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The story involves all the main characters converging on Han's home system of Corellia to try to negotiate some kind of new trade agreement to essentially bring the system into the New Republic fold unofficially (it being Han's home, of course, we run into a relative). There are some pit stops along the way (Luke and Lando's trip seemed rather unnecessary, given the foreshadowing build-up it was given in the first part of the first book, though I can appreciate the results and liked the subplot), but they aren't too distracting. The main plot remains as unpredictable as a story written with Star Wars limitations can be, but there are a few rough spots.
Once again, Han and Leia's Jedi children are more or less to perform feats well above and beyond the call of duty, which is not awful for me but a little absurd. Surely the series could've been set 5-6 years later just as easily, so the older children showing such skills would be credible. Of course, the fact that they are Jedi explains everything, I suppose, so this is a minor quibble.
Han and Leia are both well-done here, though I have to admit that it is becoming increasingly difficult to accept the two of them continuing to be on the front lines in combat. Perhaps the SW authors need to agree to "Kirk" them like in the Star Trek movies...get them in some kind of trouble so that they are forced to accept positions of much less power and influence so they are free to stir up trouble like the good old days.
Anyway, all of this baggage comes with the SW genre, and with that in mind, you won't go wrong with this series.
Anthony really strikes a chord with some readers, make no mistake. This is one reason he dominates the shelves at a lot of bookstores. You should probably read at least one of his books at some point just to see what all the fuss is about. You may like him better than I did.
This novel follows the exploits of Cheradenine Zakalwe, but it does so in a very confusing way. The book is set up as two parallel stories, alternating from one to the other with each chapter. The confusing part is that the alternate story (in the even chapters) is told _backwards_, and this is not revealed to the reader directly, though it can certainly be inferred from the chapter "numbers" and the story. Given the overwhelming number of difficult names and places and events introduced at the beginning of the novel, some readers might find that Banks has bitten off a little more complexity than the reader can successfully chew. I found this to be an interesting approach, but I'm not sure it added anything to the book for me.
Anyway, both stories are certainly interesting, and I found myself treating Zakalwe's biographical interludes as short stories rather than as a continuous plot. They do have a tendency to stand alone. The "current" plot was interesting and at times humorous. Now that I'm familiar enough with Banks' Universe, I will certainly go back for more. I just wish series like this didn't have such a high "overhead" of jargon and such. It discourages new readers from branching out in the field and trying new authors, which may be one reason so many authors write bloated series these days.
The real world maps very strangely onto Frank's tortured mental landscape. He perceives perfectly normal behaviors and events as earth-shattering threats, insults or dangers, and he responds murderously. Frank learns that his older brother (whose favorite activity is burning dogs alive) is returning for a visit, which sets off a crisis with his very unusual and secretive father. All in all, this is a bizarre, disturbing and absolutely interesting piece of work, and it has received its share of critical acclaim. If the sorts of behaviors I've described are not too big of a barrier for you to enjoy a novel, this one is worth a look. It will stick around in your mind for a long time afterwards.
An archeologist with a bad reputation for not respecting the integrity of sites finds an early Neanderthal skeleton, preserved for centuries in an isolated mountain cave, which shows the same symptoms as the modern virus. He joins up with a geneticist and a few other specialists to try to track down the truth while the nation is on the verge of chaos. As usual with Bear's novels, his characters are very strong, and the plot involves interesting moral and ethical dilemmas. The biology in this one is virtually impossible for a layperson like me to follow, unfortunately, and I had to write off a lot of the same kind of speculative science that interested me (as a Physicist and Astronomer) in the Eon/Eternity series.
Fascinating stuff. Unfortunately, while these ideas would be enough to make a magnificent 80-page short story, they have been stretched out to the limit in this behemoth of a novel, diluted by countless pages of pure boredom. For every page where you get to see how the politics of controversial results work in the world of science or how Benford speculates that these messages might be sent, received and interpreted, you must read 5 pages about a dinner party that has no bearing on the plot or 8 pages about a physicist's relationship with his live-in girlfriend that just doesn't lead anywhere interesting (given the number of pages devoted to it).
I read this book quickly, more out of frustration than anything else. I kept waiting to get back to the meaty parts, which were great, but then I'd get frustrated again waiting for another development. The ending was also somewhat unsatisfying for me, but that's just a matter of taste. It was hardly implausible, if I dare to use that word when describing speculative fiction.
Truly, the strength of this book lies in the methodical process of discovery, as facts are slowly revealed about the artifact. The politics of academia and research ring true (no surprise, given Benford's academic background), and I really enjoyed the very slow "unraveling" of the strange artifact. Near the end, the plausibility factor got in the way just a bit (very similar to Brin's problems with "Earth", actually), but that's only a quibble. If you can find this little gem in a used bookstore, snag it for an enjoyable weekend read.
This can be found as a single book containing four novelettes outlining a future history of the Galaxy. This is a future written from the standpoint of 1958, so it does seem dated in places. In fact, much of the Astronomy in the books is just plain wrong, but I guess if I can read over the bogus Physics in the "Brackett/Dirac equations", others can read over Blish's problems with Astronomical distances and theories. The first story, about the development of the technology, is excellent. The other stories describe the future of mankind, which is pictured as a collection of self-contained cities abandoning an economically depressed Earth to become migrant workers on a Galactic scale, in the tradition of Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath". The first of these three is extremely good, and the others are definitely worthwhile reading. Books like this are one of the chief reasons I refuse to buy hardbacks...with so many great old books sitting around neglected on the shelves of used bookstores, it's not hard to pass the time waiting for a particular author to finish a series and have it all out in paperback, especially when older science fiction is so rich. Be sure to check out the titles in the books. There is partial to complete overlap in many older book collections that have had multiple reprints. For "Cities", you will find the "Volume 2" (sold as a separate book) contains only the last two stories that appear in "Cities in Flight" (this is true for the copies I have at least).
Unfortunately, he doesn't really do much with it that was compelling. It wasn't a *bad* story, but it didn't really grab me either. A few too many cliches (if you don't actually "witness" the death scene of a major character, odds are the character isn't dead) made me a little cynical and gave this a potboiler feel.
The story is told from the point of view of Maia, a female of lower status trying to make her way in the world. She gets caught (many times) in the wrong place at the wrong time and eventually winds up a major player in a fight between many important factions. Exactly *what* these factions are all hoping to accomplish remains a bit nebulous, and I think a little more background on personalities in the capital city would've helped here. In fact, even though I didn't like this book all that much, I think a prequel written from another point of view (say, the alien visitor or one of the major government figures) would've made this a stronger book. Unfortunately, what we'll probably get (if anything) is a *sequel*, which I think has less potential.
Perhaps the most space in the book is given to further revelations about the relationship between Obi-Won and Qui-Gon, which is portrayed as far more antagonistic in the book than in the movie. I can't decide if I like this or not, but I suppose it helps to give the Jedi a little more than "boy scout" depth. On the other hand, does Lucas really intend that Obi-Won thinks Qui-Gon is occasionally a buffoon, more or less? I find that hard to fathom, but such is life as an author shackled with the Star Wars rules in order to get a healthy payday. The only other interesting revelation in this book not explicitly mentioned in the movie is that the population of Jedi at the time of this story is in the neighborhood of 10,000 (!), far more than I expected. I'm sure this well be explored more at length during later movies dealing with the clone wars, though. I can't wait!
