2013 books: 1-3

[the_siobhan]

I finally finished Eon, and after something like 800 pages I wondered why I bothered. The whole point of the book seems to be world-building and playing with his physics theories. Which, I guess, fun if you're into physics. The actual story didn't really seem to have any point to it. The stuff that really intregued me about the story was the alien races and the way that humans had evolved socially and physically thousands of years in the future, and I only got the barest glimpses into those. So overall fail.




After that I read Oath of Fealty, by Larry Niven &. Jerry Pournelle. Know what it reminded me of? An Arthur Hailey. Mostly what I can remember of reading Hotel. First describe an unfamiliar setting for the reader in great detail - having somebody who is taking a tour for some reason is a great way to do that. Then throw some big emergency into it and see what everybody does. For added points, include a beautiful but cold business woman. Still it was a nice shlocky read about the many benefits of living in a benevolent dictatorship.



I just finished A Gift From Earth. Hated it. Hated the world, hated all the characters, hated the class structure and the dystopia and the improbable chain of events. Hated that a competent member of the rebel group has as her actual job "comforting the men". Finished it anyway. Hated the ending too.

I think it's time to give Larry Niven a rest for a while.



So for something completely different, I just picked up Mistress of Mistresses by Eric Rücker Eddison. I have no idea if I'am actually going to be able to get through this, the barrage of verbiage in the first two pages has already put me off somewhat. I'll see if I can make it past the first chapter before I decide.

Comments

[aquaeri]

I see someone mentioned this on LJ, but I've also read Worm Ouroborous, and the beginning is weird and slow and unrelated, but once you get past that, it rollicks along in its own unique style. I was warned not to read any other Eddison first.

[greylock]

I came to say much the same thing. I have all four of the EER books and I've been wary about starting The Worm Ouroborous alone, much less going into the other books.

[the_siobhan]

I've put it down for now. I have no idea if any of the other books are here, (The stack to sort it through is many milk crates hight) but if not I can get Ouroboros out of the library once I've run out of other things to read.