Books: Times Nine

Three Days to Never by Tim Powers

When Einstein's illegitimate daughter dies in 1987, her grandson and great-granddaughter are yanked into a competing web of spies and betrayal, as everyone tries to lay hands on Einstein's suppressed inventions. A page-turner, highly recommended.

Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison

A radical, groundbreaking anthology in its day, it is now merely a good, solid anthology of 1960s SF. Recommended on those merits, highly recommended on its place in SF history.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

I quit after 100 pages. Maybe I should try a different translation.

The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope

See, I can enjoy fiction written before 1900, really! A fun adventure, originator of a thousand imitators that start with, "Zounds! He looks just like the king!" It was nice to spend time with people who would genuinely rather be dead than dishonored. Recommended.

101 Things I Learned in Architecture School by Matthew Frederick

A pithy little book about received wisdom in architecture, with applicability in most creative fields. I picked it up at Black Ink in Harvard Square. Recommended.

Brothers in Arms and Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold

The continuing adventures of Miles Vorkosigan, noble lord, mercenary admiral, and pint-size wiseass. Gripping adventure, sometimes ascending into farce, but also descending into grotesque horror (like the torture scenes in Dance). Recommended.

The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe

I've been wanting to re-read this series for a while. It's set in a future so distant, the lines between fantasy and science-fiction have become blurred, and every old English word is new again. Severian, apprentice torturer, sets out to become executioner at a distant village, but discovers a radically different destiny along the way. Highly recommended.

The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem

Cute little robotic fables about the nature of creations, creators, creativity, and the Creation. Mildly recommended.

Mysteries of Life

Why has Max Headroom never been released on DVD?