Since I wrote the first paragraph of this review upon starting up my reviews page, I've gotten my share of unhappy mail from Brooks fans, so allow me a little time to clarify my opinion on this series: First, I *DID* enjoy Sword and Elfstones to some extent, but I can't deny that I was distracted to a large extent by the similarities between Sword and elements of LotR. I normally review books based upon my enjoyment alone, without giving pause to consider more abstract properties like "literary merit", but when the other qualities of a book infringe upon my enjoyment of the book, the review suffers. That happened here.
With that said, I would recommend Sword and Elfstones to younger readers who haven't had much exposure to the genre, but I would definitely *not* recommend it to serious Tolkien fans (i.e. if you've read anything by Tolkien more than once) of any age. If you enjoy Sword/Elfstones, then you'll also like Wishsong, though not as much as the first two.
The only weakness I could possibly see would be for a new reader to Brust. If this is the first book someone were to read in this series, I can imagine the confusion would be nearly overwhelming, what with all of the references to previous tales and inside jokes with characters. If you're going to invest the time in this series, it is best to read it from the beginning. Dragon could fit in at any point after Yendi, I think, and would be best read shortly after Taltos.
At first, this intrigued me. I enjoyed reading about certain events from a variety of points of view, and the authors were good about writing realistic character "monologue" from a point of view of limited knowledge. After about a third of the book, though, the usual "fluff" in the letters back and forth began to grow a little tiresome. I found myself wanting less and less to see two or more descriptions or interpretations of the same event, and I wanted a faster paced plot.
This book is set in England during the 19th century, and it is essentially pure fiction, with none of the magic/fantastic elements so common in the other works of these authors. It involves a plot of political intrigue in England as a group of revolutionaries makes plans to try to overthrow the government in favor of socialism/communism. It felt authentic, and it was unpredictable and interesting. On the other hand, it made me impatient, so I have to give it a relatively low score (for Brust) simply because I didn't enjoy reading it as much as I had hoped I would.
This book centers around a human named "Finder" who has an innate ability (almost magical) to have his body act as a compass if he knows what he's looking for. He gets recruited by a cop and eventually, caught up in the case. The plot is strictly standard fare for detective-novel readers, but the world and the characters are definitely a cut above. If you like the characterizations and dry humor of Brust, you'll like Emma Bull.
On one of these worlds, Harmony, in the city of Basilica, the series begins as the oversoul of the world, after millions of years, begins to break down to such an extent that people are starting to overcome its desires, thus making war on a large scale and taking the first steps along the path to weapons of mass destruction. The series follows a group of humans selected by the oversoul to help it overcome its problems, perhaps by establishing communications with the master computer, the "Keeper of Earth".
As usual, Card has come up with a variety of very interesting ethical dilemmas, rather than your simple, everyday good vs evil story. While there is a focus on a central "good" character, Nafai, who brings back strong memories of Ender Wiggin, there are several good subplots and lots of space given to the development of other characters. The books are fairly fast-paced, and I found myself flying through the middle books of the series (whereas I've found with other long series, I tend to bog down near the middle).
The only weakness from my perspective is in the establishment of motivation for some characters. For example, a very important character in the first four books acts in an increasingly brutal and immoral fashion. This fact in and of itself doesn't bother me. Every series needs a good villain or two, but I had two problems. First, I didn't find the motivation for this character (essentially, jealousy and immaturity) to be very convincing over time. Second, I couldn't believe how much of his behavior was tolerated. I couldn't believe it was that important to everyone that this character remain as part of the group, given his potential to ruin everything.
Another minor problem with the series was the sheer number of characters. This wasn't a problem at the beginning, even though there were a lot of names to digest from the very first page. But as the series went on and new generations of characters were introduced, I found them melting together. Very few of the second-and-beyond generation characters were established well enough for their names to be memorable. This was especially a problem for all but 2-3 characters in the final book, which takes place long after the continuous events of the first four books. I would almost recommend reading only the first four books of this series, which make a great self-contained set and leave few plot threads hanging.
In any case, I liked this series too much to end a review with two paragraphs of criticism, so I'd like to reiterate the strengths that I've come to expect from Card. First were the excellent ethical dilemmas presented (even though I may not agree with how they were dealt with). Second was the fast-paced plot. There is an interesting religious subtext throughout the series as well, which wasn't surprising for Card. This added a lot to the richness of the characters, but to say more would be to bias the reader to watch for certain things. I think that's best left to be discovered.
This Hugo award-winning book is truly a chore to read. From the very beginning, the reader is battered with about twice as many names and subplots as are necessary for this novel. It takes good concentration and reading this book over a very short period of time (so you can remember all the subplots, which you need to know in detail) to really appreciate it. And don't get me wrong, I APPRECIATE what this book is trying to do. I just didn't ENJOY it. It is a book of politics and betrayal aboard a space station (reminiscent of Babylon 5, which is inspired largely by this sort of book) trying to exist in a galxy of warring factions and rapid change. Compared to other books with very intricate plots (Brust comes to mind), Cherryh suffers from trying to do too much, losing the reader in the process and diluting the few good subplots that are in progress. Characterization is pretty strong, but the most interesting characters in the book, Jon Lukas and Josh Talley, actually get LESS interesting as the book goes on.
The strongest element of the plot comes in the second book when the young Ariane Emory is "introduced" to an archive of computer programs and tapes created by her predecessor. I find it fascinating to think about the concept of actually "visiting yourself in the past" and giving yourself advice about growing up and so forth. If the entire series had been boiled down to one book, throwing out the purely political subplots and concentrating more on the relationship between Ariane and her predecessor, it would've been a "9" or a "10". As written, though, the series seems to drag and I had trouble slogging through a lot of it. The ending was extremely disappointing and left too many loose ends (perhaps this was on purpose, I'm not sure). I can't say I would recommend this to everyone, but it wasn't bad. The good ideas were just diluted by too much unnecessary extraneous activity (and too many characters) outside Ariane's immediate circle.
Instead, this book is cut from the same cloth as any of your standard fantasy/political intrigue works. For the first 100 or so pages, as the book follows the main character, Tristan, the writing is certainly a different style than I'm used to. I was initially intrigued, then ready to move on, then bored, then physically turning the pages to see if there would EVER be dialogue at any point. After that, the book got marginally better (by about halfway through, when the political machinations finally got into full swing), but it certainly didn't grab me and hold me. It took some effort to finally get through this book, and it was more to get it over with than any real interest (it took me the better part of a month to read this, both because it was rather boring and because my wife and I were house-hunting and house-buying, with all that entails, at the time).
If you want to read something similar in this genre but much better, try Brust, Glen Cook (Bragi Ragnarson books), Feist, Bujold (more sci-fi, though) or countless others.
Since writing this review, I've been told that an author named Jeff Rovin is responsible for this travesty. Since Clancy's name is on the cover, though, I thought it appropriate to keep the review here under his name.
