Interests:Swords, books (the older, the better) poetry (preferably written by friends), beautiful music, Irish instruments, volleyball, sluggy freelance, movies with clever lines, sunsets, rubber duckies, fast cars and empty roads, root beer, deep thoughts, the life of my friends, God the Father Expertise:Saying stupid things....
Half baked ideas....
Thinking about nothing...
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May Reading List
Gifts - Books like Gifts eventually get labeled by me as quiet, or simple. This is because while Gifts had the interesting characters, a fantastical setting and thought proving ideas that a good writer instills in a book, the story arc lacked the hard drive or sense of conflict that propels most fantasy books. The story is instead character driven, but without any fantastical change in the protagonist. He ends the story much as he began it: still quiet and seeking how he is to live his life, as many of us do, for no one single character building experience defines us completely, or turns us into an action hero.
Tarzan of the Apes - Slightly tired of scifi/fantasy, I picked up Tarzan because I hoped it would be a fun adventure story in the tradition of The Prisoner of Zenda, and with only a few half remembered memories of the disney film, I was slightly shocked at the amount of spines being torn out and throats being torn open, but it was an adventure story of the kind that they really don't write any more, where the heroes are noble, the women are shining paragons of the fairer sex and love is a casualty of honor. I loved it.
Marsbound - Joe Hadleman again . I think I might have enjoyed this book ever so slightly more if I hadn't just read Zoe's Tale a few months back. Hadleman's rebellious space-traveling teenage girl pales in comparison to Scalzi's strong heroine, and despite the fact that the book begins with her families trip to colonize Mars, the story seems so... common. I have decided that the story itself must not be the point of Hadlemans writing, because one and all, his books seem to lack any sort of real climatic finale. No change from that here, as Marsbounds intrigue was wrapped up and tossed out the airlock five pages from the end of the book.
Shambling Towards Hiroshima - This was a fun little read (170 pages) that I blew threw one afternoon after getting bogged down in Death From The Skies. It is full of references to B-movies that never existed and a crackpot scheme that seems a pastiche of Godzilla to end World War II. Is it fun? Yes. Is there something beyond that fun? Yes, there is. There lies in the pages of this fun romp a strong warning against the monsters we really did create during World War Two: Atomic Weaponry. I think it’s a threat that is glossed over a great deal in modern society, and that should change. The book itself doesn't try to preach at you, it just makes you live with a character that’s begins an actor and ends a crusader; and honestly that is enough for me.
Death From The Skies - I'm not certain how I came to discover Philip Plaits book Death From The Skies, but the moment I read the synopsis I knew that I had to read the book in its entirety. Its about all the different ways the universe could burn the earth to cinder and wipe mankind away. Supernovas, black holes, solar flares and the eventual death of the sun (for starters) and while all those things are the staples of sci-fi, I really had no idea the physics behind them.
I still don't, not really, but the book is very user friendly (except black holes, their just difficult) and gives an excellent view for the layman of the wonders of the universe (and how it could kill us). Spoilers: Our sun will not go supernova. Some might read the synopsis and declare it to be fear mongering, but the true of the matter is that the earth will not be burnt to a crisp, swallowed by a black hole or have its ozone layer melted off by stray radiation, so get over it, it’s fun to see the scale of such amazing things.
The Ruby In The Smoke - The reason I ended up with Philip Pullman's juvenile mystery book "The Ruby In The Smoke" is complex and involved Doctor Who, so I'm not going to comment on that besides that which I just did. Needless to say, I think Philip Pullman is misshelved and that the material he uses in his books allow for certain things in life to be overlooked (such as... oh, drug use) as perfectly okay as long as one doesn't allow it to intrude into others lives. Outside of those quibbles, it is an adventure story of mild interest and a shallow mystery, but I suppose those lackluster comments are hard to compete with the quibbles. There are 4 other books in the series, I don’t feel drawn back to Sally Lockhart’s world though, and I’ll leave them on the shelves.
Orphans of Chaos - There is an intriguing premise buried in the lackluster execution of Orphans, though ultimately, my enjoyment of this book was hindered by 1) there is a great deal of sexuality in this book and your never quite certain if the protagonist is 21, 18 or 14... I found this to be slightly unnerving; and 2) I lacked an understanding that the author failed to lessen of what exactly looking into the 4th dimension really is. It had a rather brilliant (and strange) bit towards the end where a pagan goddess gives her testimony of how she became a Christian, but besides that... the protagonist gave a chemical free will! What’s with that? I can’t really recommend this, and won’t be finishing the trilogy.
Farthing - Cory Doctrow describes Farthing as "A brave little book about brave little people" and it was, but there was something else, something a great deal like Torchwood that made me disinterested in the book: Just about everyone turned out to be G/L/BI.
