He's a demon on wheels
I recently became aware that there is a Speed Racer movie coming out in early May, directed by the Wachowski brothers. Based on the trailers, it appears poised to rock my face, but I'm tempering my optimism -- the last movie I felt some anticipation for, Jumper, turned out to be a disappointing muddle.
A quick rundown of recent reading:
The Demon and the City, by Liz Williams. I enjoyed this sequel to Snake Agent just as much as I did that book. Ms. Williams continues to demonstrate a good understanding of how to effectively present setting, and to populate that setting with entertaining and sympathetic characters. Like its predecessor, this story suffers from an awkwardly-staged climax -- hopefully that's something the author will improve in subsequent novels.
Webmage, by Kelly McCullough. I'm pretty sure the idea for this story came about when the author was proofreading something in Microsoft Word, and thought to herself, "Hey, wouldn't it be funny if a 'spellchecker' were something that literally checked magic spells?" That pun was about the only enjoyable bit in this mish-mash, which reads like some kind of appalling Amber/Matrix/Greek Myth crossover fanfic.
Fugitives of Chaos, by John C. Wright. The sequel to Orphans of Chaos. It's funnier than the first book, and its tone is less alienating; on the other hand, it's not constructed as tightly. Like the first book, I'd mildly recommend it; the twists on classical myth are well-done, and the author knows his craft. Unless you're really turned off by the undercurrents of mild (and often humorously presented) bondage fetishism present throughout the story, there's no real reason to stay away.
A quick rundown of recent reading:
The Demon and the City, by Liz Williams. I enjoyed this sequel to Snake Agent just as much as I did that book. Ms. Williams continues to demonstrate a good understanding of how to effectively present setting, and to populate that setting with entertaining and sympathetic characters. Like its predecessor, this story suffers from an awkwardly-staged climax -- hopefully that's something the author will improve in subsequent novels.
Webmage, by Kelly McCullough. I'm pretty sure the idea for this story came about when the author was proofreading something in Microsoft Word, and thought to herself, "Hey, wouldn't it be funny if a 'spellchecker' were something that literally checked magic spells?" That pun was about the only enjoyable bit in this mish-mash, which reads like some kind of appalling Amber/Matrix/Greek Myth crossover fanfic.
Fugitives of Chaos, by John C. Wright. The sequel to Orphans of Chaos. It's funnier than the first book, and its tone is less alienating; on the other hand, it's not constructed as tightly. Like the first book, I'd mildly recommend it; the twists on classical myth are well-done, and the author knows his craft. Unless you're really turned off by the undercurrents of mild (and often humorously presented) bondage fetishism present throughout the story, there's no real reason to stay away.