tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568374300743355982024-03-05T11:10:08.082-08:00Diary of a code heroJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-58281214189048774412016-02-04T11:45:00.000-08:002016-02-04T11:45:14.594-08:00This is interesting:<br />
<a href="http://mikehadlow.blogspot.cl/2014/06/heisenberg-developers.html">http://mikehadlow.blogspot.cl/2014/06/heisenberg-developers.html</a><br />
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It describes one side of the debate about managing development teams. Let them run free, and they will do great things. Many of the comments on the blog describe the other side. Let them run free, and they will do things that don't make money. Somewhere in the middle, lies the truth. Like most things, finding that balance is the real skill.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-25715376025992610792012-07-22T21:31:00.001-07:002012-07-22T21:31:53.417-07:00To Green Angel Tower<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28698.To_Green_Angel_Tower_Part_2" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="To Green Angel Tower, Part 2 (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #3; Part 2)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309992900m/28698.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28698.To_Green_Angel_Tower_Part_2">To Green Angel Tower, Part 2</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6587.Tad_Williams">Tad Williams</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/374781718">3 of 5 stars</a><br />
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This series requires a lot of patience. The most important conflicts are metaphysical, and much of the time is spent with single characters struggling with their situation, with no one around to interact. The first couple books can be forgiven their slow pacing, as the pace gives you a tone and evokes feeling, but eventually, you need interaction or actual action.<br />
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I did enjoy the series, it was a throwback to my high school days. There were things that are well done. Binabik and Tiamak are great characters, with unique, creative backgrounds. The book subverts the <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SwordOfPlotAdvancement" rel="nofollow">Sword of Plot Advancement</a> trope, though in the end, the method of victory feels unsatisfying.<br />
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Given the changes that epic fantasy has seen in the past 2 decades, this series feels a bit vanilla. It's a pretty good vanilla, but there's nothing truly new happening here.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-86567595165582820742012-06-17T22:21:00.001-07:002012-06-17T22:21:20.509-07:00<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28921.The_Remains_of_the_Day" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Remains of the Day" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327128714m/28921.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28921.The_Remains_of_the_Day">The Remains of the Day</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4280.Kazuo_Ishiguro">Kazuo Ishiguro</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/211687106">5 of 5 stars</a><br />
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This is the second book(first: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6334.Never_Let_Me_Go" title="Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro">Never Let Me Go</a>) by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4280.Kazuo_Ishiguro" title="Kazuo Ishiguro">Kazuo Ishiguro</a> that I've read. This is a quick read(I read it on vacation in about a day or so). Though the two are quite different in content, I think I have a sense of his style/writing technique. <br />
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With intransigent problems, human nature is to avoid deep thinking on the subject. In order to live daily life in relative happiness, our brains ignore things we can't change. But every once in a while, we're forced to confront them.<br />
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Ishiguro carefully builds undercurrents. The narrator of the book withholds emotional information, sometimes drowning themselves in minutiae, tangents, or technical details, in order to avoid discussing the main point. Often times, the tangents appear to have real weight, and often entertain in themselves, but they're used as a way to draw your mind away from the central problem. But eventually, you begin to feel the shape of the emotions. In the end, you feel the same sense of lost opportunity as our butler does. One review describes the resolution as devastating. This might be an overstatement, but the tragedy is palpable.<br />
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I feel like I need to justify why this literary fiction deserves 5 stars when I gave but 3 to The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Both novels are introspective, atmospheric, and set in important historic times. In character, plotting and tone, Ishiguro has superior skill. His characters are more likable, his plot more satisfying, his tone is more deeply woven into the narrative. Both books are tragedies, but The Remains of the Day attains a catharsis, while McCullers' tragedy never breaks the surface. In other words, Ishiguro is just better at it.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-75730647086849223692012-05-27T22:34:00.000-07:002012-05-27T22:34:33.016-07:00The Heart is a Lonely Hunter<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37380.The_Heart_is_a_Lonely_Hunter" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168914678m/37380.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37380.The_Heart_is_a_Lonely_Hunter">The Heart is a Lonely Hunter</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3506.Carson_McCullers">Carson McCullers</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/306649113">3 of 5 stars</a><br />
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This is literature. For people who don't like literature, it's a book where nothing happens, where navel-gazing characters interact without changing anything about one another. No challenges are overcome, no lessons are learned, no problems are solved.<br />
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For people who like literature, it's a fascinating dissection of loneliness, the futility of human communication, the divisions caused by poverty, race, disability, and non-conformity.<br />
