Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers. The only book I’ve read more than once. I think this is about the fifth time in fact.
Oh, wow, I haven't thought about Red Dwarf in ages. I never read the books, but I used to love the show (when I could actually catch it on PBS's random schedule). Spiffy new avatar!
Oh, you’ve got to read the books, if only the first one, which is the one I named in my last post. It allows you to imagine the show on the scale of a movie. It’s brilliant. Also, get the DVD box set and a multi region player.
Boy, nothing makes you feel like a lazy, privileged asshole like reading Steinbeck. I just finished The Grapes of Wrath. I think I'll go make some food and appreciate it.
About halfway through Little Soldiers. It is both frustrating and validating that the same issues I’m dealing with now were also prominent a decade ago.
I've read five Steinbeck novels so far. East of Eden is actually next on my list. I know I enjoyed the movie twenty years ago, but now I don't even remember what it was about, which works out great if I'm going to read the book. I knew every single thing that was going to happen in Of Mice and Men. It was still a great read, but it would have been nicer the other way around, I think. Also on my list, about five down. One of his only non-fiction books. Looks interesting.
I haven’t seen any of the film adaptations yet, not even Grapes of Wrath! I did watch a stage version of Of Mice and Men though. Talking about Steinbeck reminds me of another good American author, John Updike. Did anyone read the Rabbit series?
Finished two books relatively closely, so I'll talk about both. Book two of Jordan's long series just doesn't do much for me unfortunately for a long while. Don't get me wrong, it's still a pretty decent book, but it had to go through the problem most any series fantasy has to get through, setting up the politics and structure of the world the story takes place in. That, and Jordan has some irregular plot movement that kind of sucks for a good portion of the novel. The first third of the novel takes place in one location with the main protagonist whining almost consistently throughout that he needs to run away. That's a lot of words burned on a dislikable protagonist and essentially only introducing a couple of important characters. We've already seen this location before, so it isn't exactly exciting or new. The next third, however, is mind-numbing. A lot of waiting and wandering aimlessly with the miserable protagonist. It is necessary though as it works to explain the cyclical and multidimensional natures of time within the world he created. But at the end of that is literally one of the best chapters I've ever read: "What Might Be." Then third section kicks off and we finally have a semi-exciting story. The climax isn't anything shocking, however, so it just sort of rolls forward with a cool scene over a few chapters and calls it a day. One can tell that Jordan decided to get away from his middling between YA and adult fantasy and just start diving into adult. Things get more brutal and a little more sexual, which will get into more in later books. I think this is probably a good path for Jordan to take, but you can tell he isn't quite comfortable with it. This book is all a massive set up for something that everyone knows is coming, which kind of makes it a marathon to get through at 260k words. Still, it's not bad. Makes you interested to keep moving and has enough intrigue to believe the plots of the world. Villains are still a little comical though. The other novel I read was As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. I get what it's doing, but I hate it. The plot is just misery, sort of like Cormac MacCarthy's Outer Dark except that every character is designed to be hated by the end. It's a downward spiral for the whole family to watch and just uncomfortably get through. Seriously, no one is redeemable. And the last ten pages are a serious slap in the face that cuts the story short. It's honestly just a vile story. It does have the distinction of being supposedly one of the first to popularize having different perspectives for different chapters. This works extremely well and every one of Faulkner's characters is believable. I could understand any one of them and tell them apart instantly. Faulkner can get some major respect for that work. I just don't enjoy reading it. Not again.
Yup. No good feels in that one. Outer Dark is beyond vile in comparison though. Very not happy happy joy joy.
New Book Day! Switching back to the Kindle this time. Need to ration my reserve of hard copies as they are sometimes scarce in China. Any recommendations for fiction, possibly SF or Fantasy?
The Lion's Game by Nelson Demille. He's kind of like a poor man's Tom Clancy crossed with an even poorer man's John Le Carre... standard international terrorist thriller, but quite entertaining. And it's got a split POV where the MC is in 1st person and the other characters are in 3rd. There was a thread about this earlier, and it isn't weird or distracting at all.
if you haven't already you should check out word of honor ...its his best book by some considerable margin
I haven't. First time reading him. Don't think I'd even heard of him before. Very good for what he does, so I'd definitely check it out.
By the Rivers of Babylon was very good as well... some of the others aren't so hot - The Generals Daughter and Up Country are two that I'd avoid.
He actually wrote a sequel, Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman, but didn't finish it; it was edited and published posthumously. The reviews are pretty awful, so I haven't bothered reading it, but if you're feeling brave, it might be worth a look.
