tv, books, politics: and away
Instead of watching Thief premiere last night, I read Martha Wells' Reliquary (reviewed below). But Tivo is my friend, and I'll see it on Sunday when I get home. Slate's review of the show is pretty positive, and of course they like Andre Braugher. Because who doesn't, honestly? It's Andre Braugher.
I posted that long thing on Fandom and Ownership yesterday, and it's been gratifying to not get pilloried by offended fans. Yay, and thank you all for your courtesy: it's a difficult topic.
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In politics and law, Dahlia Lithwick has a fairly damning discussion of yesterday's Supreme Court hearings on the habeas corpus case regarding the Guatanamo prisoners. At some point, it must begin to insult the collective intelligence of the court, these tautological arguments that end where they begin: The existing laws do not apply because this is a different kind of war. It's a different kind of war because the president says so. The president gets to say so because he is president.
There's a much more analytical review here on SCOTUSblog, including a lot of argument in the comments on which way the justices are likely to rule.
I am, I must admit, somewhat reassured. We will see what happens next.
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So I did some book shopping yesterday and achieved:
His Majesty's Dragon, by naominovik. I'm pleased to note that the bookstore had it prominently displayed on the New Books shelf, with a note from one of the staff calling it the most fun read she'd had all year. It's in my bag and I'm saving it for the plane tonight. Yay dragons!
Solstice Wood, Patricia McKillip. I hadn't planned to buy it; I was going to get John Scalzi's Old Man's War, but there it was! This is the one that's the sequel to Winter Rose, right?
Reliquary, Marthawells. It's one of the Fandemonium tie-ins for Stargate: Atlantis. If you've read Wells' work before then you know she's a writer with a great handle on plot and pacing, as well as clear, witty characterizations. She puts these skills to good use in Reliquary, which is set during the second half of season 1 of Atlantis (i.e., after "The Storm" and before "The Seige"). It takes a while to set up the plot, which involves the discovery in Atlantis of a facility that contains some garbled information and a gate address; when dialed, Sheppard's team discovers a large complex that promises to contain a great deal of Ancient technology, possibly even a ZPM. But there's something unsettling about the place, even if only Sheppard feels it. I'll stop there, but the plot is very creative and addresses a lot of undeveloped canonical elements (like how the ATA gene actually works, for instance). It's quite suspenseful and witty, with some good character moments, particularly for Sheppard and McKay.
If I have a complaint it's that this really isn't a team novel: it's about Sheppard and McKay. Other characters do have roles, including Teyla, Zelenka and Bates, but the focus of the story is on Sheppard and McKay almost entirely. And, somewhat frustratingly, Weir is pretty much absent for the entire thing. I know that Weir isn't officially on Sheppard's gate team, but she is one of the three primary characters on the show and I wish that there had been a way in the plot to put her to better use than she was here. Still, that's a minor complaint given the over all quality of the story. It's a fun, fast read with a lot of good character development and a lot of action to balance it. I enjoyed it, and I'd recommend it.
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If you're here for the SGA/Farscape crossover, I'm working on it but I'm traveling on business and unlikely to post any more before next Sunday at the earliest. I'm planning to just finish it rather than continue posting in parts, so if you want to wait until it's done I promise I won't mind.
I posted that long thing on Fandom and Ownership yesterday, and it's been gratifying to not get pilloried by offended fans. Yay, and thank you all for your courtesy: it's a difficult topic.
*
In politics and law, Dahlia Lithwick has a fairly damning discussion of yesterday's Supreme Court hearings on the habeas corpus case regarding the Guatanamo prisoners. At some point, it must begin to insult the collective intelligence of the court, these tautological arguments that end where they begin: The existing laws do not apply because this is a different kind of war. It's a different kind of war because the president says so. The president gets to say so because he is president.
There's a much more analytical review here on SCOTUSblog, including a lot of argument in the comments on which way the justices are likely to rule.
I am, I must admit, somewhat reassured. We will see what happens next.
*
So I did some book shopping yesterday and achieved:
His Majesty's Dragon, by naominovik. I'm pleased to note that the bookstore had it prominently displayed on the New Books shelf, with a note from one of the staff calling it the most fun read she'd had all year. It's in my bag and I'm saving it for the plane tonight. Yay dragons!
Solstice Wood, Patricia McKillip. I hadn't planned to buy it; I was going to get John Scalzi's Old Man's War, but there it was! This is the one that's the sequel to Winter Rose, right?
Reliquary, Marthawells. It's one of the Fandemonium tie-ins for Stargate: Atlantis. If you've read Wells' work before then you know she's a writer with a great handle on plot and pacing, as well as clear, witty characterizations. She puts these skills to good use in Reliquary, which is set during the second half of season 1 of Atlantis (i.e., after "The Storm" and before "The Seige"). It takes a while to set up the plot, which involves the discovery in Atlantis of a facility that contains some garbled information and a gate address; when dialed, Sheppard's team discovers a large complex that promises to contain a great deal of Ancient technology, possibly even a ZPM. But there's something unsettling about the place, even if only Sheppard feels it. I'll stop there, but the plot is very creative and addresses a lot of undeveloped canonical elements (like how the ATA gene actually works, for instance). It's quite suspenseful and witty, with some good character moments, particularly for Sheppard and McKay.
If I have a complaint it's that this really isn't a team novel: it's about Sheppard and McKay. Other characters do have roles, including Teyla, Zelenka and Bates, but the focus of the story is on Sheppard and McKay almost entirely. And, somewhat frustratingly, Weir is pretty much absent for the entire thing. I know that Weir isn't officially on Sheppard's gate team, but she is one of the three primary characters on the show and I wish that there had been a way in the plot to put her to better use than she was here. Still, that's a minor complaint given the over all quality of the story. It's a fun, fast read with a lot of good character development and a lot of action to balance it. I enjoyed it, and I'd recommend it.
*
If you're here for the SGA/Farscape crossover, I'm working on it but I'm traveling on business and unlikely to post any more before next Sunday at the earliest. I'm planning to just finish it rather than continue posting in parts, so if you want to wait until it's done I promise I won't mind.