In his own words
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The Colour of Magic
Review: I really wanted to like this. But I just couldn’t get into it. It’s schlocky 80s comic-fantasy. You know one thing: a troll is about to kill the protagonist but then gets asked why and then delivers a monologue about how life as a troll is hard and how he’s misunderstood, etc. That would…
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Youth and the Bright Medusa
Review: Superb Cather at her very best. Opera stories. Just the way I like it! I was surprised by the veiled, and not so veiled, references to sexy times. Interesting that in one story she killed off the protagonist on the Titanic, and I don’t mean a schlocky tale of Titanic romance. Just a description…
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The Mystery of the Ghost Train
Review: Sheesh. What a clunker. Self published fan fiction. I guess I need to do a better job of reading the description before ordering! I went through and counted 20 typographical or grammatical errors in the first 31 pages. And they kept on coming throughout the rest of the book. The investigators were rude, coarse,…
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The World’s Most Dangerous Place
Review: A fascinating look deep inside the world’s most dangerous outlaw country: Somalia. The book was great, well written, tight and journalistic. It’s like this: Great book but so difficult to read. Heartbreaking. Somalia is the asshole of the universe and I can’t see it getting any better, ever. This book made me want to:…
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Sapphira and the Slave Girl
Review: The final Willa Cather novel. This was written and published around 1939-1940, but set in 1856. Pre-Civil War America in the south. I’m not sure who was meant to be the hero of this one. Every character seemed to be very human, very flawed. I was expecting a sort of anti-slavery treatise, but I…
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Kokoro
Review: Very insightful and rich in understanding. A unique (for me) glimpse into Meiji era Japan and Japanese culture. Like all Japanese novels this was moving, intellectually satisfying, and depressing as fuck. The prose was interesting, can’t describe it any better. But then again, this might be due to the English translation. Every time I…
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The Math Book
Review: This was tough, but I learned a lot of interesting new things. Pascal, Fermat, LaGrange – all were names known to me but now I have learned about the men behind the names. Merseen primes, Pi, Euler’s number… this stuff is fascinating if almost completely beyond the ken of most mortals. This book made…
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The Warden
Review: What a nice surprise! I thought this was going to be either too dry or too smarmily satirical. Like old people that try to be witty at the opera intermission. While not as shocking as the book or movie of Deliverance, the two share one thing. The “what would you do?” thing. Best line…
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Wuthering Heights
Review: Wow was this ever dark. Like midnight on the moor with no moon dark, as represented throughout the novel. This was also excellent, extremely well composed and thoroughly engrossing. Despite its age, this one has stood up very well to modern readings. A classic worthy of the name. This book made me want to:…
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Smoke and Mirrors
Review: My first Neil Gaiman experience and it definitely won’t be my last. At times haunting, at other times laugh out loud funny. Atmosphere is everything. From dark and gloomy to sun bleached and gently nostalgic, the tales weave in and around their settings. Effortlessly. Some of these little beauties merit a second reading at…