Oh. That's good to know. I have Blackout to read and didn't realize there was a follow-up book. I've been putting off reading Blackout just because of Connie Willis' writing style. I love her storylines. I just don't like how she repeats herself a million times when new character walks in and needs to be updated on what's going on. Then again, I guess it might be a good strategy for writing for readers who don't sit down and read the whole book in a couple of sittigns.
For suggestions, I noticed a couple of Shakespeare books on your list, have you read John Julius Norwich's Shakespeare's Kings? Is about the wars of the roses plays, compares the real Henry V with the one in the play and so forth with one chapter per king. JJN is a wonderful writer and it's a great book. IMO.
Am envying you the back to back reading of the company books; that is a serious bookglomp there.
Thanks for the rec! I don't know Norwich at all, but I'll be sure to look for it.
The Company books look more back-to-back than they really are, because of the alphabetization -- they were actually spread out over about eight months. I'm definitely glad I read them in pretty close proximity, though; that was a fun metaplot to watch unfold.
I wondered about that back to back thing. What did you make of the space hospital series?
I loved the sf of it, but JW cannot write women at all and he seems to think they're more alien and less capable of intelligence than the telepathic insect. Which is odd. But the pacifism and the exo biology are fab.
That sounds about right to me. I'd say those books have the major downside of sexism (though I do give him a little bit of credit for walking that back from "horribly, egregiously sexist" to "only moderately sexist" over the course of the series), and the minor drawback of being a little too obviously stitched together from short stories. But the plots, setting, and overall philosophy are fun enough that I'll probably keep reading them and eyerolling over the annoying parts.
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Or maybe a double read. I know I didn't track everything on first run through that book.
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For suggestions, I noticed a couple of Shakespeare books on your list, have you read John Julius Norwich's Shakespeare's Kings? Is about the wars of the roses plays, compares the real Henry V with the one in the play and so forth with one chapter per king. JJN is a wonderful writer and it's a great book. IMO.
Am envying you the back to back reading of the company books; that is a serious bookglomp there.
Reply
The Company books look more back-to-back than they really are, because of the alphabetization -- they were actually spread out over about eight months. I'm definitely glad I read them in pretty close proximity, though; that was a fun metaplot to watch unfold.
Reply
I wondered about that back to back thing. What did you make of the space hospital series?
I loved the sf of it, but JW cannot write women at all and he seems to think they're more alien and less capable of intelligence than the telepathic insect. Which is odd. But the pacifism and the exo biology are fab.
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