A smattering of opinions on technology, books, business, and culture. Now in its 4th technology iteration.
10 March 2008
* “Darkmans”:amazon by Nicola Barker. This tale is strangely engrossing. Very long. The author challenges you with structure and plot all over the place. One of the reviewers compares it to a david lynch film and that feels about right. None of the characters are fully sane – or are they completely sane and at the mercy of some supernatural being? Or all at the mercy of some incredibly gifted con artist? Or is there something else going on just out of their grasp? Or just out of your grasp?
* “Christine Falls”:amazon by John Banville. Set in Ireland and in Boston, a twisted tale of adoption for sale. Family intrigue, betrayals, murders, deeply flawed and human characters. Great fun.
* “Blasphemy”:amazon by Douglas Preston. Love/hate the book. Fairly typical airport adventure, but with some additional plot depth, which is unfortunately telegraphed, but wrestles with some deep issues about religion, but in a kind of sophomoric way. At times I thought this book would really break out of the genre but then it would collapse back.
* “Sunstorm”:amazon, “Firstborn”:amazon, “Time’s Eye”:amazon by Arthur C Clarke and Stephen Baxter. Some alien agency mashes up earth’s time/space physics for unknown reasons. The first is zippy, the second drags a little, the third picks it back up tho is a little choppy. Overall an OK series tho I might recommend Farmer’s Riverboat series as a more memorable attempt.