Books 2nd Edition, Foreword by m0r1arty Options

[Starscream`s Gho...]

I don't think enough copies will be bound for that.

[sweetbutinsane]

Urgh. Just... Urgh.

That makes me angry for so many different reasons.

This post has been edited by sweetbutinsane: Sep 10 2008, 06:56 PM

[Crutch]

Read "Hey Nostradamus!" I didn't really like the first part, but from then on it was a pleasent read. I liked it, but not as much as "Microserfs."

[Julie]

Holy shit, The Watchmen is awesome!

[Starscream`s Gho...]

That was my first reaction when I read it.

[maian]

Finished The Yiddish Policemen's Union (not, as I keep calling, The Yiddish Policeman's Ball) by Michael Chabon and I'm in two minds about it. I really like any kind of alternate history that is done well and this was a particularly interesting example since it created an alternate history that I had never considered (what if Israel had been destroyed two months after its creation in 1948 and Jews were forced to settle in Alaska) and there are plenty of insights into Jewish culture throughout. However, it might be just a bit too Jewish, as I felt there was a wall of understanding that I just couldn't get through, so it all felt rather frustrating.

Not terrible, but not Kavalier and Clay.

[curtinparloe]

Holy shit, The Watchmen is awesome!

You've taken your first step into a larger world

[Raven]

New Hitchhiker's author announced.

WHAT?!!!

[Sir_Robin_the_br...]

I thought all the characters were supposed to have died at the end of Mostly Harmless (apart from Zaphod)

[maian]

I thought all the characters were supposed to  have died at the end of Mostly Harmless (apart from Zaphod)

Yeah, but Adams was supposedly working on a sixth book when he died, so clearly he had an idea about where he could take the book and, assumingly, the characters after their ''deaths''.

This post has been edited by maian: Sep 17 2008, 08:41 AM

[maian]

Despite telling myself that I needed an early night, I found myself staying up until 2 in the morning reading Nation, Terry Pratchett's first non-Discworld book in over a decade and bloody marvellous it was.

The story revolves around two characters; Mau and Daphne. Mau is a member of a community on an island in the South Pelagic Ocean some time in the mid-19th century. A huge wave destroys his home as he is taking part in the rites of passage ritual of his culture and also washes Daphne aboard, who is the daughter of an English governor and who would be Queen if 139 people died. Cultural misunderstandings abound as the two get to know each other, but both are beset by questions of a metaphysical nature.

It's described as a book for 'young adults' but Nation is probably Pratchett's most mature book to date and deals with a lot of weighty themes. Chief amongst these is the crisis of faith Mau undergoes after the destruction of his home and family and as he comes to think that the gods his tribe worshipped must not exist if they would allow such a terrible thing to happen. Rather than just saying ''Woo, Atheism!'', which would seem to be the way you would expect the story to go, Pratchett tackles belief, or the lack thereof, in a more nuanced way, showing that belief is more complex than simply a case of God does exist/God doesn't exist and, for a book which does have such an atheistic plot, it's surprisingly spiritual.

Pratchett also tackles cultural differences and how they can be reconciled and the idea of empire building, through his usual focus on ordinary people and how they really are the important ones in the end, but doesn't let this overshadow the story, which maintains the perfect balance between light and dark that you would find in the best children's literature and his inimitable grasp of language is on full display.

A wonderful book.

[ipse dixit]

Finished The Yiddish Policemen's Union
...
However, it might be just a bit too Jewish, as I felt there was a wall of understanding that I just couldn't get through, so it all felt rather frustrating.

I finished this last night, and I didn't find the overt Jewishness of it to be a barrier. I suppose there might be bits in there that I didn't understand as well as someone who knows/follows the religion would do, but there wasn't anything that I felt was really lost on me. I found it to be mostly just a very engaging murder mystery, albeit with an unusual and interesting backdrop.

[maian]

Towards the end I certainly found it a lot less frustrating as I got to grips with the language more, but I think that the early part of the book, which I struggled through, has coloured my experience of reading the book more than the last part, which I really enjoyed. I do think it's good, I just was expecting something better. I also think the comparisons that some have made between Chabon's style and story to that of Raymond Chandler set my expectations higher than they might otherwise have been.

[Chapman Baxter]

Oooo, what's this?



Out next Friday!

[NiteFall]

I know, I know! Can't wait, frankly.