Books: Ptath, Mammoth, Doyle+Lovecraft

The Book of Ptath by A. E. van Vogt

-An odd fantasy novel, which throws a lot of ideas together, most of which do not become clear until the last few chapters. As a result, the ending feels rushed. Mildly recommended, if you can find a copy.

Mammoth by John Varley

-A funky time travel novel, with giant hairy elephants in Los Angeles. Fun, and a bit of a page-turner, Oh, and the chapters are numbered according to absolute time, not relative time. Still, I keep expecting the science in Varley's novels to be harder, and it just isn't . . . I guess Kim Stanley Robinson has spoiled me. Highly recommended if you like mammoths. If you like time travel novels, you'll see a couple of the twists coming, but still recommended.

Shadows Over Baker Street

-I believe I picked this one up on starkeymonster's recommendation. It's an anthology of stories about Holmes and Watson encountering the Cthulhu Mythos. Most of them are quite good, a few are lame, and the Neil Gaiman story, "A Study in Emerald", is freakin' brilliant. Most of the authors manage to evoke the Doyle voice much better than the Lovecraft voice . . . but writing like Lovecraft without diving into parody is much harder. Highly recommended.