Thoughts on Christmas and books
So I've had a nice Christmas after arriving in Sweden ten days ago. I have had time to meet up with Bandykullan as well and she offered me some very tasty glühwein. Christmas Eve was a very peaceful day. First I had breakfast around dad's and then me and my brother went off to mom for dinner. I got some really lovely gifts as well. Mom gave me two interesting books, Sacred River by my new intellectual love Peter Ackroyd, and a Swedish thriller called Fördömd (=Condemned). I have already read the latter one and for once a Swedish writer has done an entertaining and intriguing fantasy story. Although the mix between supernatural gods and demons and clichés from criminal novels turned out amusing.
Other books I have made my way through include:
The tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling. Now this one is worth the money for the featured comments by Dumbledore, especially the ones where he parodies political correctness.
Tyrannosaurus Canyon by Douglas Preston which is your typical heroes-seeking-treasure-in-desert book. Except for the fact that the treasure is actually a gigantic fossil. While a fairly entertaining novel, its quality falls way behind that of Preston's novels co-authored with Lee Child.
Albion by Peter Ackroyd. Nowhere near as good as his biography about London. In fact, I confess myself disappointed. But it still made some interesting points.
Right now I am halfway through Dan Simmon's Hyperion. Now this IS what I call interesting scifi. Seven pilgrims set forth on the eve of Armaggeddon to a planet in the outer regions of the milky way. Their goal: to solve the mystery of an ancient artefact that appears to cause the troubles of the galaxy. While travelling, they tell each other stories.
I bet it comes as no surprise that this is really Canterbury Tales set in space. The stories are very fascinating and an excellent plot device to insert information about thwe fate of the earth. More importantly, each story highlights different elements of Christian theology. It is more space opera than pure classical science fiction.
Other books I have made my way through include:
The tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling. Now this one is worth the money for the featured comments by Dumbledore, especially the ones where he parodies political correctness.
Tyrannosaurus Canyon by Douglas Preston which is your typical heroes-seeking-treasure-in-desert book. Except for the fact that the treasure is actually a gigantic fossil. While a fairly entertaining novel, its quality falls way behind that of Preston's novels co-authored with Lee Child.
Albion by Peter Ackroyd. Nowhere near as good as his biography about London. In fact, I confess myself disappointed. But it still made some interesting points.
Right now I am halfway through Dan Simmon's Hyperion. Now this IS what I call interesting scifi. Seven pilgrims set forth on the eve of Armaggeddon to a planet in the outer regions of the milky way. Their goal: to solve the mystery of an ancient artefact that appears to cause the troubles of the galaxy. While travelling, they tell each other stories.
I bet it comes as no surprise that this is really Canterbury Tales set in space. The stories are very fascinating and an excellent plot device to insert information about thwe fate of the earth. More importantly, each story highlights different elements of Christian theology. It is more space opera than pure classical science fiction.