BookLog
12. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
Short form review; Dawkins is right, but I wish he wasn't such a dick about it. In more detail, the earlier parts of the book work well - Dawkins does a good job of presenting the logical, rational arguments against religious belief. His later sections on arguments about religion being a force for "evil" hold up less well, in my opinion - many of them hinge on fanaticism being bad, and religion as a strong force for fanaticism. I'm not sold on the slippery slope Dawkins uses. Additionally, I found myself twinging at some instances of subtle sexism and other isms. Dawkins has more than a little bit of That Guy in his writing, and it irked me.
13. The Player of Games by Ian M. Banks
Okay, I finally read Banks. Years ago, I started Use of Weapons and gave up a third of the way in. With this one, I found I didn't really get hooked until about halfway. I think it was the robots that sold me. I definitely enjoyed the space operaness, and think I will revisit more of the Culture novels later.
14. Saturn's Children by Charles Stross
Moar robots! Asimovian robots built to serve humans in a universe where mankind has gone extinct. The protagonist is a sexbot built not long after the last man died. Robots have developed thier own society. Because it's Stross, there's weirdness, and awesomeness. I would say more, but I don't want to spoil it.