Mr Bill's
Music and Reading Lists
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Tonight I've watched
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Sappho:
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Mr Bill's
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May 28, 2008 A couple months ago, my sister in law introduced me to Toad The Wet Sprocket. I have to say that their album 'Fear' is one of the best albums I've ever heard. They lyrics and harmonies are packed with significance. I listen to these while I work and while I hike, on my bluetooth or from a memory stick. I bought music books for songs from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, and Joni Mitchael. I'm amazed and gratified at how easy it is to pick up some of Tom Petty's songs. 'Breakdown', 'Learning To Fly', 'Even The Losers', and 'Insider' are just wonderfully accessible to the beginner. These are my favorite songs of the moment. I just ordered 'Load' by Metallica and 'Damn the Torpedos', 'Wildflower', and 'Hard Promises' by Tom Petty. Toad The Wet Sprocket ...Walk On The Ocean... ...Is It For Me... ...Butterflies... ...Nightingale Song... ...Hold Her Down... ...Pray Your Gods... ...Before You Were Born... ...Something To Say... ...In My Ear... ...All I Want... ...Stories I Tell... ...I Will Not Take These Things For Granted... Eagles ...Desperado... ...Hotel California... ...No More Walks In The Woods... ...What Do I Do With My Heart... ...I Dreamed There Was No War... ...I Love To Watch A Woman Dance... ...I Don't Want To Hear Any More... ...Waiting In The Weeds... ...Do Something... ...You Are Not Alone... Snow Patrol ...You Could Be Happy... ...Set the Fire to the Third Bar... ...Make This Go On Forever... ...You're All I Have... ...The Finish Line... ...How To Be Dead... ...Run... ...Grazed Knees... ...Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking... ...Same... U2 ...With Or Without You... ...If God Will Send His Angels... Journey ...Who's Crying Now... ...I'll Be Alright Without You... ...Ask The Lonely... ...Stone In Love... ...Open Arms... ...Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'... ...Faithfully... ...Lights... Fleetwood Mac ...Silver Springs... ...Beautiful Child... ...Brown Eyes... ...Storms... ...Landslide... ...Never make me cry... ...Oh Daddy... ...I'm so Afraid... Heart ...What About Love... ...Never... ...Nobody Home... Jefferson Airplane ...Somebody To Love... ...Today... ...Its No Secret... ...Triad... ...Lather... ...White Rabbit... Bonnie Raitt ...Dimming Of The Day... ...My Opening Farewell... ...I Can't Make You Love Me... Metallica ...Nothing Else Matters... 38 Special ...Hold On Loosely... ...Caught Up In You... Led Zeppelin ...Ten Years Gone... ...The Wanton Song... ...Custard Pie... ...The Rover... ...Houses of The Holy... ...In My Time of Dying... ...Trampled Under Foot... ...Kashmir... ...Babe I'm Gonna Leave You... ...You Shook Me... ...Dazed and Confused... ...I Can't Quit You Baby... ...Thank You... ...Ramble On... ...Since I've Been Loving You... ...Tangerine... ...That's The Way... ...Stairway to Heaven... ...Going To California... ...When The Levee Breaks... ...No Quarter... ...The Ocean... ...Achilles Last Stand... ...For Your Life... ...Nobody'd Fault But Mine... ...Tea For One... Dread Zeppelin ...Black Dog... ...Heartbreaker... ...Living Loving Maid... ...Your Time Is Gonna Come... ...Bring It On Home... ...Whole Lotta Love... ...Black Mountain Side... ...I Can't Quite You Baby... ...Immigrant Song... ...Moby Dick... ...Good Times Bad Times... ...Going To California... ...Good Rockin Tonight... ...Kashmir... ...Balad of Charlie Haj... ...Unchained Melody... ...Stairway To Heaven... ...Hot & Spicy Beanburger... ...Hotdog... ...All Of My Love... ...Wot Happened?... Pink Floyd ...On The Turning Away... ...Wish You Were Here... Breaking Benjamin ...The Diary Of Jane... ...Breath... Three Days Grace ...Never Too Late... Stevie Ray Vaughn ...Life By The Drop... ...Little Wing... ...Texas Flood... ...The Sky is Crying... ...Lenny... ...Life Without You... ...Could'nt Stand The Weather... Eric Clapton ...Bell Bottom Blues... ...Have You Ever Loved A Woman... ...Layla... ...Little Wing... ...Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out... ...Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad... ...Old Love... ...Lonely Stranger... ...Tears In Heaven... ...Presence Of The Lord... ...Can't Find My Way Home... Rolling Stones ...Wild Horses... ...I Got the Blues... ...Like a Rolling Stone... ...Sister Morphine... ...Dead Flowers... ...Tumbling Dice... ...Let It Loose... Joni Mitchell ...Blue... ...A Case Of You... ...River... ...The Last Time I Saw Richard... Sarah McLachlan ...Posession... ...Wait... ...Plenty... ...Good Enough... ...Mary... ...Elsewhere... ...Fumbling Towards Ecstasy ...Adia... ...Angel... ...Building A Mystery... ...Do What You Have To Do... ...I Love You... ...Sweet Surrender... ...Witness... Pat Benatar ...Promises in the Dark... ...Hit Me With Your Best Shot... ...Heartbreaker... ...Love Is a Battlefield... ...Sex as a Weapon... ...Hell is for Children... City Of Angels Soundtrack ...Angel... ...Iris... ...An Angel Falls... ...Spreading Wings... ...City Of Angels... Jewel ...Little Sister... ...Foolish Games... ...Near You Always... ...Morning Song... ...You Were Meant For Me... ...Don't... ...Amen,,, ...Deep Water... ...Hands... ...Kiss The Flame... ...Down So Long... ...Innocence Maintained... ...Life Uncommon... Nikelback ...Savin' Me... ...Far Away... ...Never Again... ...Someday... Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ...Breakdown... ...Insider... ...Refuge... ...Free Fallin'... ...Learning To Fly... ...Even The Losers... ...The Waiting... ...Square One... Bob Dylan ...Like A Rolling Stone... ...Shelter From The Storm... Neil Young ...Triad... ...Cowgirl In The Sand... ...Don't Let It Bring You Down... ...Helpless... ...Needle and The Damage Done... The Doors ...Light My Fire... ...The Crystal Ship... ...Soul Kitchen... ...Take It As It Comes... ... The End... The Cranberries ...Zombie... ...I Can't Be With You... Blue Oyster Cult ...Don't Fear The Reaper... ...Burning For You... ...Flaming Telepaths... Black Sabbath ...Electric Funeral... ...Iron Man... ...Paranoid... ...War Pigs... ...Faries Wear Boots... Meat Loaf ...You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth... ...I couldn't Have Said It Better... ...Out of The Frying Pan (Into The Fire)... ...Two Out of Three Ain't Bad... ...For Crying Out Loud... ...I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)... Allman Brother Band ...Sweet Melissa... ...Whipping Post... Mountain ... Nantucket Sleighride... ...Travellin' In The Dark... Lynyrd Skynyrd ...I Need You... ...Simple Man... ...That Smell... Pattie Smith ...Money... ...Break it Up... ...Elegie... |
From June 01, 2007 to now, 108 books and counting... I love to read. Some think it merely escape from the mundane. I mostly read to be entertained, but also to help me solve problems. Its a primary source of knowledge. In a recent discussion with my friend John, he observed that knowledge of mathematics, physics, chemistry, geology, and knowledge in general, is power. I had forgotten to think of it that way but of course he is right. But reading is humbling. There are millions of books and I've only read a few thousand. The more you read, the easier it is to assume that with infinity ahead of you, we are all equally ignorant. Hopefully I grow beyond my own thoughts. By reading we learn ways of thinking that unfold the inner workings of the world around us. We try to leapfrog our own knowing by reading the things our favorite authors themselves liked to read. So, yeah that makes one powerful. It can fill a void in your life. Reading is the companion for cocoa and a comforter curled in a well lit chair by a warm fire on a cold winters night. Reading is laying above the covers on a summer night, lost in a story, when its too hot to sleep. Is reading addictive? Yes. Is that bad? I guess it depends on whom you ask. Leon Lederman and Christopher Hill Symmetry And The Beautiful Universe - March 08- Just picked this up at Crystal Books and Gifts. I saw it had a chapter on Emmy Noether and well, I'd love to know more about one of the most brilliant women in our age. She was the first to prove that the if a symmetry is observed then there is an underlying conservation principle, an amazing thing to realize. Bruce A. Schumm The Beauty of Deep Down Things - The Breathtaking Beauty of Particle Physics - February 15 - A very nice exposition on the Standard Model of particle physics. I slowed down as I started reading Smolin's book also. Benjamin Hoff The Te Of Piglet - Feburary 28 - More in the line of the Tao of Poo but now its Piglets turn to be Teh Master. Charles de Lint Medicine Road - March 16 - My mom just finished this and handed it to me, a nice three hours. Coyote woman (Corina) turns a red dog and the jackalope he was chasing to eat into humans (5-fingers) and gives them 100 years to find true love or go back to being only animal. The jackalope (Alice) finds true love but the red dog (Jim) never settles down. This all happens in the sonoran desert around Tuscon, AZ. Identical twin sisters Laural and Bess are touring musicians and Jim sees them at a gig and falls for Bess. The rest of the story proceeds from there. Can it be true love? What if Bess and Laural find out that Jim and Alice have only two weeks till the hundred years is over? I liked how it turns out. The story is short enough it could be a movie or a theater production. Emma Bull Territory -March 15-March 16 - First off I must note that Emma Bull is one of my favorite authors. Other books by her are 'Falcon', 'Finder', 'Bone Dance', 'War For The Oaks', and 'Freedom and Necessity' (co-authored with Steven Brust). This book has sourcery and Wyatt Earp is one. The town of Tombstone Arizona is the setting. Its