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For me, it's a little bit in between. While I was reading, I found the characters' voices interesting. Their philosophy was so different from my own, that it was like a window into an alien mind. When I wasn't reading, I had no reason to pick up the book. There were no dangling plots to tie up, no intrigues to follow, and no underpinning story arch. The ending is extremely anti-climactic, with characters ending up almost exactly where they started. No one's life is improved. While there is tragedy, there is no catharsis.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-83520814701463728962012-05-13T19:17:00.002-07:002012-05-13T19:17:41.536-07:00The Dragonbone Chair<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/91981.The_Dragonbone_Chair" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309286899m/91981.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/91981.The_Dragonbone_Chair">The Dragonbone Chair</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6587.Tad_Williams">Tad Williams</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/135774974">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
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Starts off with a vibe like the Disney cartoon Sword in the Stone, moves to something a bit more Tolkeinish, but has underpinnings of norse mythology menace. The book never leaves behind that feeling of Arthurian legend.<br />
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I first read this book a long time ago, probably back in high school. I'm always curious to see how books I read then will hold up now that I'm so much more mature, wise, and world-traveled. This one stand up well.<br />
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I found myself liking the chosen teenage boy protagonist a lot more than I thought I would. This is probably due to a tricksy author, who spent a lot of time with him living his castle drudge life, not hating it, but acting pretty much like a normal teenager. He is witness, not actor throughout most of this section, and witnessing the slow decline of a kingdom after its beloved king dies. Accordingly, there is a slowness to the start of the novel. For some readers, it might be too slow, but for others, it's just a little luxury. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6587.Tad_Williams" title="Tad Williams">Tad Williams</a> varies the pace rather well. There are some breakneck paced sections, but this is not a breakneck paced book.<br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/91981.The_Dragonbone_Chair" title="The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams">The Dragonbone Chair</a> was originally published in 1985, so if you get annoyed with classic fantasy story elements, you may find yourself rolling your eyes some, but there are genuinely original elements and feel to the book.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-55004428272519722832012-04-19T19:02:00.000-07:002012-04-19T19:02:00.261-07:00<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6101718-the-magicians" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Magicians" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1313772941m/6101718.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6101718-the-magicians">The Magicians</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/142270.Lev_Grossman">Lev Grossman</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/198073676">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Narnia, Hogwarts and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, mixed in uneven amounts. Doesn't rise to the level of any one of those books, but provides a little bit of commentary on each of them. The author is consciously drawing on the first two books, with subtle commentaries on the unreality of them, so I don't take points off for that. The protagonist is taken from a real world, put into a fantasy where everything is great, then dumped back out into the real world with fantastical powers, then goes back into a fantastical world with real consequences. In some sense it's pretty cool, but the hero is a little whiney, a little too imperfect. Sure, it's hard to live in a world where you can get by without doing much. There are tons of college graduates struggling with it right now. But in the end, you need to join the community and contribute. I can't really sympathize with someone who reacts by partying and losing his moral compass.<br><br>That sounds really negative. I did enjoy this book. It was fun to explore this new world. The characters are original, even in this consciously derivative world.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-20387528724754700332012-04-17T18:43:00.000-07:002012-04-17T18:43:00.393-07:00<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9663378-prince-of-thorns" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Prince of Thorns (The Broken Empire, #1)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327917790m/9663378.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9663378-prince-of-thorns">Prince of Thorns</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4721536.Mark_Lawrence">Mark Lawrence</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/198074013">3 of 5 stars</a><br />
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In some ways, this book is deeper than a standard military fantasy book. It's politics resemble those of the historical hundred years' war, but in an alternate setting. For the most part though, it is what it probably aims to be, a dark, fun book with a sense of comraderie among likable villains. When I say villains, they really are villains, not rogues with a heart of gold. The book begins with a scene of looting, murder and rape(offscreen) in the aftermath of a battle against poorly armed farmers. You never quite root for them, except in the sense of turning their destruction on more worthy targets. In all, a book for those who enjoy this type of book, not for everyone.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-77367564647341177772012-04-14T11:58:00.000-07:002012-04-14T11:58:00.528-07:00One NightI've been watching a BBC program called "<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01f8l3y">One Night</a>". It's one of those shows that uses multiple viewpoints to slowly reveal and fully explore a single event in the format of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashomon_%28film%29">Rashomon</a>.<br />
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It's a really well-made show, with quiet moments, action that could never be mistaken for glossy or glamorous, some beautiful shots, and interesting commentary on human behavior. It takes the little frictions we experience in our daily lives: a bad experience with customer service, the insecurity of throwing a party for someone you want to impress, the fallout of random acts of vandalism, the expectation of persecution among those living in dangerous places coupled with the sense of superiority of those living just outside them. All of these social rough spots are woven together into a beautiful and tragic story.<br />
