Recent reading…

Here’s some mini reviews of a few of the books I’ve read over the last couple of months. No spoilers. I’m willing to lend to friends, if anyone is inclined to indulge.

Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson
I really enjoyed this book. Many sci-fi books lack character development. In these other books, the characters are a little flat, and rarely do the change and evolve, and even more rarely do you feel like you know them as people. However, Wilson does a great job in Spin. The plot of the book is also a page turner, the sci-fi ideas interesting, and the conclusion satisfying. Thumbs up for this one. I’ll be seeking out other books by him, as this is the first one I’ve read by him.

No country for old men, Cormac McCarthy
McCarthy is one of my favorite writers. He reminds me of Hemingway in his use of language, which I love. The passages of the character in the desert; the fear of the characters; the dialog. It’s awe inspiring, an emotional rush, a piece of art. McCarthy’s books are violent and he doesn’t compromise. You’ve been warned. Some of the scenes are gruesome and hard to get through. Kinda like life. His work though is unparalleled. I don’t really know of any other contemporary writer writing at his level. I loved his other books, All the Pretty Horses, the Crossing, Cities of the Plain, and Blood Meridian. My only complaint is that the perspective on final showdown between two of the major characters was a little weird and I felt a little ripped off there. I really enjoyed the book though and it’s such a page turner I read it from cover to cover in one sitting. Don’t do THAT too often…

Kentucky Straight, by Chris Offutt
This is a bunch of stories that shocked me. These people might as well be living on another planet from me. That said, they were riveting. Entertaining. Enlightening. A short, but very worthwhile read. This one I might come back to some day.

At the Mountains of Madness and Other Tales of Terror, by H.P. Lovecraft
I don’t usually read horror. I kind of read this as homework. I didn’t find the story to be very horrifying though. I wasn’t terrified. I was intellectually interested in the discovery the characters made, but not really scared. I guess this book is old school horror. Not really Steven King. More like the Twilight Zone or Outer Limits. Um, the originals.

Century Rain, Alastair Reynolds
Another one of my favorite sci-fi authors. Truly a brilliant author. If you like hard sci-fi and you liked his other books, like Absolution Gap or Revelation space, read this. I didn’t like it as much as his previous works, but anything by Reynolds is head an shoulders above most other contemporary sci-fi. I thought the premise of the book was a little hard to swallow, maybe I’ll get more sucked in with the next book, which I’m sure will come.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter #6), J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter is always a fun read. Although this one seemed to lack a certain something in the middle. Something big happens at the end, which I won’t give away, and that was exciting, but the rest of the story was somewhat of a dud in my opinion. If you’ve read it, and you know what the big happening was, I’ve got to say that I’m not sure I believe it anyway.

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
I really enjoyed this book. Heinlein is another author who creates characters and puts them in situations, as apposed to the other way around of most sci-fi authors. I really enjoy getting to know well fleshed out characters. Of the Heinlein books I’ve read recently, I liked this one the best.

Stranger in a strange land, by Robert Heinlein (Unabridged)
Maybe because it was unabridged, I found myself wallowing a bit with this one. It’s the classic though (can you grok it my water brother?). Pretty much you can’t go wrong here, though I might suggest getting the original version. Not sure about that though.

Orphans of the Sky, Robert Heinlein
This was pretty much a quick goofy read. It was quite dated. It was fun though, the idea of a huge ship lost somewhere in space where the people have forgotten and now don’t believe they are on a ship. Excellent premise. It’s just a little dated though. Like I said.