By Piers Anthony (320 pgs)
Rating: 2
Smash the Ogre and Tandy the half nymph half human trek across Xanth at the instigation of the Humphrey the Good Magician as the answer to two half-formed questions.
It's a coming of age story. It's a romance. It's all about the groovy soul swapping, man. It's all about the puns. gag Ogre, Ogre is a total let down if I hadn't finished it (as I was tempted not to) I wouldn't have discovered it has a marginally redeeming, if overly moralistic, ending. It's slow, plastic, overly punny boredom. Come on Piers, I'm disappointed in you. I know you can do better.
recommendation? SKIP IT.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
54. Salem's Lot
by Stephen King (656 pgs)
Rating: 4
A writer returns to a brief home of his youth in rural Maine to confront a fear that wakes him up in the night even as an adult. Yet he finds that there's more to fear than old houses and ghosts as an ancient evil moves into 'Salem's Lot and slowly takes over the town.
'Salem's Lot is a vampire story in the classic sense. No vague sensuality. No barely veiled trashy romance novel thriller. Salem's Lot is a spooky chilling story reminiscent of Dracula, the Countess Bathory, and good 'ole Vlad Teppes. It is, however, a six hundred and fifty six page spooky chilling story. A daunting size by any measure. Is that length truly needed, yes to a certain extent. While the novel has only three or four main characters, it is truly horrible because of 'the town' as a unit. The space is used to flesh out the town's character and characters as much as follow the plot.
It is slow going most of the way through but it is also a contemplative book about concepts of Evil and evil. I recommend this to people who enjoyed reading Dracula and to Anne Rice fans to get them back to the origins of the genre.
Rating: 4
A writer returns to a brief home of his youth in rural Maine to confront a fear that wakes him up in the night even as an adult. Yet he finds that there's more to fear than old houses and ghosts as an ancient evil moves into 'Salem's Lot and slowly takes over the town.
'Salem's Lot is a vampire story in the classic sense. No vague sensuality. No barely veiled trashy romance novel thriller. Salem's Lot is a spooky chilling story reminiscent of Dracula, the Countess Bathory, and good 'ole Vlad Teppes. It is, however, a six hundred and fifty six page spooky chilling story. A daunting size by any measure. Is that length truly needed, yes to a certain extent. While the novel has only three or four main characters, it is truly horrible because of 'the town' as a unit. The space is used to flesh out the town's character and characters as much as follow the plot.
It is slow going most of the way through but it is also a contemplative book about concepts of Evil and evil. I recommend this to people who enjoyed reading Dracula and to Anne Rice fans to get them back to the origins of the genre.
Monday, July 17, 2006
53. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary - NF
by Simon Winchester (242 pgs)
Rating: 4
Dr. Minor and Dr. Murray are about as different as possible but they shared a common pursuit: the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. The OED is particularly interesting because it not only is a dictionary in the normal sense but it also provides quotations for each meaning and shade of meaning every word has. After a ragged beginning, Dr. Murray is put in charge of the enormous project of creating the OED. To do this he, as did his predecessors, appealed to the learned populace to volunteer much of the labor of collecting quotations. Oddly it was several years before Dr. Murray realizes that one of his most valuable volunteers is actually institutionalized as criminally insane.
The Professor and the Madman is a compellingly written work of non-fiction. It was quite difficult to put down and, aside from a section on the history of lexicography, it was a well paced narrative. Winchester draws as sources: military records, hospital notes, correspondence, and records from the present offices of the OED. He weaves these disparate sources into a nearly seamless story that is fascinating and melancholy. He also points out the subtle irony that had Dr. Minor been treated for his schizophrenia, it is possible that the OED would not exist in it's current form.
Recommended to people with very large vocabularies and students of the English language.
Rating: 4
Dr. Minor and Dr. Murray are about as different as possible but they shared a common pursuit: the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. The OED is particularly interesting because it not only is a dictionary in the normal sense but it also provides quotations for each meaning and shade of meaning every word has. After a ragged beginning, Dr. Murray is put in charge of the enormous project of creating the OED. To do this he, as did his predecessors, appealed to the learned populace to volunteer much of the labor of collecting quotations. Oddly it was several years before Dr. Murray realizes that one of his most valuable volunteers is actually institutionalized as criminally insane.
The Professor and the Madman is a compellingly written work of non-fiction. It was quite difficult to put down and, aside from a section on the history of lexicography, it was a well paced narrative. Winchester draws as sources: military records, hospital notes, correspondence, and records from the present offices of the OED. He weaves these disparate sources into a nearly seamless story that is fascinating and melancholy. He also points out the subtle irony that had Dr. Minor been treated for his schizophrenia, it is possible that the OED would not exist in it's current form.
Recommended to people with very large vocabularies and students of the English language.
Monday, July 10, 2006
52. Childhood's End
by Arthur C. Clarke (224 pgs)
Rating: 4
Mankind stands on the brink of launching themselves into space and then the Overlords show up. Who are the Overlords? Interstellar busybodies intent on forcing mankind to mature into a peaceful species. Of course there's more to it...but no one's entirely sure what and therein lies the intriguing mystery.
Childhood's End is certainly science fiction but I wouldn't argue with anyone who wanted to put in horror. There's no boogie monsters or scary blood filled scenes, just a very chilling concept. The writing is adequate although not stellar. This a completely plot driven book. Don't expect to fall in love with any of the characters. That being said...it's a really good book that's difficult to talk about without giving something important away.
Read it, all ye sci fi fans.
Rating: 4
Mankind stands on the brink of launching themselves into space and then the Overlords show up. Who are the Overlords? Interstellar busybodies intent on forcing mankind to mature into a peaceful species. Of course there's more to it...but no one's entirely sure what and therein lies the intriguing mystery.
