By Frank Herbert (544 pgs)
Rating: 5
Paul Atreides, son of Jessica and the Duke Leto, has a mysterious and profound destiny. When his family is displaced from his native world of Caladan to the hell planet Arrakis, Paul is 15. Already he has been taught in the arts of sword fighting, mentats, ruling, and the Bene Gesserit sisterhood. It’s this last which is odd.
This is perhaps my fourth or fifth reading of Dune. Obviously, I like it but I admit that the first time I read it, I was none too impressed. Dune is one of those books that almost requires rereading. It is dense, full of philosophy, and packed with foreshadowing and devious plot-development. While it is perhaps not the best book in the English cannon, it is one of the few books I enjoy rereading.
PS don’t bother with they movies…they are all very visually stunning crap in comparison.
Recommended to everyone who reads science fiction.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
61. The Hour of the Gate
By Alan Dean Foster (304 pgs)
Rating: 3
In this sequel to Spell Singer, Jon Tom finds himself it a continuing quest to defeat the plated folk and save the warmlands with an ultimate goal of getting back to his own world. Jon Tom and his friends travel through strange places to find allies in people steeped in myth.
Not as engaging as the first book, The Hour of the Gate was still an enjoyable read. The plot was not as strong and it seems Foster sacrificed it for character development. Many of the characters went through a series of startling revelations but many of them seemed somewhat forced and/or predictable.
While I enjoyed this book I wouldn’t recommend it on it’s own. As a member of a series, it is enjoyable and worth reading.
Rating: 3
In this sequel to Spell Singer, Jon Tom finds himself it a continuing quest to defeat the plated folk and save the warmlands with an ultimate goal of getting back to his own world. Jon Tom and his friends travel through strange places to find allies in people steeped in myth.
Not as engaging as the first book, The Hour of the Gate was still an enjoyable read. The plot was not as strong and it seems Foster sacrificed it for character development. Many of the characters went through a series of startling revelations but many of them seemed somewhat forced and/or predictable.
While I enjoyed this book I wouldn’t recommend it on it’s own. As a member of a series, it is enjoyable and worth reading.
Friday, September 22, 2006
60. Japanese By Spring
by Ishmael Reed (240 pgs)
Rating: 4
Professor Puttbutt is the son of a prominent military family and non-tenured faculty at the Jack London college in California. He is an African American who rants against affirmative action. He is a coward and a radical alternately with one hell of a mean streak.
I am honestly not sure what to make of Japanese By Spring. It was relatively easy to read but the commentary on ethnicity, PCness, and academia is probably going to take a while to sink in. There was a certain preachy feel to the epilogue and I find it very strange that author showed up as a character several times throughout the novel. I suspect that Reed used forms of African and African American story telling that I am just not familiar with. I did tend to identify with the sort of overarching sense of frustration that accompanies discussion of ethnicity throughout the narrative. It’s difficult to glean Reed’s position on many of the topic but I’m leaning to the conclusion that Reed doesn’t have a position on them. It’s possible that the novel is a farce only intended to expose the ridiculousness of the entire current discourse.
As I said. I don’t know. I have no particular insight.
I tentatively recommend the book in a general sense because recommending it to specific people would indicate I understood it more than I really did. But I do recommend it because it is making me think about these topics and I believe that’s a valuable thing.
Rating: 4
Professor Puttbutt is the son of a prominent military family and non-tenured faculty at the Jack London college in California. He is an African American who rants against affirmative action. He is a coward and a radical alternately with one hell of a mean streak.
I am honestly not sure what to make of Japanese By Spring. It was relatively easy to read but the commentary on ethnicity, PCness, and academia is probably going to take a while to sink in. There was a certain preachy feel to the epilogue and I find it very strange that author showed up as a character several times throughout the novel. I suspect that Reed used forms of African and African American story telling that I am just not familiar with. I did tend to identify with the sort of overarching sense of frustration that accompanies discussion of ethnicity throughout the narrative. It’s difficult to glean Reed’s position on many of the topic but I’m leaning to the conclusion that Reed doesn’t have a position on them. It’s possible that the novel is a farce only intended to expose the ridiculousness of the entire current discourse.
As I said. I don’t know. I have no particular insight.
I tentatively recommend the book in a general sense because recommending it to specific people would indicate I understood it more than I really did. But I do recommend it because it is making me think about these topics and I believe that’s a valuable thing.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
59. Living Dead In Dallas
By Charlaine Harris (272 pgs)
Rating: 4
Sookie and Bill (the vampire)are being loaned out to a conclave of vampires in Dallas who are in need of some gentle fact finding. Gentle in the no torture sense. Meanwhile a Maenid has turned up in the area and uses Sookie's flesh as a billboard.
The writing in Living Dead In Dallas is more polished than the first book in the series but it still has some large flaws. For example there is a plot element that only appears in the beginning and at the end of the book. This would not be a problem accept that I actually forgot all about it until it appeared to resolve a secondary plot line. I begin to sense some movement towards the supernatural orgies phenomenon and I'm not pleased about it. However, bearing all that in mind, this was still and enjoyable quick read.
Recommended to the vampire fans and anyone who liked the first book.
Rating: 4
Sookie and Bill (the vampire)are being loaned out to a conclave of vampires in Dallas who are in need of some gentle fact finding. Gentle in the no torture sense. Meanwhile a Maenid has turned up in the area and uses Sookie's flesh as a billboard.
The writing in Living Dead In Dallas is more polished than the first book in the series but it still has some large flaws. For example there is a plot element that only appears in the beginning and at the end of the book. This would not be a problem accept that I actually forgot all about it until it appeared to resolve a secondary plot line. I begin to sense some movement towards the supernatural orgies phenomenon and I'm not pleased about it. However, bearing all that in mind, this was still and enjoyable quick read.
Recommended to the vampire fans and anyone who liked the first book.
Friday, September 15, 2006
58. Japanese Women Don't get Old or Fat
By Naomi Moriyama and William Doyle (288 pgs)
Rating: 3
The newest (to me at least) in the *name a cultural group* don't get fat books. This one is a snarky explanation about why Japanese diet is superior to all others. Much like the Mediterranean and the French, it has some very good points. There are some nice recipes and I'm sure the japanophiles will appreciate the cultural superiority.
To me the most useful thing in Japanese Women Don't get Old or Fat are the Japanese breakfasts and special ingredient suggestions. Moriyama also makes an interesting point about the American giant sized dinner plates.
Recommended for people who like the Japanese culture and food. I suspect that this is a 'gateway book' into cooking Japanese food.
Rating: 3
The newest (to me at least) in the *name a cultural group* don't get fat books. This one is a snarky explanation about why Japanese diet is superior to all others. Much like the Mediterranean and the French, it has some very good points. There are some nice recipes and I'm sure the japanophiles will appreciate the cultural superiority.
To me the most useful thing in Japanese Women Don't get Old or Fat are the Japanese breakfasts and special ingredient suggestions. Moriyama also makes an interesting point about the American giant sized dinner plates.
Recommended for people who like the Japanese culture and food. I suspect that this is a 'gateway book' into cooking Japanese food.
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