3 posts tagged “bruce sterling”
In the past few weeks, I've read a couple of good books, and one not so good. Let's start with the good:
Julian Baggini's Atheism: A Very Short Introduction was an excellently worded argument for atheism. Atheism doesn't really need an argument, but the obvious is well written and worth reading, both for atheists, people who haven't thought about it (agnostics) and those who trust faith as a source of knowledge. I quote:
"Atheism is the throwing off of childish illusions and acceptance that we have to make our own way in the world. We have no divine parents who always protect us and who are unquestionably good. The world is instead a big and scary place, but also one where there are opportunities to go out and create lives for ourselves."
"Religion will recede not by atheists shouting condemnation, but by the quiet voice of reason slowly making itself heard."
I couldn't have said it better myself (naturally, since I'm neither an author nor a scholar). I chose to quote two rather provocative parts – it's really quite a positive and reconciliatory little book, which should cause annoyance only in the minds of those who feel threatened by reason (i.e. creationists and such lunatics).
Another good book was Pratchett's Hogfather. The Auditors purchase the service of the Assasins to inhume the Hogfather, and Death is forced to take care of the Hogfather's work during Hogswatch (HO. HO. HO). Death's granddaughter Susan is called upon, indirectly, to find the cause of the Hogfather's disappearance and, as Death puts it, make sure that the sun comes up in the morning. Much at stake, and much very good action all around. One of the better Discworld novels. Too bad I could only get the TV series edition, but my Discworld collection was a tad fragmented already.
Apparently, Hogfather has spawned a TV series in the UK, which should be interesting. I'll have to see it. If you've seen it, tell me what you think!
I finished yet another Pratchett last night, namely Jingo. I'm starting to see a pattern here – it's apparent that Pratchett is getting better and better at what he does. Jingo is another good Discworld novel, in which a war between Klatch and Ankh-Morpork is about to start. Centered around one of my favorite characters, Sam Vimes (him and Death are the two most intriguing characters, IMHO), there's a lot of good things going on here, including a rare display of Vetinary as a spy. I'm not trying to do thorough reviews here, which you might've noticed, so I'm quite happy to simply say that it was good.
Last, and least, Bruce Sterling's Zenith Angle. This was a book I had high hopes for, but it turned out to be a loosely connected patriotic mess about American cyber-warfare. The technological aspects were not convincing to a technofreak like myself, and the story outside of the geekery was weak. Can't recommend it to anyone. There's better Sterling to read, like Heavy Weather.
It's a Nanny & Granny story, starting with a promising young witch who decides to join the Opera in Ankh-Morpork. It turns out that the Opera House is haunted by a Ghost, and the story turns rather Webberesque. Some good mystery, some good action and a great Granny/Death scene – Granny is becoming powerful, and I think that's the most important part of this book, if you're reading the Discworld series as a whole. An average Pratchett. I like the Granny character, but I'm not overly fond of Nanny, or at least not with how Pratchett is using her.
Currently reading Sterling's Zenith Angle, which turned out to be extremely geeky. For me, it's a bit over the top, and the computer-related bits of fact disturbs me, in that it feels like it's written for people who have no clue as to how networks and computers work. I'm a bit more than halfway through it, so we'll see if things pick up towards the end.
- Kim Stanley Robinson's Icehenge
- Bruce Sterling's The Zenith Angle
- Pratchett's Interesting Times, Maskerade and Feet of Clay
Picked Icehenge as my next read. Kim Stanley Robinson is one of six authors where I've decided to read every novel published. The others are (in no specific order) William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, Philip K. Dick, Terry Pratchett and Bruce Sterling. The status of this project is as follows (percentages based on gut feeling):
- Kim Stanley Robinson: 80%
- William Gibson: 100%
- Neal Stephenson: 95%
- Philip K. Dick: 65%
- Terry Pratchett: 50% of the Discworld novels
- Bruce Sterling: 50%
