A story lives or dies by its characters. It's trivial to write about dastardly villains and brave heroes; not so easy to give the characters depth and make them into real people that we actually care about.
In A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin accomplishes this difficult task and makes it look easy. Dealing with a veritable army of leading characters from several noble families, Martin uses the simple but entirely appropriate technique of devoting each chapter to a single character's point of view.
Most of the vignettes in Game feature the Stark family, a clan with their home at Winterfell in the northland. The Stark motto is "Winter is Coming", and as the story opens, a summer many years in duration is quickly fading towards a time of cold and darkness. North of Winterfell lies the Wall, a massive ice structure that protects the kingdom from attack, but inauspicious signs suggest that the kingdom is not safe.
To the south, other battles rage: Intrigues among noble houses, rival claims for the throne of the realm, alliances and betrayals, cunning and idiocy.
Game is illuminated by the theme of being true to oneself, of trusting one's instincts and acting upon them. Some characters succeed in doing this; others do not. Internal conflict and difficult decisions make this a mesmerizing story, with startling reversals of fortune coming out of seemingly isolated events.
Highly recommended.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Review: Dragons of Spring Dawning (Part 1)
My People is in a really good mood tonight. That comic book she's been waiting for is finally here.
Dragons of Spring Dawning, Part 1 (from Devil's Due Publishing) collects the first six issues from the comic of the same name, continuing two prior book editions that covered events in the first two novels of the Dragonlance Chronicles.
Unlike the first two graphic novels in this series, this one isn't trying to tell an entire novel's worth of story. This makes it possible to use near-verbatim sections of dialogue from the novel. The exchange between Raistlin and Astinus is particularly good.
There are a few minor typos, but nothing serious. The art is vastly better than the art in the 1980's DC adaptation of the trilogy. And, unlike that earlier version, it looks like this one will actually be finished someday.
Dragons of Spring Dawning, Part 1 (from Devil's Due Publishing) collects the first six issues from the comic of the same name, continuing two prior book editions that covered events in the first two novels of the Dragonlance Chronicles.
Unlike the first two graphic novels in this series, this one isn't trying to tell an entire novel's worth of story. This makes it possible to use near-verbatim sections of dialogue from the novel. The exchange between Raistlin and Astinus is particularly good.
There are a few minor typos, but nothing serious. The art is vastly better than the art in the 1980's DC adaptation of the trilogy. And, unlike that earlier version, it looks like this one will actually be finished someday.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Speed reading for cats (and humans, too)
It has come to my attention that my People has been doing odd things with books lately.
Just yesterday afternoon she was reading Sidney's Comet and chapter 6 of The Blind Watchmaker with a piece of paper in her hand, moving down the page sentence by sentence, covering up the finished parts. I tried it, but I couldn't hold onto the paper because I have no thumbs.
So then she showed me another way, drawing a diagonal line from left to right. (I guess you would go the other way if doing this with Hebrew or Arabic.)
All I know is that I couldn't get settled because she was turning the pages so fast. I'm not so sure I like this 'speed reading' business.
Just yesterday afternoon she was reading Sidney's Comet and chapter 6 of The Blind Watchmaker with a piece of paper in her hand, moving down the page sentence by sentence, covering up the finished parts. I tried it, but I couldn't hold onto the paper because I have no thumbs.
So then she showed me another way, drawing a diagonal line from left to right. (I guess you would go the other way if doing this with Hebrew or Arabic.)
All I know is that I couldn't get settled because she was turning the pages so fast. I'm not so sure I like this 'speed reading' business.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Review: The God Delusion
Finished TGD yesterday evening in an epic session at desk... Previously I had been reading it piecemeal, in bed. Much more satisfying to read in proper light, in a solid chair.
The chapter "The Roots of Morality: Why Are We Good?" I found edifying, as it provides a collection of reasonable non-religious explanations for human morality via an evolutionary mechanism. (I apparently fit neatly into the 'Tit for Tat' category... Give everyone the benefit of a doubt once, but avenge the bad stuff.)
"Childhood, Abuse and the Escape From Religion" was a painful chapter to read because it documents the emotional damage that indoctrination can do to kids.
But overall, I got the most out of the chapter "Why There Almost Certainly Is No God", which contains the "God-as-Ultimate-747" argument: A pre-existing being capable of creating an entire universe would be more complex than the complex thing it supposedly "explains".
However, I see no reason that we can't one day evolve into gods. Hey, I'll sign up for that. ;-)
The chapter "The Roots of Morality: Why Are We Good?" I found edifying, as it provides a collection of reasonable non-religious explanations for human morality via an evolutionary mechanism. (I apparently fit neatly into the 'Tit for Tat' category... Give everyone the benefit of a doubt once, but avenge the bad stuff.)
"Childhood, Abuse and the Escape From Religion" was a painful chapter to read because it documents the emotional damage that indoctrination can do to kids.
But overall, I got the most out of the chapter "Why There Almost Certainly Is No God", which contains the "God-as-Ultimate-747" argument: A pre-existing being capable of creating an entire universe would be more complex than the complex thing it supposedly "explains".
However, I see no reason that we can't one day evolve into gods. Hey, I'll sign up for that. ;-)
Welcome to RJ's Book Blog!
On behalf of RJ-45, the lovely little black cat pictured in the corner, welcome to Astreja's list of books... Ones I'm reading, have read, or intend to read Real Soon Now.
Just as soon as I get this *oof* cat off this page...
Now Playing as of 2008-03-25:
This list, and this blog, will hopefully provide some much-needed focus and get more of those books into the "completed" category. Because unread books just take up shelf space.
Just as soon as I get this *oof* cat off this page...
Now Playing as of 2008-03-25:
Origin of Species - Charles DarwinCompleted in the not-too-distant past:
A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
Breaking the Spell - Daniel C. Dennett
The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins
The Blind Watchmaker - Richard Dawkins
Principia - Isaac Newton (Stephen Hawking, editor)
The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley
Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill
This is Your Brain on Music - Daniel Levitkin
Sydney's Comet - Brian Herbert
The Dragons of Eden - Carl Sagan
The End of Faith - Sam HarrisNot yet published, or not yet procured (but near the top of the list, and liable to pre-empting all other reads when they do show up):
Letter to a Christian Nation - Sam Harris
The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
Dragons of the Highlord Skies - Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
The Belgariad - David Eddings
Paddling South - Rick Ranson
Water - H.E. Taylor
Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
The Demon-Haunted World - Carl Sagan
Turning the Mind Into an Ally - Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
Flow - Mihály Csíkszentmihályi
Insight Meditation - Joseph Goldstein
Why Christianity Must Change or Die - John Shelby Spong
Neuromancer - William Gibson
Common Sense, Rights of Man and Other Essential Writings - Thomas Paine
No Plot? No Problem! - Chris Baty
Dragons of the Hourglass Mage - Margaret Weis and Tracy HickmanAs you can see, there's a bit of a pattern to this list. Some science fiction, some epic/serial fantasy, a bit of psychology, a few Zen and Vipassana how-to guides, a couple of books related to writing and music, and a lot of stuff related to secularism, religious criticism, and science.
Losing Faith in Faith - Dan Barker
The Function of the Orgasm - Wilhelm Reich
This list, and this blog, will hopefully provide some much-needed focus and get more of those books into the "completed" category. Because unread books just take up shelf space.
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