Childhood's End is certainly science fiction but I wouldn't argue with anyone who wanted to put in horror. There's no boogie monsters or scary blood filled scenes, just a very chilling concept. The writing is adequate although not stellar. This a completely plot driven book. Don't expect to fall in love with any of the characters. That being said...it's a really good book that's difficult to talk about without giving something important away.
Read it, all ye sci fi fans.
Friday, July 07, 2006
51. A Long Way Down
by Nick Hornby
Rating: 3
Four complete strangers individually decide to toss themselves from the top of 'Topper's House' on December 31st. Interestingly, after meeting each other, they all decide not to commit suicide and start setting about 'what comes next.' What comes next is a mess.
Despite its somewhat morose premise, A Long Way Down is not a depressing book. It's meandering style and engaging (but bizarre) characters meld into an interesting disorganized narrative about the ups and downs of life. I think in some places the narrative is a little jarring, particularly when switching between the American narrative voice and the British ones. Still it was an interesting exploration of the subject. Surprisingly uplifting, Hornby reminds us that quality of life is a matter of perception. While I doubt I'll ever want to read this book again, I'm glad I put the time into it. It's not a bad thing to laugh at our dark sides now and again.
Recommended for people going through a rough time and people who've read too many gothic romances.
Rating: 3
Four complete strangers individually decide to toss themselves from the top of 'Topper's House' on December 31st. Interestingly, after meeting each other, they all decide not to commit suicide and start setting about 'what comes next.' What comes next is a mess.
Despite its somewhat morose premise, A Long Way Down is not a depressing book. It's meandering style and engaging (but bizarre) characters meld into an interesting disorganized narrative about the ups and downs of life. I think in some places the narrative is a little jarring, particularly when switching between the American narrative voice and the British ones. Still it was an interesting exploration of the subject. Surprisingly uplifting, Hornby reminds us that quality of life is a matter of perception. While I doubt I'll ever want to read this book again, I'm glad I put the time into it. It's not a bad thing to laugh at our dark sides now and again.
Recommended for people going through a rough time and people who've read too many gothic romances.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
List 7: Dewey Deconstructed
Source: More Book Lust (p 62-78)
This is a list that follows, in a general way, the Dewey classification system. The system is broken into its 10 'centuries' and Pearl then gives suggestions in each broad grouping. Most of the recommendations are non-fiction and this does actually constitute another 'mega-list.'
I thought long and hard before choosing another mega list, particularly when I'm still working on the massive Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror list. In the process I thought very seriously about why I'm doing this book journal at all. Of course, I hope that people read it and enjoy it, but I think for me it is more about a process of self education. I have always read a massive amount and enjoyed reading but I have not always read widely; sticking mainly to fantasy, some science fiction, and general fluff as a teenager.
I think, in fact, that it is a comment on the educational system that I managed to stay in honors level English all the way through High School and was not exposed to creative non fiction or much in the way of modern literary fiction. Now this is not really a criticism of my teachers themselves, most of them were very good, but it is comment on the homoganization that seems to be encouraged in public education. I can't remember any teacher being interested in what I was reading outside of class. I really don't know what this is a function of or whether my retrospective expectations are too high but I do wish that I'd had a little more guidance in my reading material.
So I feel that this blog and particularly this year's challenge is really a process of self education. And to that end, I've pick the most varied non-fiction list I could find.
So here we go:
* indicates books mentioned but not really part of the list.
000's:
A dangerous section for me. Books about books! and reference material to boot. I am not, however, reading the entire Encylopedia Britannica...even I am not that insane.
1. So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading by Sara Nelson
2. A Feeling for Books: The Book-of-the-Month Club, Literary Taste, and Middle-Class Desire by Janice A. Radway
3. A Child's Delight by Noel Perrin
4. Encyclopedia Britannica (yeah right!)
5. Another Part of the Wood: A Self Portrait by Sir Kenneth Clark*
100's:
Philosophy and psychology.
6. The Cult of Personality: How Personality Tests Are Leading Us to Miseducate Our Children, Mismanage Our Companies, and Misunderstand Ourselves by Annie Murphy Paul
7. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns
8. On Death and Dying by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
9. The Art of Dying: How to Leave This World with Dignity and Grace, at Peace with Yourself and Your Loved Ones by Patricia Weenolsen
10. The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant
11. Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction by Edward Craig
12. The Making of a Philosopher: My Journey Through Twentieth-Century Philosophy by Colin McGinn
13. The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
14. The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-than-Human World by David Abrams
200's:
Religion.
15. World Religions by John Bowker
16. The Religions of Man (aka The Worlds Religions) by Huston Smith
17. The Illustrated World's Religions: A Guide to Our Wisdom Traditions by Huston Smith?
18. God: A Biography by Jack Miles
19. Mary: A Flesh-and-Blood Biography of the Virgin Mother by Lesley Hazleton
20. The Battle For God by Karen Armstrong
300's:
Social Sciences.
21. Why Thing's Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences by Edward Tenner
22. Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks
23. A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin
24. Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence by Gerard Jones
25. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim
26. Orchid Fever: A Horticultural Tale of Love, Lust, and Lunacy by Eric Hansen
27. The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean*
28. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
29. Old Friends by Tracy Kidder
30. The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy by Nicholas Lemann
31. Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument With Historical Illustrations by Micheal Walzer
400's:
Language.
32. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester
33. The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester
34. Caught in a Web of Words: James Murray and the Oxford English Dictionary by Elisabeth Murray
35. Eats Shoots & Leaves: A Zero Tolerance Guide to Punctuation by Lynne Truss
36. True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey*
37. In Other Words: A Language Lover's Guide to the Most Intriguing Words Around the World by Christopher J. Moore
38. The Superior Person's Book of Words by Peter Bowler
39. Samuel Johnson's Dictionary: Selections from the 1755 Work That Defined the English Language edited by Jack Lynch
40. Descriptionary: A Thematic Dictionary by Marc McCutcheon
500's:
Natural Sciences and Mathematics:
41. An Obsession with Butterflies: Our Long Love Affair with a Singular Insect by Sharman Apt Russell
42. Chasing Monarchs: Migrating with the Butterflies of Passage by Robert Michael Pyle
43. Meetings With Remarkable Trees by Thomas Pakenham
44. Remarkable Trees of the World by Thomas Pakenham
45. Monsters of God: The Man-Eating Predator in the Jungles of History and the Mind by David Quammen
46. The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction by David Quammen
47. Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel
48. The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson
49. Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History by Stephen Jay Gould
50. The Periodic Kingdom: A Journey into the Land of the Chemical Elements by Peter Atkins
51. E=mc^2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation by David Bodanis
52. The Joy of Pi by David Blatner
600's:
Technology and Applied Sciences.
53. Tools of the Trade: The Art and Craft of Carpentry by Jeff Taylor
54. The Secret Family: Twenty-four Hours Inside the Mysterious World of Our Minds and Bodies by David Bodanis
55. Woman: An Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier
56. Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer
57. Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads
58. The Book Lover's Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Celebrated Works of Literature and the Passages that Feature Them by Shaunda Kennedy Wenger and Janet Kay Jensen
59. One Writer's Beginnings by Eudora Welty*
60. Where the Heart Is by Billie Lett*
61. Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende*
62. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald*
63. A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband with Bettina's Best Recipes by Louise Bennett Weaver
64. Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century by Laura Shapiro
65. Something from the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America by Laura Shapiro
700's:
Arts, Games, and Sports.
66. An American Collection: Works from the Amon Carter Museum
67. Vermeer in Bosnia: Cultural Comedies and Political Tragedies by Lawrence Welschler
68. Jackie Robinson: A Biography by Arnold Rampersad
69. King of the World by David Remnick
70. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
71. Off Balance: The Real World of Ballet by Suzanne Gordon
800's:
Literary Theory and Literature.
72. No Other Book: Selected Essays by Randell Jarrell
73. Remembering Randall: A Memoir of a Poet, Critic, and Teacher Randell Jerrell by Mary Jarrell*
74. How to Read a Poem: And Fall in Love With Poetry by Edward Hirsch
75. Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt
76. I Could Tell You Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory by Patricia Hampl
77. Inside Out: A Memoir of the Blacklist by Walter Bernstein
78. Why Read? by Mark Edmundson
900's:
History and Geography.
79. Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy by Diana Preston
80. Pagan Holiday: On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists by Tony Perrottet
81. Night Train to Turkistan: Modern Adventures along China's Ancient Silk Road by Stuart Stevens
82. Iron & Silk by Mark Salzman*
83. News from Tartary by Peter Flemming
84. Forbidden Journey: From Peking to Kashmir by Ella K. Maillart
85. A Thousand Sighs, A Thousand Revolts: Journeys in Kurdistan by Christiane Bird
86. All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer
87. The Fall of Baghdad by Jon Lee Anderson
88. Iliad by Homer*
89. The Lost and Found: The 9,000 Treasures of Troy: Heinrich Schliemann and the Gold that Got Away by Caroline Moorehead
90. From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present by Jacques Barzun
91. The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede
92. My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who's Been Everywhere by Susan Orlean
This is a list that follows, in a general way, the Dewey classification system. The system is broken into its 10 'centuries' and Pearl then gives suggestions in each broad grouping. Most of the recommendations are non-fiction and this does actually constitute another 'mega-list.'
I thought long and hard before choosing another mega list, particularly when I'm still working on the massive Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror list. In the process I thought very seriously about why I'm doing this book journal at all. Of course, I hope that people read it and enjoy it, but I think for me it is more about a process of self education. I have always read a massive amount and enjoyed reading but I have not always read widely; sticking mainly to fantasy, some science fiction, and general fluff as a teenager.
I think, in fact, that it is a comment on the educational system that I managed to stay in honors level English all the way through High School and was not exposed to creative non fiction or much in the way of modern literary fiction. Now this is not really a criticism of my teachers themselves, most of them were very good, but it is comment on the homoganization that seems to be encouraged in public education. I can't remember any teacher being interested in what I was reading outside of class. I really don't know what this is a function of or whether my retrospective expectations are too high but I do wish that I'd had a little more guidance in my reading material.
So I feel that this blog and particularly this year's challenge is really a process of self education. And to that end, I've pick the most varied non-fiction list I could find.
So here we go:
* indicates books mentioned but not really part of the list.
000's:
A dangerous section for me. Books about books! and reference material to boot. I am not, however, reading the entire Encylopedia Britannica...even I am not that insane.
1. So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading by Sara Nelson
2. A Feeling for Books: The Book-of-the-Month Club, Literary Taste, and Middle-Class Desire by Janice A. Radway
3. A Child's Delight by Noel Perrin
4. Encyclopedia Britannica (yeah right!)
5. Another Part of the Wood: A Self Portrait by Sir Kenneth Clark*
100's:
Philosophy and psychology.
6. The Cult of Personality: How Personality Tests Are Leading Us to Miseducate Our Children, Mismanage Our Companies, and Misunderstand Ourselves by Annie Murphy Paul
7. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns
8. On Death and Dying by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
9. The Art of Dying: How to Leave This World with Dignity and Grace, at Peace with Yourself and Your Loved Ones by Patricia Weenolsen
10. The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant
11. Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction by Edward Craig
12. The Making of a Philosopher: My Journey Through Twentieth-Century Philosophy by Colin McGinn
13. The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
14. The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-than-Human World by David Abrams
200's:
Religion.
15. World Religions by John Bowker
16. The Religions of Man (aka The Worlds Religions) by Huston Smith
17. The Illustrated World's Religions: A Guide to Our Wisdom Traditions by Huston Smith?
18. God: A Biography by Jack Miles
19. Mary: A Flesh-and-Blood Biography of the Virgin Mother by Lesley Hazleton
20. The Battle For God by Karen Armstrong
300's:
Social Sciences.