Anyway, as usual with Clancy books, the rising action is much more interesting than the resolution of the plotlines, and the section from about page 800-1200 (of a 1400-page paperback), detailing everything going on just before the big "pop", is just the best. You can't put the book down for a solid three hours. My only big drawback of this book is the politics. Maybe I just haven't noticed it before, or maybe it's just the way it's done here, but it was damned annoying. I understand Clancy's view on military policy and so on, and I can sympathize if not entirely agree with his arguments. Clancy does a good job of addressing both sides of the debate in reasonable terms. But when Clancy starts writing about economics, the books comes to a screeching halt.
It's not so much the policy he proposes that I find distasteful as the way it is presented. Basically, all the "good guys" in the novel spout Clancy's pet economic/tax policies (like favoring a regressive tax system) while the opposing arguments are placed in the mouths of total slimeballs. It was such a bald attempt at manipulation, I was insulted. Surely Clancy doesn't think so little of his readers. You don't have to be a liberal to hate that kind of garbage. In the end, though, I was able to read around the 10-20 pages of his and focus on the plot. It wasn't Clancy's best, but it was genuine Clancy and it was good.
Anyway, as you might have guessed, this is a fictional diary of a man who grew up a geek, worked at Microsoft for a while, then left with friends to help start up a company in Silicon Valley. So many aspects of his life are frighteningly familiar to me (and anyone else who has worked much in the hard sciences, either in industry or graduate school) that I had a hard time putting this book down. Lots of truly funny observations, touching moments (the meeting with BarCode near the end is a must read for anyone who's ever MUD-ed) and fascinating characters (albeit a few were too one-dimensional for me). This is a great book, and I've noticed lately (Summer 1997) that it is showing up in hardback on a lot of bargain shelves.
The main plot involves a female Vice President of a large airplane manufacturer in the U. S. (similar to Boeing or perhaps Lockheed) and how she handles damage control and investigations for the company after one of their planes suffers an incident in the air leaving a few passengers dead and several wounded. Ok, I'll admit several of the characters were entirely too one-dimensional, but as I've said before, literary merit is not that big of a deal to me if I enjoy the book, and I liked this one enough to zip through it in a day (thanks to a long wait at an airport).
As in all time-travel novels, there are the paradoxes to deal with, and Crichton has an interesting twist on this problem that is similar in many respects to Simon Hawke's excellent "Time Wars" series. Unlike the plodding and disjointed "Doomsday Book" by Connie Willis, Crichton makes the Middle Ages a lot of fun (not surprisingly), throwing in a lot of action, surprise and intrigue. The characters are familiar from Crichton's other novels (the troubled scientist, the overeager fighter-type, the kid-in-over-his-head, etc), and that's starting to wear a little thin. If you liked "Jurassic Park", this is a good half-price book store pickup.
On a smaller scale, Janey's long-lost love returns from his travels, hoping to rebuild their relationship, and Janey's friends and companions also have trouble with the town witch (who doesn't wear kid-gloves when it comes to black magic). Even with all of these various subplots in motion at once, the book has a relaxed and almost rustic feel thanks to deLint's smooth writing style and entertaining characters. Thinking back, it is hard to believe that I actually felt things were moving slowly, but I did. I can't say that I was really drawn into the book's world. It just didn't feel relevant, for lack of a better word. I didn't get a sense of urgency or excitement here, even when lives were threatened. Maybe that's a good thing for some readers, but there were long stretches in this book where I had trouble turning the pages, and it is difficult for me to put my finger on exactly why.
Reading this book is like watching an existentialist play in which what the characters are saying and doing isn't so significant as all the changes in the scenery that happen around them and (occasionally) how they react to that. Anyway, it is certainly different than your typical hackwork fiction/fantasy, but it wasn't just *great*. A solid 7. I look forward to reading some of Dick's other works to see what happens when he manages to put a compelling plot and a compelling setting in the same novel.
As with most Dick novels, I gather, the plot and characters are mainly vehicles to explore an interesting worldview, rather than the worldview being window-dressing to a conventional plot, as in most speculative fiction. This can work wonders when the worldview is compelling (like, say, Simmons' Hyperion novels, Asimov's robot novels or Halperin's novels about the impact of cryogenics or a truth machine on society). I wasn't really swept away (I'm a victim of having my expectations built up too much, I think).
I shouldn't really dismiss the characters as mere vehicles, though. They do change, react and evolve in the book, and I got to know Taverner well enough that I appreciated this and was interested in what happened to him. The other major characters (such as police general Buckman) weren't fleshed out enough for me to be shocked, surprised or otherwise really affected by their choices and behavior. I can understand why this book is groundbreaking and a classic for its time, but it doesn't hold up over time with the kind of greatness I expected based on recommendations (as opposed to Tolkien's timeless stuff, which is probably an unfair comparison for almost any author).
The opening is very strong, drawing the reader in like a good detective novel (such as Donaldson used to write long ago, I'm told). Quickly, though, we are introduced to Angus Thermopyle and Morn Hyland, and the misdeeds of Thomas Covenant are simply dwarfed by the foulness the reader is asked to digest here. And it isn't just Angus and Morn. Virtually everyone in the novel commits one form of atrocity or another, but as with Covenant, the reader is invited to view reality from each character's point of view so that such behavior can be at least understood (but rarely justified).
The setting is in the distant future. Earth has expanded to an empire encompassing several stellar systems, and they have met their first true enemy, the Amnion, a race light years ahead of us in terms of genetics. The Amnion are essentially portrayed as a ruthless, canny race, patiently waiting for everything to fall into place so that they can overwhelm humanity. In between the two are the pirates, who make deals with anyone to get money or new technology. Angus is among the worst, and his story begins with a conflict with another pirate, Nick Succorso, but the stakes soon grow so that powers at the highest levels of both races are chasing after one or both of them.
Like any other series, there are characters all over the map, and it takes some effort to keep them all straight, particularly the ones in the Earth-based government. That may be because the plotline that didn't directly involve Nick, Morn and Angus wasn't that compelling. It was indeed fitting that, at the end, all of the political machinations (carried out while the primary characters were in deep space) were only made relevant by the fact that they served as a crucial diversion during the climax.
As for the main plot, I suppose the reason that I was disappointed is that this really didn't feel like an EPIC. Not once did I feel a deep appreciation for the magnitude of the circumstances, no twinges like I felt reading about events in Revelstone, Kiril Threndor, Coercri, etc. from the Covenant series. This was simply an interesting (if somewhat depraved) story about several ordinary characters, many of whom take on the role of anti-heroes. It was certainly original, but it was not deeply satisfying.
In any case, the answers to the ship's mysteries slowly unfold while the survivor's journal reveals stories of his past. During the first third of the book, when the ship is still largely a puzzle to figure out and Roberto (the survivor) is reminiscing about his childhood exploits as part of a petty battle in northern Italy, the book is very entertaining and readable. I'll not soon forget Roberto's hilarious father, whose wartime rationalizations are the stuff of legend. I also enjoyed Roberto's discussions of philosophy and science with Father Caspar. In all, though, the pace of events was a bit on the slow side, and these discussions and other stories of politics and intrigue didn't really grab me enough to make me want to tear through this book.
