otori trilogy

Just started on across the nightingale floor, by lian hearn, which is quite good reading. It is about a boy whose family is killed and he is taken in by the goood warlord (a bit like star wars now that I think about it). Not a whole lot different in plot from the western fantasy novels, but I like this cos it is set in Japan. Not actually Japan, a country that sounds and feels Japanese, but his geography (and history) is way way off. Which is why I think it is in the fantasy section, not historical fiction. A bit like Memoirs of a geisha meets kill bill. It says on the cover that it is a trilogy, but I'm not sure if his latest book out in the shops is the 4th book in the series, cos they have the 3rd one on the library already.

A Warning on David Gemmell's Troy...

Recently, I picked up the first installation of David Gemmell's Troy trilogy - Lord of the Silver Bow, hoping to pick up on fantasy reading where I left off. It was great. No, make that fab. See, the main problem with David Gemmell is that he is boring and recycles, like, 5 storylines. Which, in other words, make him a B-list but sellable writer by sheer fact of volume. So why do I read him? Because years ago, I read Legend which was one of the best 'flawed hero' showcases I've ever read, and I'm always optimistic.

Ok, so I liked Troy right? So last week, I go and talk to my elder brother about it.

Me: Eh, you read Troy oredi?
He: Wah lau! You read oredi ah? Damn good right?
Me: Wah lau! You also read oredi ah? Wah lau, damn good lor!
(We are a very eloquent family)
He: Eh, you read second book oredi or not? I got.
Me: Wah Lau! You got ah! Lend me leh!
He: Ya can. But I haven't read yet leh.
Me: Aiya, lend me lah. Eh, you got third book or not?
He: Wah lau! Got no third book lah! David Gemmell die oredi!!
(Silence)
Me: NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!

Yes. David Gemmell has apparently died. I know I should really be sad and feel remorse at the loss of a prolific, if not memorable, fantasy writer, but really I just feel sad and remorse for the loss of my third book in the Troy series. So here's a warning to all you naive readers like me who never think about checking an author's state of health before starting on a new series, don't start Troy. Unless, of course, you're one of those for whom "oh honey, it's not the end that matters, it's how we get there" types.

Wah lau.

magic for beginners

I love this book by Kelly Link, and the good news is that they have it at the library. The bad news is that I am holding on to the only copy right now :) but I promise to return it soon.

It is a collection of short stories that have appeared elsewhere. The writing is like magic realism (though I'm not sure what that means in a literary sense), but I assume it is when strange illogical things happen. The stories really feel like a dream, as in one minute you are doing something then it changes and you don't know how you got here. It is similar to the stories that Neil Gaiman writes, sad, funny and scary all mixed up. And in each story there seems to be potential for more stange, sad funny stories.

Like in the title story, a bunch of teens are fans of this tv show, but the show has no fixed telecast time, an evolving plot and only the 2 lead characters are always played by the same actors. The rest of the cast takes turn to swap their roles. That would be such an interesting concept if a tv show was made like that...

Hannibal Rising

This is a book that needs no introduction. It is a prequel of the beginnings of Hannibal Lector, as a boy. If you've read the previous book Hannibal, there are already glimpses of his childhood and what happened to his sister. So in a sense this current book doesn't tell us anything new, and it is not explicit as to why he started eating people. The adult Hannibal seems to have sprung fully formed, there is no real boyhood transition to adulthood.

There is also a disconnect between the earlier Lector books like Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs vs Hannibal and Hannibal Rising.

In the earlier books, he is malicious and kills for whimsy, whereas in the later books Thomas Harris has made him into an anti-hero - his killings are justified ie to protect Clarice, or to take revenge on the men who killed his sister. What would be interesting is what happened in the time period after Hannibal Rising, when he starts a new life in America and before he was finally arrested.

It is definitely a must-read if you are a keen fan, but otherwise you can probably wait for the movie.

edit: boing boing thinks more highly of it than me.

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter

I'm reading this new series by laurell hamilton and it is as good as the title of book 1 suggests - Guilty Pleasures. Storyline is Anne Rice meets Raymond Chandler meets Buffy. Hardnails female detective/zombie maker is up in a world of vampires in New Orleans. Vampirism is legal and there is even a vampire church that promises everlasting life - without the hail marys presumably. Not too brain-consuming fare.

THUD

Just finished Terry Pratchett's Thud in 3 days. It was released last year I think, and it is the latest in the Discworld series. What is it like? If you've read one discworld novel, you'll know. It pretty much sticks to the format, has a couple of killer lines and ideas, I somehow feel it would work much better as a radio play, with funny voices. The storyline stars Sam Vimes and the Watch, which has been featured in his last couple of books. Trolls and dwarves usually get along by ignoring each other, but they start coming to blows because of increasing nationalism, or species-ism. With echos of the da vinci code, secret societies, coyote ugly.

um, how is everyone doing?
i guess we must be all too busy to read hee hee

I could give you guys a review of systemic pathology the textbook but i don't think anyone is interested.

how about this - books/authors that caught my eye and I would like to read

the areas of my expertise by john hodgeman (google for his podcast, damn funny)

The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank," Slate reporter David Plotz. I read about this on boing boing i think, but it sounds cool. I don't think the donor kids ended up at geniuses, i think they got the 'crazy' part of the scientist.

lost girls by alan moore. anyone know if this is banned on the island? might have to get it here then.