Ray Bradbury’s internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of twentieth-century literature set in a bleak, dystopian future.
Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.
Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television.
When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home, and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to run for his life.
(Summary from Amazon)
Half review, half dissection on my journal.
So a lot of humor just falls flat for me. Good Omens was all right, and Hitchiker was a bit a stroll thru mud. But, I had read good reviews of this book, and while having to take unpaid time off of work Wednesday I walked to my favorite SF bookstore and low and behold they had a copy.
If you read this book be ready to laugh at yourself, or at least smile, if you are a Star Trek, and yes even a Star Wars fan, have gone to one or more conventions, and enjoy a pair of writers trying to make their characters at least two dimensional (I think saying they were three dimensional would be me giving them a little too much credit).
The in jokes even begin with the character's names. Lead character Jim Pike (if you're a Trek fan you'll easily get that one) is working at a Houston hotel where his sister is coming for a Trek convention. A Gulf War vet Pike wants no responsibility after his experiences in the Gulf.
These really aren't typical zombies that end up attacking people, eating them, and then shambling after them. I think a good job was made at trying to make these zombies, and how they were created, at least a little different, and sorry sweetie no spoilers explaining the zombie creation.
Find a copy, enjoy the quick read I hope you find it as pleasing as I did.
If you read this book be ready to laugh at yourself, or at least smile, if you are a Star Trek, and yes even a Star Wars fan, have gone to one or more conventions, and enjoy a pair of writers trying to make their characters at least two dimensional (I think saying they were three dimensional would be me giving them a little too much credit).
The in jokes even begin with the character's names. Lead character Jim Pike (if you're a Trek fan you'll easily get that one) is working at a Houston hotel where his sister is coming for a Trek convention. A Gulf War vet Pike wants no responsibility after his experiences in the Gulf.
These really aren't typical zombies that end up attacking people, eating them, and then shambling after them. I think a good job was made at trying to make these zombies, and how they were created, at least a little different, and sorry sweetie no spoilers explaining the zombie creation.
Find a copy, enjoy the quick read I hope you find it as pleasing as I did.
Part of the reason I delve into YA fantasy and science fiction is that there is, at times, more variety, something at least a little different from what clogs the adult science fiction and fantasy book shelves. Oh, both are overrun with angst filled vampires etc. but I have discovered some fine authors via YA such as Ben Jeapes, Tamora PIerce, and Scott Westerfeld and Kenneth Oppel.
Which is part of the reason I decided to try David Weber's first attempt at a YA novel. I am familar with his popularity, and I've read one of his books, amusingly, not a Honor Harrington novel. I wanted to see how he handled the move from being primarily a military sci-fi author to a YA story.
Weber handles it well, not perfectly but well. While looking at some online reviews while reading the book, I understand this was, at least in part, a fix-up of short stories previously published about Honor Harrington's ancestor Stephanie Harrington.
Fourteen year old Stephanie is not pleased with her parents over their move to the relative new colony world of Sphinx. At the least it will stunt her desire to become a forest ranger, and she is an ill fit with others her age. The ill fit comes from her knowing that she is smarter than just about everyone in her peer group.
Events lead her to meeting a Sphinxian treecat, whom she names Lioneheart. The treecats are fully sentient and telepathic. Lionheart, Climbs Quickly as he is known among his people, is curious about the humans and wishes to find a way to communicate with them.
The hyper competence of some of the characters harkens back to an Asimov or Brin fault as writers (Neal Stephenson too come to think of it). Stephanie herself should realize that she had the advantage of more schooling than most of her Sphnxian peers as she came form an older colony world.
There are some pieces of politics in the book. If anything I think Weber, who at times sounds like a conservative in the book is also a proponent of preserving wildlife and ecology. Go figure.
To compare this to a Heinlein YA would not be inaccurate. So if you like those Heinlein books you'll likely enjoy this.
Which is part of the reason I decided to try David Weber's first attempt at a YA novel. I am familar with his popularity, and I've read one of his books, amusingly, not a Honor Harrington novel. I wanted to see how he handled the move from being primarily a military sci-fi author to a YA story.
Weber handles it well, not perfectly but well. While looking at some online reviews while reading the book, I understand this was, at least in part, a fix-up of short stories previously published about Honor Harrington's ancestor Stephanie Harrington.
