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And some not-so-recent reading, just because. Book reviews with few spoilers, I hope! One question for my flist, below, on Pratchett and Discworld.
Lois McMaster Bujold
I read The Hallowed Hunt last month and enjoyed it. I have to agree with my brother that neither of the not-quite-sequels lives up to the first book, The Curse of Chalion, which I loved and was sorry to finish (and yet unable to stop reading). I find the world she has created quite believable, and the major characters too. I have a weakness for invented religions, for some reason, and I find her speculative theology fascinating. Her gods are the Father, the Mother, the Son, the Daughter, and the Bastard. These gods can only work through human beings, and the people have to consent. None of them feel terribly enthused about that. Her protagonists always find themselves in the midst of situations where a god needs to work, and they have to decide whether to cooperate or not, and often how to cooperate. Magic operates in this world, but it has its costs. The Curse of Chalion has the most compelling characters, but the others are no slouches.
Terry Pratchett, The Light Fantastic
Do I need to review this book? I think everyone else has already read it (so there might be spoilers here). I loved it. He's funny and bizarre--I may have said it before, but he's like Douglas Adams with an attention span. I love the assassin and adore the explanation of what she is and is not wearing, and why, and what the cover artist might do with these ideas. (I wish I could remember her name, but I'm afraid if I go to dig out the book, I'll never finish this post, which I postponed too long already.) I love Twoflower teaching bridge to Death and the Horsemen. I love Death's granddaughter. And then there's Rincewind.
Question: now that I've read The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic , what should I read next? I haven't read any of the Vimes books; in fact, about all I know of the remaining books is enough to say "Samuel Vimes" (City Guard?) and "Granny Weatherwax" (something to do with Death?? Maybe not).
Mary Doria Russell
When I say Dreamers of the Day disappointed me (sorry, brother dear, if you're reading this--not your fault!), I should acknowledge that the disappointment may come from having been knocked off my feet by her other novels.
Dreamers of the Day is a historical novel in which the protagonist, Agnes Shanklin, spends time with T.E. Lawrence and other notables and during a Journey to Discover Herself. The capitals are perhaps a little unfair, but that's how I felt reading it. She has largely lost her faith, she has lost her family, and she goes looking. She finds herself in Egypt, hanging out with white people; I didn't even realize it until the latest racism discussion on LJ, but I think that's part of the problem. Egypt is the exotic setting in which Agnes no longer must conform to others' expectations. It felt rather trite. I also reached the point where if she met one more famous person, I would have dissolved into giggles. That aspect threw me out of the book repeatedly. I can't say I recommend it.
Because I loved all her other books, I do want to recommend them:
A Thread of Grace is her other historical novel. It's set primarily in Italy, during World War II, mostly in a community where Catholics and Jews have been living side-by-side until the Italian government starts rounding up Jews to send to concentration camps. I should warn you: the book is harrowing. I cried. I cried in public, because I made the mistake of reading it on a trip. I cried a lot. Yet mostly it's a very hopeful novel, because we see a lot of different people pulling together and doing what's right, even when it's hard and dangerous. Differences of religion and family disputes aren't entirely set aside, but they're put in perspective because the characters realize what's at stake. Unlike Dreamers of the Day, A Thread of Grace integrates all the historical research into a believable, vivid narrative. I should really say narratives, plural: she weaves multiple stories together, and she does so well. I have forgotten the characters' names, but I remember who they are. This book is really hard to forget.
Her SF duology The Sparrow and Children of God is absolutely outstanding. I recommend it, with a warning that those who are uncomfortable with religion should know in advance it plays a major role. Russell works Catholicism and Judaism into the story of Earth's first encounter with another world--a world with two sentient races.
At the heart of both books is Fr. Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit linguist from Puerto Rico. (As people have been discussing non-white protagonists the last few days, I thought especially of Emilio; I'm not the best judge, but I found his depiction rich and memorable, and not cheap appropriation.) We meet him after most of the events have already occurred in the first book, while another Jesuit tries to put together what happened while he was on Rakkat. He had, of course, been sent on the first mission to meet intelligent life elsewhere--because of course the Jesuits have a plan for what to do when we meet intelligent extraterrestrials. I can't tell you much about the second book without giving away anything of the first, but I highly recommend both.
Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination; UK readers will know it as The Tiger (apparently US publishers didn't trust us with the Blake reference--oh, come on, he quotes the poem at the start!)
I'm not even sure what to say about this; it's another book most of you have probably already read. I found it a little mind-blowing, even though I figured some bits out before the protagonist did. Others surprised me.
Gully Foyle lives in a future in which people "jaunte": they just think about where they want to go, and there they are. They need to know the coordinates of departure and arrival points, but everyone but the brain-damaged and chemically suppressed can do it. Foyle has been an average guy, or even below average, all his life--until he has to fight to survive, and he survives despite potential rescuers turning their backs on him. He's not a hero; he's the kind of anti-hero for which they made the term. He's not a lovable rogue, he's not hiding a heart of gold. You have been warned. (I hadn't; I went into it blind.)
Bester really appeals to me; I also loved The Demolished Man, though I had problems with it that I won't detail here. He has an amazing imagination. For some reason I want to make The Demolished Man into a movie. I don't know why. I don't usually have this reaction.