21. Why Thing's Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences by Edward Tenner
22. Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks
23. A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin
24. Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence by Gerard Jones
25. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim
26. Orchid Fever: A Horticultural Tale of Love, Lust, and Lunacy by Eric Hansen
27. The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean*
28. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
29. Old Friends by Tracy Kidder
30. The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy by Nicholas Lemann
31. Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument With Historical Illustrations by Micheal Walzer
400's:
Language.
32. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester
33. The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester
34. Caught in a Web of Words: James Murray and the Oxford English Dictionary by Elisabeth Murray
35. Eats Shoots & Leaves: A Zero Tolerance Guide to Punctuation by Lynne Truss
36. True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey*
37. In Other Words: A Language Lover's Guide to the Most Intriguing Words Around the World by Christopher J. Moore
38. The Superior Person's Book of Words by Peter Bowler
39. Samuel Johnson's Dictionary: Selections from the 1755 Work That Defined the English Language edited by Jack Lynch
40. Descriptionary: A Thematic Dictionary by Marc McCutcheon
500's:
Natural Sciences and Mathematics:
41. An Obsession with Butterflies: Our Long Love Affair with a Singular Insect by Sharman Apt Russell
42. Chasing Monarchs: Migrating with the Butterflies of Passage by Robert Michael Pyle
43. Meetings With Remarkable Trees by Thomas Pakenham
44. Remarkable Trees of the World by Thomas Pakenham
45. Monsters of God: The Man-Eating Predator in the Jungles of History and the Mind by David Quammen
46. The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction by David Quammen
47. Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel
48. The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson
49. Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History by Stephen Jay Gould
50. The Periodic Kingdom: A Journey into the Land of the Chemical Elements by Peter Atkins
51. E=mc^2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation by David Bodanis
52. The Joy of Pi by David Blatner
600's:
Technology and Applied Sciences.
53. Tools of the Trade: The Art and Craft of Carpentry by Jeff Taylor
54. The Secret Family: Twenty-four Hours Inside the Mysterious World of Our Minds and Bodies by David Bodanis
55. Woman: An Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier
56. Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer
57. Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads
58. The Book Lover's Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Celebrated Works of Literature and the Passages that Feature Them by Shaunda Kennedy Wenger and Janet Kay Jensen
59. One Writer's Beginnings by Eudora Welty*
60. Where the Heart Is by Billie Lett*
61. Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende*
62. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald*
63. A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband with Bettina's Best Recipes by Louise Bennett Weaver
64. Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century by Laura Shapiro
65. Something from the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America by Laura Shapiro
700's:
Arts, Games, and Sports.
66. An American Collection: Works from the Amon Carter Museum
67. Vermeer in Bosnia: Cultural Comedies and Political Tragedies by Lawrence Welschler
68. Jackie Robinson: A Biography by Arnold Rampersad
69. King of the World by David Remnick
70. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
71. Off Balance: The Real World of Ballet by Suzanne Gordon
800's:
Literary Theory and Literature.
72. No Other Book: Selected Essays by Randell Jarrell
73. Remembering Randall: A Memoir of a Poet, Critic, and Teacher Randell Jerrell by Mary Jarrell*
74. How to Read a Poem: And Fall in Love With Poetry by Edward Hirsch
75. Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt
76. I Could Tell You Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory by Patricia Hampl
77. Inside Out: A Memoir of the Blacklist by Walter Bernstein
78. Why Read? by Mark Edmundson
900's:
History and Geography.
79. Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy by Diana Preston
80. Pagan Holiday: On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists by Tony Perrottet
81. Night Train to Turkistan: Modern Adventures along China's Ancient Silk Road by Stuart Stevens
82. Iron & Silk by Mark Salzman*
83. News from Tartary by Peter Flemming
84. Forbidden Journey: From Peking to Kashmir by Ella K. Maillart
85. A Thousand Sighs, A Thousand Revolts: Journeys in Kurdistan by Christiane Bird
86. All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer
87. The Fall of Baghdad by Jon Lee Anderson
88. Iliad by Homer*
89. The Lost and Found: The 9,000 Treasures of Troy: Heinrich Schliemann and the Gold that Got Away by Caroline Moorehead
90. From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present by Jacques Barzun
91. The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede
92. My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who's Been Everywhere by Susan Orlean
50. Centaur Aisle
by Piers Anthony (304 pgs)
Rating: 2
Dor is left temporarily in charge of Xanth while King Trent is in Mundania on a trade mission. Everything goes as well as can be expected but when King Trent doesn't return on time, Dor finds himself on a mission to find the missing monarch.
There are only two reasons why anyone would want to read Centaur Aisle. 1. to be able say one has read the entire series. 2. because there is one interesting plot point relevant to the series as a whole.
Otherwise, the characters are wooden and annoyingly whiney for the most part. The prose doesn't flow as well as in some of the other books in the series and frankly...I was bored. While things certainly happened...it felt very disjointed and episodic. The first half was amusing but doesn't make it worth reading the book.
While I didn't hate it, my recommendation is still to just skip it.
Rating: 2
Dor is left temporarily in charge of Xanth while King Trent is in Mundania on a trade mission. Everything goes as well as can be expected but when King Trent doesn't return on time, Dor finds himself on a mission to find the missing monarch.
There are only two reasons why anyone would want to read Centaur Aisle. 1. to be able say one has read the entire series. 2. because there is one interesting plot point relevant to the series as a whole.
Otherwise, the characters are wooden and annoyingly whiney for the most part. The prose doesn't flow as well as in some of the other books in the series and frankly...I was bored. While things certainly happened...it felt very disjointed and episodic. The first half was amusing but doesn't make it worth reading the book.
