Just a few books that I have read recently and want to say something about
The Miocene Arrow by Sean McMullen. This is in fact the second book in his "Greatwinter" trilogy but stands alone fine - I read the other two some time ago. I've liked all his books but this one stood out. The bizarre social arrangements in this version of post-apocalypse North America are gloriously detailed - a society of feuding nobles who duel in their fighter planes. There's a lot of lovely deadpan humour (reminding me of Jack Vance) and a good story. The only gripe I have with it is that when he explains some of the crucial reasons the world is like it is (including what caused the apocalypse) it just seemed silly to me. Still, despite the shaky foundation, a great read.
Darwin's Ghost by Steve Jones. This is an updated Origin of Species. Jones has set out to basically write the same book that Darwin did, with all the discoveries since then as well as what there was to work with in the nineteenth century. It's a very lucid read, a good description of what natural selection is and how it works and it has a huge number of interesting little snippets of natural history. I got the copy I read out of the library but I think I need to buy one for the bookshelf. It also made me realise that I really ought to get around to reading the original, something I have been intending to do for about a decade now.
The System of the World by Neal Stephenson. Finally I have finished his Baroque Cycle - it's quite a relief. It's a good story (all three, that is) but I really think Stephenson needs to resist his urge to write huge amounts of tangential detail. Usually these tangents in his books are interesting and/or amusing, but they're getting to be more and more of each novel. And also to outweigh the actual story.
Going Postal by Terry Pratchett. His best book for quite a while. Really funny and he seems to be back to reflecting bits of the real world that are more interesting than other recent books. Or maybe just more interesting to me. The main character is one of the better protagonists too. And Lord Vetinari does a lot of stuff in this one, which is always enjoyable.
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3 comments:
I have just finished The Confusion. I loved it, but you're right about his ability to digress. He needs to reign it in a bit.
That's not to say there were parts of it I didn't enjoy, I *do* like his digtessons, but they do add some rather unneccesary wordage. In some ways it's as if he feels he must use all the research he did for the novels.
I am looking forward to The System of the World.
By the way, that anaonymous post was me (Matt). I had a look at Dead Inside and find it rather interesting, have you read it?
Also reading his PDQ rules system, it's quite appealing as well.
Re: Stephenson. I just re-read Zodiac. In those days he had just as many interesting digressions, but the book's still short. This makes it much more fun to read.
Re: Dead Inside, yes I've read it and played it. I intend to put a review up here sometime, but haven't got around to it yet.
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