I think that's all for now!
Lois McMaster Bujold
I read The Hallowed Hunt last month and enjoyed it. I have to agree with my brother that neither of the not-quite-sequels lives up to the first book, The Curse of Chalion, which I loved and was sorry to finish (and yet unable to stop reading). I find the world she has created quite believable, and the major characters too. I have a weakness for invented religions, for some reason, and I find her speculative theology fascinating. Her gods are the Father, the Mother, the Son, the Daughter, and the Bastard. These gods can only work through human beings, and the people have to consent. None of them feel terribly enthused about that. Her protagonists always find themselves in the midst of situations where a god needs to work, and they have to decide whether to cooperate or not, and often how to cooperate. Magic operates in this world, but it has its costs. The Curse of Chalion has the most compelling characters, but the others are no slouches.
Terry Pratchett, The Light Fantastic
Do I need to review this book? I think everyone else has already read it (so there might be spoilers here). I loved it. He's funny and bizarre--I may have said it before, but he's like Douglas Adams with an attention span. I love the assassin and adore the explanation of what she is and is not wearing, and why, and what the cover artist might do with these ideas. (I wish I could remember her name, but I'm afraid if I go to dig out the book, I'll never finish this post, which I postponed too long already.) I love Twoflower teaching bridge to Death and the Horsemen. I love Death's granddaughter. And then there's Rincewind.
Question: now that I've read The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic , what should I read next? I haven't read any of the Vimes books; in fact, about all I know of the remaining books is enough to say "Samuel Vimes" (City Guard?) and "Granny Weatherwax" (something to do with Death?? Maybe not).
Mary Doria Russell
When I say Dreamers of the Day disappointed me (sorry, brother dear, if you're reading this--not your fault!), I should acknowledge that the disappointment may come from having been knocked off my feet by her other novels.
Dreamers of the Day is a historical novel in which the protagonist, Agnes Shanklin, spends time with T.E. Lawrence and other notables and during a Journey to Discover Herself. The capitals are perhaps a little unfair, but that's how I felt reading it. She has largely lost her faith, she has lost her family, and she goes looking. She finds herself in Egypt, hanging out with white people; I didn't even realize it until the latest racism discussion on LJ, but I think that's part of the problem. Egypt is the exotic setting in which Agnes no longer must conform to others' expectations. It felt rather trite. I also reached the point where if she met one more famous person, I would have dissolved into giggles. That aspect threw me out of the book repeatedly. I can't say I recommend it.
Because I loved all her other books, I do want to recommend them:
A Thread of Grace is her other historical novel. It's set primarily in Italy, during World War II, mostly in a community where Catholics and Jews have been living side-by-side until the Italian government starts rounding up Jews to send to concentration camps. I should warn you: the book is harrowing. I cried. I cried in public, because I made the mistake of reading it on a trip. I cried a lot. Yet mostly it's a very hopeful novel, because we see a lot of different people pulling together and doing what's right, even when it's hard and dangerous. Differences of religion and family disputes aren't entirely set aside, but they're put in perspective because the characters realize what's at stake. Unlike Dreamers of the Day, A Thread of Grace integrates all the historical research into a believable, vivid narrative. I should really say narratives, plural: she weaves multiple stories together, and she does so well. I have forgotten the characters' names, but I remember who they are. This book is really hard to forget.
Her SF duology The Sparrow and Children of God is absolutely outstanding. I recommend it, with a warning that those who are uncomfortable with religion should know in advance it plays a major role. Russell works Catholicism and Judaism into the story of Earth's first encounter with another world--a world with two sentient races.
At the heart of both books is Fr. Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit linguist from Puerto Rico. (As people have been discussing non-white protagonists the last few days, I thought especially of Emilio; I'm not the best judge, but I found his depiction rich and memorable, and not cheap appropriation.) We meet him after most of the events have already occurred in the first book, while another Jesuit tries to put together what happened while he was on Rakkat. He had, of course, been sent on the first mission to meet intelligent life elsewhere--because of course the Jesuits have a plan for what to do when we meet intelligent extraterrestrials. I can't tell you much about the second book without giving away anything of the first, but I highly recommend both.
Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination; UK readers will know it as The Tiger (apparently US publishers didn't trust us with the Blake reference--oh, come on, he quotes the poem at the start!)
I'm not even sure what to say about this; it's another book most of you have probably already read. I found it a little mind-blowing, even though I figured some bits out before the protagonist did. Others surprised me.
Gully Foyle lives in a future in which people "jaunte": they just think about where they want to go, and there they are. They need to know the coordinates of departure and arrival points, but everyone but the brain-damaged and chemically suppressed can do it. Foyle has been an average guy, or even below average, all his life--until he has to fight to survive, and he survives despite potential rescuers turning their backs on him. He's not a hero; he's the kind of anti-hero for which they made the term. He's not a lovable rogue, he's not hiding a heart of gold. You have been warned. (I hadn't; I went into it blind.)
Bester really appeals to me; I also loved The Demolished Man, though I had problems with it that I won't detail here. He has an amazing imagination. For some reason I want to make The Demolished Man into a movie. I don't know why. I don't usually have this reaction.
I think that's all for now!
From:
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Lois McMaster Bujold is amazing at world-creation, I think.