of Lars J. Nilsson

Ariel by Steven R. Boyett
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is by no means a bad book. Only, I probably approached it incorrectly. The author does mention himself, in the edition I have, that it is probably best suited for 13-18 year olds. And that makes sense, it reads like a teenage book. A teenage book with quite a lot of violence and sex though.

So the fact that it is fairly easy to figure out how it going to end, that the setup is largely cliche might not mean so much in the end.

I did like some of the characters, and some of the pacing. Also, here’s a fantasy book that *have* been edited, thank bog. And the book does what it sets out to, a fairly simple "quest" for a young man to deal with his innocence and "virginity".

It is rather charmingly naive at places, for example, after the change, guns doesn’t work anymore. And why? Because the author don’t like them… I’ll admit that’s a reason which I find easier to swallow than many other.

All in all, a book I’d recommend to a teenager, provided they can handle sex and violence, but not for any advanced reading classes.

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The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So, I’m a romantic sucker. I don’t like it, but it’s true, I just have too keep my urges back a bit, that’s all. Given that, it should come as no surprise that I liked this book a lot. But there are other reasons as well, so bear with me.

Kostova seems a born storyteller. The first half of this book is probably the best letter/diary form of writing I’ve ever read. It completely hooked me from page one. It spaces out the mystery nicely. And gives us some very nice characters.

This book also sparked my interest in history again. I hope it lasts. Kostova lays it out in such a splendor and intimate fashion that I felt shallow for my own lack of knowledge. I’ve traveled large parts of Europe, but I’ve never before appreciated the "depth" of the place. When the characters moves through Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, describing the ebb and tide of the Byzantine Empire. I was left with a longing feeling that I wanted to know more. High praise? You bet.

So what then keeps this book from score I fiver? Well, vampires mostly. I’ve always felt them to be rather hard creatures to pin down, especially as you always have to deal with the backlog of more or less successful attempts, and the towering shadow of Stoker. Also, I was very sure that there wouldn’t be a show-down, simply because it would have suited the book and the story. So when it came, it disappointed my by appearing in the first place, and felt abrupt and shallow.

The boyfriend is a waste as well, and disappointed me as well. He’s not actually doing anything. He’s just tagging along, as if somehow show us that a mere girl of, what, 15 or 16 years couldn’t possibly do it without a man at her side. Really? With that mother? Somehow it left me wanting.

As some other reviewers have pointed out, the second half of the book drags a little bit, and the coincidences tend to glare. Just one too many, OK?

So there it is. A really good book. It is not a horror story as much as a travelogue and mystery novel. But it’s the reason I’m now reading the Penguin History of Europe, so what can I say? I liked it.

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Alice Cooper, Golf Monster: A Rock ‘n’ Roller’s 12 Steps to Becoming a Golf Addict by Alice Cooper
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So, I’m a Cooper fan. Let’s get that straight from the start. So he probably could have completely screwed up with this book and I would still have enjoyed it. Luckily he didn’t, although it’s by no means a masterpiece.

It’s kept short and sweet: this is a good thing as it’s never getting pretentious, and as Cooper, at least to my mind, is all about entertaining. However, the backside of that is that you’re never likely to get any meat with the story and after a while it feels like a long list of "some more awesome things I’ve done".

But hell, there’s some awesome things Alice Cooper has done. The stories range from truly bizarre (knife-murder and child-births at a press conference anyone?) to funny as hell (Peter Sellers live and kicking) and almost touching ("I never cry"). If you ever wonder how come Alice Cooper is such a legend, here’s your fix, you won’t doubt after reading it.

The there’s golf. What can I say, the man is a golf addict and claims it saved his life. And Tiger thinks he’s pretty good, which says a lot. As I’m not that interested in the sport, the gold got a bit boring, but hell, even here there’s good stories to be had (snubbing Raquel Welch?!).

And finally, religion. Being a Christian turned Atheist I had mixed feelings about that bit. I don’t mind him being open about his Christianity, and of course everyone’s free to their own choose, but emotionally I still feel it is a pity. However, Cooper get’s a lot of credibility in my book by not overdoing it, and never letting it get in the way of his performances.

So: a quick and very entertaining read. It’s got golf in it. And alcohol (obviously). And more stars than you can shake a stick at. And Alice Cooper. What can I say? What. A. Legend.

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Nation by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Pratchett book which is not set in the Discworld?! Interesting though… This is a good book, but it left me somewhat wanting. To be exact, it left me wanting for more Discworld. For good and for bad Pratchett *is* the Discworld and this attempt to move outside certainly works, but for a Discworld fan like me, it doesn’t "transponse" to become equally engaging as the serie we have come to love. For example, Daphne is just a tiny bit too alike Tiffany which keeps reminding you that Granny *isn’t* going to turn up in this novel. Nor is Death, but…

Having said that, I do hope Pratchett writes more outside the Discworld. He clearly has things he wants to say and his prose and style is honed to perfection by know. I mean, there’s reason he sells millions and millions of books.

Another though: this book is about religion and the lack thereof. Not terribly surprising perhaps. Readers be warned, there’s thinking ahead! Pratchett uses what he calls "stealth philosophy" in the Discworld series. Here it’s out in the plain, and it is perhaps one of the best introductions to common atheism I’ve ever read. In fact, I’d love some of my Christian friends to read this, just to see what they’d make of it. (For someone who is an Atheist, and especially one who has gone from belief to the lack thereof, it is well trodden ground though). But don’t get scared, Pratchett is much too wise to hammer anyone over the head. Yes, there’s Atheism, but there’s love and understanding as well. Read it, I dare you.