the story of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday, and Ike Clayton with a very interesting twist. The book is about how some people have the power to draw power from the earth and from others and portion it out for their purposes. Wyatt Earp wants control of the town of Tombstone and the surrounding Territory with rights to all the underground silver deposits. The power can be used to 'stake a claim' in a territory by human sacrifice. As the book progresses, it turns out that the cattle rustler John Ringo is also a sourcerer and is contending for the same territory. The hero Jesse Fox is right in the middle of it and there is a very nice relationship angle in his persuit of Mildred Benjamin the typesetter for the Nugget newspaper. This is such a good read, I could not put it down till it was finished, five hours. Lee Smolin The Trouble with Physics - The Rise Of String Theory, The Fall Of A Science, and What Comes Next - February 15m March 15- I have to say that damn! this is a wonderful book. I really had no idea some of the things in here. I'd be a physicist myself if I could explain this. Smolin has worked on the quantum gravity theories of particle physics as well as in the field of String theory. He lays out five great problems in theoretical physics and without too much effort on the readers part, he explains the current state of particle physics and string theory. He explains that string theory for all its proponents strong support, has yet to yield a result or prediction that would establish it as the next best thing. He shows how it is enticingly beautiful but that the number of possible universes it can describe are almost innumerable and yet not one has been found that actually fits our universe. He shows how in particle physics one has the standard model and then there are a number of experimentally measured physical constants that one must plug in to the model to get the self consistent jewel of physics. However, string theory requires not just a few but hundreds of values that need to be adjusted to make a model that nevertheless does not quite describe our universe and typically has extra particles and properties that contradict experimental observations. Smolin goes on to suggest that their is life in the old model yet by persuing things like quantum gravity and non newtonian gravity. He details the MOND theory that removes the requirement for dark matter by suggesting that there are two distance scales for the acceleration of gravity. One acts close up and is the Newtonian model where gravity falls of as the square of the distance and the other takes over in space that is flatter and far removed from local concentrations of matter. This second gravity field is a constant 1.2E-08 cm per second squared. He introduces 'R' which is the scale of the cosmological constant that Einstein introduced to compensate for the expansion of the universe. Its about 10 billion light years. Its interesting that if you consider the microwave thermal background left over from the big bang; it turns out that it has a cutoff at the scale of R. Whats cool is that if you consider R divided by the speed of light, you get a time and its the age of the universe. Finally if you square the speed of light and divide it by R you get an acceleration and its ~1.2E-08 cm per second squared. Its an amazing coincidence that this number falls out of R and the speed of light and is just right to explain the acceleration of gravity needed between the galaxies. This scale c squared over R is now called Milgrom's Law by astronomers. So, Smolin suggests there is still new physics to be done extending the old model. He further suggests that string theory although beautiful is monopolizing our research funding for not much result. He goes on in the last half of the book detailing the sociological problems of a field becoming dominated by one form of thought. He goes into some interesting discussion of the nature of science as a disipline and ends up with some suggestions on how to get more scientists of the 'seer' sort like Einstein that break new ground. Well it was a very long time in reading but very much worth reading. Now I will have to read it again. Christopher Stasheff St. Vidicon To The Rescue - March 10, 2008 Monday- Borrowed it at the monday night potluck and read it that night afterwards. Very schlocky lots of puns and references to make you groan. A Catholic monk, Fr Vidicon gives his life and becomes Saint Vidicon of Cathode and immediately begins evidencing miracles which protect those who pray to St Vidicon for aid. St Vidicon battles gremlins, entropy, perversity and other consequences of Finagle's Principle and its corollary Murphry's Law. Vidicon enlists the aid of a computer trouble shooter and repays him by helping him with his love life. Actually not that great of a book, but better than I could write. Harry Kemelman Friday The Rabbi Slept Late Saturday The Rabbi Went Hungry Sunday The Rabbi