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Its setting is somewhere between suburban and urban, and they use real UK accents and slang, so it can be a bit hard sometimes for the american ear. In particular, the second episode, it took me a long time to really sympathize with the boyfriend, instead of just thinking the girl was wasting her time. That may be by design, but it could also be that I couldn't parse the slang and find the flirtatious content. If you can be patient, the story is worth it. It's just 4 episodes, each an hour long, so it's less of an investment than most American TV. I give it 5 stars.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-88607740067732951072012-04-11T20:38:00.000-07:002012-04-11T20:39:08.538-07:00A modest proposalI'm going to break format here for a second. I was listening to <a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/461/take-the-money-and-run-for-office">This American Life</a>, and they were discussing money and politics. They were doing their best to follow the money and find where it comes from, who it goes to, what effect it has on elections and what effect it has once the election is done.<br />
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Off Topic: One of the most surprising things they found is that lobbyists don't hound politicians, politicians hound lobbyists(like a telemarketer hounds senior citizens).<br />
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For those with short attention spans: <a href="#short">click here</a><br />
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I think that everyone has decided that there's too much money in politics. Even if you don't think it corrupts the process, you have to think, there must be some better use for this money. Imagine if all those millionaires and billionaires were to use that money to fund new businesses(job creators!), or even just donate it to their favorite charity. I'm not really going to argue this point here, but you can if you want to in the comments.<br />
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But assuming money is bad for politics, the real problem is, how do you divorce money and politics? Everyone knows it takes a lot of money to run for office. Many congresspeople spend at least some time every day(365 days a year) doing fund-raising. Every attempt at campaign finance reform has tried to control the source, or the expenditure of the money. What if instead, they just cut off money for campaigning for everyone? I mean, maybe in this day and age, with the magic of the internet, we don't need so much money for campaigning, right? I'm about to get radical, and probably infeasible.<br />
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What I'm thinking is this: For any given office(senator, representative, city council), there is one campaign. The campaign sets up events, debates, town hall meetings, televised or not[<a href="#footnote1">1</a>], depending on the budget, and importance of the office. The campaign has a certain(preferably small) budget, provided by the state, local or federal government. All the candidates for that office are invited to all these events set up by the campaign[<a href="#footnote2">2</a>]. The campaign provides equal time at events to each candidate(or equal space if it's a meet and greet), and an equal budget for signage/publicity materials[<a href="#footnote3">3</a>].<br />
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Candidates are required to qualify by some method. It could be paying a fee(somewhere between 1,000 to 10,000), which they can raise however they wish or maybe by getting enough signatures on a petition[<a href="#footnote4">4</a>].<br />
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Candidates can use twitter, facebook, or any other free service to get their message across. They can create a website on a space provided by the campaign. They cannot buy any advertising. Premium services can either provide free access to all candidates, or to none.<br />
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<a name="short">In short</a>: I propose that no one contributes to political campaigns[<a href="#footnote5">5</a>], and that for any one office, there is instead a single budget shared between multiple candidates, with the side effect of prohibiting political ads.<br />
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Does that sound crazy? Is there any way to get from here to there?<br />
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A few notes:<br />
<a name="footnote1">1.</a> I'm guessing that there would be a lot less politics on the TV. In the age of the internet, maybe that's ok, since you can still get your message out to anyone who wants to hear it. But would this mean less political conversation in our society? or just less work for that guy who does voice overs for attack ads?<br />
<a name="footnote2">2.</a> Who's going to work at the campaigns? What if they aren't impartial? Who do they report to? I'd like their philosophy to be: "My job is to make this the best race for treasurer there ever was. We'll have 10 people at our meet and greets instead of 5(including the candidates)."<br />
<a name="footnote3">3.</a> What if you get 20 candidates who qualify? I guess that just means you split everything into smaller slices, but then how do voters tell that 15 of them are crazy? I guess you have to set the qualifying bar sufficiently high to avoid this, but you also want to set it low enough that grassroots efforts can reach it.<br />
<a name="footnote4">4.</a> One danger of having all the parties in the same place for events: riots, or compromise. Currently, there's a subculture of heckling at political events, but maybe if there was more political mixing... Of course, we could just have separate but equal events...<br />
<a name="footnote5">5.</a> The constitutional argument being that maybe money isn't speech after all, so no one should get to vote with their wallets.<br />
<br />Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-18525513321440131402012-03-25T17:09:00.001-07:002012-03-25T17:09:18.871-07:00Desolation Island<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77425.Desolation_Island" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Desolation Island (Aubrey/Maturin, #5)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266467189m/77425.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77425.Desolation_Island">Desolation Island</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5600.Patrick_O_Brian">Patrick O'Brian</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/300610327">5 of 5 stars</a><br />
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Every once in a while, Hollywood tries to put together a nautical tale of courage and danger. White Squall, The Perfect Storm, even a movie based on this series of books -- Master and Commander. There is something about the sailor's life that is compelling. Months at sea, close quarters, the variable morality of those before the mast(the enlisted men) and those abaft the mast(the officers) cause a certain social tension.<br />
