The Evil Eyebrow

Category: Books

  • Couldn’t Do It

    I am a recreational reader, generally. I do have a few quirks about reading that people think weird ((I read engineering texts for fun)) but usually, if I’m reading something, it’s for distraction.

    On Saturday, Jenn and I went to the Library to get some books. While I was walking past the paperback rack, I noticed 1984, the oft-touted work of George Orwell regarding Big Brother and government intrusion. I decided to read it, having never done so.

    1984

    Argh. I couldn’t get more than 20 or so pages in. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the work, or that I think it’s not a good story, it’s just that it’s so depressing. If I want to be depressed, I’ll go read something in the Oprah book club, or watch the news, or sing sad songs by myself in my closet.

    I’ll try this one again later, when I’m not needing distraction.

  • Books/Movies: Some Notes

    Wheel of Time
    For those of you hiding under rocks, you might not be aware that the Epic Fantasy Monstrosity (EFM) Wheel of Time will be coming to a close soon with the publication of the 14th and final novel. The reason for the EFM moniker is because of the 14! novels it took to resolve the story, the fact that the first was published in 1990, and acknowledged-by-all-readers general epicness of the scope of the story.

    Because the final book is coming, I convinced Jenn to pick up the series and read it from start to (almost) finish. I decided to re-read it as well, keeping ahead of her so that we could talk about what’s going on in the novels. She’s currently working on book 6 and I’m on 10.

    The last time I re-read the entire series was back when there were only 9 or so novels and it took me three months. This time around, I’m skipping storylines that I’m familiar with or just don’t care about. There are some storylines that get resolved in the later books that don’t have much to do with the end novels and I’m flipping through those pretty fast.

    However, I will say that once again, I’m noticing things that I hadn’t noticed before, with respect to little details. Robert Jordan, you’re the man ((Except that he’s dead. He died before finishing the series to a lot of people’s dismay. Brandon Sanderson was brought on board to finish it up and he’s doing a good job)).

    Song of Ice and Fire
    For those of you who are still hiding under rocks, and don’t watch HBO, you might not be aware that George R.R. Martin just released the next novel in the Song of Ice and Fire series, another EFM. Those of you watching HBO might recognize this as A Storm of Swords. This novel, A Dance with Dragons, is actually the second half of the fifth book (started with A Feast for Crows) and was split due to size. It took Martin 5 years to go from book 4 to book 5 and another 6 to go from book 5 to book 6. I’m not criticizing him, however I’m not exactly running out to buy this one because it’s been soo loonnnng since I read the novels. This story is all about politics and intrigue and who’s backstabbing whom with what and where and when I read A Feast for Crows, I spent a great deal of time asking myself, “Who is this person again?” Despite what I’m doing with The Wheel of Time, I don’t think I can face rereading all of the Song of Ice and Fire novels. It’s a chore.

    I’m sure I’ll pick it up eventually, but not right now.

    Harry Potter
    We saw Harry Potter 7 Part Deux on opening night. I was happy with the effects and the settings, but was generally unhappy with how they wrangled the story line. I thought it started off spectacularly with the scene between Harry and Griphook, negotiating the illegal entry into Gringotts. It continued well with the actual entry into Gringotts but quickly went downhill from there, at least from a story-telling perspective. There is no way that someone who hasn’t read the books could understand what was going on in this movie. No way. They didn’t even pretend like they were explaining some of the obscure plot elements. But, I’m sure they built this script around the fact that they knew 99% of their audience either had read the books or was sitting next to someone who had. However, I don’t think this movie will stand the test of time.

    Like my complaining about the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, I think there were scenes that could have been taken whole from the book, and spoken word for word on screen and they would have been leaps and bounds better than what the script writers produced. One that came to mind particularly was the scene where Professor McGonagall was dispatching the castle statues to defend the perimeter. The scene scanned much better in the book.

    I’ll stop complaining about Harry Potter, now. The movie was worth seeing, even in 3D. I’m happy that the HP movies are over because the actors are getting a bit long in the tooth to play teenagers. The most egregious of these is Neville.

