31. The Handmaid of Desire

by John L'Heureux (264 pgs)

Rating: 4

Olga: A semi-mysterious, semi-divine, semi-ruthless, and semi-kind character of undefined origins and with obscure goals. A literary theorist invited to teach at a California university for a semester and quickly ends up the puppet-master of the petty intrigues of the department. The persistent question of the book: is Olga a character in a book that we are reading or is she, in fact, the author writing from within the pages? Or perhaps she is simply a deluded and eccentric narrator. It's impossible to tell.

I have to admit, The Handmaid of Desire had me hooked in under 10 pages. The concept is inherently intriguing but the writing was easy to follow and flowed well supporting the bizarreness of the plot without intruding. Truly, a well written book. As far as content: I think the plot was interesting and a touch of magical realism made for a invigorating spice. In fact, I think without it, the plot would have come off as a bit drab. I am interested to read more of L'Heureux's books...and also possibly check out the creative writing program in Stanford.

30. Foundation and Empire

by Isaac Asimov (234 pages)

Rating: 3

Two more installments in the Foundation Odyssey. The first, an ambitious general from the defunct empire makes a stab at reannexing Foundation through military might. Predictably Foundation pulls through. The second, is the first hint of real trouble. The introduction of a mutant fouls up the Seldon plan causing all sorts of havoc including a rush to the old imperial archives.

I think the momentum is failing. Yes. I think that's the problem with Foundation and Empire. It was still enjoyable but definitely was a bit laggy on the action. The big surprise in the second half was obvious to me nearly two chapters in.

I wouldn't bother with it unless you enjoyed the first book.