REVIEW: The Glass Minstrel (Hayden Thorne)

The Glass Minstrel by Hayden Thorne

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was cold a lot during this book. And that’s a good thing.



A moving story about the aftermath of “an event” that managed to push me in several different directions. Early on (about a third of the way in), I worried that the author had tipped her hand too early; I felt (and continue to feel) the emotional impact of “the event” could have been so much deeper had it been played out to us gradually (i.e., the final fates of Heinrich and Stefan revealed only in the last chapters of the book). But I freely admit that to be a minor and very personal quibble since, as I state in my opening, this is not so much a story about an event, but rather the aftermath.



The setting was wonderfully realized—in addition to being cold I was often (in?)explicably hungry for warm sweetbreads. Technically the book was remarkably sound. It seems so much of the fiction I’ve read of late has surrendered mechanics for drama. I’d rather read a well-written book than an exciting one—which is another personal quibble undoubtedly marking me as wholly divorced from the popular tastes of my fellow man. Thorne knows how to write.



The interwoven story of young Jakob held probably the least interest to me, and seemed a recurring and unwanted distraction (in large part because, having been in his shoes, I expected it to end absolutely humiliatingly—which it actually didn’t, so that was some compensation). In the end it was all Schiffer for me, whom I presume I was supposed to dislike from the start (and I did); his emotional journey was the one that brought the warm tears to the close of this winter tale.





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REVIEW: The Great Derangement (Matt Taibbi)

The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire by Matt Taibbi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Ok, so now I have a small crush on Matt Taibbi.

This book was hilarious. I suppose I had heard of Taibbi before--I'm a bit of a political junkie--but this is his first book I've read. He conveyed a great voice, with sarcasm (and scorn) but also sympathy (and pathos) for those who might at first blush seem the least deserving of either.

The book is a bit too anecdotal, it might have been nice to have a more chronological account of his adventures (I wouldn't have minded spending more time listening to his stories); I wondered at his globetrotting in a few places and how he managed his various subterfuges (he hints at problems arising from his various facades but doesn't elaborate much). This was definitely the highlights.

Recommended, especially for those to whom little (or nothing) is sacred. I mean that in a good way.



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REVIEW: The Religious Test

The Religious Test by Damon Linker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This read like a long (very long) introduction to some other book which never seemed to materialize. And the animosity to the "new atheists" (as he kept referring to Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens, et al) had me wondering if they threw a party and neglected to invite him. He seemed to bear them quite a grudge.

Another good pass at the ms by an editor might have helped to tighten the prose--there were definitely long bits that seemed to plod along. Still, despite its shortcomings it proved a serviceable apologetic for the moderate cause.



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Queerteen Press

The YA Imprint of JMS Books, Queerteen Press is up and running. Check it out!

Science Friction Review

Science Friction: Where the Known Meets the Unknown by Michael Shermer

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Michael Shermer likes his statistics. Man, this book is full of lists and numbers and comparisons ad infinitum between lists and numbers (there is actually an entire chapter just discussing lists!).



I expected to like this much more than I did. Making it to the end was something of an endurance contest. For the most part, Shermer presents compelling arguments, but he engages in too much begging of questions (e.g., "we've evolved for monogamy") without even entertaining the possibility that there might be some dissent. And, hey, I just read another book ("Sex at Dawn"--highly recommended) that spends two hundred pages debunking that assertion.



He also devotes a great deal of time in apologetics for Stephen Jay Gould and Napoleon Chagon (the latter of whom is also discussed in "Sex at Dawn"), which simply did not interest me. Yeah, science is a petty political minefield like every other human endeavor--go figure--now get back to informing me about science...



My favorite parts were all at the beginning: Psychic for a day, the kerphlaple over "Brights", and the Darwinian implications of the Mutiny on the Bounty. So, basically I can recommend the first hundred or so pages... After that, you're on your own.



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A Hundred Little Lies September Giveaway!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

A Hundred Little Lies

by Jon Wilson

Giveaway ends September 30, 2011.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Memorial Day Rebate/Sale at All Romance eBooks

From the COO at ARe: "We are offering a 50% Rebate on all purchase made via Paypal or Credit Card between 12:01 am on 5/28/11 and 11:59 pm on 5/30/11 (US/Central)."

The Webstore is here.

So, while the prices are the same, for every dollar you spend, you get 50 cents toward your next purchase. This is a nice little incentive, and it’s going on NOW through Monday night. Me, the old print only dinosaur, may even finally try an ebook...