  • 2010 Hugo Nominations

    The 2010 Hugo Nominations are out and I haven’t read a single one of them. Nada. Zilch.

    This is surprising to me. Not that I’m a grand peruser of all that is scif/fantasy, but usually I manage to read something that hits the list, if only by accident. Last year I got three of the novels under my belt without even trying. China Miéville’s The City & The City is in the house, but I haven’t read it yet. Jenn is currently talking on that chore.

    I was a tiny bit surprised that Steven King’s Under the Dome didn’t get a best novel nomination. Only a tiny bit, though, because while I suppose it could be considered scifi (or fantasy, depending), it may not have been very good. I only got through the first four chapters before it lost me.

    So I guess I have books and stories to go find or buy. Five months until the actual awards come out.

  • Hugo Awards 2010

    The 2010 Hugo nominations closed last night. The categorical selections for final voting will be announced on April 4. I’m excited! At least, a little bit.

    Last year, I had the privilege of randomly having read three of the five nominated novels. I made up the other two in quick order. This year, I haven’t read much that might get placed on the ballot. The only book I’ve read that I would consider for this year’s Hugo nomination was Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan, but we’ll see. I hear that China Miéville’s The City & The City is worthy, but the Library does not have a copy yet (I’ve also been making an effort to cut down on the number of purchased books. I love paperback swap!)

    Once the nominations come out, I’ll either hit up my friends around here who might have the novels, or do some more intensive library searching. After all, I believe I have friends and acquaintances who live in every county and city in the Atlanta Metro area. I can probably convince someone to borrow me a copy of the novel I’m looking for.

    On another note, my Hugo Novel Reading Project is coming along. I’ve read The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin (didn’t like it) and To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Phillip Jose Farmer (liked it, but not enough to read the sequels). I also added Gateway (liked it) by Frederick Pohl to the list. Then there was Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman. I’ve got no idea why that book won the Hugo. I mean, it was an ok novel, but best novel of 1998? The competition (none of which I’ve read) must be terrible. Then there was Hominids by Robert Sawyer which I just thought was weird (and preachy). I started to read the Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon but couldn’t get into it. I’m very strict nowadays about books that don’t engage me.

    I’ve had a good run of past-year’s Hugo novels this year. Hopefully I’ll be able to add this year’s Hugo Nominated books without too much trouble.

  • Scott Sigler's The Rookie

    The Rookie Limited Edition
    Do you like Football? Do you like Science Fiction? Do you like Corruption and Drug Dealers and the Mafia? Then you’ll like Scott Sigler’s self-published book, The Rookie.

    This book is available by podcast, but I’m a fan of having paper in front of me.

    This particular book was something new for me because it’s the first book I went out to buy with the specific intent of picking up a limited edition hard back for posterity’s sake. There’s plenty of valuable books on my shelves from an emotional perspective, but not too many that might be intrinsically valuable somewhere down the road.

    I think the value might come out of the rad-awesome number of my book.
    Author Signature and Numbered Stamp

    The story? Good. Especially if you like football, but you don’t need to enjoy football to like this book.

  • Hugo: Best Novel

    Tomorrow is the deadline to vote on the Hugo Awards for this year’s Worldcon. Does this mean anything to YOU? Only if you purchased a membership and are eligible to vote. If you did, hopefully you’re not a big fat procrastinator and have already taken care of this little matter. If not…

    You may recall that I’ve set myself a little project, namely to read the novels that have been awarded the Best Novel Hugo and declare whether or not I like them. My track record has only been so-so. This dovetailed nicely with “real life” because when the nominations for the 2009 Hugos were announced I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I’d already read three of the five nominated novels: Anathem, Little Brother and Zoe’s Tale. Graveyard Book was already on my list to go read, so I just had to pick up Saturn’s Children. Now I have, and I can give you my ineligible vote:

    The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. Hands down. No question. Best book I’ve read in quite a while, actually. It’s got a spectacular riff off of Hillary Clinton’s book It Takes a Village in the first chapter which cemented my love. This book is everything that Neil Gaiman is capable of.