Note added in Sept 1997:
In retrospect, now that this page has been up for a while, I can look back on these two reviews that I wrote over three years ago, based upon memories more than five years old, and perhaps add a little more insight. For instance, you may wonder why, given the astonishing similarity between the two series, why I rate the first so high and the second so low. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I read the Belgariad when I was about 14. I think for a young reader without too much experience in the genre, this is a fine series and will be fun.
I read the Malloreon when I was about 17. At that point, I was much wiser (read: more experienced, not necessarily smarter) in the ways of the world of fantasy, and so not only did the plot devices seem rather stale and unimaginative (compared to, say, Donaldson, Brust, Tolkien to name a few), but the whole series just seemed so damned *similar* to the Belgariad that I was basically offended that it was sold to me as something new. Still, it might be appropriate for someone younger or less widely read. Then again, even at 14, I probably would've noticed (and been annoyed by) all the parallels.
Really a fascinating concept. The only drawback is that, as a Copy, you have no influence of real events, and you "live" with the knowledge that someone can pull the plug at any moment. Several plot threads are covered in this book, including a man trying to do an experiment with his Copy and a woman trying to create a new form of life from a self-contained Universe of simplified physical rules (in virtual reality). The main part of the book comes into focus when the experimenter, Paul Durham, discovers a way to create virtually limitless computing power that will last for eternity. He offers the chance to live forever...as a simulation guaranteed never to die. Ultimately, it is interesting to see the ramifications of such eternal life and how the characters respond to it. The book wasn't a real thrilling page-turner, but it was solid and very interesting.
The first half of this novel, setting up the plot, introducing the characters and showing a few initial encounters with the shadow creatures (the shetani) is the best. Encounters with the shetani set in the "normal" everyday world are much more frightening than anything set in Africa. For me, the key to a good scare starts with making an ordinary occasion horrifying, like looking at passing debris on the highway (the best scene of the novel). Sadly, the novel spends a lot of time trying to develop a relationship between the male and female leads (the book tries to be a bit coy, but it is obvious from the beginning where they'll end up) with very stiff dialogue (and corny inner thoughts). The last half of the novel was rather plodding and slow, but not awfully so. Given the typical low quality of horror novels out there, this is certainly well above average. I can think of 5-6 King books I'd recommend before this one, though.
The main characters are a warrior-priest named Damien and an evil sorceror named Gerald Tarrant (or "The Hunter"). Other characters come and go (some stay much longer than others), but the body of the story centers on these two. As a priest, Damien is dedicated to the forces of good, but he finds himself forced to work with the evil Tarrant. The interplay between these two, while not a sparkling new kind of story-telling for the fantasy genre, is convincing and well-written, at least in the first book. After that, it starts to become old hat. Even the characters realize it is old hat, to the author's credit.
Because of this, I found the first book to be the most enjoyable read, and it would've worked just fine as a stand-alone novel albeit with a few loose ends left hanging. The second novel, which introduces a new world and lots of interesting places, still seems to drag a bit. Maybe it's just me, but the thought of a tiny little band of people pitted against the might of an empire is starting to wear on me after many years of this genre. Just once, I'd like to see a book where the tiny band makes a wrong turn and is engulfed and killed mercilessly by the powerful enemy forces.
The third novel is, again, remarkably different (yet remarkably the same in character interactions) from the first two. The Deus Ex Machina climax was a bit of a disappointment, but it fit well with the rest of the series, so it wasn't necessarily the easy way out for the author. All in all, this is a great series to explore because the first book is a good stand-alone. If you like the first book, go ahead and read the rest and you won't be disappointed. I wasn't, but I didn't exactly devour the series either.
I liked this just as much as any of Grisham's books, probably his best work since "The Firm", to be honest. I find that I can tear through these books very quickly. They are written to be devoured in big easy-to-read chunks. I particularly enjoy class-action lawsuit that get at the heart of corporate corruption and dishonesty, and unlike Harr's book, this one (being fiction) has an unambiguously happy ending. A great airplane read.
Brock's partners turn on him, but Brock is already too far gone into urban D. C., where he learns to appreciate small comforts and starts looking into the legal problems of the homeless with the help of his new law partners, street-smart advocates who show him the ropes. Good mind candy.
As usual, Grisham does a good job describing the "inside baseball" of lawsuits in which big companies with lots of financial resources work to tilt to judicial playing field in their direction. The personal confrontations, stings and double-crosses are entertaining as always, making this one another great page-turner that is very hard to put down (but you always feel just a little guilty afterwards).
It doesn't sound like much of a big deal, but Halperin plausibly lays out the consequences of such a device. Granted, the main character's Utopian vision and some of the plot developments are a bit far-fetched, but the point is that it makes you think. Some fascinating moral dilemmas are raised in the book, so much so that the somewhat under-developed characters take a back seat to a discussion of such problems (all of the major characters except for an obvious couple are the kind that make Mother Theresa look like a piker).
Basically, if you've read and enjoyed Kress' "Beggars" series or May's "Galactic Milieu" novels, you're certain to enjoy this. It's a great example of speculative fiction set in the near future, certainly one of the best I've seen.
His gamble pays off as he is awakened in the future when nanotechnological breakthroughs are advanced enough that the cellular damage caused by the freezing process can be reversed along with the aging process and other physical maladies. So this novel largely is about the changes in society that may result from a revolution in nanotechnology (as opposed to truth machine technology). Again, lots of very interesting ethical questions arise here, including thoughts about a world in which immortality is commonplace.
Han and Leia's story is the more interesting of the two, as a series of unexplained and dangerous incidents on a seemingly dull, peaceful world force them into an ever more frantic pace to figure out what is going on. Although I have the usual complaints about the main characters (all important figures in the government of the Republic) putting themselves in extreme danger all the time, I guess that has become (unfortunately) a necessary part of the genre. I also felt that Leia showed talents with the force that were quite implausible, particularly given the descriptions of her abilities in earlier and later books. I know it is tempting for an author to bend the rules in a series like this, but that was too much.
Luke's story is painful to read, and not just because he's in constant agony. Maybe it was just me, but I had a very difficult time just keeping TRACK of all the different characters Luke was with on the ship. There is a good plot buried beneath all the garbage here, and it pokes through occasionally when Luke has suspenseful encounters with the main computer and a newfound "virtual" companion, but I can't say I enjoyed it. And I was all but repelled by the resolution. I cannot recommend this book, and I only hope it is not an indication of things to come later in this series.
From there, scientists work like forensic detectives, deducing amazing conclusions from the tiniest scrap of evidence. Much of the first book involves the uncovering of this mystery. While the overall storyline is amazingly complex, Hogan does a good (at times, perhaps excessive) job of summarizing what has happened so far through character dialogue (or monologue) before taking that next important step in the process.
Of course, it is science *fiction*, so many of the conclusions that the scientists come up with are wildly implausible at first. While some of the "plot holes" are explained later, it was hard for me to believe some of the characters actually believed the theories they were espousing. Such is the life of a trained scientists reading science fiction, I suppose. This wouldn't have bothered me so much if the rest of the story hadn't been so amazingly plausible and real.
