February 15, 2011:
Finished "The Terror" by Dan Simmons. Nasty and brutish, but not short (766 pages), this explored the 1845 Franklin Expedition searching for the Northwest Passage and the difficulties they faced, both natural and mythical. Fantastic and immersive, I admit the ending was less satisfying than I would have liked, but still enjoyable and revealing. I was particularly tickled at the difference between the sea captain's thoughts and words while in polite company.
February 17, 2011:
Finished "I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This!" by Bob Newhart. This was my break after finishing The Terror, and it definitely was a change of pace. Silly stories and jokes, recaps of old routines, old shows and old friends, it was a light memoir from someone I remember from when I was a kid. I do like his dry sense of humor.
March 5, 2011:
Finished "Saturn" by Ben Bova. This didn't even get interesting until most of the way through book 1. After that, the author liked to show his hand a lot, so it was really only alright.
March 14, 2011:
Finished "Time Travelers Never Die" by Jack McDevitt. Of all the time travel books and movies I've read/seen so far (and there are a LOT of them), this one is the lamest. It's not that the writing was necessarily bad. It's just that the two protagonists were just that stupid throughout. I was amused when near the end they were described as a comedy duo because of their differences, since throughout the story I was thinking it should've been called, "Laurel and Hardy Find a Time Machine." Or Abbott and Costello. Maybe it was Laurel and Costello.
March 25, 2011:
Finished "Variable Star" by Robert A. Heinlein and Spider Robinson. Have you ever been impressed by a discussion with someone who is very smart and quick-witted, who always seems to be just ahead of you? That was the beginning of this story for me. The pace was quick, and the main character smart and funny. It was difficult to maintain, however, as though the very smart, quick-witted person got tired but kept talking for a good chunk of the middle. The ending was excellent, though - almost as good as the beginning. Overall, this was entertaining and well-researched. I find myself wanting to look for more from Spider Robinson after having finished this.
April 13, 2011
Finished "The Dark Volume" by Gordon Dahlquist. I did not realize this was a sequel to another book! (Such is my curse, it seems.) Not having read the predecessor did not detract from this book much, though. I loved the world he created, and the "science" of the clay and glass. Mr. Dahlquist's prose describes a scene so efficiently that it sometimes takes a couple passes through to really understand all the nuances he has presented. Not to say it is bad - just that I couldn't keep up! He certainly had some pet words (scruple & snort!), and used more analogies than he really should have, but the writing was generally solid. On the other hand, the story itself was a bit hard to follow. I had a tough time keeping track of everyone and what they were doing and with whom, especially when some were using aliases and others were "remembering" things that someone else had experienced. The story ended with a cliffhanger, which I really did not appreciate. I would have liked some things to be wrapped up a little better.
April 20, 2011:
Finished "Haiku: A Novel" by Andrew Vachss. I really liked this story of a group of homeless who are drawn together from vastly different places. On the other hand, the main character, Ho, reminded me of Sphinx from Mystery Men, so I found comedy in places where it wasn't intended.
April 26, 2011:
Finished "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien. This was my first time reading the trilogy all the way through. (I've seen the movies, of course.) This emotional conclusion pulls together the rest of the story quite nicely. Even in triumph, the cost of victory is heavy. I still need to go through some of the appendices. I find it difficult to push my way through Tolkien's writing style, which is why it took me so long to get to this point.
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