Fourteen year old Stephanie is not pleased with her parents over their move to the relative new colony world of Sphinx. At the least it will stunt her desire to become a forest ranger, and she is an ill fit with others her age. The ill fit comes from her knowing that she is smarter than just about everyone in her peer group.
Events lead her to meeting a Sphinxian treecat, whom she names Lioneheart. The treecats are fully sentient and telepathic. Lionheart, Climbs Quickly as he is known among his people, is curious about the humans and wishes to find a way to communicate with them.
The hyper competence of some of the characters harkens back to an Asimov or Brin fault as writers (Neal Stephenson too come to think of it). Stephanie herself should realize that she had the advantage of more schooling than most of her Sphnxian peers as she came form an older colony world.
There are some pieces of politics in the book. If anything I think Weber, who at times sounds like a conservative in the book is also a proponent of preserving wildlife and ecology. Go figure.
To compare this to a Heinlein YA would not be inaccurate. So if you like those Heinlein books you'll likely enjoy this.
Dreamsnake is an expansion of Vonda McIntyre’s award winning novella, “Of Mist and Grass and Sand.” It’s a post-apocalyptic story about a healer named “SNAKE,” who uses snakes as part of her work. (She is not a faith healer or “snake handler.” She uses genetically engineered snakes as a kind of living hypodermic needle for chemotherapy, and uses their venom to create medicines and vaccines.) When one of her snakes is killed, a rare, alien snake whose venom acts as a kind of sedative, she goes on a quest of sorts to get a new one. Read this Outline on Rena's Hub of Random on WordPress.
Originally posted by 
audrey_e at Book 14: The Buddha in the Attic
audrey_e at Book 14: The Buddha in the Attic14 THE BUDDHA IN THE ATTIC Julie Otsuka (USA, 2011)
Written through the perspective of a multiplicity of female voices (first person plural), The Buddha in the Attic tells the story of Japanese immigration to the US, from picture brides to Pearl Harbor.
This book is a true literary accomplishment. It is both well-written and well-researched.
Julie Otsuka explores the lives of these women through a "we" that sometimes turns into a "some of us" to acknowledge the diversity of experience. It is impossible not to sympathize with these women who married men they did not know, worked in the fields or became maids, and then lost everything when the war came.
This short book often reads like a long poem, and I would recommend you to sip it like a good wine.
It is an instant classic of immigration experience in the US, along with Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior. The Buddha in the Attic should be taught in schools.
4,5/5
Written through the perspective of a multiplicity of female voices (first person plural), The Buddha in the Attic tells the story of Japanese immigration to the US, from picture brides to Pearl Harbor.
This book is a true literary accomplishment. It is both well-written and well-researched.
Julie Otsuka explores the lives of these women through a "we" that sometimes turns into a "some of us" to acknowledge the diversity of experience. It is impossible not to sympathize with these women who married men they did not know, worked in the fields or became maids, and then lost everything when the war came.
This short book often reads like a long poem, and I would recommend you to sip it like a good wine.
It is an instant classic of immigration experience in the US, along with Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior. The Buddha in the Attic should be taught in schools.
4,5/5
- Current Location:Oak Park, Il
- Current Mood:scared
Ashes Of Honor by Seanan McGuire
The sixth October Daye book. Spoilers ahead for the earlier ones.
( Read more...Collapse )
The sixth October Daye book. Spoilers ahead for the earlier ones.
( Read more...Collapse )
The difficulty with writing about the events leading up to the impeachment of President William Jefferson Clinton is that the subject is one nearly impossible for people not to take sides on. This is apparent even from the title of Professor Ken Gormley's book The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr which underscores the detailed history as being one of "Clinton vs. Starr". The subject matter of this book seems to effortlessly evoke impassioned defenses and criticisms of the two major players, with one side believing that this was a "right wing conspiracy" to remove Clinton from office, and the other side believing that the morally reprehensible president was able to get away with criminal behaviour scot-free. While it takes him 690 pages to do so, Gormley gives as objective an accounting of this complicated set of facts in a manner that affords all sides and all players the opportunity to give their side of the story, balancing that with the views of their critics, all the while refraining from his own judgements. Gormley leave it up to his readers and to history to come to their own conclusions.