The second book adds a completely new level to the plot, as scientists find out much more about the history of the skeleton and his civilization as well as a new alien civilization, and it continues in the fine tradition of the first book. The third book sets a much different tone as, for the first time, genuine conflict and intrigue are introduced. While some may argue that the last half of the third book is an unwelcome departure from the "mystery" and into action, I have to admit that I didn't mind. Although I found a lot of it wildly implausible, it was entertaining.
I don't way to say any more about the plot, simply because this is the kind of story where the fun is uncovering the truth (which I hate to spoil). I will just say if you like books like Sagan's "Contact" or perhaps Brin's "Earth" (also with a rather implausible action sequence near the end), this series will be a find.
This is a futuristic science fiction story revolving around an assassin of another race, named the Paratwa. They are deadly fighters, using a monofilament wire as the weapon of choice. Sounds kinda hokey, but the plot is very engaging and the character development a great big step above most novels of this genre. Not so compelling that I was inspired to pursue later books, but if I hear the series gets better with time, I will probably go back to it.
The more you know about the Reconquista, the more you will probably appreciate Kay's attention to detail and subtle parallels. Interestingly, when I received one of a great many recommendations for this book from browsers of this page, a common theme was that the first part of this book was a great 100 pages that set up everything else. What I found, though, was that the LAST 100 pages were the most gripping. In short, this book is a winner from beginning to end and Kay's best work so far (which is saying a LOT).
Since writing this review, I have been informed that the Kindath are meant to parallel Jews, not gypsies. In my defense, I didn't pay attention in my high school World History class because I spent most of my time in there flirting with my high-school sweetheart and being a smartass. To be honest, though, it doesn't seem relevant...just insert your favorite historically persecuted people there.
This story is a mixed bag of really neat ideas (I am left with one indelible image of a holographic presentation of statistical results pointing to a common pattern among accessed racial memories) and moderately melodramatic (in an unappealing way) relationships. The ideas are as interesting as in the Beggars series, but the characters a bit less interersting and believeable.
The first of the three subplots (worth about 1.5 books) involves Leia, Han and the Republic's new enemy, a new species called the Yevetha, a brutally evil race that has learned who to build ships from their former Empire enslavers. This was the strongest thread in the series. The Yevetha make good, if non-subtle, villains, and I found myself actively rooting against them, knowing full well that I would be satisfied at their demise. What can I say? Sometimes mind candy is a good thing. The only weak spots here were the underutilization of Han, and the unconvincing plot twists involving his character and Chewie. Also, a critical imperial desertion subplot is hardly set up at all even though it has a significant impact on the finale.
The second subplot involves Luke and his search for his mother (now rendered "unofficial" by the storyline in "The Phantom Menace", I suppose). Luke learns about a new variant of the Force ("The Current") and follows a member of this discipline around because she claims to know how he can find his mother. As is common with most of the other Star Wars books, Luke's character is just horribly done and stuck with a bad plot (worth about 3/4 of a book) that ultimately goes nowhere (not counting a forced plot reunification near the end).
The final subplot involves Lando, who is usually done pretty well in other books. In this one, Lando is stuck in what is basically a variant of a murder mystery. And a very boring one at that. At first, I was intrigued by Lando's subplot, but in retrospect, I could've just skipped this entire section of each book and been much happier with the series as a whole, as the subplot is literally and figuratively a dead end.
As I've begun to read further and further down the line in this Star Wars historical timeline series, the quality of the books has trended down (with the exception of Stackpole's X-Wing series, which I haven't touched after book four thanks to the fear that the other authors will ruin a good thing). I can only hope that the appearance of the first trilogy on the scene will revitalize this genre. This series is readable, to be sure, but very average science fiction. Much like other Star Wars books, this book doesn't stack up well against other science fiction without the Star Wars universe as a crutch.
Anyway, the book opens on a reasonably slow pace, following an intelligence operative sent to observe strange happenings at a staged war (similar to the wars described by Hawke's series, as referenced above!). Once the operative (John Bravais) discovers a strange secret about what's happening to some of the dead bodies, things start to happen extremely fast as John finds himself on the run from a virtual army of alien supermen. He manages to hide out for a while with an associate, and he manages to "equip himself" to the teeth so that at least it will be a fair fight, but it takes a while for him (and the reader) to finally emerge from the darkness to figure out what the heck is going on. If it sounds confusing, it is, but Laumer keeps things moving at such a fast pace, it's difficult to put the book down. Everything is revealed in time, but as I said, this might have been stronger had Laumer been given some latitude to flesh out the story a bit more.
The best plot was the main one. A subplot involving a secret group of scholars trying to discover the nature of Satan is not nearly as good as it could be. Overall, the two main characters, Ali and Ike, are both well done. A major antagonist, Isaac, is not given enough space to develop. What little we see of him is gripping. Certainly a new author to watch once this comes out in paperback.
The story is told in part from the memoirs of "Rogi" Remillard, a member of a family with a strong metapsychic talent, and these are perhaps the best parts of the book, since for my money, Rogi is the most entertaining character. Lots of spoilers are here, both for this story and, I presume, for the series that follow it (Pliocene Exile and Galactic Milieu), especially in Rogi's memoirs. I suppose this may bother some people, when Rogi briefly mentions "the dreadful events to come" or a specific character's death, but I didn't find that this detracted from the surprise of events.
The other part of the story is told from an omniscient perspective, telling the story of the amusing aliens who are watching events unfold on Earth along with some of the other more prominent characters in the overall story. All in all, it blends together well. It reads as both a good history book and an interesting SF story. The tale as a whole is certainly not complete, but that's hardly disappointing news to someone who liked the series as much as I did. I can now look forward to the next two series!
Well, as much as this book was recommended to me, I know I'm going to disappoint a few people with this review, but to be honest, I thought Swan Song was fairly awful. I don't know which of the two was written first, this book or King's "The Stand", but SS is a poor work compared to what is widely regarded (rightly) as King's masterpiece. The two share some outrageous similarities, in particular the gruesome trip through a tunnel to escape from New York City, which was painful to read for me.
Still, the book diverges from King in a few ways, most notably in the fact that there doesn't really seem to be a guiding point to the story for the entire first half of this lengthy tome. I really struggled to get through the first couple of hundred pages. For those who aren't aware of either of these two novels, briefly: Both cover life in a post-apocalyptic society, and both have action that ends up resulting in New Hope for the Redemption of Humanity (tm).
While I found King's characterizations unusually strange (yet interesting), I found McCammon's characters simply one-dimensionally strange. They felt really clunky. In addition, part of what makes a story that you care about is a good villain that you fear and loathe. McCammon's main villain here is hardly more threatening than many of the other characters, which is a weakness for this kind of story. King's Flagg character is much more engaging. So, in the end, I couldn't find much to like about this. Now I'll be the first to admit that, had I not already read and reread "The Stand", I would've found this much fresher and more interesting. As it is, though, thumbs down. If you haven't read either one, go read "The Stand" and forget this one.