While I didn't hate it, my recommendation is still to just skip it.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
List 6: David L's List of all things Hornby
David is a former co-worker, who when I first started this year's reading challenge said 'you should read Nick Hornby...all of Nick Hornby.' He also insisted that I'd be able to read one a day. :) So here we go!
Fiction
1. High Fidelity
2. A Long Way Down
3. About a Boy
4. How To Be Good
Non-Fiction
5. Fever Pitch
6. 31 Songs
7. The Polysyllabic Spree
Fiction
1. High Fidelity
2. A Long Way Down
3. About a Boy
4. How To Be Good
Non-Fiction
5. Fever Pitch
6. 31 Songs
7. The Polysyllabic Spree
49. Second Foundation
by Isaac Asimov (304 pgs)
Rating: 4
After the empire of the Mule, the people of the foundation begin to suspect that Seldon's plan has gone horribly awry and some believe that the Second Foundation (if it exists) will cruise in and save them no matter what. However, the Second Foundation are fabled to have super human mental abilities much as the Mule did and this cause a fair bit of paranoid speculation.
Picking up only a few years after the end of the previous book,Second Foundation is perhaps the best of the first three. Unlike the first two, the same plot line persists through the entire book. While the shorter plots were not bad, they were a bit jarring. Second Foundation, in contrast, had very smooth transitions and very interesting plot twists. The end was reminiscent of the movie Clue...in a good way. I really enjoyed the convoluted plot; it was complex without being difficult to follow. In some ways it was more like a psychological thriller than a science fiction novel.
While it's not a light read, I would recommend this to anyone who even had a passing interest in science fiction.
Rating: 4
After the empire of the Mule, the people of the foundation begin to suspect that Seldon's plan has gone horribly awry and some believe that the Second Foundation (if it exists) will cruise in and save them no matter what. However, the Second Foundation are fabled to have super human mental abilities much as the Mule did and this cause a fair bit of paranoid speculation.
Picking up only a few years after the end of the previous book,Second Foundation is perhaps the best of the first three. Unlike the first two, the same plot line persists through the entire book. While the shorter plots were not bad, they were a bit jarring. Second Foundation, in contrast, had very smooth transitions and very interesting plot twists. The end was reminiscent of the movie Clue...in a good way. I really enjoyed the convoluted plot; it was complex without being difficult to follow. In some ways it was more like a psychological thriller than a science fiction novel.
While it's not a light read, I would recommend this to anyone who even had a passing interest in science fiction.
48. Ender's Game
by Orson Scott Card (384 pages)
Rating: 4
Ender is an above average kid. To say he was bright would be like accusing light bulbs of being dim. So suffice it to say the kid gots the smarts and the temperament to be a genius...the only trick is manufacturing enough emotional angst to produce one. That's where the military comes in. Before we come down on the evil adults too hard let's admit that when you are fighting an intergalactic war against an alien species of intelligent insects, you gotta do what you gotta do.
Ender's Game is considered a classic of science fiction by many and justifiably so. It is a fairly accessible work that is well written, and, aside from a couple very small plot holes,is well conceived. The characters are a tad two dimensional although forgivably so and the end, while not predictable, holds no surprises for sci fi fans. One wonders about the sequels since the end fairly well wraps it all up, but I guess I will find out about those.
I recommend this to new comers to the genre and to those who wish to read the sci fi classics. I do not recommend this to nit pickers.
Rating: 4
Ender is an above average kid. To say he was bright would be like accusing light bulbs of being dim. So suffice it to say the kid gots the smarts and the temperament to be a genius...the only trick is manufacturing enough emotional angst to produce one. That's where the military comes in. Before we come down on the evil adults too hard let's admit that when you are fighting an intergalactic war against an alien species of intelligent insects, you gotta do what you gotta do.
Ender's Game is considered a classic of science fiction by many and justifiably so. It is a fairly accessible work that is well written, and, aside from a couple very small plot holes,is well conceived. The characters are a tad two dimensional although forgivably so and the end, while not predictable, holds no surprises for sci fi fans. One wonders about the sequels since the end fairly well wraps it all up, but I guess I will find out about those.
I recommend this to new comers to the genre and to those who wish to read the sci fi classics. I do not recommend this to nit pickers.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
47. Mediterranean Women Stay Slim, Too
by Melissa Kelly and Eve Adamson (336 pgs)
Rating: 3
Americans are the most diet crazed people out there. So why is it that we are also some of the heaviest out there. Partially it's reflective, we as a society obsess about food and about weight so we also obsess about weight loss. Part of it is a reflection of our work-aholic expectations...who has time to eat, let alone eat well. So the premise of this book, much like French Women Don't Get Fat, is that we wouldn't have such problems if we slowed down, listened to our bodies, and applied some common sense. Be a food snob, it says, better to put good food in the body than junk.
While not as good as French Women Don't Get Fat, Mediterranean Women Stay Slim, Too is a good read promoting common sense and rejecting extreme fad diets and unrealistic body expectations. The text isn't nearly as empowering to me but there is a lot of good information and many good looking recipes.
Recommended to all of us who struggle against dieting fads. rawr!!
Rating: 3
Americans are the most diet crazed people out there. So why is it that we are also some of the heaviest out there. Partially it's reflective, we as a society obsess about food and about weight so we also obsess about weight loss. Part of it is a reflection of our work-aholic expectations...who has time to eat, let alone eat well. So the premise of this book, much like French Women Don't Get Fat, is that we wouldn't have such problems if we slowed down, listened to our bodies, and applied some common sense. Be a food snob, it says, better to put good food in the body than junk.
While not as good as French Women Don't Get Fat, Mediterranean Women Stay Slim, Too is a good read promoting common sense and rejecting extreme fad diets and unrealistic body expectations. The text isn't nearly as empowering to me but there is a lot of good information and many good looking recipes.
