Book Reviews

The book starts with a pretty good overview of relativity and black holes, which was good but I have heard most of it before. That doesn't mean I understand it, but I can get by. Then Greene moves to quantum physics. I had heard much of this before, and he provides an excellent and thorough explanation of it. I understood it much better than other explanations I've read -- which is to say, almost not at all, but that's not his fault. Quantum physics is simply too weird for words. Then Greene switches to his own apparent forte -- string theory. This was something I hadn't heard much about, besides the name. It's as bizarre as quantum physics and just as interesting.

There is plenty of history as well. The book is well written overall. Recommended for anyone who likes this kind of thing, and who has at least a basic familiarity of Einstein's theories of relativity. The book assumes you already know a little about them, but if you don't, you can always rewind a lot (I did).

I have always found the brain's inner workings fascinating, but I don't want to get lost in medical jargon. Johnson states at the outset that he will only hit the high points, and that was what he did. The jargon was controlled and well explained, and the anecdotes were easy to follow. He repeats himself a lot, and at first I thought this was fluff to fill out the book, but then I realized it helped me remember the concept. Rather than zip from topic to topic, we dwell on one for a while before moving on to the next. This is important because each concept builds on the next.

Johnson's writing style is smooth and clever, and several times I chuckled out loud.

My only complaint is the book was too short! In the end, it doesn't cover a lot of ground. At least the ground it does cover is well done and topical. Recommended for anyone who is interested in a pop-sci version of neuroscience.

This is a fascinating and highly entertaining fantasy tale. The plot takes about 2/3 of the book to get going, but it is written so well and the setting and characters are so interesting that I didn't mind. Once it did get going, I had a hard time putting it down. It is a period piece, set firmly in the early 19th century, with proper English gentlemen and their servants gadding about England. The interplay between the classes is carefully done and the dialogue is often hilarious because of this. Clarke cleverly weaves the story events around the Napoleonic wars and other names from history. The use of footnotes and plenty of rich background stories make it all seem believable.

I can highly recommend this book, for any lovers of fantasy or anyone interested in that period of history.

Note to people who complain all fantasy stories are Tolkien knock-offs: there are no elves, dwarves, swords, rings, monsters or magical beasts. There is an evil sorcerer of sorts, but he has no army, and he isn't all that evil, really.

This is by far the best book I have read in years. The opening drew me in immediately. Despite a lot of zoology exposition, it clips along well and I found it fascinating (but then, I find animal behavior fascinating). Martel writes about zoology and zookeeping with authority. Later you realize how important all this discussion is, as it explains how Pi managed to survive with Richard Parker.

There are a lot of religious overtones in the beginning but as this is a part of the character, I didn't mind it. It also makes the point that the three religions he followed are more alike than different, so why can't he follow all three? However, I did find it hard to believe that he stuck with his faith after all that happened to him. I suppose everyone who is about to die finds religion.

When the story gets going, it is riveting. The suspense is excellent and the prose is top notch. I had a hard time putting this book down and found excuses to catch snatches of it. The ending is satisfying with a touch of mystery, and makes another point about doubts and what people prefer to believe. Highly, highly recommended.

See review of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer... it's all that with a little more tension in most of the scenes, and a better theme with the whole slave as property thing and his accidental emancipation. I found a section near the end dragged though.

Just finished this the other night--first real science fiction book read in like four months. What can I say? I liked the book. I did, but that's the basic. There was a lot I was disappointed by too. I did see the movie before the book, and for the first time in my life, I think a movie was better than the book.

I always respected Carl Sagan, but the only reason he got this book published was because it was authored BY Carl Sagan. If I wrote this kind of charcter-fluff with almost zero happening, I'd be tossed in the rejection pile so fast the ink on the paper would still be wet. Maybe my style is just totally different and maybe that's why I'll probably never be published. Sixty pages into Contact, you have no idea what the point of the book is about; instead, we get pages and pages and pages of history and detail about characters who sometimes are completely trivial.

Granted, I think the idea behind Contact was great, the message, the machine, the science, the response to the "trip", but writing wise, the prose was awful. When something exciting did happen, like the machine blowing up, it's told to us in one sentence, then we get all the aftermath.

It was a great loss when you died Carl, but you should have stuck to science fact, and let some other deserving writer be published.

Wow. This was brilliantly written from beginning to end. One of the most enjoyable books I've read in ages. Mark Twain is a true master of the English language and the craft of storytelling. The characters were consistently written and amusing to watch. He can wring humor from small turns of phrase and loads his writing with irony. Some of the funniest scenes were detailed descriptions of mundane things that every reader can relate to.

What an inspiration! I look at my own writing and I see where it's really lacking -- description. I tend to skip describing things because it slows the action. Twain can describe things down to the smallest detail and keep it interesting.

On to Huck Finn...

So I finally got around to reading this. Well listening to it, but same thing.

The first 2/3 or so was excellent. I can see why this book as stuck through peoples' minds and so much of it has entered the public lexicon. (Big Brother is watching you! Thought crimes. Thought police.)

The vision was tremendous. One could replace Big Brother with Bush Administration, Patriot Act, and Fox News and it's applicable to present day. The characters were only mildly interesting (perforce as the idea was the humanity was forced out of them) but the situation they were in made for some terrific tension.

Then the book lapsed into a torture thing that I knew was coming. It went on and on with no apparent purpose. Then there was a long dissertation of party policy and Orwell seemed to be using the book as a political platform. That's not a bad thing, but it went on waaay too long.

In the end, our hero fails and this is becomes a tragedy. Hopefully I'm not spoiling this for anyone but it's no surprise, really. I was expecting something a little more interesting in the ending but it goes out with a whimper.

The redemption of the series!

This book has the strong classic prose and interesting medieval Japanese-ish setting of the first two, with the strong pacing of the first book, and without the weak second plot line of the second book. There was a touch of deus ex machina in the ending, but it was tolerable. Too bad you need to suffer through the second book to get to the third one.

So read and enjoy the first book, skim through the slow female plot line of the second book, and enjoy the third book.

This was a pretty good tale, but with an amateurish feel. The plot was linear and not terribly complicated, and I never sensed the characters were in great danger. They quickly overcame any problems they had. There were hints of some greater troubles but they felt too distant to worry about. The characters were also a bit cliche and bland.

The author had a touch of world builder's disease, giving us long bits of background in the guise of having one character educating another. Most of this background didn't seem necessary to the story, although it may be setting up the rest of the series.

Nonetheless, it was entertaining. It was well written and the setting was involved and interesting. I probably will try the sequel.