    Anathem, by Neal Stephenson was exactly what we’ve come to expect from him: Huge, full of cool edgy science fiction and tedious amounts of philosophizing. I’ll keep reading him, but it can be a chore.

    Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow would be my second choice for best novel. It was a great story mixing suspense with action and drama.

    Zoe’s Tale, by John Scalzi was an excellent book but didn’t quite live up to the Scalzi reputation. It suffered from being a rehash of a previous story from a different character’s perspective.

    Saturn’s Children, by Charles Stross had (as usual for Stross) excellent scifi elements but (to me) implausible story and political elements.

    So, that’s my opinion. Of course, by the very fact that I bother to review these books, it should be assumed that they are worthy. For example, I hesitate to criticize Zoe’s Tale because I know for a fact, from reading his blog, that John Scalzi and others regard this as one of his best works. I respectfully disagree, but then I think my reading tastes don’t much march in line with what people consider “best works.” But then, I’m not really criticizing Zoe’s Tale per se, I’m only saying, “stacked up against the other four Hugo-nominated novels, it does not win.” I’m saying the same thing with four of them.

  • Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

    Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel CoverIn keeping with my goals from the Hugo reading project I finished Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke yesterday. My review of the book is: A delight and I’ll never read it again.

    I won’t re-read it because it’s a freaking thousand page tome! It’s huge, and would probably have been better read in the hardback. The paperback started to give me hand cramps and I found it necessary to break one of my most fundamental rules with respect to paperbacks: Never Bend The Spines. The middle section required it or I would have had to take breaks to keep my left hand from yelling at me.

    This book was a delight because of the detailed interweaving of current events, backstory, “historical” tidbits and character development that at times threatened to overwhelm the reader. The story begins in the first decade of the 19th Century, set in England, and chronicles the re-establishment of English Magic throughout the isles of Britain. The failures and victories of the two title characters make up approximately 60% of the volume with the rest being attributed to the various people in orbit around them and the footnotes (many many footnotes) concerning the history of English Magic. The tone of the novel is Edwardian and if you are a fan of Jane Austen or any of the “society novels” set in England, you’ll like this book.

    There are a bevy of characters but Ms. Clarke introduces them in a fashion that makes it easy to keep track of who is who. Not like some other authors I can name for whom you need a Dramatis Personae list to have a clue.

    Two thumbs up! Yay for the Hugo Project!

  • 2009 Hugo Awards (Nominations)

    The 2009 Hugo award nominations are up and available for viewing! Surprise of surprises, I’ve read three of the five best novel nominees.

    Best Novel
    (639 Ballots)

    * Anathem by Neal Stephenson (Morrow; Atlantic UK)
    * The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)
    * Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen; HarperVoyager UK)
    * Saturn’s Children by Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit UK)
    * Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi (Tor)

    Since last year I’ve read Zoe’s Tale, Little Brother (I gave a copy of this to my oldest nephews) and Anathem. I will probably get around to reading the other two before WorldCon in August. They’d been on my list already. Must remember to put them on reserve in the Library…

    As you may know, I have a love/hate relationship with the Hugos. At least with the Best Novel Hugo. My project to read the Hugo best novels that have escaped me is coming along, although I wish I could report more success. I started with To Say Nothing of the Dog but I had to give up on it about a third of the way through. Now I’m reading Hominids which is working out better for my reading style, but still not something I’d really recommend to others.

    Sigh.

    Next book on the list is Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Hopefully!

  • Anathem

    A few weeks ago I created an homage to Xkcd by evaluating my experience reading Neal Stephenson’s Anathem.

    Well, I’m done.

    Anathem Reading Experience

    Overall, I think Neal Stephenson will be remembered as one of the premier scifi authors of this generation. That doesn’t make his books any easier to read. This one in particular I found to be genuinely amazing in spots and fundamentally boring in others. The concepts he put together in surprising juxtapositions made the story move along and kept me reading but I won’t read the book again.

