Theo Petersen's Profile

425 ratings (3.73 avg)
43 reviews

http://www.goodreads.com/theopetersen

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Theo's Bookshelves

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Theo Petersen gave

to:

Escape from Hell

by Larry Niven

bookshelves: currently-reading

My rating:

Jun 22, 2010 07:06pm

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Theo's Recent Updates

Theo Petersen gave

to:

Tess of the D'Urbervilles
by Thomas Hardy

read in June, 2010

My rating:

Not knowing anything about the story in advance, I was hoping for a happy ending right up to the, err, not so happy ending. The book is well written but one has to be in the mood for tragedy, and I'm afraid I got impatient with the two main characte...more

Jun 25, 2010 02:10pm · see review

Theo Petersen gave

to:

Escape from Hell
by Larry Niven

My rating:

Jun 22, 2010 07:06pm

Theo Petersen gave

to:

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
by Christopher Moore

read in June, 2010

My rating:

Two books I've read in the last several years have made me want to re-study the New Testament. The other is Misquoting Jesus (and isn't as funny as Lamb).

Christopher Moore is a consistent comedy writer who takes fucking and fart jokes and elevates...more

Jun 22, 2010 07:05pm · see review

Theo Petersen gave

to:

Stardust
by Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Author)

read in June, 2010

My rating:

Another case where I enjoyed the movie and thought to read the book, only to find they have little to do with each other. Both are good. The book is more adult than I expected (are there adult bedtime stories? --beside the obvious sort I mean) wit...more

Jun 15, 2010 01:25pm · see review

Theo Petersen gave

to:

The Razor's Edge
by W. Somerset Maugham

read in June, 2010

My rating:

I'm a fan of the movie (the 1984 version with Bill Murray) but not until now have I taken an interest in the novel. As is often the case I'm surprised at how little they have to do with each other.

I liked the book, but suffered from that difficult...more

Jun 14, 2010 09:00am · see review

Theo Petersen gave

to:

Doomsday Book
by Connie Willis

read in June, 2010

My rating:

It was hard to rate this book, as I nearly put it aside in annoyance at the first half. Can I give most of the book two stars and the last part four?

The book is set in that funny sort of sci-fi future which is just like 1990 except that there's ti...moreIt was hard to rate this book, as I nearly put it aside in annoyance at the first half. Can I give most of the book two stars and the last part four?

The book is set in that funny sort of sci-fi future which is just like 1990 except that there's time travel and the telephones have view screens. And they are telephones, with much of the present part of the story wrapped around people waiting in line to use one or calling ten different numbers hoping to reach somebody.

Much of the beginning dragged for me. We rapidly gloss over the time travel bit (history student Kivrin is going back to the 14th century despite lots of objections from her mentor Mr. Dunworthy) and focus on the political wrangling and bickering of the faculties of the two colleges involved. When something goes wrong we spend pages and pages and pages on this tech fellow groaning "something is wrong" without him ever managing to say what. Yes, he's sick and delirious, I get that. Can we move on? No, not for a hundred more pages we can't.

Then in Kivrin's story much the same happens: she's sick and delirious and can't make herself understood to the 14th century locals. Yes, I get it. There's some nice setting of place involving red cloaks, kindly woodsmen and wicked old ladies which is spoiled by the author saying "this isn't a fairy tale."

Of course, the Something Gone Horribly Wrong (as you'll know if you so much as read the cover blurb) is that Kivrin has been dropped into the Black Death. Oddly enough the story picks up nicely at that point and becomes very compelling. Maybe I just love a good plague.

I don't have extremely high standards for believability in fiction; I'm here to be entertained, really. In this book the primary issue is the whole time travel bit that makes the story possible. We have long discussions about "slippage" that makes paradoxes impossible, then at the end we have a hodge-podge rescue attempt that is full of anachronisms. The story works because I want Kivrin rescued more than out of making any internal sense.(less)

Jun 11, 2010 02:53pm · see review

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