Stayed Home - March 07-11, 2008 - Picked this up at Goodwill 3/7/08 Friday afternoon after work. These are short books so I'm counting it as one book. I read all these back in highschool. Fortunately, I've forgotten most of the story lines and these were a fun read. Rabbi Small and his wife Miriam come to Barnard's Crossing where the Rabbi gets a contract with the local synagogue. There is the interesting interplay as groups within the Jewish community clash with the new rabbi. Rabbi Small always ends up solving both the problem with the congregation and the murder at nearly the same time. These are fun murder mysteries. I like Tony Hillerman mysteries for the insight they give into Navaho life. I think these Rabbi Small mysteries do something similar though less complex for Jewish life. Steven Gould Reflex - March 06, 2008- This is the sequil to his first book 'Jumper' which has been made into a movie and is playing in theaters right now. I read this back in 2004 when it first came into print and figured I would have forgotten enough of it to make it interesting to read again. Jumper is premised on the idea that given sufficient motivation and abuse, one person learned to teleport. In 'reflex' our teleporting jumper is kidnapped and his wife goes looking for him. I can't say more without giving away the gimmick. John M. Ford The Last Hot Time - March 04-05, 2008 - Ford is good at writing alternate history. This book postulates that elfland has once again touched on human space and magic is possible. The scenerios of very tough elves fighting over territory remind me of mob rumbles during prohibition. A human named Doc gets involved as a doctor for one of the gangs and it comes to an interesting conclusion. Kim Harrison For A Few Demons More - March 01-04, 2008- A writer of similar material to that of Kelly Armstrong. The humans are not quite as well characterized but it was a good read. I'll probably go through her entire catalogue. David Drake The Tank Lords - Febuary 19-20, 2008- I've read it before but its a nice quick read when I could not find anything else that suited. Drake does really nice descriptions of military violence. I like his books that deal with tanks the best and as he points out, in Vie-tnam 'he rode with the blackhorse'. BTW there is a 5-page afterword about being in the military that could stand to be read by a few gung ho types. Kelly Armstrong No Humans Involved - Febuary 15-18, 2008- I really like this author. This volume follows a sub story about the necromancer Jamie Vegas. I really like the way Ms Armstrong thinks out the mechanism of how each magic should work and then works in these wonderful characters with their very human derivation. Benjamin Hoff The Tao Of Poo - Febuary 13-28, 2008- Just sort of noodled my way through this. Nice book if you like Poo but the ending reaches conclusions not justified in the text. Simon R. Green The Unnatural Inquirer - A novel of the nightside - Febuary 12, 2008 Tuesday- I read the same evening I received it in the mail from Amazon, details later. Glen Cook The Dragon Never Sleeps - Febuary 1-11 2008 - A long complex book. Sort of the decline of the Roman Empire done in space. I really enjoyed it, details later. Andrew M. Greeley The Senator and the Priest - Febuary 1, 2008 Saturday- I read this while helping watch a group of teens on a Ski trip to our own local Powerhorn ski resort. The book starts out suggesting things are all bad and then starts years earlier to tell you how this quandry came to be. This distressed me because I don't really like just reading how things go from good to bad. Fortunately, the book has a really good ending. The story details the career of a successful senator and how he achieves success. Interestingly, all the political issues he deals with are current issues which makes it fun to see how they get handled. Parallel to the main story is the detailing of how the senators marriage works out and I won't spoil it by telling the final result. But the working out of their relationship is a wonderful part of this book. Finally in an antagonistic role, the older brother of the senator is a catholic priest and is constantly working to destroy the senators esteem and his lifes work. Terry Pratchett Thud - January 29 - 31, 2008 - The Dwarfs and the Trolls are getting restless because the anniversary of the legendary Koom Valley massacre is about to happen. You have to ask either side who won and neither side seems to be able to remember how it began. But Trolls and Dwarfs have really got a long standing grudge about this centuries old conflict. Commander Vimes of the Watch is called in to solve the apparent murder of a Dwarf by a Troll, or is it? He needs to solve the murder and prevent the reenactment of the battle of Koom Valley in his city of Ankh-Morpork. The Dwarfs have some really cool old tech they have mined out of the solid rock (i.e. 