blood and snow?

Hogfather

I’m a fan of Pratchett’s writing. The man is frighteningly good.
However not every one of his books is a masterpiece. Witness Hogfather.
This book is part of the Death/Susan sequence, which is not my favourite one (only Mort is superb). I’ve never really loved a Susan book, even though on the face of it she should be a really appealing character.
The plot involves a plan by the Auditors of Reality to have the Hogfather (Discworld analogue of Santa Claus) inhumed by a crazed member of the Assassin’s Guild.
I can say that I found it mildly diverting, no more. Which marks it out as rather poor in terms of Pratchett’s output.

Rating: B

Hogfather (Sky One)

This was a 4 hour adaptation of the book starring a host of luminaries from the British acting community. While the art direction lovingly recreated the Discworld, the piece as a whole managed to suffer from poor pacing, confusing editing and a total lack of humour.
Unfortunately the thing was done with rather too much reverence for the source material and not enough of an eye on what would make entertaining television.

B, Books, Comedy, Rated, TV, fantasy

B, Books, Comedy, Rated, TV, fantasy
10:03, December 20th 2006

crocus?

The Dragon Waiting

Ford’s masterful alternative history retells the story of Richard III’s ascension in a world where the Byzantine Romans never fell, where Vampires, Wizards and Witches are real.
As hokey as that sounds the book feels grounded in truth, with impressively crafted characters and a beautifully layered and nuanced plot.
Reading it makes you miss Mr. Ford even more.
One of an unfortunately small number of writers who could really write that worked almost exclusively within the realms of fantasy and science fiction his death earlier this year is something that I could have done without.
Anyway I recommend this book without hesitation to anyone with an interest in Fantasy.

Rating: A

A, Alternative History, Books, Rated, fantasy

A, Alternative History, Books, Rated, fantasy
18:03, December 10th 2006

paisley?

Espedair Street

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve read this book. I think I first read it about 1988, 1989 back when I was borrowing five books a week from Sinclairtown library.
I loved it then and I retain enormous affection for it now. However the book has dated rather badly and definitely is a work of it’s time.
The book follows a week in the life of a man called Daniel Weir, once the songwriter and bass player of wildly successful band, now semi-retired and living a pointless if comfortable life.
The book follows his drunken adventures with his working class friends and his reluctant meetings with music business colleagues as he looks back over his life to try and make sense of where and who he is. It’s Banks at his most straightforward and nicely different for that.
Recommended for anyone who ever wanted to be in a band who can deal with the fact that the book’s now a period piece.

Rating: B

B, Books, Mainstream Fiction, Music, Rated

B, Books, Mainstream Fiction, Music, Rated
10:18, December 3rd 2006