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In a book such as this, the discussion of pintels, forecastles, orlop decks, hawsers can either turn you off the book, turn you to a dictionary, or turn you into a willingly ignorant, but bedazzled spectator, as the intricacies of managing a ship are described in details that allow you to understand only the broad strokes of the action. I actually feel a lot like Dr. Maturin in the novels. I somehow feel like a knowledgeable amateur, when in fact, I only kind of know the difference between a wear and a tack(wearing is a slower way of turning to catch the wind when it's not blowing in the direction you want to go).<br />
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Somehow, above these details, the action in this entry in the series is particularly riveting. Sea chases, monster storms, and antarctic shipwrecks make for exciting reading, aside from the spy intrigue and shifting loyalties of the crew which a careful reader can get much satisfaction from. Patrick O'Brian is never one to point out the subtleties. An example is a midshipman, nervous of heights, takes one trip up the main topmast with his captain. We're never explicitly told, but his name is mentioned later, and we know his continued presence speaks of his loyalty to Lucky Jack Aubrey.<br />
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The movie made from these books is kind of a conglomerate of the novels, and it seems a few of the elements were pulled from this one. If you liked that movie, there's a good chance you'd like these books.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-79015284706713230402012-03-19T20:44:00.001-07:002012-03-19T20:44:58.898-07:00<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7923006-the-kingdom-of-gods" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Kingdom of Gods (The Inheritance Trilogy, #3)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1313690257m/7923006.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7923006-the-kingdom-of-gods">The Kingdom of Gods</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2917917.N_K_Jemisin">N.K. Jemisin</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/220672462">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
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In elementary school, we read stories about Icarus, Hercules, Midas and Zeus. We learned that Hermes was fast, and a messenger. And maybe he towed the Sun across the sky in a chariot? Neptune was kind of a jerk, and Hades was evil, but not? And of course, our Greek mythology was confused with Roman names, and there was something about the titans who wanted to swallow the world. Anyway, it was cool. Everyone likes mythology when they're little. Even if it's just for the pegasi, or the medusa.<br />
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N.K. Jemisin has tapped into that same sense of delight at a world where the powers that be are personified. These mythological characters spend most of their time loving, betraying, holding grudges, and considering the value of keeping mortals around. Then, sometimes they have to keep the world from being torn apart by crazed, ambitious, or vengeful siblings and/or offspring.<br />
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This isn't the kind of book(series of books, this is the third) I would normally like, but something about the prose, or about the characters kept me really interested. There was just enough political maneuvering, mystical action, and metaphorical adventure.<br />
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I have to mention that there was a lot of morality bending in this book. The gods' genders are malleable, and their attitude towards sex is that it is never a shallow thing, but monogamy is for mortals. I was never very comfortable with the author's treatment of all things sexual. There were two things that made it bearable. Sex was always described in spiritual terms, and almost never physical. The morality of gods was distinct from the morality of mortals. I never felt like a certain idea was being pushed. It was just that they were entirely different things.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-57564783615106338932012-03-09T07:06:00.000-08:002012-03-09T07:55:42.186-08:00Simon of Space<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2915155-simon-of-space" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Simon of Space" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267366818m/2915155.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2915155-simon-of-space">Simon of Space</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1261615.Cheeseburger_Brown">Cheeseburger Brown</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/172910209">5 of 5 stars</a><br />
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In 2005, just before Episode III of Star Wars came out, there was a story on <a href="http://slashdot.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Slashdot.org</a> about a blog, <a href="http://darthside.blogspot.com/">The Darth Side</a>: Memoirs of a Monster, which was fan fiction, written as if from the journal of Darth Vader. At times it was funny, at times human. It was well timed for all those eagerly waiting(despite the disappointments of Episode I and II) for the birth of Darth Vader. And I think it did prepare me in some way, it made the movie seem deeper. Soon after reading the Darth Side, I saw that he had written a novel, in blog form, called <a href="http://cheeseburgerbrown.com/publications/Simon_of_Space/">Simon of Space</a>. I began reading, and found a very compelling story and world. Melinda is wary, she doesn't like Space novels. But this is a very human story.<br />
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Simon is an amnesiac. He lost his memory in a hyperspace travel accident. Sounds like a bad sci-fi movie? That's what everybody tells him. What makes this book so enjoyable is Simon's optimism, decency, and friendliness. That and the unconventional prose. Matthew Hemming (more commonly known as CheeseBurger Brown), has a way of approaching things from a different angle. Comparing the first moments of memory to the first day of an infant's life is but one way we are able to inhabit Simon's head. The absurdity of his life encompasses the basest, crudest functions and interactions: bowel movements, hot nurses, and farting dogs, as well as the deep, complicated things: trust and fatherhood.<br />
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As Simon takes his tour, trying to find his purpose, the imagination, and preparation of Mr. Brown becomes evident in the variation and beauty of the worlds. There is obviously an entire universe with its own history to explore, and we're only seeing parts of it. He's written more stories in this universe, and if you enjoy this book, they're well worth visiting.
