Category: Fiction

bookworm?

Posted on by Greig

The Eyre Affair

Jasper Fforde

the eyre affairThe first of the Thursday Next books introduces us to Fforde’s fantasy world of an alternate version of England, still mired in the Crimea, where classic literature is the popular entertainment of the masses.
Next is a civil servant working in the field of literary crime who becomes entangled in the machinations of a crazed criminal genius.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable romp, if never quite as clever or as funny as it thinks it is.
Sadly this series succumbed to the law of diminishing returns after a sequel or two.
Recommended from fans of comic fantasy or those looking for something plays with the conventions and history of literature in a humorous fashion.

Rating: A-

snehurka?

Posted on by Greig

Giraffe

J.M. Ledgard

giraffeThe story of a group of giraffes that end up in Prague zoo in the mid 70’s as told through the eyes of various individuals who interact with the animals during the journey to Prague and when they are settled at the zoo.
Beautifully written, it’s episodic, rambling nature robs the book of narrative momentum.
The novel feels like it’s going nowhere until the last 90 pages when the story comes together to a point in magnificent fashion.
Points are taken off for making me fall asleep reading it…

Rating: B+

dwenda?

Posted on by Greig

The Steel Remains

Richard Morgan

The Steel RemainsAstonishingly good, brutal fantasy from the writer of rather good, brutal SF Noir.
Twists the fantasy template in interesting ways for fabulous effect.
Lead characters Ringil, Archeth and Egar are war heroes, veterans of a brutal conflict living with the compromises forced upon them by the political fallout of the aftermath.

Rating: A+

sopors?

Posted on by Greig

Mockingbird

Walter Tevis

mockingbirdIntriguing science fiction from the author of The Hustler and The Color Of Money.
It’s a few hundred years in the future and a mankind coddled by robots and lulled into drugged sterility – both mental and physical is dwindling to it’s last generation until a man in Ohio learns to read..
Raising so many ideas about the nature of humanity and the burdens of artificial intelligence this is really a very good bit of science fiction.

Rating: A

gospodin?

Posted on by Greig

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

Robert Heinlein

the moon is a harsh mistressWhen I first read this, Heinlein’s last truly great book, I was blown away. Of course I was a pre-pubescent teenager at the time. While this remains a vastly entertaining romp, sadly it’s dated badly by some bizarre sexual politics and heavy handed political theorizing.

Rating: B+

egg?

Posted on by Greig

The Magician’s Assistant

Ann Patchett

the magicians assistantOne of the quirks of Fife libraries is that books are often assigned to genres they plain don’t belong to. I’m guessing it’s because the people involved have to make snap decisions based on the title, cover and blurb.
This book was sporting a fantasy sticker when I borrowed it and the blurb on the back was vague enough to suggest that it could well have been a subtle fantasy novel.
In fact this a very good mainstream fiction novel about a stage magician’s assistant.
She was his wife and inherits his fortune when he dies. While they were very close, the marriage was one of convenience because he was gay.
In the course of going through his estate she discovers that, after all these years of thinking he was an orphan, he has family back home in the midwest.
I really enjoyed this book and plan to read more by this author.

Rating: A