I just recently finished one of my favorite book series – The Chronicles of the High Inquest by S. P. Somtow. The first time I read these was while I was in college, after pulling The Light on the Sound and Utopia Hunters from a box of books going to the goodwill. It took me a fair bit to find the other books in the series (I wasn’t able to find The Throne of Madness until I moved to Boulder, well after my first read through), but after getting myself new copies of the whole series and reading them start to finish again, I’m glad I did. Continue reading Chronicles of the High Inquest
Tag Archives: Books
The Three-Body Problem
I recently finished reading The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu. While I mostly live under a rock when it comes to (social) media, this one popped up on my radar in a number of different places, and, when a co-worker loaned me his copy, I decided I would give it a shot. As a science-fiction novel containing aliens, strange cultures, and possible invasion plans, it’s pretty much in my wheelhouse, and curtails nicely with the game that I’m currently running. Continue reading The Three-Body Problem
Light on the Sound
I’ve been taking a break from the H. P. Lovecraft collection I have been reading to re-read one of my favorite science fiction series: The Chronicles of the High Inquest. I finished the first book the other day, and I wanted to blog a bit about why I like this series so much.
First and most obvious is that these books are science fiction. From the very first page, the characters talk about displacement plates which teleport matter from one place to another, and before long we are introduced to humans that live in complete darkness without eyes and ears, tachyon bubbles used to travel through space, and carnivorous alien plants. However, Somtow doesn’t leave it there, there are fantastic elements as well – the twin cities of Effelkang and Kallendrang where the latter hangs inverted above the former, the purple trees of Shtoma, and the whale-like delphinoids that float in the currents of the wind and make their music and light shows. Continue reading Light on the Sound
Apocalypse Meme
Just in case you thought my blog was on autopilot, just merrily posting mosaics every week, I am still alive, just rather busy. In any event, I was presented with this meme recently, so I thought I would share.
The apocalypse has arrived, and you are accompanied by three people – the main protagonist from the last game you played, last book you read, and last movie you watched, who are you with?
Last Game I Played: Homeworld
Main Protagonist: Karan S’Jet
Last Book I Read: The Hobbit
Main Protagonist: Bilbo Baggins
Last Movie I Watched: The Sting
Main Protagonist: Johnny Hooker