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<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-65852513487751321382012-03-05T16:39:00.001-08:002012-03-05T17:55:02.076-08:00March Violets<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/236819.March_Violets" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="March Violets (Bernard Gunther, #1)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309206797m/236819.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/236819.March_Violets">March Violets</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/53936.Philip_Kerr">Philip Kerr</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/135835289">2 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
This hardboiled detective novel was set in 1936 Nazi Germany. Melinda immediately asked if he was after Nazi treasure, because she was just expecting the cliche. The novel doesn't fit in that cliche, though it probably follows the film noir detective plot pretty closely.<br />
<br />
The little bits of life under a Nazi regime are fascinating, with associations for ex-convicts, secret police, unsecret police, the non-military military uniforms, propaganda, and the olympics. These setting details don't get in the way of the story, though I sometimes wish they did. I find the details of governing through fear fascinatingly horrifying.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, I don't think the hardboiled genre is for me. Up until the last 3/4 of the novel, it was amusing to read the similes and metaphors that drive the point home, this guy is tough, bitter, and cynical. In the last 1/4 of the novel, it just got too dark. And it wasn't the Nazis, but the treatment of women. This just wasn't the right book for that content. I'm sure that sometimes our literature needs to expose the injustices of the world, and that sometimes means including scenes that are dark and evil. But this wasn't that book. And I'm not sure I want to read those books. I guess I'm judging a little harshly for what was probably one page of the whole book. But I didn't like that page. And it kind of ruined the book.
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-20450240042067620552012-02-16T16:41:00.000-08:002012-02-16T16:41:00.386-08:00The Kingdom on the Waves<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6357400-the-kindgom-on-the-waves" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Kindgom on the Waves (The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, #2)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320398381m/6357400.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6357400-the-kindgom-on-the-waves">The Kindgom on the Waves</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/31688.M_T_Anderson">M.T. Anderson</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/278294309">5 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
This is not a happy book. The tragedy is eloquent and slow building. It's almost enough to make you wish the redcoats had won. But in the end, neither side is that sympathetic from the perspective of the slaves.<br />
<br />
The Revolutionary war tends to be romanticized, cast as a conflict of freedom versus tyranny. A war of rhetoric and patriots. Patrick Henry: "Give me Liberty or give me death." The federalist papers. George Washington crossing the Delaware. Minutemen militias and muskets.<br />
<br />
All of that is true. But it's all a little sanitized. The rhetoric was passionate, but also inflammatory. The Boston tea party was a mob, and they were not kind to those loyal to the king. Liberty was a grand new(ly important) idea, and it was still incomplete. Liberty to own slaves was as important as taxation without representation.<br />
<br />
This book is about the part of the revolutionary war that was a war, with soldiers, cannon, imperfect officers, disease, poor rations, and death. The author in his afterword talks about how he wanted to dispel the historical fog that surrounds the revolutionary war. I think he did that.
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-13383604871531313992012-01-31T09:00:00.000-08:002012-01-31T09:00:01.028-08:00The Astonishing life of Octavian Nothing<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1845844.The_Pox_Party" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Pox Party (The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, #1)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320453021m/1845844.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1845844.The_Pox_Party">The Pox Party</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/31688.M_T_Anderson">M.T. Anderson</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/266806803">5 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
I read this while at the same time I was watching the Civil War documentary by Ken Burns. The combination of reading about a slave living through the American Revolution and watching the terrible war fought over the evil institution made me mad. It made me mad to think that some people still try to frame that war in terms of State's rights. In reality, it was a war fought for the southern elites' right to own slaves, fought by an army where very few of the soldiers owned slaves.<br />
<br />
Back to the book. I found the feeling of uncertainty that the characters felt about the cause of Liberty to be insightful. They were conscious of the hypocrisy inherent in rousing rebellion in the name from Liberty, while fearing that their slaves might be incited to revolt against them in retaliation. I felt that the characters exhibited true human reaction to great times, from calculation, to rapture, to misgivings and misery.<br />
<br />
The prose, while not usually dense, leaned toward a more formal tone, emulating the letters of the time. I love reading words used in slightly different ways than we are used to. It stimulates a part of my brain that uses words. I write more when I'm reading those kinds of books, and I feel like a more interesting person.
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-57318916678285805782012-01-25T09:00:00.000-08:002012-01-25T09:00:06.494-08:00Some Original FictionSnow Crash, despite it's pulp fiction pace, still has a couple insightful moments like this one:<br />
<blockquote>
<br />
Until
a man is twenty-five, he still thinks, every so often, that under the
right circumstances he could be the baddest motherf... in the world. If I
moved to a martial-arts monastery in China and studied real hard for
ten years. If my family was wiped out by Colombian drug dealers and I
swore myself to revenge. If I got a fatal disease, had one year to live,
devoted it to wiping out street crime. If I just dropped out and
devoted my life to being bad.</blockquote>
This rang so perfectly
true, not for me, but for my wife. She's constantly playing out
scenarios involving mexican drug runners, dark alleys, and martial arts(or knives, or guns).
