Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Alaska, by James A. Michener

Summary: A fairly complete summary of the history of Alaska, as told through the stories of assorted fictional characters who played different roles and filled different niches in it.

Comments: It was kinda cool learning the history of Alaska. And the fact that it was a novel rather than a true history meant I almost felt like I was part of it. And of course it was far more engaging than the average history book. But maybe not any shorter (this book is ~1000 pages). However, I may have been getting annoyed with the frequency of things like "Now we return to the story of the guy from the last chapter" or "who just so happens to be the grandson of the guy we were followed 300 pages ago" (i.e. I'm not sure the whether the number of recurring characters or recurring lineages was believable). Other than that, I enjoyed it. Just be warned that it's a long book.

Friday, November 20, 2009

And Another Thing, by Eoin Colfer

Summary: Ford, Arthur, Trillian, and Zaphod are once again wandering the galaxy having wild adventures. And I shall refrain from saying any more for fear of ruining any surprises.

Comments: First, let me say that this being a continuation of Douglas Adams's trilogy by a different author, one really ought to be skeptical of whether the new author can do a good job of making the new book mesh with the old ones. But I think Colfer does a marvelous job of that, both in staying true to the characters and in continuing the pattern of random amusing comments that comprise a large portion of Adams's books.

And the book does an excellent job of just being an amusing book independent of any context it might have. It's a gripping story line (come on, don't these characters have to somehow manage to escape sudden death at some point in the story?) with random amusing comments. What's not to like? Okay, I'm done with my random squeeing

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Unseen Academicals, by Terry Pratchett

Summary: Something is going on in the city of Ankh-Morpork with respect to the game of foot-the-ball, or football, as it is sometimes called. And it's not just that the wizards of Unseen University are putting together a team. And add to the mix Nutt, who is probably one of the most erudite individuals at the University but might not actually be human. 

Comments: Given the usual insanity of Ankh-Morpork and Terry Pratchett's amusing comments, you have a book that's hard to put down. Another amazing Pratchett book. I quite like the cast of characters. They're all so real and varied. And capable of surprises. Quite the page turner (and there were lots of pages to turn...)