Comments | ase: The Green World and the White: January Reading

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The Green World and the White: January Reading

Feb 06, 2004 20:01

Cutting for size, not spoilers. Low on content, high on chatty commentary.

The title this month refers to one character's perception of the mystic and the mundane in Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy; it seemed appropriate, since it's been so snowy (and icy!) lately.

New icon courtesy Photoshop 7.0 and my Precious digital camera.

( The Return of the King, J. R. R. Tolkien )

a: mckillip patricia, 2004 reading, a: zahn timothy, a: fforde jasper, a: billingsley franny, a: kagan janet, a: shippey ta, a: tolkien jrr

Comments 11

hedda62 February 6 2004, 17:17:49 UTC

I love what Jasper Fforde does with names. Don't have it here to check spelling, but in the second book he has a series of disposable (essentially red-shirt) agent pairs with names like Kannon and Fodder, Lamb and Slorter, etc. Found myself just waiting for the next ones to show up...

Re: ase February 7 2004, 13:21:03 UTC

I missed some (possibly a lot) of the name jokes on my first pass; I didn't notice the Boswell joke until I was hunting for a good quote to hook people with. I'm definitely going to have to look for those when I reread The Eyre Affair and when I pick up the second book.

meril February 6 2004, 17:18:56 UTC

We've read a lot of the same books, I see.

I need to reread Mirabile; it was one of my favorite books 10+ years ago. Of course I do not have a copy.

Tangential remark: I don't know if you read much romance; from looking over your book posts from '03 it doesn't look that way but, who knows, last year could have been your year to slack off with that. I find myself reading more YA romantic fantasy than adult, because for some reason the YA stuff tends to have more likable heroes and heroines. I have no idea why this would be the case.

Re: Mirabile trolleypup February 6 2004, 18:05:38 UTC

You too?! I finally broke down and bought the danged thing. Out of print of course, but not too hard to find. Very fine book, which she had more out.

I don't think the genetics and biology are a major problem...gene controls are really funky, and well, rare wild animals implanted in domestics has been done with some success.

Re: Mirabile ase February 7 2004, 13:51:14 UTC

I don't think the genetics and biology are a major problem...gene controls are really funky, and well, rare wild animals implanted in domestics has been done with some success.

Ah, gene controls. Would you like a lecture on RNA transcription and DNA replication? It was an entire unit of my Intro to Bio course last semester.

It might be possible to do the genetic tricks Kagan uses in Mirabile - I can make some arguments for environment generating specific transcription factors that produce new species - but tucking in the new genes would be extraordinarily tricky, if it's even possible. I'd have to ask someone who knows more about genetics and biology than I do.

Re: ase February 7 2004, 13:34:33 UTC

I'm not a big romance fan. You know how some people go, "eww! Sci-fi! I won't read that!"? I have a disappointingly similar aversion to romances.

I got my copy of Mirabile used. You could try hitting Bookfinder for a copy. Hopefully it'll be republished someday; it's not a forgotten classic, but it's a very enjoyable read, and Kagan's use of biology and genetics is very original.

re: Eyre Affair herewiss13 February 6 2004, 21:43:01 UTC

I _told_ you it was good. ;-) The Rocky Richard Horror show was especially hilarious, but it was all clever. The second book goes even further down the rabbithole into metafiction.

Now that you've read it, picture my mother. Or rather, since you've never met my mother, picture a nice, utterly mundane woman who can't distinguish ST: Voyager from Babylon5 and things the whole genre is faintly silly.

Now picture her in a group of like-minded women reading "The Eyre Affair".

If they "get" it, they ought to love it. If they don't, their heads might explode trying. ;-)

May is going to be a veeery interesting month.

And while the genetics of Mirable are potentially faulty, the ecology is brilliant and spot-on. Lovely book, almost re-read it the other week myself, but decided I could still remember the stories too clearly.

Re: Eyre Affair ase February 7 2004, 13:54:19 UTC

The Rocky Richard Horror show was especially hilarious, but it was all clever.

The Richard Horror Show, perhaps?

Wait. From what I've heard of the original play, that could apply to Fforde's pastiche or the play.

Do tell me how your mother takes The Eyre Affair. If she likes it, you might be able to use it to persuade her to try ACC or Connie Willis. Something faintly romantic and funny (and SFnal!), at least.

Re: Eyre Affair herewiss13 February 7 2004, 13:57:12 UTC

If she likes it, you might be able to use it to persuade her to try ACC or Connie Willis.

I've already foisted "To Say Nothing of the Dog" on her (and 'Bellweather, for that matter, I think). Her only reaction:

Mildly amusing, but confusing in parts.

Curse of Chalion merited a similarly lukewarm response.

I'd just like to know how Fforde came to the attention of this bookclub in the _first_ place!

technocracygirl February 7 2004, 09:02:49 UTC

Thank you for reminding me. I need to call my boyfriend and see if he's buying me Survivor's Quest. If he's not, I must purshcase it.

I have bought more books this month than I normally buy in a season.

Re: ase February 7 2004, 14:18:52 UTC

I have bought more books this month than I normally buy in a season.

Serendipity is sometimes tough on one's budget. Fortunately, there's such things as libraries, if you can remember to return books on time. (I'm kind of hit and miss on that front. It was a lot easier when I worked in a library.)

I'm doomed in April; Sethra Lavode is coming out in HC, and I desperately want to read it. I'm chanting, "library, classes, exams, breaks up your set of Brust paperbacks, library..." in a desperate attempt to avoid running out and buying it the second I can.