Recommended to all of us who struggle against dieting fads. rawr!!
46. Spellsinger
by Alan Dean Foster (352 pgs)
Rating: 3.5
Jonathan-Thomas Meriweather, a.k.a. JonTom, is plucked from his stoned out college student existence and dumped in a world where the animals have evolved into much larger and much more talkative versions than we are accustomed to. Understandably, at first he is very disoriented but a conversation with a talking turtle (and also one of the most powerful magicians in the land) clears up a great many of his questions.
Despite its somewhat ridiculous premise, Spellsinger is actually an enjoyable, if not terribly intellectual, book. The high-points are it's characterization, handling of the setting, and use of details to create a sense of verisimilitude. Downsides... it suffers a little from deus ex machina (although I admit that's a debatable point) and it's pure unadulterated fluff. However, it was fun and it was an enjoyable way to pass a couple of hours on a plane.
Recommended for kids 8 and up (depending on reading level) and as a quick read to fantasy fans. Rule of thumb, if you like Piers Anthony or Douglas Adams you probably will have fun with this.
Rating: 3.5
Jonathan-Thomas Meriweather, a.k.a. JonTom, is plucked from his stoned out college student existence and dumped in a world where the animals have evolved into much larger and much more talkative versions than we are accustomed to. Understandably, at first he is very disoriented but a conversation with a talking turtle (and also one of the most powerful magicians in the land) clears up a great many of his questions.
Despite its somewhat ridiculous premise, Spellsinger is actually an enjoyable, if not terribly intellectual, book. The high-points are it's characterization, handling of the setting, and use of details to create a sense of verisimilitude. Downsides... it suffers a little from deus ex machina (although I admit that's a debatable point) and it's pure unadulterated fluff. However, it was fun and it was an enjoyable way to pass a couple of hours on a plane.
Recommended for kids 8 and up (depending on reading level) and as a quick read to fantasy fans. Rule of thumb, if you like Piers Anthony or Douglas Adams you probably will have fun with this.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
45. The Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster (272 pages)
Rating: 5
Milo, an apathetic youth in need of a good shaking up, comes home one day to find a large package in his room. Because he didn't have anything better to do he unpacks and sets up his very own tollbooth.
Ok so why does The Phantom Tollbooth get a five? 1. It's a well written piece of fiction with good characterization and a fun sense of humor and plot. 2. It is, obliquely, about the importance of education. And 3. It is, less obliquely about the relative importance of mathematics and the literary arts (in that they are equally important.) In a society of specialists where education is left more and more to the will of the child and the involvement of the parent I think this is a stellar work that explains the importance to the child gently and without the preachy overtones of so much of the available children's lit.
It is essentially a well rounded work that is a parable demonstrating many of the values (over used concept that it is right now) that the uber conservative elements in this country really ought to be concerned with as opposed to legislating morality for ourselves and the rest of the world. If you taught children appropriately to their abilities and not to some misguided concept of fairness, then issues of morality are something they can very well take care of themselves. I shall now step down from my soap box.
*ahem*
So, read the book. Whether you are adult or child I'm sure you will find amusement in it.
Rating: 5
Milo, an apathetic youth in need of a good shaking up, comes home one day to find a large package in his room. Because he didn't have anything better to do he unpacks and sets up his very own tollbooth.
Ok so why does The Phantom Tollbooth get a five? 1. It's a well written piece of fiction with good characterization and a fun sense of humor and plot. 2. It is, obliquely, about the importance of education. And 3. It is, less obliquely about the relative importance of mathematics and the literary arts (in that they are equally important.) In a society of specialists where education is left more and more to the will of the child and the involvement of the parent I think this is a stellar work that explains the importance to the child gently and without the preachy overtones of so much of the available children's lit.
It is essentially a well rounded work that is a parable demonstrating many of the values (over used concept that it is right now) that the uber conservative elements in this country really ought to be concerned with as opposed to legislating morality for ourselves and the rest of the world. If you taught children appropriately to their abilities and not to some misguided concept of fairness, then issues of morality are something they can very well take care of themselves. I shall now step down from my soap box.
*ahem*
So, read the book. Whether you are adult or child I'm sure you will find amusement in it.
Monday, June 12, 2006
44. The Forever War
by Joe Haldeman (288 pgs)
Rating: 5
War in space involves logistics that we never think of or worry about here. For example, if there were war in space at all, it would mean that we had vehicles capable of much faster travel than we do now. When approaching light speed, there are issues of time dilation where in the people on the vehicle are still 20 some odd years old and the planet they left behind is suddenly hundreds of years ago.
Classic science fiction of the best sort. Written in the early 70's, The Forever War is as much about the political and social climate of the time in which it was written as it is about space ships and mysterious alien foes. The themes explore why we go to war and some of the conclusions that Haldeman came to were not flattering to our species. At odd moments Haldeman takes digs at the sexual revolution, issues of homosexuality, and communism. I think I would like to read a book that overviews the political and social scene of the late 60's and the 70's. I think if I could find such a book and read it side by side with The Forever War, I would find Haldeman's book to be an interesting critique on the times.
Recommended for everyone who is interested in why we humans make the same mistakes over and over, the liberal dissatisfied, the complacent conservative, and my own people: the cynics.
Rating: 5
War in space involves logistics that we never think of or worry about here. For example, if there were war in space at all, it would mean that we had vehicles capable of much faster travel than we do now. When approaching light speed, there are issues of time dilation where in the people on the vehicle are still 20 some odd years old and the planet they left behind is suddenly hundreds of years ago.
Classic science fiction of the best sort. Written in the early 70's, The Forever War is as much about the political and social climate of the time in which it was written as it is about space ships and mysterious alien foes. The themes explore why we go to war and some of the conclusions that Haldeman came to were not flattering to our species. At odd moments Haldeman takes digs at the sexual revolution, issues of homosexuality, and communism. I think I would like to read a book that overviews the political and social scene of the late 60's and the 70's. I think if I could find such a book and read it side by side with The Forever War, I would find Haldeman's book to be an interesting critique on the times.
