Now that I’ve had a bit more time to write, you might guess that I’ve also had a bit more time to read. I have, and that has allowed me to finally finish His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman. This one has been on my “in progress” list for a while, so I’m glad to finally move on to reading something else. Though one might want to dedicate a post to each book of the trilogy, I’m only going to be writing this one post covering all three books. There will be minor spoilers below, so read at your own risk. Continue reading His Dark Materials
Tag Archives: Books
The Universe in a Single Atom
My reading time is a little reduced, but I did recently take the time to finish a book a friend of mine recently lent me, The Universe in a Single Atom by the Dalai Lama. This book was initially interesting to me because it sounded like a spiritual leader attempting to reconcile spirituality (in this case, Buddhist spirituality) with modern physics. As I read it, it actually was a bit better than this, which I’ll go into below. Continue reading The Universe in a Single Atom
The Cuckoo’s Egg
I recently finished reading the Cuckoo’s Egg by Cliff Stoll. This one has been on my list for a while, when my friend Cam recommended it many years ago. It somehow never made it to my list because, well, it’s not science fiction, and I used to have a lot less time to read. But, when I saw Cliff Stoll on Numberphile, I remembered the book and decided to pick it up – I’m quite glad I did. Continue reading The Cuckoo’s Egg
Escape Pod
I’ve recently been listening to a lot of Escape Pod to fill the time when I’m doing something with my hands or taking my daily walk. I have enjoyed getting back into audio short stories, and Escape Pod in particular delivers that particular enjoyment with a bit of nostalgia. Continue reading Escape Pod
Ascendance
While I wasn’t initially planning on listening to the Second DemonWars Trilogy, I found myself listening to Ascendance when next I got a chance. The reason that there’s a hesitance for me in picking it up is really that the Second DemonWars Trilogy is really a different kind of story compared to the first, one that, though I enjoy the telling, I’m not sure I enjoy the story quite as much.
Ascendance, in particular though, was a bit difficult for me to get through – and that’s something I’ll discuss after the jump. Continue reading Ascendance
Dark Designs
I recently finished Dark Designs, the next Riverworld novel. Of the three I’ve read thus far, this one is far and away the best – primarily because it keeps things moving in the middle. There’s a lot going on in this book, and while there are certainly spoilers below, I’ll be looking at it more in broad strokes. Continue reading Dark Designs
Mortalis
While I was on travel, and just before I got the flu for a week (hence, no blogging), I finished Mortalis, the “bridge” novel between the two Demonwars Trilogies. This book is my favorite part of the Demonwars saga, and one of my favorite fantasy novels in general. This is because of the range of emotions that it evokes, and, even though it has something of a complex plot, it has a simple message, and one that I appreciate.
I’ll be spoiling that after the jump. Continue reading Mortalis
The Demon Apostle
Hot on the heels of finishing The Demon Spirit, I finished up The Demon Apostle by R. A. Salvatore. Of the three books in the main trilogy, I like the character beats in The Demon Apostle the best, though some character beats were better than others.
Spoilers after the jump. Continue reading The Demon Apostle
The Magnificent Riverboat
On my trip downRiver, I finished The Magnificent Riverboat, the next book in the Riverworld series. This volume covered the story of Samuel Clemens and his building of an electric riverboat to travel upRiver to the source of the river. I think Samuel Clemens moral compass made it a bit easier for me to be invested in the middle parts of the book (compared to Richard Burton), but this one was still a bit slow reading – details after the jump. Continue reading The Magnificent Riverboat
The Demon Spirit
I’ve been trying to work through my assembly backlog lately, and while doing so, I decided to listen to R. A. Salvatore’s The Demon Spirit – the second book in the Demonwars Trilogy. This was a good experience, and gave me the chance to do two things at once in a way that wasn’t distracting. Overall, I enjoyed this leg of the journey, but it’s probably my least favorite book of the trilogy, primarily because it is so dark.
Probable spoilers after the jump. Continue reading The Demon Spirit