By the end of the book the author had woven a believable world where England had made peace with Germany during WW2 and America had never entered the war; and turned the weak characters into the strong characters (and visa versa). Why is it that these interesting little books turn out this way? I suppose it is the signs of our times. Anyway, despite the relatively short length of 200 pages, the murder itself is transparent and in less the reader finds the characters engaging, he will find little else to recommend itself to him.
Hunters Run - For all its flaws, Hunters Run broke a long running streak of books I've read this year that suffered from weak endings. The protagonist goes full circle in this book, from being a deplorable human being to being generally likeable before he slowly curves his way back to his original state of being. It’s a unique tale, a story of wilderness survival, alien first contact and what it means to be human (in this case, I suppose it means to keep fighting) set against the rough and ready life on the intergalactic frontier. Despite a language barrier and a early twist that I called chapters ahead of its reveal, Hunters Run drew me into its world and cemented Daniel Abraham in my mind as an author worth watching.
An Evil Guest - I still don't know what I think of An Evil Guest. An Evil Guest is a strange subversion of Lovecraft and pulp fiction (the genre, not the movie) with hints of urban fantasy. From any other author I would consider this to be an interesting but ultimately forgettable tale that wanders about until everything is swept away by the hands of fate... Not the actions of the characters, but the impenetrable pen of the author. But An Evil Guest is not any other author, its Gene Wolfe, whose books (despite my own dislike of them) broke new ground in the scifi/fantasy genres and who is famous for carefully hidden and elaborate subtext. This is what’s lacking in this book, a greater purpose behind the characters actions, and this is what ultimately left An Evil Guest feeling rather flat.
Book Of The Month.
What should I say about Tarzan that I didn't mention above? The one thing that I truly and really enjoyed about reading Tarzan was being able to lower my guard and be swept away in the high adventure of it all. I could finally enjoy a book and recommend it too without feeling like I had to put a disclaimer into place as well. Also, Tarzan captures a style of writing that just doesn't get written any more. A style full of the sense of adventure and the exotic.
Fetch me my golden channel, and my shiniest ladder, because just for today I shall be declaring myself King of the Squeegee!
This ostentatious award is granted by myself, to myself for mostly abnormal and somewhat above the call of duty acts of sheer window-washingness (which is not a word, and should not be used outside of the context of either an imaginary celebration or a Joss Whedon TV show) .
Today's adventure was setting up my ladder in a tree house in order to clean an upper story window.
Yes, I climbed into a tree house, pulled my ladder up behind my and from there set up my ladder to reach the window (no, I wouldn't have done this if they hadn't built a tree house directly below the window).
World War Z - subtitled "The Oral History of the Zombie Apocolypse" and modeled after the oral history of World War 2 "The Good War" (which is currently in my to read pile). It tells the story of a worldwide zombie epidemic from the earliest rumors to the ultimate victory of the human race over the zombie horde. Its a series of peoples stories of their experiences and observations during those dark times and the stories of the rise and fall of nations. It does have some problems with the tones of the storytellers, as some of them sound the same, even though they are quite different. Also, anyone bothered by zombies and the gore that comes with them should stir clear.
Old Mans War - OMW is the first of three books by John Scalzi that I read in April. Its military scifi, the genre devoted to exploring the galaxy and blowing up everything one finds . Some have compared it to Robert L. Heinlan's Starship Troopers, as it follows a "young" recruit through training and into combat in bright starry space. What I really loved about OMW is its inventive use of all the great scifi standbys: nanotech, gene therapy, faster than light travel, and combined it with a truly likable cast of characters.
The Ghost Brigades - My personal opinion is that Ghost Brigades is the weakest link of the OMW universe. While it continued to explore and expand the OMW universe, the characters were not nearly as interesting or likable. Of course, even being the weakest link of some brilliant books, its still a cut above most military scifi.
Ahmed And The Oblivion Machines: a fable - my first Ray Bradbury book, picked up as a whim because it looked like a childrens book but was shelved in the adult sci/fi. His use of language was well done, the story and his point seemed muddled though in metaphor. Interesting for a half hour reading on a park bench, but I almost forgot I had read it.
Cryptic - 590 pages of Jack McDeviits best short stories. As I have mentioned before, I enjoy reading short stories. They are short and easily finished, with the good ones being brilliant and the mediocre ones easily done with. Novels can go for pages without bringing an interesting idea or action before the reader, but a short story only has maybe a dozen pages to whisk you away from the ordinary and let you tour its little world. As Cryptic was 590 pages of different stories from one author, some of his themes seemed a little tired by the end, but there were some wonderful gems hidden away in that tome. My favorite was "The Fort Moxie Branch" the story of a time traveling library that comes to great authors to ask them for the great works that they have written but the world is not ready for, to keep until they would be understood. It ends in the way of my favorite science fiction stories, with the human doggedly pushing past overwhelming odds.
The Last Colony - This was strange and seemed as if I had traveled full circle with John Scalzi's work. I began reading his books with Zoe's Tale back in January, chronologically the latest book, and one that tells the same story as The Last Colony, only from what I consider to be a more interesting viewpoint. Overall, it felt like it had been a good book once, but it had been eclipsed by a better story, Zoe's Tale. That being said, it brought the circle of John Perry's (the main character) life full circle and brought a substantial amount of hope to a bleak future.
