Books: Maps, Dinosaurs, Thrones, Felines, Shadows, and Dyson Spheres

[woodwardiocom]

Everything Sings by Denis Wood

I picked this up at the Globe Corner Bookstore's going-out-of-business sale. It's a series of maps of the neighborhood of Boylan Heights, in Raleigh, North Carolina. They're very untraditional maps, including plots of how often each address was mention in the local newsletter, landlords plotted by distance between their residence and property owned and number of properties, paper routes plotted in time and space, trees plotted by health, and jack-o-lantern carvings plotted by location. It's a fascinating look at alternate ways to understand geography. Recommended.

End Of An Era by Robert J. Sawyer

One of Sawyer's early works, in which a pair of paleontologists (and romantic rivals) use an experimental time machine to do some dino-research, and once there bump into aliens, with dire implications for both the history of Earth, and their own personal timelines. Mildly recommended.

A Game Of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

I hadn't read it before, and it was everywhere, so... This is an excellent treatment of medieval politics in a fantasy world, at length. The downside, of course, is that it's just the first 800-page book in a 7-book series of 800-page books, and I'm not sure I'm ready for the commitment. Ne'ertheless, I'll end up reading them all eventually, because it's that good, and I like a serious epic, I do. Recommended.

Decision At Doona by Anne McCaffrey

An early work by McCaffrey, in which Earth is direly overcrowded, and everyone prays for a chance to settle an alien world. Our hero and his family get that chance, only to discover that there are intelligent locals. Earth colonists are absolutely not allowed on planets with natives... but are they really natives? Idiotic bureaucracy ensues, with a few moments of drama. The Hrrubans are a little smug for my tastes, and the way the women are constantly being pushed back into the kitchens to cook is very 1960s, but it's a fun read. Mildly recommended.

The Way Of Shadows by Brent Weeks

First in a trilogy about the training and career of a fantasy-world assassin. I read books like this for the sneaking around and clever use of tools and spells in the performance of the assassinations, and I get my fair share of that. I also got a lot of fairly one-note handling of the female characters, who all have curves and bosoms, usually heaving. I bought it because the opening scene managed to trigger claustrophobia in me, and indeed the author continues to be good at writing unpleasantness. This volume doesn't offer much pleasantness to counter it, but it's the first volume, so we'll see. Mildly recommended if you're into stories about assassins.

Orbitsville Departure by Bob Shaw

Sequel to Orbitsville, this is a novel mostly about 1970s sexual politics, and not much about Dyson spheres. Not particularly recommended.

Comments

[thorkell.livejournal.com]

A Game Of Thrones by George R.R. Martin....a 7-book series of 800-page books

At least 7 books, I think. There have been 5 now, and I'm not sure he's showing signs of stopping any time soon.

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

At last report, he said the seventh book would be the last.