The Android’s Dream
This started off rather slow, but built a really good head of steam and I ended up really enjoying and liking the main characters rather a lot.
Author: Greig
Professional Librarian from Fife who likes books and music.
dissembler?
The Star Fraction
A re-read of the first Fall Revolution book
true knowledge?
The Cassini Division
Third Fall Revolution novel is, for me, the best of the series so far. Following on from the events of the end of The Stone Canal we find ourselves back in the solar system, and at the beginning of the book, back on Earth.
Ellen May Ngwethu is a member of the Cassini Division, an elite (if such a thing can exist in the socialist anarchy of the Solar Union) force detailed with the task of controlling the threat posed by the post-human intelligences that stayed behind at Jupiter.
She’s been tasked with finding the man that came up with the physics that allowed the creation of the wormhole, so that a way through to New Mars can be found in order to assess if there’s any threat from the stored post-human intelligences that the Jay-Dub copy of Jon Wilde told them about.
A really enjoyable read with some excellent characters and SF ideas.
Highly recommended.
gqmu?
The Stone Canal
Follow up to The Star Fraction and second book in the Fall Revolution series
tray?
Twilight Sad
MakeModel
Eagleowl
Liquid Room, Edinburgh
Bottom of the bill eagleowl make interesting, dirty three influenced, post rock with guitar, violin and double bass. Probably the best band of the night for me, and the only one I managed to take a photo of.
MakeModel make shouty hyperactive ‘guitars and keyboards’ pop. Not my cup of tea at the best of times having a couple of really dislikeable front men really didn’t help.
Twilight Sad were a different experience. They were trying for ‘mystique’ in terms of stage presence to go with their austere post-punk sound. That of course fell to pieces when they ran into technical difficulties and the lead singer started telling stories about accidently calling Stirling a toilet. Musically they were quite interesting, but sounded like they’d not quite managed to a have an original idea as of yet.
librarian?
Halting State
By far his best novel so far, Halting State is a near-future thriller set in Edinburgh.
gallery?
Neil Young
Pegi Young
Playhouse, Edinburgh
An epic near three hour, 24 track, show (not including the intermissions) by one of my all-time musical heroes in the perfect setting of Edinburgh’s biggest theatre.
As for his wife, it was pleasant country rock with lashings of pedal steel.
his?
The Damned Utd
Quite, quite awesome fictional retelling of Brian Clough’s 44 days in charge of Leeds United.
Peace writes the entire story as if coming from Clough’s own mouth or subconscious. In one half of the narrative it’s the ‘present day’ and Clough is trying, and failing, to get to grips with the Leeds United job and the other tells the back story of Clough’s managerial career at Hartlepool, Derby County and Brighton.
It’s a fascinating insight into a brilliant and deeply flawed man. A man driven by all sorts of demons, including a desperate desire to prove himself and to best those he respected and those he hated. There was no-one he hated more than Don Revie and his Damned Utd of the title. A great football team that won by playing game in as cynical a fashion as possible. It was his burning desire to best Revie and doing so by turning his cynical machine into a pure football dream that got him to take the job in the first place. Only for him to ruin it by alienating the first team and the board as only he could.
It is quite simply the best football book I’ve ever read. If you have any love for the game you owe it to yourself to read it.
counting?
Elektra
Movie novelization. Was wrong that there might more depth to it than in the movie.
mange?
Roadside Picnic
Seminal Soviet SF, the source for Stalker – the highly acclaimed Tarkovsky film