lifeform.

It is through these technical details where readers find the real fantasy and fiction of Arthur C. Clarke’s writing, through the theories and implications of the facts of the time the novel was written.

A great example of this was in how Bowman's later ability to descend into planets without being touched by them was foreshadowed by the use of magnification to be, in effect, closer to the bodies, in both cases to collect data.

The cool thing about scientists mapping out orbits for small satellites and humanity's spaceships is that it would take the same finesse to do so on a planetary scale, except that humanity lacks access to that scale of creative assets. Scientific law was the limit to creativity both in story and for its author.

In case it is unclear, 2001 is one of my favorite stories, and Arthur C. Clarke one of my favorite fiction writers.

2001 deals with physical representations of metaphysical concepts, taking readers to places where our stars are seen as jet-black, absorbing the Light beyond time and space.

Arthur C Clarke's scope of humanity's technological growth is fascinating to me, from his then-near-future 2001 through 2061, to the far future 3001 (being read at the time of this review's publication).

His stories have this way of balancing reality and dreams, of using his real-life experience of working with lifelike models, physical or intangible, to alter, predict and invite us within them.

These models were used to anticipate now modern day tech, including reusable space shuttles and predictions about smart devices, and also to create a compelling narrative which left expansion room for ideas he wanted to develop in future novels, like the transformation of Lucifer and the lifeform reveals, including spaceborn and gaseous races only able to communicate via radio waves.

Even modern mass media is alluded to by the Monolith creators’ experiments being undertaken by their automatic machines.

The best part of the series, rather than the Hollywood Kubrick film, is the deconstruction, analysis and continuation of these themes onwards through the sequels.

2001: A Space Odyssey grants a grounded foray into a retro-futuristic setting that never loses its real life basis, even when dealing with reality warping wormholes. Or entangled Star Gates. Or being on the ‘surface’ of space while moving outside of time.

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HaikuPrajna project roadmap update

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