'Cubes' and 'Axles'). One interesting aside, Koom Valley is apparently very geologically interesting. Sounds like active tectonism affecting a river valley with live caves and Karst topography collapsing all over the place. Jack mcDevitt Omega - January 28, 2008 - An excellent book, I read it in one go. The Omega clouds move through the galaxy turning aside to destroy anything that contains the lines and angles of civilization. Man with his FTL drives is trying to understand the origin of these clouds and in protecting another civilization from the clouds, man tries not to interfer with another culture while trying to save it. There is a very clever twist in the end that will have you thinking about unintended consequences of capracious intelligence. James H. Schmitz TNT - Telzey Amberdon and Trigger Argee Together - January 23-27, 2008 - In progress This is the quintessential writer for exploration of the characteristics of psi if it could exist. This is the second book of a short series written by this extremely talented and unsung author. Eric Flint is the Editor of this volume and I'm so glad he persuated Baen books to re-release these novels. I've already read this once or twice before. But its a favorite set of books to read when nothing else will suit. Patricia Briggs Iron Kissed - January 26, 2008 - I bought this saturday night and read it in the same evening. This is the third book in the series. The first two are 'Moon Called' and 'Blood Bound' and I have already reviewed them below. I really like the author and I like the vulnerability of the main character even when she is showing amazing strength. Mercy tangles with the Fae this time and gets pulled into a murder mystery where solving it can get one killed because the Fae would rather loose one of their number than have their secrets known by humans. A nice read that illustrates that mortal weakness can show unexpected strength of character under pressure. A wonderful read. Charlotte Kasl, PhD If The Buddha dated - January 12, 2008 - In progress Another Buddhist flavored book about how to search for a life partner without being trapped in expectations. David Richo How To Be An Adult In Relationships - The Five Keys to Mindful Loving - January 12, 2008 - In progress Sort of a Buddhist flavored book about the five A's which contribute to mindfulness in a relationship. Glen Cook Lord Of The Silent Kingdom - Book two of the Instrumentalities Of The Night - January 12-20, 2008 - Glen Cook is one of my favorite authors for fantasy sword and sorcery done on a military scale. I finished the first book of this series back in December. The story gets more complex and finally many subplots resolve. This series is reminds me a bit of the Terry Pratchet Novel 'Small Gods', only in the sense that it has a mechanism whereby people or beliefs become 'ascendent' to godhood in this universe, powered by the beliefs of ordinary people. But one man has discovered that 'gods' can be killed with silver dispersed from a cannon. Now these 'gods' are trying their best to destroy this man but other fates are carrying him forward into the future. Thomas Moore Dark Nights of the Soul - A Guide for Finding Your Way Through Life's Ordeals August 19, 2007 - January 14, 2008 I've finished this book. I like the concept of this book that at the moment of greatest loss is the best opportunity for personal growth. An ex-monk, he coherently weaves mythology, historical figures, and psychological facts to show that many people grow the most during the times of darkness in their lives. Its relevant to me. Steven Erikson Deadhouse Gates - January 7-14, 2008 This is the even longer (834pp) sequel to Gardens of the Moon. A very prolonged read. Sometimes the switching between plot lines got tedious but the various lines moved along fairly well. LOTR would seem simple to keep track of now after reading this. Hmmm, the warrens are not only useful to do magic but also alive. Very nicely done military encounters. I especially liked story lines involving the the historian and the assassin. L. Sprague De Camp Conan and the Spider God January 06, 2008 I still remember the day I found my roommates complete collection of Conan novels. I read them all in one go, reading day and night. It took me a couple days. So sad L. Sprague De Camp died in 2000. He is a worthy writer of Conan's tales. I loved his novels with Farfhd and Gray Mouser. Jim Aikin The Wall at the Edge of the World December, 2007 Imagine a world of Telepaths. They have ritual cleansings to remove non telepaths from their midst. A man looses his wife and gradually discovers a dark secret. Jack McDevitt Odyssey December, 2007 Curious lights follow science ships and star liners. Are the moonriders a natural phenemon, cryptic aliens, or something else? Very interesting tech lets certain people host the presence of an A.I. when in range. Quantum entangled dots can be taken through stargates to enormous stellar distances and enable instantaneous communication. Glen Cook Lord of the Silent Kingdom (Instrumentalities