Gormley is nothing if not thorough, and his subject matter demands it. There is more to this story than a series of hook-ups between a 20something intern and the leader of the free world, leading to a stain on a little blue dress. Gormley reviews Clinton's rise to power and his tenure as Governor of Arkansas, along with all of the allegations of gubernatorial hanky-pankey, not in a tabloid style with unsubstantiated rumours, but by getting information from sources present at the time. In practically all cases, there is insufficient information on which to reach a conclusion. There is smoke, but is there fire? Gormley leaves the question open. All he knows is all he knows.
Through this book we learn about an interesting array of characters and of circumstances. We learn about a property development project known as Whitewater, and a failed savings and loan company, all of which have Bill and Hillary Clinton on the periphery. Gormley makes no judgement about whether the Clintons acted fraudulently in connection with these matters. He simply presents the conflicting evidence and the arguments pro and con.
The adage "truth is stranger than fiction" is personified through the array of characters that we meet. Gormley gives more than a thumbnail sketch of all of them, the good, the bad and the flaky. In the book we meet Jim McDougall, the bi-polar dreamer who is present at the creation of this mess. Gormley presents him, warts and all. We also meet his wife Susan, a free-spirit with character, respected by many for her refusal to testify before a grand jury, even at the price of a prison sentence, because she distrusts the independent counsel. Paula Jones, the plaintiff in a sexual harassment suit against Clinton is also portrayed as both victim and gold-digger. Once again Gormley makes no judgements, he simply shows both sides and leaves it to the reader. Other fascinating characters who Gormley tells us much about include Monica Lewinsky and her parents, Linda Tripp (who secretly records her friend Monica and turns the tapes over to the independent counsel), Vince Foster (who tragically takes his own life), a compassionate prison psychiatrist, as well as a number of lawyers and judges, politicians and political staffers too numerous to mention, but many with larger than life personalities.
Of the main protagonists, here again Gormley is reluctant to pass judgement. Ken Starr is presented both as principled and ethical by some, and as being on an out-of-control witch hunt by others. Clinton, through interviews, gets ample opportunity both to defend himself and to vent about his mistreatment at the hands of a vindictive Ken Starr. The insight into what the two central figures were thinking as the matter proceeded is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book.
The whole saga reads like a Greek tragedy, especially when Gormley points out the various points in time when a different decision may have derailed this train-wreck of a tale. From Whitewater and Madison Savings and Loan, to Paula Jones, to Kathleen Willey and Ginnifer Flowers, to the appointment or an independent counsel, to the change in independent counsel, to the discovery of Monica Lewinsky, to the release of the Starr Report, the impeachment proceedings in Congress, the brokering of a deal by yet another independent counsel and the aftermath and fallout for all concerned, there is much to tell. Gormley tells it well, sanitizing nothing and keeping his personal opinion to himself.
Because of the volume of detail, this book can at times seem tedious, but more often it can be a riveting page-turner. Gormley takes a complicated story and explains it as fairly and as interestingly as imaginable. Those with a strong opinion about this saga may be disappointed that their side isn't the dominant one, but those readers who are looking for an objective account of what went on during the chapter of American history will find it in this book.
Gormley is nothing if not thorough, and his subject matter demands it. There is more to this story than a series of hook-ups between a 20something intern and the leader of the free world, leading to a stain on a little blue dress. Gormley reviews Clinton's rise to power and his tenure as Governor of Arkansas, along with all of the allegations of gubernatorial hanky-pankey, not in a tabloid style with unsubstantiated rumours, but by getting information from sources present at the time. In practically all cases, there is insufficient information on which to reach a conclusion. There is smoke, but is there fire? Gormley leaves the question open. All he knows is all he knows.
Through this book we learn about an interesting array of characters and of circumstances. We learn about a property development project known as Whitewater, and a failed savings and loan company, all of which have Bill and Hillary Clinton on the periphery. Gormley makes no judgement about whether the Clintons acted fraudulently in connection with these matters. He simply presents the conflicting evidence and the arguments pro and con.
The adage "truth is stranger than fiction" is personified through the array of characters that we meet. Gormley gives more than a thumbnail sketch of all of them, the good, the bad and the flaky. In the book we meet Jim McDougall, the bi-polar dreamer who is present at the creation of this mess. Gormley presents him, warts and all. We also meet his wife Susan, a free-spirit with character, respected by many for her refusal to testify before a grand jury, even at the price of a prison sentence, because she distrusts the independent counsel. Paula Jones, the plaintiff in a sexual harassment suit against Clinton is also portrayed as both victim and gold-digger. Once again Gormley makes no judgements, he simply shows both sides and leaves it to the reader. Other fascinating characters who Gormley tells us much about include Monica Lewinsky and her parents, Linda Tripp (who secretly records her friend Monica and turns the tapes over to the independent counsel), Vince Foster (who tragically takes his own life), a compassionate prison psychiatrist, as well as a number of lawyers and judges, politicians and political staffers too numerous to mention, but many with larger than life personalities.
