As I watch a tumbleweed roll by…

Alright, alright. Paradoxdruid.com has been a little slow lately. Honestly, it’s less out of interest (I have 2 article drafts started that are saved and need finishing) and more about lack of time. But that’s not a reasonable excuse! So I thought I’d write a few capsule book reviews of things that I’ve read recently.

Iron Council by China Mieville. If you haven’t read any of Mieville’s works, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Easily the strongest new writer I’ve seen in the last half-decade, his sprawling opuses take fantasy out of a rut and create vibrant new worlds that veer between action, comedy, horror, and political intrigue. I’ve never had a problem, but some recommend bringing a thesaurus along for Mieville– he likes to flex his vocabulary. Iron Council is actually the weakest of his books that I have read– I’d only give it an 8 out of 10, whereas his other books would rank: Perdido Street Station is a 9 out of 10, and The Scar comes as close to a perfect 10 as I can imagine, beyond a slow start.

The Draco Tavern by Larry Niven. I’ve always been obsessed with Niven– he’s a world-builder extraordinaire, and I try to read everything he produces. I just recently got my hands on this collection of his Draco Tavern stories, which were always his vehicle to explore the “big” questions via vignettes and short stories. If you like cautionary tales, speculative questions, and exquisitely imagined aliens, check it out.

So… What have you all been reading?

4 Responses to “As I watch a tumbleweed roll by…”

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Harry Potter. I got all six books for Christmas. (I already owned three, but leave it to my mom to ignore the details). 🙂 Anyway, I finished reading the Prisoner of Azkaban this morning. It was quite good. I’ll admit to being a little put off by the first book, but now that I know the characters and the first three movies, I’m deeply enthralled in the story. Also, Hermione reminds me a little bit of myself. At least in terms of always taking on too much. And who wouldn’t want to learn to do magic?

I’ll be starting “The House of the Spirits” by Isabelle Allende soon. I read it in high school and now it’s up for book club. It’s magic realism. But it’s also historical fiction and a multi-generational epic.

Okay. So my reviews aren’t as good as yours, buy I’ve been killing flies all morning. 🙂 Anybody else?

ShortSpeedFreak - January 30th, 2006 at 9:31 am

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Been reading PG Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster books. Huzzah for social commentary with aridly dry humor!

Owen - February 1st, 2006 at 12:21 pm

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check yo myspace account!

chris L - February 2nd, 2006 at 8:28 am

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As chris L above alluded to, a while ago I extended by tendrils by getting accounts on MySpace, Facebook, and Friendster, directing people back to this site, so that it would be easier to find me and make contact. chris knows me from high school, and it’s nice to see all the high school friends who have contacted me in various ways. 🙂

Paradoxdruid - February 2nd, 2006 at 10:21 am

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