    If you’re new to Neal Stephenson, read Snow Crash and Diamond Age before you read this book. That will ramp you and let you know what to expect (Cryptonomicon is in it’s own special category, less scifi). If you find it hard to get through either of those, do not read Anathem.

  • Hugo-Winning Novels == Blah?

    To Be Read

    I have a theory.

    My theory is that I don’t like Hugo winning novels. If you’re not familiar with the Hugos, it’s like the Academy Awards for Science Fiction and Fantasy. There’s a whole bunch of categories, but the one that gets the most attention, and that I’m talking about now, is “Best Novel”.

    Back to my theory. I have picked up several books simply because they won the Hugo. This was because I was looking for something to read and I figured I might as well go with a book that was recommended through a vote. So far, my track record for actually liking these books is poor. Let’s review.

    1. A Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge. Tie in 1993: Couldn’t get more than a third of the way through it. Every time something seemed to be happening…it didn’t. Gave the book away.
    2. Speaker for the Dead, by Orson Scott Card. Won in 1987: The book prior to that in the series, Ender’s Game (won in 1986!) was fabulous. Speaker for the Dead was deadly dull. Interesting concept, but I read for fun, not for concepts.
    3. Neuromancer, by William Gibson. Won in 1985. Yes, I know it’s the book that started Cyberpunk. That doesn’t mean I didn’t find it difficult to fathom and somewhat boring.
    4. Downbelow Station, by C. J. Cherryh. Won in 1982. Oh…my…god was I depressed before I put the book down. And I only got about a third of the way in. No thanks.
    5. The Dispossesed, by Ursula K. Le Guin. Won in 1975. Booooring. I’m glad I read it, but I’ll never read it again. My sister Cindy will probably send me a mail bomb because of this comment.
    6. Rendezvous with Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke. Won in 1974. This was more like a space engineering treatise than a good book. I didn’t read the sequels because the first one didn’t capture me.
    7. Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein. Won in 1962. This was one of those novels that you must read if only to maintain your geek credentials and grok everyone else’s. However, I wasn’t sold on its glorious nature. Would not Buy Again.
    8. A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller, Jr. Won in 1961. I’ve tried, and failed, to read this book 3 times. I may give it one more chance before deep-sixing it.

    That is eight books of fifty-five that I didn’t like. What about ones that I did?

    1. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. Won in 2002. Fabulous.
    2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling. Won in 2001. This award I find amusing because I believe it was surfing the wave of popularity rather than any real deservedness. Of all the HP books, HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban would be my pick. I still liked Goblet, though.
    3. The Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson. Won in 1996. This is one of my favorite books, ever.
    4. Enders Game, by Orson Scott Card. Won in 1986. Also one of my favorite books, ever.
    5. Foundation’s Edge, by Issac Asimov. Won in 1983. This one gets a thumb up (but not two) from me. I’ll still qualify it as a book I liked, though.
    6. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman. Won in 1976. Excellent book.
    7. Ringworld, by Larry Niven. Won in 1971. There isn’t much written by Larry Niven that I wouldn’t have buried in my coffin with me.
    8. Dune, by Frank Herbert. Won in 1966. Great great story. I can see the point of view of people who don’t like it, but I think it’s great.
    9. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein. Won in 1960. Another of my favorite novels.

    That makes nine novels of fifty-five that I like, and eight that I don’t (I could take this further and also analyze the novels that were nominated, but that’s a bit much, for reasons that will be explained in a moment). You would think that a greater than 50% success rate would make me happy, no?

    No!

    I demand 100% client satisfaction! And in order to have a good data set before sending in my lawyers, I’ve decided that I need to read the rest of the Hugo-winning novels and see which ones I like. Through the good services of Paperbackswap.com I have acquired several of them, and we’re waiting for them to come to the top of the queue before I start digging in. To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis (1999), Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke (2005), and Hominids by Robert J. Sawyer (2003) are the first in line. I also have The Curse of Chalion, by Lois McMaster Bujold, which is the first book in a trilogy before Paladin of Souls (2004).

    So, I’m going to read the rest of the Hugo list and see what opinions I end up with. I’ll let the interwebs know how it’s coming along.