All The Windwracked Stars - I believe I have misjudged Elizabeth Bear, who I raved about a little last month, for Windwrackedd Stars was the third of her books I attempted to read in April, but the only one I didn't return unread. She has... how do I say this? No sexual taboos, and while I still think her hugo nominated stories are brilliant, I can't really recommend her as an author anymore. Windwracked Stars is a mixed bag of fantasy and scifi, valkeries with computers, swords and guns. Androids and ancient ruins, myth and magic mixing with A.I.'s and forcefields.
Old Twentieth - Joe Hadleman has a problem with writing endings. I admit I say that about alot of books, but alot of books do have problems with their endings, and every single Joe Hadleman book I've ever read has had an ending that left me unsatisfied. I athought that Old Twentieth read like an expanded short story, interesting characters and settings that don't really seem to adiquately fill the 200 pages, bright bits of brilliance floating in a sea of words.
The Chronoliths - This is half a though I'm sure, but in each book there seems to be two stories: the one you tell and the one you imply. The Chronoliths tells a story of a ordinary man swept away in the wake of extraordinary events, which in this case are time traveling statues (and are much more impressive in the book than in that little summary), but the narrative finds itself traveling in fits and starts, with paragraphs that vaguely mention what happened in the last five years spread through chapters of the main characters descriptions of how the appearance of the Chronoliths changes his life, and how the strange conicidences pointed inexplorably towards the one that would topple the future itself; but while the central mystery of the Chronoliths drew me in, the story arc seemed to drift and when it finally reached its anticlimax, I felt mildly disapointed. Overall I felt that the book was grasping at such high level science that it lost its ordinary reader.
Nation - Terry Pratchetts latest book Nation is the first time he's written outside of his famed realm of Discworld in 12 years, and when I read the description I was more than a little excited. It wasn't dwarves, trolls and witches, it was the south pacific. Actually reading it though was a mixed experience, both fun and frustrating at the same time. Its well plotted and an interesting story, spiced with Pratchetts trademark style of humor and capitolized words, but the arc of the characters spritual story was frustrating. Mau, the protagonist, spends most of the book railing against the gods he believe treated him "unfairly". When Pratchett himself being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's, one has to wonder how much of this crisis of faith is coming straight from his own mouth.
Favorite Book of The Month
Brooks, the author of the determinedly straight-faced parody The Zombie Survival Guide (2003), returns in all seriousness to the zombie theme for his second outing, a future history in the style of Theodore Judson's Fitzpatrick's War. Brooks tells the story of the world's desperate battle against the zombie threat with a series of first-person accounts "as told to the author" by various characters around the world. A Chinese doctor encounters one of the earliest zombie cases at a time when the Chinese government is ruthlessly suppressing any information about the outbreak that will soon spread across the globe. The tale then follows the outbreak via testimony of smugglers, intelligence officials, military personnel and many others who struggle to defeat the zombie menace. Despite its implausible premise and choppy delivery, the novel is surprisingly hard to put down. The subtle, and not so subtle, jabs at various contemporary politicians and policies are an added bonus.
Don't look at me like that, it was a difficult choice between this, Nation and Cryptic. Part of me thinks its not fair that the best book I read in April was about zombies, but despite the occasional bits of horrific violence and gore, the story it tells of humanities fall and rise was one that left me cheering on the human spirit. Bits of satire mixed with stories of ordinary humans with their quirks and frailities rising to the occasion with acts of heroism. Its not just a book about zombies leaping out of closets and eating peoples brains, its a rebuilding, and while at times you wonder who the real monsters are (man or zombie?) like the better brand of scifi, World War Z predicts the changes that such an idea would make to the world as we know it.
So, what am I looking forward to reading in the future. Well, I have The Good War (an oral history of something that actually happened) The Rape of Europa, which tracks the fate of Europe's art and treasure during WW2 and the Third Reich, that looks really interesting. Death From The Skies examines various cosmic level disaster scenarios, their likelihood and if their would be anything that could save us. Classic pulp fiction will be represented by Tarzan Of The Apes and I suppose their will be a smattering of fantasy and scifi as well from Le Guin and Haldeman.
. I think I might have enjoyed this book ever so slightly more if I hadn't just read Zoe's Tale a few months back. Hadleman's rebellious space-traveling teenage girl pales in comparison to Scalzi's strong heroine, and despite the fact that the book begins with her families trip to colonize Mars, the story seems so... common. I have decided that the story itself must not be the point of Hadlemans writing, because one and all, his books seem to lack any sort of real climatic finale. No change from that here, as Marsbounds intrigue was wrapped up and tossed out the airlock five pages from the end of the book.
. Some have compared it to Robert L. Heinlan's Starship Troopers, as it follows 
