false 26 403 385 true 5751632 read 7 true 2062065 currently-reading 11 true 2062064 to-read 5 false 2306771 back-burner http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77385425 Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books (Paperback) by Azar Nafisi
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75375265 to: A Dirty Job (Hardcover) by Christopher Moore
I liked Lamb quite a bit, so I'm not surprised that I found this book an equally fun (if mindless) read. I'll admit that I skimmed a bit towards the end because it was starting to get repetitive, but I still picked it to read over the rest of the books in my active queue. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75376075 to: Lolita (Everyman's Library (Cloth)) by Vladimir Nabokov
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75375299 to: Shambling Towards Hiroshima (Paperback) by James Morrow
I really wanted to like this book. I love Morrow. I love Godzilla. I love alt-history. It seemed like it couldn't go wrong.

Yet, it seems like Morrow had a (really cool) idea, and then assumed the book would write itself. The characters lack dimension (which he is more than capable of adding: Only Begotten Daughter does it excellently) and the plot is, for such an exciting subject matter, just not that exciting. I admire the experiment of sticking killer lizards in the middle of WW2 and framing it in a B-movie laid out like a book, but it didn't quite work. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71257779 to: Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang (Hardcover) by Kate Wilhelm
Neat book. 4 (3.5 if it would let me) instead of 5 based on my own personal bias towards more exposition and less of a focus on interpersonal relationships. I like me my data, and I'm not pleased when the author tells me the world ended and doesn't tell me how.

The world ends, man discovers cloning, and then man has to live with what he's created. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71257193 to: Transition (Hardcover) by Iain M. Banks
I was really excited to get this book, and a little disappointed with how it turned out.

First, it's still Iain Banks. The book is a fine, enjoyable read. It's a fantasy book set in the present day, so it lacks the typical trappings of Culture books (such as the Culture, though there is an entity that may be a logical predecessor). The big problem is that Banks just doesn't finish what he starts. It feels like he published half a book because he had a bunch of notes and a first attempt at an ending. Of the interwoven plot threads, there are a few that are built up and fall flat just as one would expect them to start playing a major role in the story, leaving you to wonder why you bothered reading their tales in the first place.

I recommend The Bridge or Use of Weapons as a much better intro to Iain Banks's work than this book. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71257011 to: Kiln People (The Kiln Books) by David Brin
I dislike many of Brin's books, but I found Kiln People very compelling. The background is that humanity has found a way to live in parallel by replicating themselves into golems that live only one day. We follow the many incarnations of a detective as they wander through a city, independently solving a case and learning more about the nature of what it is to be a golem vs. a human. The ending was weak, but the book is thought-provoking enough to be worthwhile regardless. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/68212078 Yesterday's Magic (Hardcover) by Pamela F. Service
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/33828835 Pandemonium (Paperback) by Daryl Gregory
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55720463 The Past Through Tomorrow (Paperback) by Robert A. Heinlein
bookshelves: currently-reading
Requiem: 5 Stars
The Long Watch: 4 Stars
The Green Hills of Earth: 4 Stars
The Man Who Sold the Moon: 3 Stars. ]]>