Books 87-89
#87: The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan
#88: Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan
These are books 4 & 5 of the Wheel of Time and are among my favorites. The only thing I don't like about book 5 is that Perrin isn't featured and he's one of my favorite characters (I loathe Faile though. She bugs me). I remember the first time I read these books was when I was in college. There is a scene that happens between Moraine and Lanfear... that's all I need to say and those of you who read it know what I'm talking about. I was taking a class on writing & illustrating childrens and comic books. We had to draw out a scene in panels (comic book style). I was so stunned after reading that scene that it was what I chose to illustrate. Badly, I might add as human figures were never my strong suite. It's still one of the scenes I remember most vividly. Beyond that the characters are finally starting to grow and come into their own, which is refreshing from the three books of set up.
#89: Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress
This was an interesting read. It's set in a near-future where humans can be genetically modified before birth. The latest modification is something which gets rid of the need to sleep. It creates a whole generation of Sleepless, who are smarter than Sleepers (everyone else) because they have so much extra time to study and focus (that and modified genes to make them smarter). The story mostly follows Leisha, one of the first Sleepless, from before she was born up until she's in her mid eighties. It's fascinating to see in how 80+ years the society goes from being fascinated by Sleepless, to extremely hating them, to almost complete apathy as they take over and more. I think the author did a really good job in exploring all aspects of how something like this would affect our society.
#88: Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan
These are books 4 & 5 of the Wheel of Time and are among my favorites. The only thing I don't like about book 5 is that Perrin isn't featured and he's one of my favorite characters (I loathe Faile though. She bugs me). I remember the first time I read these books was when I was in college. There is a scene that happens between Moraine and Lanfear... that's all I need to say and those of you who read it know what I'm talking about. I was taking a class on writing & illustrating childrens and comic books. We had to draw out a scene in panels (comic book style). I was so stunned after reading that scene that it was what I chose to illustrate. Badly, I might add as human figures were never my strong suite. It's still one of the scenes I remember most vividly. Beyond that the characters are finally starting to grow and come into their own, which is refreshing from the three books of set up.
#89: Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress
This was an interesting read. It's set in a near-future where humans can be genetically modified before birth. The latest modification is something which gets rid of the need to sleep. It creates a whole generation of Sleepless, who are smarter than Sleepers (everyone else) because they have so much extra time to study and focus (that and modified genes to make them smarter). The story mostly follows Leisha, one of the first Sleepless, from before she was born up until she's in her mid eighties. It's fascinating to see in how 80+ years the society goes from being fascinated by Sleepless, to extremely hating them, to almost complete apathy as they take over and more. I think the author did a really good job in exploring all aspects of how something like this would affect our society.