And she loves bunnies. So I wrote a story for her:<br />
<blockquote>
Melinda
was an english lop with long, silken ears. They were finely veined, and
Melinda was always careful when grooming them to never leave a mark. <br />
<br />
Melinda
was never the biggest bunny. Sometimes, in fact, she was the littlest
rabbit, but she was always careful to eat healthy foods, and exercise
regularly. She would tie her ears back, and make experimental runs in
her little part of the forest. <br />
<br />
Melinda had a little
sister that she loved to visit. They liked to talk about different ways
to spruce up their burrows, or different ways to prepare their meals of
Italian parsley, with Cheerio croutons, and garnished with small
triangles of banana. <br />
<br />
One day Melinda heard about a new
way to make a banana pie. She wanted to share this with her sister. As
she hopped towards her sister's burrow, she began to worry. Something
seemed off. Maybe there was too much quiet, or maybe some of the
undergrowth wasn't where she remembered it. By the time she got to her
sister's burrow, she was creeping forward on her belly. <br />
<br />
She
sat just inside a hawthorn bush and watched and listened, waiting,
almost paralyzed. Finally she heard scuffling, and a group of
chinchillas were backing out of her sisters burrow. Dragged behind them,
kicking powerfully, and swearing as only she could, was her sister. <br />
<br />
Melinda's
first instinct was to charge. She always imagined herself as hardcore.
She knew she was in shape. She knew she had an aggressive streak. She
knew... that in reality, she was the littlest rabbit. And littlest
rabbits don't win by charging. Littlest rabbits observe from the
shadows. They look for advantages. They find leverage, and they are
patient. So she squashed her instinct, opened her eyes, and watched,
disapproving, as the chinchillas did their slow, nefarious work. <br />
<br />
She
saw their darting gazes, alert for dangers from every dark crevice.
Melinda saw her angle. She darted from bush to bush, pausing only long
enough to rustle a branch, or to leave stones skittering behind her.
When the chinchillas, obviously out of their element, began to look all
around them in alarm, Melinda leaped, with a prodigious thump, high into
the air. <br />
<br />
Later practitioners of the buninja arts
would call what she did then, "death from above". Her work done, melinda
licked her ear. Her sister stepped away from the chinchilla she had
disposed of in the chaos of the fray, and invited her back for a cup of
mint tea. Melinda and her sister enjoyed a beautiful banana pie.</blockquote>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-62247835275037381542012-01-24T08:42:00.000-08:002012-01-24T09:44:47.100-08:00Snow Crash<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/830.Snow_Crash" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Snow Crash" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320544000m/830.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/830.Snow_Crash">Snow Crash</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/545.Neal_Stephenson">Neal Stephenson</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/135771514">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
Great fun. This book barrels along at a fast pace, and never slows down. Has a bit of swearing, and one sex scene, which is pretty easily skipped. <br />
<br />
In a world where the government has downsized to a small suburb in LA, and Corporations have franchised the functions of government, traffic travels at a pace somewhere between <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079501/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mad Max</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Falling Down</a>, and customer service is king. <br />
<br />
It's meant to be outrageous, not careful, so an elite hacker samurai, who delivers pizza for his living is perfect for a protagonist, especially when his name is Hiro Protagonist. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-21985729800468576382012-01-14T09:24:00.001-08:002012-01-14T09:24:48.332-08:00The Baker's Boy<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29137.The_Baker_s_Boy" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Baker's Boy (Book of Words, #1)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167966079m/29137.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29137.The_Baker_s_Boy">The Baker's Boy</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16391.J_V_Jones">J.V. Jones</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/261764986">3 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
Very different from her Sword of Shadows books, this world is populated by villains and innocents. She avoids complex characters, right up until the end of the book. The simplicity is sometimes in itself entertaining. The villains are mustache twirling plotters, the innocents are a maiden and a baker's boy, both running from home. With interjections of guards telling each other (mildly) dirty stories, and dropping hints about the intrigue between the villains, the book feels like a melodrama. The shadows of complexity arrive in the storylines about Tawl, a knight, and Nabber, a child pickpocket. Starting from far away, their trajectory seems to place them like a meteor streaking between the villains and innocents, and it's not exactly clear what their influence will be.<br />
<br />
I'll be reading the next book in this trilogy, though I don't find it as original and compelling as her later books.