The characterization in this novel most closely resembles (to me) that of Brust, and the comparison is not favorable to McKillip. There are a lot of 'cool' characters here, with interesting mannerisms, the ability to complete each others' sentences, incredible (but taken completely for granted) talents, but the treatment of these characters is too thin for me to buy into it. I can handle Brust's conversations between Vlad and Loiosh since I have enjoyed watching that relationship carefully evolve over a long time. Not here. I couldn't find a reason to deeply care what happens.
That's not to say it is bad. It is unique and interesting. There are several interesting and unpredictable plot twists, but for each of those twists, there are two unnecessary implicit requests for suspension of disbelief (I can handle 2-3 such instances in an unlikely prison breakout, but there were ten times that many). For example, I don't want to read that there is a hallway lined with virtually invincible, indestructible robots unless I get to see them in action. Instead, I get the pristine hallway in one scene, then utter destruction of the robot guards in the next with nary a scratch on the character responsible. I didn't buy it, and it is hard for me to put a finger on exactly why not, but the bottom line is that this was a good read but not compelling. I can see why some would really like it, but I found it rather average.
Atrus learns how to "Write" books with a special technique that describes new worlds. Soon, however, Atrus starts rebelling against Gehn and must make a crucial choice about his future by the end. The fascinating philosophical question in this book (is the writing of these books equivalent to an act of creation, or do the books simply define a portal to a possible world?) is never definitively answered, and the issues are somewhat similar to those raised in Zelazny's "Amber" series or Simmons' "The Hollow Man" (not to mention countless books on the philosophy of science and quantum mechanics).
Even without familiarity with the game "Myst", this is an interesting book with a good plot (slow for the first third of the book) and a GREAT milieu. The hardback edition is very attractive, but I wouldn't have bought it myself (I got it as a gift). Seems like a great gift idea to me, though.
This story follows the path of a human girl named Anna, who discovers the hidden civilization of the D'Ni people thanks to the (halted) D'Ni efforts to make contact with humans. The D'Ni seem exceedingly suspicious of Anna (T'iana later becomes her adopted D'Ni name) to the point of utter paranoia, which is strange for a race of people with such amazing powers. Still, I'm willing to accept the D'Ni race's extreme desire for safety and stability...until I discover a small, rebellious group led by a disgraced former leader now on the verge of insanity. How could factions like this exist while the history of the race has been so...well... boring for thousands of years? And how could any leader (such as Veovis) possibly go along with their goals?
Even for fantasy, that strains credulity. So, although I greatly admire the world the Millers (with Wingrove) have constructed, I have to say that the plot doesn't quite stack up. Perhaps because the Millers are so wonderfully meticulous, this fact serves to undermine their work by bringing into sharp relief any part of the plot where they seem to "cut corners." Of course, I'd still recommend this book to Myst fans, and, as before, the hardback is actually worth thinking about if only because it isn't just a hardback for the sake of costing more. It is a beatifully designed book. If more publishers put out their hardbacks with special touches like this, I might not be so steadfast about buying only paperbacks (as before, I got this book as a gift).
The relationship for Rod, of course, is not as simple as all that. He soon finds himself falling in love with his client while torn in several directions from outsiders who want to influence his ethics/behavior/politics. The plot covers some very interesting political and psychological ground here, but I was never really convinced about many of Rod's actions and his feelings toward his client. Suspension of disbelief is enough to let me work through this, but to be honest, as a whole, the story was a bit plodding. The pace was slow, and though I can't put my finger on any given part of the book that should be left out (unlike, say, Benford's "Timescape"), the book felt much too long. I would recommend it, but only half-heartedly.
Some of the plots are interesting, but most are rather bland. Unlike Roberson's Cheysuli series, I never really found myself with a deep emotional commitment to any of the characters, so the atrocities they suffer don't really spark much of a reaction in me. Both have deep inner conflicts, but these are rarely brought to the surface and studied for more than about five lines of dialogue (which are all permutations of "What's wrong?" "Don't bother me...you wouldn't understand.").
This was a disappointment to me. I thought after my experience with Cheysuli that Roberson would do much better with a short series, but not this time. What results is at best an average series.
With the death of a couple of characters, issues of succession are at hand, and this involves intrigue at court and in the wilderness (as Jason attempts to make his required visit to the capital, only to find himself dodging assassins along the way). Slovotsky is a big player, which is a plus, but Ellegon is again seen too rarely. A new minor wizard character named Erenor is a great addition to the mix, and another magic subplot is hinted at in the future with Andrea and her former apprentice that sounded absolutely interesting.
Come to think of it, not much happened in this book, dammit. BUT lots of groundwork was laid for interesting plot movement in the near future among the Other Side characters and the native characters. But I *still* loved the end of "Musketeers" so much that I'll forgive Rosenberg for writing and releasing only the first half of what should have been a lengthy next novel. He's got me hooked.
With all of this firmly in mind, I still enjoyed it. This book is your basic horror-story pulp fiction, and Dan Simmons, even when he's slumming, is entertaining. Don't go in expecting too much, and you'll be pleasantly surprised. The idea that the same genius who wrote Hyperion...well...it just seems like a waste of talent.
Anyway, the best part of this series is the fast pace and the tight writing. Stackpole doesn't waste much time between the squadron planning an action and then the action, and the intricacies of strategy and tactics haven't seen a treatment this impressive since Zahn's trilogy (and even then, it was mostly the first book when Thrawn was at his best). Of course, there are some things you buy into when you read SW, such as the idea that it is the rare soldier for the Empire who is able to shoot straight or that all the commanders have a disturbing tendency to be overconfident.
Much of the series centers on a young pilot named Corran Horn, who is a bit of a Luke Skywalker type (with some of Han's cloak-and-dagger Corellian background thrown in). The other members of the squadron make up a good, interesting bunch, and there weren't so many characters that I was overwhelmed. All in all, this ranks as the second best series in the genre, behind Zahn's Three-Book Cycle.
Rodrigo Yrarier and his family are sent as ambassadors to find out any information they can on a plague that threatens all of humanity but leaves Grass untouched, but when they arrive, they find the bons all but enthralled by a race of fearsome beasts deemed "Hounds" and "Hippae", forced to go on mock hunts to chase and kill "Foxen", powerful and dangerous beasts. Rodrigo's wife, Marjorie, is the central character in this sprawling story, and it is certainly enjoyable watching her try to untangle the strange mess Tepper has set before the reader.
As the many threads start to converge toward the end, my only minor complaint is that a few developed characters suffer either abrupt ends to their stories or are almost ignored. I was a bit distracted by this, but the final chapter does a passable (if brief) job at explaining the consequences of events in the novel. When all is said and done, I suppose I enjoyed the world Tepper developed a bit more than the story, which was engaging but a little unsatisfying. I look forward to reading more by Tepper.
