Disappointing Vinge. But it was his first novel, so maybe that's why. Some exciting scenes, but none of the "wow" factor of "A Fire Upon the Deep" or "A Deepness in the Sky". And his attempts to avoid "as you know, Bob" setups are kind of clumsy (but I guess at least he tried). And neologistic abbreviations are so annoying ("art'ry" for "artillery" -- yeesh!). Stephenson does this too, with "phant'sy". Stop banging me on the head with etymology, you smug jerk!
So that's fifty books! And before December!
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Book 49: H.M.S. Surprise (O'Brian)
Another great Aubrey/Maturin. Very exciting battles and espionage. And Dil was an affecting character, despite her short stay in the story.
Book 48: Darwinia (Wilson)
Reasonably OK. Wilson's books seem to get better in the order he wrote them. Unfortunately, I'm reading them in reverse order! The one standout for me in this book was his establishing Lovecraftian monsters in a hard SF environment.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Book 47: Post Captain (O'Brian)
Second Aubrey/Maturin. Crammed with plot and excitement. Maturin's wool suit and bees were hilarious.
Book 46: Going Postal (Pratchett)
Very good. Usual Discworld wackiness, but with a motivating good-versus-evil plot and some character development more believable than Moist von Lipwick's name.
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