Of the main protagonists, here again Gormley is reluctant to pass judgement. Ken Starr is presented both as principled and ethical by some, and as being on an out-of-control witch hunt by others. Clinton, through interviews, gets ample opportunity both to defend himself and to vent about his mistreatment at the hands of a vindictive Ken Starr. The insight into what the two central figures were thinking as the matter proceeded is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book.
The whole saga reads like a Greek tragedy, especially when Gormley points out the various points in time when a different decision may have derailed this train-wreck of a tale. From Whitewater and Madison Savings and Loan, to Paula Jones, to Kathleen Willey and Ginnifer Flowers, to the appointment or an independent counsel, to the change in independent counsel, to the discovery of Monica Lewinsky, to the release of the Starr Report, the impeachment proceedings in Congress, the brokering of a deal by yet another independent counsel and the aftermath and fallout for all concerned, there is much to tell. Gormley tells it well, sanitizing nothing and keeping his personal opinion to himself.
Because of the volume of detail, this book can at times seem tedious, but more often it can be a riveting page-turner. Gormley takes a complicated story and explains it as fairly and as interestingly as imaginable. Those with a strong opinion about this saga may be disappointed that their side isn't the dominant one, but those readers who are looking for an objective account of what went on during the chapter of American history will find it in this book.
- Current Location:on the comfy loveseat with Abby
- Current Mood:dorky
- Current Music:Caro Emerald-"That Man"
The Coldest War, by Ian Tregillis
An alt-history in which demons and supermen threaten Mutually Assured Destruction.
Tor, 2012, 352 pages
The sequel to Bitter Seeds fast-forwards from World War II to the Cold War.
Verdict: A great sequel, and a book that makes me eager to finish the trilogy. Mixing superpowers, magic, and alternate history in a very grim world of 1963, The Coldest War is a fast-paced bombshell of an adventure not afraid to threaten to destroy the world.
Also by Ian Tregillis: My review of Bitter Seeds.
My complete list of book reviews.
Tor, 2012, 352 pages
Someone is killing Britain's warlocks.
Twenty-two years after the Second World War, a precarious balance of power maintains the peace between Great Britain and the USSR. For decades, the warlocks have been all that stand between the British Empire and the Soviet Union-- a vast domain stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the shores of the English Channel. But now each death is another blow to Britain's security.
Meanwhile, a brother and sister escape from a top-secret research facility deep behind the Iron Curtain. Once subjects of a twisted Nazi experiment to imbue ordinary humans with extraordinary abilities, then prisoners of war in the vast Soviet effort to reverse engineer the Nazi technology, they head for England.
Because that's where former spy Raybould Marsh lives. And Gretel, the mad seer, has plans for him.
As Marsh is drawn back into the world of Milkweed, he discovers that Britain's darkest acts didn't end with the war. And as he strives to protect Queen and country, he's forced to confront his own willingness to accept victory at any cost.
The sequel to Bitter Seeds fast-forwards from World War II to the Cold War.
Verdict: A great sequel, and a book that makes me eager to finish the trilogy. Mixing superpowers, magic, and alternate history in a very grim world of 1963, The Coldest War is a fast-paced bombshell of an adventure not afraid to threaten to destroy the world.
Also by Ian Tregillis: My review of Bitter Seeds.
My complete list of book reviews.
Originally posted by othercat at Poll results for "Which Book Should I Outline/do a Reading of Next?"
othercat at Poll results for "Which Book Should I Outline/do a Reading of Next?"This is going to be a rough reading-list/schedule of the books I am doing an Outline or Reading of.
(In case anyone was interested)
( Read more...Collapse )(In case anyone was interested)
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Our Hero’s Father, Jacob Stone on the other hand, is self-defined as an absent minded professor and a slightly pompous, distant authority figure. The elder Stone has basically turned his son Isham into a weapon to be directed at the villain of the piece! Isham doesn’t mind very much, as he is completely on board with the entire killing Carlson thing.
Read this on Rena's Hub of Random on WordPress