Updated May 2000: With news of the movie version of the trilogy coming out starting December of 2001, my interest in this series was sparked enough to re-read the books I last finished when I was 15 years old. I couldn't be happier with my decision. As much as I loved these books when I was young, I didn't have the reading experience under my belt to truly appreciate them. It has been a long time since I was moved like this, excited by Eowyn and brave Merry and their surprising defeat of the black rider, amazed by elves (written properly) like Legolas, Elrond and Galadriel and moved by the departure to the sea of Gandalf, Frodo, Bilbo and their companions in the end. If you're like me and haven't read these in a long time, do yourself a favor and read the series again. You'll get about 20 pages into "The Hobbit" and wonder where this kind of writing has run off and hidden.
These books are another in Turtledove's usual line of alternate history novels, following several subplots that develop when a race of aliens attempt to invade Earth during World War II. My first reaction is: Who is Turtledove kidding? If an alien race can traverse interstellar space, cleaning up 1940's Earth shouldn't be a problem. Although Turtledove went to great lengths to explain this in the books, I'm still not convinced. Still, I'm willing to suspend disbelief on this major plot point for a good story, and Turtledove delivers fairly well.
Of all the subplots, I particularly enjoyed the one revolving around the German Sikorsky, not so much because of the action involved, but rather because of the changes in his character and those around him. It's fun to cheer for the underdog human when taking on aliens, but even if the underdog is a Nazi? The reader doesn't get off so easy here. The plot in the US is also first-rate, with plenty of unpredictability. The quality here is remarkably similar to other Turtledove fare.
Still, there is plenty of action against various forms of evil along with the standard plots of intrigue. The second book is probably the best of the three, if I have to choose, because of the presence of a very interesting enemy. The third book is slightly weaker because the focus is taken away from Krispos for much of the book. This is definitely worth looking for in a good used bookstore.
Bouton's book is basically the diary of a single season of baseball back during the 1970's. He has some amusing stories about young players (such as Lou Piniella) who went on to bigger and better things. He also talks about what it is like to be a marginal player, always on the verse of the minors, always fighting for playing time (something you obviously won't see in books by many of the more famous players). Most importantly, he is funny. I laughed out loud more often reading this book than most intentionally funny (comedian-written) books I've read (with the exception of Dave Barry and Jerry Seinfeld, most notably). A must-read for any baseball fan.
In a way, for Mac fans like myself, this book is both depressing (seeing how many missed opportunities there were) and filled with hope. After all, how could a company with so many incredibly inept decisions still have such a loyal following? It makes me confident about their ability to survive in the years to come. If this book comes out with a new edition including an update of the late 90's and more about the G3/G4 and future direction of the company after 2000, it will be perfect. As it is, it isn't a bad buy for a few bucks on the bargain shelf, where you can easily find it these days (even in hardback).
But, hey, if you're going to be a nitpicker, the speculative genre is hardly a good home for you, so you have to know what to expect. This book reads like the seeds of several interesting science fiction novels, and for that reason along, reading it along with a healthy dose of imagination makes it a lot more fun. Probably the strongest chapter from my perspective was the one describing what would happen if a nearby supernova went off...one of the few scenarios in the book that actually COULD happen. If you're ever bored in a bookstore, go pick up this book and read Chapter 6 entitled "Antar". It isn't too long, and it is a frightfully interesting topic.
The anecdote attempts to explain why most Americans hate and/or distrust the media. Fallows tells the story of a forum involving Mike Wallace and Peter Jennings when they were asked the question of what they would do if faced with the situation in which they were assigned to cover enemy troops about to ambush American soldiers. Their answers, and the military men's responses, make for a great story (and make you want to beat the crap out of Mike Wallace, even if you think he might be right).
The observation is that the media tends to reduce everything to the game of politics rather than discussing the deeper meaning. Instead of, for example, discussing a terrorist attack and why it occured, the media tends to explore these issues only in the most shallow sense before going on to the question of "how will this help X in the polls?" or "what impact does this have on the next election?" Really makes you think when you're watching the coverage of a major event...I like counting the number of hours between a major event and the first cynical "game"-related comment. This book helps one appreciate the politicians on both sides of the aisle (and outside the system) who try to stay away from this kind of punditry (it also helps me understand why Michael Kinsley thought a job for Slate would be more rewarding than being a TV pundit).
A postscript to this review: I got an email from Mr. Gallant in March 1997, and he informed me that his great book is now in its third edition and well up to date! I may have to go track that down myself if only for a gift to my niece.
Gladwell goes on to explore common traits of ideas that are successful, discussing in detail how advertisers try to reach the public, how children's shows try to reach kids, how it might be possible to eliminate smoking and many other interesting problems. This is a very readable book, though I'm not sure how sound the science is behind it. Even if Gladwell is wrong about his theory, there is a lot of basic information here about how these sorts of things work, and it is fascinating.
For example, sure, the current welfare system appears to encourage the behavior of some welfare mothers to have more children. But this book propagates the old myth that women are having kids for the sole reason of getting that extra government money (which amounts to a paltry sum per month). While I'm sure there are some women who behave this way, from what I've read, they are the exception rather than the rule. This book doesn't address the complexity of this issue, treating this simplified view that welfare mothers are in it for the money as a mantra. Also, what happens when the money is cut off? What happens to those kids? What is the basis for this policy in the first place? What other factors correlate with increases in welfare families? Are there any studies in comparable societies (or societies with an even more generous welfare system) in Europe? How do they differ from us, and what have been their successes and failures with welfare and child care?
Hey, I'm open-minded. Gross may be right. Maybe all the welfare mothers are in it for the money and if we dry up the funding, unwanted pregnancies will more or less vanish. But how am I supposed to believe this will happen when Gross doesn't even touch on all these other questions? I use this point as an example of a large variety of issues Gross covers with extreme brevity. For that reason, the book is sort of entertaining (always fun watching someone else gets worked up, as I'm sure you know if you've read some of my reviews), but as a contribution to the political dialogue, it is lacking. You'd be better off spending your 6 hours in the library reading back issues of "The New Republic" than this rant.
A book like this really makes me stop and think. I mean, I almost went to law school myself, and it still holds a fascination for me, but I have to ask myself if I could be happy in this kind of legal world. I mean, how can someone feel good about themselves when they make a living basically exploiting loopholes in the legal system? On another level, this book makes me happy that my wife and I decided several years ago to forego tap water whenever possible.
Anyway, like the trail, the book has a tendency to bog down in crazy little details, and it certainly seems to be biased in favor of the plaintiffs, putting the lawyers for the two corporations (and the judge who frequently ruled against the plaintiffs) in a bad light. Still, I really enjoyed it. It was as good as any John Grisham book I've read, at least.
What I like best about this is that Hernandez recognizes that most fans watch most games at home rather than from the ballpark, so he tells you what you're missing and what you can catch if you're observant. He also teaches you how to anticipate things. After reading this book, you'll find it fun trying to outguess the manager by guessing when a hit-and-run will be called for or when a pitchout will be called for.
While such a system might resolve our current problem in which every dispute ultimately ends up in court, it might well lead to a worse scenario (which precisely written bureaucratese, for all its problems, is usually pretty good at avoiding) in which vague language gives bureaucrats, with very limited (if any) direct accountability to the people, have the power to make bad decisions without justification. Just look at the Florida mess, in which poorly written laws essentially allowed the Florida Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court to (arguably) interpret the laws in a partisan fashion, leaving few satisfied with the result. If the judicial system has this kind of problem, can you imagine the law in the hands of (usually) less capable appointed bureaucrats? The preferable solution might well be more intelligent lawmakers, but that's unlikely without campaign finance reform to reduce corruption and a better educated voting public, which may never happen.
