book report and general update

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I finished reading Ian M Banks's "Transitions" last night. I think it's the first of his non-Culture sci-fi novels that I've read and really liked. In fact, he's had a bit of a dry spell lately and it's good to see him returning to likability. The novel didn't tickle my brain with the grand sweep of things quite as much as a lot of the Culture novels, but it did play with some interesting ideas. In a way, it felt like Banks was playing with ideas rather than telling a story. He did a good job with the mechanics (I was never confused about who was who or anything), but those mechanics distracted me from the overall story for about the first 20% of the book. It was a good read, though you'll have to slog through the first part.

Oh, and since the last time I posted I've gotten married and had a honeymoon.