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-20746390441297368442011-11-10T13:44:00.000-08:002011-11-10T13:44:00.284-08:00Acacia: The War with the Mein<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/565335.Acacia" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Acacia: The War with the Mein (Acacia, #1)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320520422m/565335.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/565335.Acacia">Acacia: The War with the Mein</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/214232.David_Anthony_Durham">David Anthony Durham</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/211700702">3 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
This book has a great plot structure. The arc of the story is well planned, and has potential for interesting conflicts and characters. The weakness comes from:
<br />
<br />
1. a sometimes too obvious use of a trope, such as <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChekhovsSkill" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chekhov's Skill</a>, or <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OrphansOrdeal" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Orphan's Ordeal</a>.*
<br />
<br />
2. related to 1, an uneven level of character intimacy. Two characters(the daughters) get great treatment of their progression, their conflicts, their relationships. They are in interesting predicaments, and you see a definite progression from one plot point to the next. You're shown the progress from A->B->C, not just told about being at A, being at B, being at C. The other two characters(the sons), we just get little vignettes where there is more explaining than exposition. This shallow approach makes it feel like those tropes have sharp edges sticking through the fabric of the story.
<br />
<br />
This is this Author's first fantasy book, coming from Historical Fiction. As such, I can see his predilection for understanding conflict as being a product of the past. There's definitely understanding of the relations of great powers, and the ability of an empire to co-opt it's conquerors.
<br />
<br />
Surprisingly, his grasp of the fantastic elements are quite good. He creates magic that is unruly, mystic, and has real drawbacks. When you finally do understand the "Tunishnevre", the mixed sense of menace, horror and pity is well portrayed.
<br />
<br />
In all, I think there's potential here. I'll check the next books out of the library,
<br />
<br />
* Using tropes in fiction is not a problem, in fact fiction is built out of tropes. Sometimes it can be fun to just list all the tropes in any fiction. We depend on a shared framework of storytelling for drama. It's natural, but the skillful storytellers cloak the tropes in characters, prose and action.
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-43438090521684433222011-11-06T13:56:00.001-08:002011-11-06T13:56:46.431-08:00The Perks of Being a Wallflower<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22628.The_Perks_of_Being_a_Wallflower" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Perks of Being a Wallflower" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1313063835m/22628.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22628.The_Perks_of_Being_a_Wallflower">The Perks of Being a Wallflower</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12898.Stephen_Chbosky">Stephen Chbosky</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/232044110">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
Very easy to read, format of letters to a stranger creates an intimate, well-divisioned story.<br />
<br />
Like most fiction, this story takes all the dramatic things that could happen to the character, and they all happen. Which, while unbelievable, is a useful device for exploring the drama of being a teenager, and being a teenager who doesn't quite fit in the normal high school crowd. <br />
<br />
The amount of sex doesn't jive with my own experience as a teen, and there's definitely some graphic content here. It mostly falls short of being explicit, however. I think I'd have a hard time saying it was ok for a teen to read, but for adults wanting to develop more sympathy for the teenage years, it's a great start.
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-45807338968494210722011-09-21T16:52:00.000-07:002011-09-21T16:52:00.216-07:00Epiphany of the Long Sun<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/201991.Epiphany_of_the_Long_Sun" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Epiphany of the Long Sun (The Book of the Long Sun, #3-4)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312004941m/201991.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/201991.Epiphany_of_the_Long_Sun">Epiphany of the Long Sun</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23069.Gene_Wolfe">Gene Wolfe</a><br />
<br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/207440145">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
<br />
A continuation of "The Book of the Long Sun", which I reviewed earlier, this continues the story of a priest become revolutionary.<br />
<br />
Gene Wolfe can write character voices. There's a lot of dialogue in these books, and sometimes there's not a lot of tags, like "he said, she said". It's still obvious who's speaking. After a couple words, you know if it's the always polite(politeness so sharp it can be a weapon) Patera Silk, the slang-dealing thief Auk, or the constantly hemming and hedging Patera Remora.<br />
<br />
For a book that is so quick to read, I was surprised at how it had me using more words in everyday life. Some books are hard, and they exercise your brain, stretching it to places where it stores those more rarely used words. This book was able to do that without bogging down in parenthetical phrases.<br />
<br />
As a book driven mostly by dialogue, some people will be annoyed by some of the voices, the tendency to interrupt, or fail to explain fully a point. Also, the action often happens in the dialogue. Threatening words might connote a raised gun. Of course, if you read the first half, then of course you won't be bothered by those things, so check out the first couple of chapters of the first book before committing to these two books.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-49927277371902197472011-09-16T16:40:00.000-07:002011-09-16T16:40:00.545-07:00The Gates<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6987548-the-gates" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Gates" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255636490m/6987548.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6987548-the-gates">The Gates</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38951.John_Connolly">John Connolly</a><br />
<br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/207439890">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
<br />