Nevertheless, I don't know enough about the law to seriously dispute the author's point, only some basic background knowledge. I only say all this to point out that the author does a good job raising issues worth thinking about in an entertaining fashion.
Anyway, this book is really kind of a series of related short stories. Most of the chapters are constructed so as to describe the history and development of a particular show, followed by interviews with the show's participants and a few sample excerpts from the show. He does Larry King, Rush Limbaugh, Crossfire, Nightline and many others. My favorite excerpt, of course, deals with Michael Kinsley (one of my favorite writers) and his experience on Crossfire.
Kinsley is usually a moderate on issues (which makes him a bleeding-heart liberal these days), and he is very fair-minded, meaning he can see both sides of any argument. But his experience on Crossfire, where he was forced into the "left" pigeonhole all the time, was stressful, especially when put up against Pat Buchanan. A couple of quotes from the book give you some idea of why I liked it...Kinsley on Buchanan: "When he gets mad, it's self-righteous anger. When I get made it's 'Michael, you're being childish.'" Kinsley on conservatives like Jerry Falwell: "What television wants is jovial disagreement: 'We're all pals here, just joshing around in the locker room,' when I think they are f****** liars."
The book is filled with great quotes, great insight by Kurtz and lots of interesting history. As a whole, it is a pretty harsh criticism of the talk-show industry.
I mean, that's the real reason I enjoy watching the show, to see people I like in a political setting, talking about things completely separate from their profession and often providing interesting (if silly) viewpoints on current affairs. Maybe 3% of the text in this book is from guests. The rest is just not worth the big sticker price (even in paperback). If you find it in the bookstore, just flip to the highlights (the "Real State of the Union" and a few of the "Modest Proposal" sections) to pass the time.
It is tough to react to this. I enjoyed reading it. It is informative, interesting, a nice change of pace. However, I felt like I was missing something. Here I got O'Rourke's take on lots of different economic systems but no real basis upon which to judge whether he is making much sense (since I don't know enough about economics to know what parts of the argument are being left out). I guess that's true of most political books, though, so I shouldn't complain. I should just be better informed. I certainly intend to seek out more books by this author on topics I know a little better, if only to calibrate his take on issues.
This book is long on technical analysis and short on political analysis, so it isn't *interesting* in and of itself, but it sets up the framework for understanding and analyzing the position of the nuclear industry and the anti-nuke crowd. Several chilling accounts of nuclear accidents make for some gruesomely fun reading. Probably the most surprising fact to me is that of all the (objective) committees that have studied the nuclear problem, nuclear waste is, in fact, about the 4th concern down on the list (it has always been my biggest concern). What's ahead of it? 1) The fact that plutonium is a by-product and proliferates everywhere, usable in weapons. 2) The economics of nuclear power has grown less viable over time (rather than more, which seems very surprising to me) and basically no money has gone into researching alternatives. 3) Nuclear accidents are just too damned unpredictable and dangerous (remember this book was written before Chernobyl).
Anyway, this is a good intro, if a tad technical, and it contains at the end a very detailed bibliography with recommendations for other books in the field. It seems very balanced to me, with a bit of tut-tutting reserved for dishonesty on both sides.
Finally, near the end is a discussion of the data on global warming. The author really hedges his bets here and is brutally honest about what is known and what is not known. I think a little more exposition on the philosophy of science would have been helpful here (i.e. "How do we know what we know? Why are we more confident about some things than others? At what level of consensus among scientists do we decide a theory is true?"), but that could take another book. I think the bottom line here is that we really don't know yet just how much of an effect (if any) we can have on the Earth's overall atmosphere and the greenhouse effect. Anyone who claims otherwise is simply not being honest. However, to wait until the answer to this question is indisputable before acting to ensure our future would be foolish.
What's really persuasive is the data. It's pretty easy to see here that the overall tax burden on the rich was decreased during the 1980's at the expense of the lower and middle classes. After all, it's no secret that it was called "trickle-down" economics. What's debatable is the impact of these tax breaks. Certainly the overall income of the middle class declined during this time (relative to the wealthy) as a result of the total increased tax burden, and Phillips spends a lot of time making this point in a lot of different ways. The book is worth reading just for his insights into tax policy, but I'll admit it is a little dry. I liked it and was glad to find it for two bucks on a bargain shelf. This is a great source of background material about the 80's.
Oh, and PS, as I say in my Sour Grapes pages, if you don't like the political views I express in these reviews, just stuff a sock in it! :)
In other words, I think his points are valid, but the context is misleading. There is no "party line" among cosmologists, who are subsequently prone to petty fits of anger when someone disagrees with them. It makes good copy, sure, but it just isn't true. Anyway, the second half of the book is on a much more obscure topic of scientific history, and I found myself skimming it. All in all, if you want to write some good popular science writing, Rothman holds his own, but I see no reason not to thoroughly digest everything Gould has written first.
This makes all the difference in the world, since the students, knowing that they have pretty much all the power as "customers", get to dictate course content, workload and faculty behavior. The result is a course curriculum that most advanced junior high students would not be challenged by. Students blow off assignments routinely, don't bother attending class and generally ratchet their effort down, always testing for the minimum possible effort needed to pass the class. Who wouldn't be cynical, teaching in such a situation? What's more is that any effort to counteract this and force students to be accountable results in poor evaluations and denial of tenure. Surprise, the result is massive grade inflation. And this from a journalism teacher. Can you imagine the experience faced by a mathematician trying to teach calculus? It leaves me wondering just how pervasive this problem is in community colleges.
The only part of the book I would take issue with is Shermer's assertion that his problem with creationists is that they have a practiced "pat answer" (much like a catechism) for every scientific point you can raise. Shermer than goes on to give his "pat rebuttal" to every creationist and holocaust-denial argment. I think it is important to distinguish between the quality of answers in each case and compare the basic arguments of each side a little more carefully. Otherwise, it comes off as a "point/counterpoint" making each side look equally valid to some laypersons.
Ultimately, of course, Sullivan must disclose his own views for a "solution", and it is an interesting solution. Surprisingly (to me), Sullivan opposes anti-discriminatory laws that affect the private sector (such as laws that might protect a gay person from being fired or kicked out of a rental house/apartment based upon their sexual orientation). Instead, Sullivan proposes rules that completely rule out state-sponsored discrimination, reasoning that once official discriminatory policies fall by the wayside, in time the private practices of discrimination will fade. Trying to prematurely end private sector discrimination only invites a backlash, according to Sullivan.
It's a view I didn't really consider before reading his book, but I've since come around. The basic gist of Sullivan's argument is that we should legalize marriage and completely integrate the military. Everything else should just wait until society changes since, as we all know but often forget, legislating behavior is essentially impossible. Like most good political books, it's a good read, regardless of your political leaning. Full of facts and great arguments.
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