Recommended for everyone who is interested in why we humans make the same mistakes over and over, the liberal dissatisfied, the complacent conservative, and my own people: the cynics.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
43. The High King
by Lloyd Alexander (304 pgs)
Rating: 5
Immediately after returning from his quest of the previous book, Taran is drawn into a new set of disastrous events. A quest for a missing sword quickly escalates into a last ditch showdown with the major power of evil in Prydain. Everything comes to a head at once and the once Assistant Pig Keeper must now also be War Leader.
The High King is a remarkable book. As the climax to the Prydain Chronicles series, it is, what I'm tempted to call, a masterpiece of youth fiction. By the end of the book I found myself forgetting that these were simply characters in a work of fiction. In fact, I don't want to say too much about it, lest I give something away.
Recommended to everyone. It may be possible to read this as a stand alone but I think it would have less impact.
Rating: 5
Immediately after returning from his quest of the previous book, Taran is drawn into a new set of disastrous events. A quest for a missing sword quickly escalates into a last ditch showdown with the major power of evil in Prydain. Everything comes to a head at once and the once Assistant Pig Keeper must now also be War Leader.
The High King is a remarkable book. As the climax to the Prydain Chronicles series, it is, what I'm tempted to call, a masterpiece of youth fiction. By the end of the book I found myself forgetting that these were simply characters in a work of fiction. In fact, I don't want to say too much about it, lest I give something away.
Recommended to everyone. It may be possible to read this as a stand alone but I think it would have less impact.
42. Syrup
by Maxx Barry (304 pgs)
Rating: 4
Scat is a young marketing graduate who comes up with one really great idea. One idea that will set him up for life. One idea that will make him famous in the marketing world. One fabulous fantastic idea that will change the entire soda industry. Unfortunately, Scat's really bad at managing. Soon he is in way over his head and scrambling around set-backs and disappointments to reach his marketing nirvana with an ever present optimism.
Syrup is, I feel, a good example of modern satirical writing. The voice is witty and engaging, self-deprecating without being whiney, and amusing without being obnoxious. Barry makes sobering and hilarious point about the culture that, I at least, grew up in. A society where television and marketers have told us what to wear, what our bodies should look like, and what tastes good. While appropriately cynical, Barry's book is not self-indulgent and a good read for just about anyone who's ever said, 'wait a minute, that's total crap,' when watching a commercial.
Rating: 4
Scat is a young marketing graduate who comes up with one really great idea. One idea that will set him up for life. One idea that will make him famous in the marketing world. One fabulous fantastic idea that will change the entire soda industry. Unfortunately, Scat's really bad at managing. Soon he is in way over his head and scrambling around set-backs and disappointments to reach his marketing nirvana with an ever present optimism.
Syrup is, I feel, a good example of modern satirical writing. The voice is witty and engaging, self-deprecating without being whiney, and amusing without being obnoxious. Barry makes sobering and hilarious point about the culture that, I at least, grew up in. A society where television and marketers have told us what to wear, what our bodies should look like, and what tastes good. While appropriately cynical, Barry's book is not self-indulgent and a good read for just about anyone who's ever said, 'wait a minute, that's total crap,' when watching a commercial.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
41. Taran Wanderer
by Lloyd Alexander (272 pgs)
Rating: 4
Taran's love for the princes Eilonwy drives him to a quest to find his parents, desperately hoping that he discovers he is of noble birth. He and Gurgi set out first to the three weird sisters in the swamp and then off to the Free Commots. Along the way he learns a number of trades and discovers a number of things about himself. Loose ends are tied up and new avenues of plot open up.
Taran Wanderer is a true coming of age book. It is pure transition of Taran the boy to Taran the man. For all that, it is not guilty of the faults that most transition books have. It's not boring or disjointed and, despite the feelings of some, it's not the kind of book that would only appeal to young men. It is blatantly transitional, though, and really feels more like a prelude to the next book than a complete novel of it's own. Alexander took advantage of it to answer hanging questions and tie things from previous books more tightly together. On the one hand, it's obvious what he's doing, but on the other, it makes the world pop into focus as a 'real' place.
Recommended, particularly to young men, because it's interesting and compulsory if you've read the first three.
Rating: 4
Taran's love for the princes Eilonwy drives him to a quest to find his parents, desperately hoping that he discovers he is of noble birth. He and Gurgi set out first to the three weird sisters in the swamp and then off to the Free Commots. Along the way he learns a number of trades and discovers a number of things about himself. Loose ends are tied up and new avenues of plot open up.
Taran Wanderer is a true coming of age book. It is pure transition of Taran the boy to Taran the man. For all that, it is not guilty of the faults that most transition books have. It's not boring or disjointed and, despite the feelings of some, it's not the kind of book that would only appeal to young men. It is blatantly transitional, though, and really feels more like a prelude to the next book than a complete novel of it's own. Alexander took advantage of it to answer hanging questions and tie things from previous books more tightly together. On the one hand, it's obvious what he's doing, but on the other, it makes the world pop into focus as a 'real' place.
Recommended, particularly to young men, because it's interesting and compulsory if you've read the first three.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
40. The Castle of Llyr
by Lloyd Alexander (206 pgs)
Rating: 4
Eilonwy and Taran are growing up. Unfortunately, for Eilonwy, that means it's time to start learning how to be what she is: a princess. To that end, their guardian, Dallben, packs her off to the Island of Mona to be educated and Taran and Gurgi accompany her to get her settled in. When they get there, however, things are not as they seem (are they ever?) and things very quickly spin out of control.
