Category: B+

dora?

Posted on by Greig

Time Enough For Love

Robert A Heinlein

Time Enough For LoveThis is late period Heinlein. That means lots of right-wing libertarian politics, sex and glorification of the pioneer.
This is less of a novel than a series of short stories and novellas about the life of Lazarus Long – an incredibly long lived human being.
It takes in far-future human colonization and the First World War as part of it’s sprawling mess.
It’s quite mental and has no real focus to it, but it’s still one of the more enjoyable reads that Heinlein produced in his later years. I mean in comparison to I Will Fear No Evil it’s a top notch book!
If you loved Heinlein circa The Moon’s A Harsh Mistress then this is something worth checking out. Otherwise I couldn’t honestly recommend it to anyone.

Rating: B+

four digit prime?

Posted on by Greig

Miss Wyoming

Douglas Coupland

Miss WyomingSusan Colgate and John Lodge Johnson, an ex-child star and big time Hollywood film producer, are the lead characters in this book.
Not the most promising start, but Coupland beautifully realises these cliches as real people with all the neuroses, strengths, flaws and past history that you could ever wish for.
Told as usual with his fabulous style, I really enjoy this book, but the plot is pointless and inconsequential and rests on the strength of the characters. If you can’t enjoy the characters then the book will mean nothing to you. I recommend this if you already like Coupland’s work.

Rating: B+

boston crab?

Posted on by Greig

The Wrestling

Simon Garfield

Excellent look at British professional wrestling, told essentially in the words of the participants. Professional wrestling is remembered in the British collective memory as a naff spectacle of deeply unfit men participating in obviously fake matches in the afternoon on ITV. It was like that, but also it was home to some intriguing personalities and an interesting mat based style in comparison to the major US promotions. British wrestlers knew their stuff even if the stars ended up being big fat men like Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks who won through their sheer size. This book gives an historical overview of the wrestling and a personal view of the business as told in the wrestlers, promoters and managers own words. Highly recommended to anyone with a passing interest in professional wrestling.

Rating: B+

-ing?

Posted on by Greig

The Truth

Terry Pratchett

The TruthThis Discworld novel is set in Ankh-Morpork and is the story of how the city’s first newspaper starts up just as a conspiracy to remove
the Patrician goes into motion.
This book is middle ranking Discworld. Good read, funny in places, has a message. It just isn’t as profound the very best of the series.
Obviously recommended to pretty much everyone – Pratchett is a true great.

Rating: B+

anarchy?

Posted on by Greig

The Man Who Was Thursday

G.K. Chesterton

Syme is a poet and an anti-anarchist policeman. He cleverly gets voted on to the Supreme Council of Anarchists as Thursday (The council members all have days of the week for names).
The rest of this story details his adventures as he attempts to derail the activities of the Council.
This is a blackly comic, surreal tale, with many layers of meaning.
I’d recommend it, but I don’t really know why. Anyway you can get a download of it via project gutenberg like I did and read it as an e-book.

Rating: B+

locket?

Posted on by Greig

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

J.K. Rowling

The sixth book in the Potter series. In which, as usual, stubborn Harry finds himself in mortal danger because he doesn’t ask the right questions at the right time, lets his paranoia run deep, starts dating his best friend’s sister and Dumbledore gets killed. By Snape (The Half Blood Prince in question). Hm. The last book will be interesting I can already see some things that will happen, I think.
It’s far from a masterpiece, but it is a real page turner. I think it took me about six hours to read!
I’d be deluding myself to offer a recommendation for this book – people will either read it or they won’t.

Rating: B+