Since I read "The Book of Lost Things" by this author, my wife saw this in the Library, and decided that I would like it. She read it first, and loved it. I read it second.<br />
<br />
The author certainly has a theme: childhood lost. In the first it was because of a parent dying, this one because of divorce. The difference between the two books is in tone, and appeals to a bit different audience because of it. The Gates has a very light tone. The author uses the well known British humo(u)r to keep a story about Hell, demons, and the end of the world, appropriate to younger kids. The same humo(u)r might make you laugh out loud.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-88128225839214391472011-09-11T16:33:00.000-07:002011-09-11T16:33:04.962-07:00A Dance with Dragons<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2782553-a-dance-with-dragons" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1301849720m/2782553.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2782553-a-dance-with-dragons">A Dance with Dragons</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/346732.George_R_R_Martin">George R.R. Martin</a><br />
<br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/207457292">5 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
<br />
A continuation of the dark, complicated, political, magical(not in the fairies and unicorns kind of way), conflicted, frustrating(why aren't the good guys winning? Why can't I tell which ones are the good guys? Why did that guy, who I spent the last 4 books following and rooting for die?), surprising(see previous), and satisfying(some of those bad guys are getting what's coming to them) series, recently made popular by a TV adaptation by HBO. I love it, but there are many people who will be turned off by the dark nature of the book. If you can, it's a great series to read. If you can't, don't force yourself. It's good, but no one "has" to read this series.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-68988187719201278462011-06-27T15:45:00.000-07:002011-06-27T15:45:00.962-07:00King's Dragon<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/202039.King_s_Dragon" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="King's Dragon (Crown of Stars, #1)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172639871m/202039.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/202039.King_s_Dragon">King's Dragon</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8660.Kate_Elliott">Kate Elliott</a><br />
<br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/179134566">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
<br />
A pretty standard, kingdom in turmoil, invaders from the north, treachery from a royal sibling, mysterious waif loses guardian to nefarious forces, adopted bastard chosen by fate to be protector of the kingdom type of book. The execution however, is pretty good. The waif suffers true trauma. The kind of thing that can damage a person for a long time. And it's not how her guardian dies, but what happens after. <br />
<br />
The religion is very catholic-like, with saints and priests, though a more gender-neutral(or even reversed) version of the church hierarchy and dogma. Religion is depicted mostly positively, though some members use the church as a vehicle of their ambition, others are sincere. Saints do appear in exceptional circumstances, but most of the time, people have to follow their religion the same way we do, with faith.<br />
<br />
The structure of the kingdom is interesting, with a roving court, a semi-autonomous church authority, and a semi-matriarchal line of succession. The politics are introduced slowly, only halfway through the book are we given a real picture of how the land is governed.<br />
<br />
The characters have some real progression, with loyalties tested, religious callings conflicting with religious morals, trauma forcing an escape inwards, and imperfect mentors.<br />
<br />
I'll be reading more of this series. I'll let you know if it loses its interest. But I'm optimistic.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-456837430074335598.post-7269479860164248432011-06-23T15:11:00.000-07:002011-06-23T15:11:27.148-07:00Riverworld, book 1 and 2<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16536.The_Fabulous_Riverboat" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Fabulous Riverboat (Riverworld 2)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166725188m/16536.jpg" /></a>"To Your Scattered Bodies Go" and <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16536.The_Fabulous_Riverboat">The Fabulous Riverboat</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10089.Philip_Jos_Farmer">Philip José Farmer</a><br />
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My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/178123879">3 of 5 stars</a><br />
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I checked this out from the library, and I'm glad I didn't purchase it. The edition I checked out was an omnibus of the first two books of the Riverworld series.<br />
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My feeling is these books are like, "Wouldn't it be really cool if..." all the interesting characters of history were all living and ran into each other. And, yes, it's cool to think about, but it's not something you can base a novel on. It's more like a dinner party idea. Though, I've never been to that kind of dinner party. <br />
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The reason the idea doesn't really work is that the characters are restricted. Or at least, the author's ability to be creative with the characters is restricted. So the first book, written with a relatively unknown(at least to most modern audiences) character has a somewhat more interesting characterization. The second, starring Samuel Clemens, seems more forced, less natural.<br />
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The world is a little interesting--an artificial world with one long river, food and clothing supplied daily, but very little in the way of natural resources besides wood--but also unvarying. In a way it's an advantage, since after a single description of the landscape, it's easy to visualize wherever the characters may travel. You never feel like you don't know the place. The only difference is in the cultures of the people inhabiting the area. This gives you a sense of humanity being the landscape.<br />
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One thing I found surprising was the female characters. They were essentially objects. Not necessarily sexual objects,(though they sometimes were) but things to be acted upon, not actors in themselves. Sometimes Fantasy and Science Fiction are harped on for their depictions of women, and this book made me understand why. There's a big gap between the way Brandon Sanderson writes women, and the way Farmer did.<br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4681164-john">View all my reviews</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680056990468177565noreply@blogger.com0