The Castle of Llyr is the shortest of the five novels but by no means the least of them. In its compact space Alexander crams in an incredible amount of character development. Although Eilonwy is absent for the majority of the book, she has a profound impact on the outcome. Alexander does cause his characters to exhibit growth as from adolescent to young adult. I feel that despite her absence for much of the book, Eilonwy finally comes into her own.
Recommend as it continues the series and on it's own if it were possible but I'm afraid it is necessary to read all of the previous books in the series.
Rating: 4
Eilonwy and Taran are growing up. Unfortunately, for Eilonwy, that means it's time to start learning how to be what she is: a princess. To that end, their guardian, Dallben, packs her off to the Island of Mona to be educated and Taran and Gurgi accompany her to get her settled in. When they get there, however, things are not as they seem (are they ever?) and things very quickly spin out of control.
The Castle of Llyr is the shortest of the five novels but by no means the least of them. In its compact space Alexander crams in an incredible amount of character development. Although Eilonwy is absent for the majority of the book, she has a profound impact on the outcome. Alexander does cause his characters to exhibit growth as from adolescent to young adult. I feel that despite her absence for much of the book, Eilonwy finally comes into her own.
Recommend as it continues the series and on it's own if it were possible but I'm afraid it is necessary to read all of the previous books in the series.
Friday, May 26, 2006
39. The Black Cauldron
by Lloyd Alexander (229 pgs)
Rating: 4
Taran and his compatriots are again called on for serious undertakings. This time it is to track down the fearsome Black Cauldron, source of Arawn's unkillable Cauldron Born. When the initial plan fails, Taran and his group undertake to find the Cauldron themselves. When all seems bleakest an enemy redeems themself.
The Black Cauldron is the second book in the Prydian Chronicles. Since I've already ranted about the Disney movie I'll forego a repeat. The writing in this volume is superior to the first. The characters fill out and become interesting in their own rights. Eilonwy becomes a strong female figure instead of a whiney back drop. The implacable bard shows some depth and even Gurgi gets some real pathos. Doli the dwarf is somewhat enigmatic. He is not distinct as an individual yet but he is improving. In fact, the only real criticism I have is in regards to the stock phrases a couple of the characters have. For example, Eilonwy is addicted to similies. I begin to find it somewhat tedious but it's a minor thing really. The plot and characters more than make up for it.
Recommended. Just recommended.
Rating: 4
Taran and his compatriots are again called on for serious undertakings. This time it is to track down the fearsome Black Cauldron, source of Arawn's unkillable Cauldron Born. When the initial plan fails, Taran and his group undertake to find the Cauldron themselves. When all seems bleakest an enemy redeems themself.
The Black Cauldron is the second book in the Prydian Chronicles. Since I've already ranted about the Disney movie I'll forego a repeat. The writing in this volume is superior to the first. The characters fill out and become interesting in their own rights. Eilonwy becomes a strong female figure instead of a whiney back drop. The implacable bard shows some depth and even Gurgi gets some real pathos. Doli the dwarf is somewhat enigmatic. He is not distinct as an individual yet but he is improving. In fact, the only real criticism I have is in regards to the stock phrases a couple of the characters have. For example, Eilonwy is addicted to similies. I begin to find it somewhat tedious but it's a minor thing really. The plot and characters more than make up for it.
Recommended. Just recommended.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
38. The Book of Three
by Lloyd Alexander (224 pgs)
Rating: 3
Taran, an orphan without name or clear origin lives on a farm and dreams of honor, glory, and feats of bravery. Unfortunately, as Assistant Pig Keeper, he's in charge of Hen Wen, the oracular albino pig. Oh well. One day Hen Wen, indeed all the animals on the farm, flee blindly into the woods and poor Taran plunges after Hen Wen, promptly getting himself lost. Adventure leads on from here and many unexpected revelations are in Taran's path..
The world of The Book of Three is unfortunately (as I've just learned) more well known from the Disney movie The Black Cauldron which meshes the first two books in the five book series together. Unfortunate I say because Disney really screwed it up making it watered down and bland, including the obligatory dead pet (which isn't in the book, by the way) and taking away a great deal of its inherent intelligence. This might seem harsh but if you read the books you'll understand my distaste.
Now that I'm done expressing my outrage: Alexander based his world loosely on welsh folklore and it creates a very interesting back drop. Taran is a believable young man although impulsive in a way I cannot myself relate too very well. The rest of the characters are very colorfully written although, at this stage, more caricatures than characters. One gets the sense that the over all arch of the series is a basic coming of age story. I'm looking forward to the next book.
Recommended to most adults as a fun quick read, kids for a good look at messing up and growing because of it, and anyone who's seen that abomnible movie to correct the damage.
Rating: 3
Taran, an orphan without name or clear origin lives on a farm and dreams of honor, glory, and feats of bravery. Unfortunately, as Assistant Pig Keeper, he's in charge of Hen Wen, the oracular albino pig. Oh well. One day Hen Wen, indeed all the animals on the farm, flee blindly into the woods and poor Taran plunges after Hen Wen, promptly getting himself lost. Adventure leads on from here and many unexpected revelations are in Taran's path..
The world of The Book of Three is unfortunately (as I've just learned) more well known from the Disney movie The Black Cauldron which meshes the first two books in the five book series together. Unfortunate I say because Disney really screwed it up making it watered down and bland, including the obligatory dead pet (which isn't in the book, by the way) and taking away a great deal of its inherent intelligence. This might seem harsh but if you read the books you'll understand my distaste.
Now that I'm done expressing my outrage: Alexander based his world loosely on welsh folklore and it creates a very interesting back drop. Taran is a believable young man although impulsive in a way I cannot myself relate too very well. The rest of the characters are very colorfully written although, at this stage, more caricatures than characters. One gets the sense that the over all arch of the series is a basic coming of age story. I'm looking forward to the next book.
Recommended to most adults as a fun quick read, kids for a good look at messing up and growing because of it, and anyone who's seen that abomnible movie to correct the damage.
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