of the Night) - August 02- December, 2007 - Glen Cook is one of my favorite authors for fantasy sword and sorcery done on a military scale. Magic good or bad sits around and accumulates if bad things gather enough then bad things are going to happen. Here we have the Church running about pretending to battle magic in a medieval setting and one man has had the idea of shooting silver shot at a Bogon; and it dies. Naturally the Instrumentalities of the Night would like to see this man and his knowledge ended. But he is hard to find and having additional adventures of his own undercover for his emperor to undermine the principates running the church. Jack McDevitt Polaris December, 2007 An abandoned space yacht, a famous antiquities dealer secures some of the artifacts just before the ship is destroyed. A mystery needs to be solved. Wen Spencer Wolf Who Rules December, 2007 More adventures with Tinker in this sequel. Elvenkind seems to be a matter of genetic engineering. Charles De Lint The Dreaming Place December, 2007 Ash has a problem when she becomes noticed by the powers. She gets guidence from Bones to search the other world for help. Grandmother Toad intervenes and gives her the tool to bring balance to the worlds. Karl Schreoder Ventus December, 2007 What happens when terraforming goes wrong and the machinery becomes gods for a whole planet. Nanolife in every object makes the Platonic Ideal actually true. Every object is sentient and believes in and guides its own existance. John Barnes The Merchant of Souls November, 2007 Does a recording and simulation of a human mind have rights as an independent A.I. or can he/she be sold as chattel, helpless virtual reality playthings? This book is set in the thousand cultures universe. Kelly Armstrong Broken November, 2007 Elena is a female werewolf, very rare, and she is pregnant. Time for a big adventure, yep! Kelly Armstrong Haunted November, 2007 Interesting thoughts about the nature of the boundary between death and life. Eve, the dead mother is hanging around trying to protect her daughter Savannah. Wen Spencer Dog Warrior November, 2007Sorry, I waited too long to write a review. A detective story, two brothers on opposing sides, an alien drug taylored for them both. Kelly Armstrong Industrial Magic November 02, 2007 Wow, now we are cooking with gas. This author keeps getting better and better. The plots are gettng more complex and less needless detail in the personal anguish department. Kelly Armstrong Dimestore Magic October 28, 2007 Excellent book, almost could not take the internal worrying of the mother over child custody. If women really think that way, well, they should be more agressive. Life is too short to let people walk over you. But she dishes out the spells in the end and becomes quite the accomplished witch. Oh, I guess I should mention, this is a very entertaining book about a witch and her coven and the adventure she ends up having. Charles Stross Accelerando October 20, 2007Here I falter, the book unfinished, my little brother Philip died this day at 2:42 pm. Oh God, I will miss him. Charles Stross Singularity October 16, 2007 Charles Stross Iron Sky October 14, 2007 Joel Rosenberg Not Exactly The Three Musketeers October 10, 2007 James Stevens- Arce Soul Saver October 6, 2007 Allen Steel Coyote September 30, 2007This is my first Allen Steel book. A USA corrupted by a fundamentalist dictatorship that uses its intellectuals and then puts them in prison camps has the tables turned. Some of the ID's (Intellectual Dissidents) manage to hijack the first starship ever built and ride it to the planet of Coyote. The story is told in a loose readable style. I found the love interest intertwined in the plot very interesting and realistic. I finished this in one night. I've cut back on coffee but was glad of it monday morning. I think I'm going to read the sequels, Coyote Rising and Coyote Frontier. Wen Spencer A Brother's Price September 18, 2007I've read three of Wen's novels so far. This one has the simplest construction from the standpoint of the man. Women outnumber men 30 to one, so, naturally the sex rolls are reversed. Women run businesses, ride horses, carry guns, etc. Men stay at home, cook for the younglings (mostly daughters) and are married to the 10 or so wives that make up the home. If they are lucky, in 30 girls they will have one male and they will marry him off to another group of women in exchange for a man for their children. Nice story, I wonder if male testosterone poisoning would really permit this sort of story line. Charlaine Harris Dead Until Dark September 17, 2007 A very quick read. Girl who can read minds falls in love with vampire then later with shapeshifter. Its not bad writing just a little rough. Reminds me of the sort of world line in Robin McKinley's 'Sunshine'. Only, I think Sunshine has a much better and deeper plot. 'Dead Until Dark' is a light fluffy piece that reminds me of the movie 'Bettlejuice'. |