Tim > Recent Status Updates

Oh, so there is life outside Diaspar? And others may not know about this? Cheeky. What's the story? Why the secrecy?

These first pages are already way better than his earlier The Space Trilogy. I'm liking it so far.

Smooth read, at least when your English in good enough. Exciting stuff happening, though Gundersen has his flaws and sometimes doesn't even question things nor prepares enough for the journey, imho. :/ That frustrates me a little, especially at this point in the book.

So far, so good. My first Silverberg; I quite like it, the style, the story.

Slow reading due to busy times. I do hope to finish the book by the end of the month, as I've got more to read by mid-May.

Some interesting essays read so far, after the intros, although the first ones I didn't find that accessible (mainly the stuff about encryption, for example). The latter ones were better, and better written. Of course, 2018 =/= the 1990s, but it gives an idea of how people thought computers and the internet would be like, how they would evolve (big data, A.I., ....). 192 pages to go, but definitely not in one go.

I'm liking this a lot. Too bad I can't read a bit faster or have more free time. Lots of names (no need to keep 'em all in mind, though, luckily - there's no list, either), historical areas (duchies and what not, the influence of England in France, ...), ... you could say Cerutti is the French Bernard Cornwell, sort of.

So far, very good. :) A bastard, cast out from the Imperial Court, living life as a hired mercenary, together with a bunch of others. Currently competing in a tournament, against some of his worst enemies. It's the year 1339. Alternatively, some chapters tell of 1899, of a professor investigating certain artifacts & happenings of the past. Well-written, quite smoothly, I must say, despite some stylish wording.

Slow reading because of other obligations. Nevertheless, it is a page-turner. Maia grows in his leadership, sees himself confronted with the various political issues and limits of his new job, including finding an empress. Consiracies against him were properly dealt with. Now on to the final 86 pages.

La Vérité sur Cushgar - a story about a kidnapping or something of the sort. Battles, mystery, ... not bad, but again: the style is not so accessible (at least the French translation) and it's hard to feel sympathy for the characters. One more story and then I'm done with this.

Pt 2, the coronation of Hedrehasivar VII. Maia is being crowned emperor, but has to learn his job on the job. Luckily he has Csevet, his direct assistant, formerly a courrier. Maia also learns about intrigue, political games (incl. marriage), whom (not) to trust, etc. Being a leader isn't easy, especially when n00b.

* Drame intérieur - Charles Van de Vet (Wheels Within). About seeking your true identity, whilst being in a sort of coma and reliving a life of a very long time ago in order to remember who you really are. Strange, but nice story.
* Les Étoiles répondent - T.K. Brown III (When the Stars Answer). Should we really send out a message into space to seek alien contact? What if one of them do come to us? More advanced?

While I still have to read the two last parts of the main story (La Vérité sur Cushgar and La Seconde nuit de l'été), I did read the short stories that follow:
* Tout au fond de moi, je pleure - Clifford D. Simak (I'm Crying All Inside), about poor and rich people. Rich taking off into space, the poor taking over the rich stuff, but don't really know what to do next with their lives.
* ...

Liking it a lot so far. The stylish writing, Maia's innocence, ... some difficult names and titles, but they're not really posing a problem at the moment. Thankfully, there's a guide at the end of the book. You have to remain focused, of course.

Les Illusionnistes done. Heavy style, a bit hard to "see" the story, also due to external circumstances. Female inspector/agent robot as main character. Time for a break and something else.

La Foire du Livre à Bruxelles, 22-25/02/2018. Qui y ira? http://flb.be/

Women obeying their husbands and cheating each other in the process, hell freezing over, civilisation going down the drain in the UK and abroad, with the military as supervisors. The sun is giving off less warmth, so it's better to move south, around the equator. It reminds me a little of KSR's eco-trilogy, Bordage's Chroniques des Ombres, ...

1st substory done: Agent de Véga. Not that accessible in style. But, a decent story about fighting crimes, politics, communicating via telepathy & through this invading one's mind. Also alien creatures taking over the minds of people & reproducing, seeking new hosts. Robots (AI's) & humans collaborate. Large background, several worlds. A bit like in Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse, #1), sort of.

Just finished the story about the Chinese in Idaho in the US in the 19th century. Not great, but still a nice read about cultural differences, tolerance, open-mindedness, survival, integration, ... Three stories to go or 106 pages. Circumstances aren't favourable now to allow lots of reading time and this annoys me, even though I probably shouldn't pressure myself when reading.

Most stories so far are very good. The man knows how to write, as his way with words is in many cases even better than a lot of what I've read previously. There was one story, though, which went a bit over my head, as it was too technical, too scientific. Chemistry never was my strongest. :/ But, so far, so very good. 4 stories to go.