I’ve re-read almost every Pratchett book I own. This may perhaps be the exception to that rule. Not because it’s bad, but because I’m completely snowed-in; a complete and utter Discworld geek, and that it just doesn’t *feel* the same.

Now, I’m off reading "I shall wear midnight"…

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The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Perhaps 3.5 stars is too little and I’m being overly negative. But wonderful as it is, this book still have some glaring problems. Oh and btw: others have written about the plot, I don’t have to copy it.

Let’s get the praise over with: Patrick Rothfuss’s writing is brilliant, and when the story works this is a page turner deluxe. And yes, you still care about the characters with some minor glitches (see below). So all in all I finished this book in less than a week despite the fact it is a door stopper.

Door stopper. Well, here’s the first criticism then, and one I keep coming back to: where the hell are the editors when it comes to epic fantasy? Not that I imagine it would be an easy job with a book like this, it fits seamlessly together and ripping something out would be horrifying. But still, large parts – or even the majority – of this book have nothing to do with the plot as I understand it. Certainly, it tells us the story of Kvothe’s rise to power, but it doesn’t move us very further from the end of the first book.

Let me clarify. This is a character story and it aims to tell us the life of Kvothe. It frames the narrative in the differences between Kvothe the legend and Kote the barman. The first book we get his journey from childhood to young man. In the second we get next to nothing. The driving force of the story is the Chandrian, and of them, we get to see nothing.

Oh and I’m sorry, but the lengthy stretches of fairy sex bored the hell out of me, it read like a teenage fantasy geek hot dream.

The first book developed a character, but the second did not. This goes for all characters, they stay more or less flat in this volume. That’s not to say there’s not a fine story here. Patrick Rothfuss obviously has an imagination big as a house, I really, really look forward to read more of him.

And that’s more or less it. This is a straight forward adventure tale with fairy sex. Conceptually there’s very little here we haven’t seen before (apart from the evil tree, I really enjoyed that concept). It’s told with a fantastic flair, and a prose to die for though. But how on earth he’s going to manage the rest of the story in just one book is beyond me. But I’m dying to find out.

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Via The Book Swede: It appears WoT is to be finished despite Mr. Jordans sad demise. By a Brandon Anderson. God luck to him, eh? But really, let’s hope he does it well. I really loved the first couple of books, and despite the their sluggish pace and endlessly repeating characterization I still have a soft spot for them.

And so Robert Jordan have left us as well. Even though I’m one o his readers that think the Wheel of Time lost it after book 3 or so, I’ll happily give him a good number of credits, and I was waiting for the last installment.Here’s to hoping there’s notes and knowledge enough for a ghostwriter to get on with it.

Warning: Here be spoilers………IntroductionI thought I’d offer some thought after having finished the last Harry Potter installation, The Deathly Hallows. Let me start off by taking my hat off to Ms. Rowling. Se has managed something remarkable, and in my book, having this kind of hysteria ’round a book in an age of TV and computers is certainly a good thing.Let me also make it straight: I have really enjoyed the series. But it is easier to criticize, so if you think I’m being loop-handed in the rest of this post, please keep this paragraph in mind.And while I’m at it: I know this is a children’s book. It is far too easy to judge it by grownup standards. I’ll try to limit my moaning about plot-devices accordingly, shall I?The prediction gameSo how did my predictions go? Fairly well I think, I nailed many general plot facts but missed their connections and or their setting. But, as I didn’t bother to write them down, you’ll just have to take my word for it (or ask Red-Eyed Jenna, I believe I discussed it with her at some point).The Snape Question: Nailed it. Snape was good and killed the big D on order. I guessed one of the reasons would be to act as an insider for Harry, but that never happended. He also loved Lily Potter.Snape’s death: Got it. However, I thought he deserved a big bang instead of a whimper, so I though he would play a crucial part in the last battle. I was, unfortunately, wrong there. I did predict a death-bed confession, which I’ll claim a Nostradamus-point for.Dumbledore: Dead, yes.Harry’s (non-) death: Nailed. I think there was three alternatives: (1) he dies; (2) he lives by some semi-cooked plot device; or (3) he looses his magical powers and becomes a muggle. But being a children’s boook I assume #2 would be the actual solution.Horcruxes: I predicted Harry would be a Horcrux. Hm… Semi-right I guess.Dating: Harry+Ginny and Ron+Hermione. Yes.The redemption of Malfoy: Half-miss. I predicted his redemption, but though he would actively choose to “come over” to the right side. I still think that would have been better.The charactersHere’s some notes on what I thought about the characters and their treatment through the book.Harry: No big surprise. A little bit more mature, and it felt natural. Good.Hermione: Surprisingly quiet. Unfortunately so. More of a side-kick this book. I had really thought her superior knowledge would be a major part in the last battle.Ron: A terribly quick maturation, eh? And seriously, the chapter where he leaves H&H was completely out of place. -1 for plotting that one.Snape: Ouch. Next to Harry and Dumbledore the most instrumental man in Voldermorts defeat. And one of the best characters. And the saddest. And bravest. And what do he get in the last book? Nothing. Damn shame if you ask me.Luna: No surprises there.Neville: Yet another quick maturation? However, Neville-the-freedom-fighter is a brilliant concept, so I’m buying it happily.Ginny: Gone. Reduced to sidekick. Bleeding shame. The coolest girl in school, and the deadliest hexer on the block, dispatched to the shadows mooping over Harry? Sorry, I don’t believe it.Bits ‘n piecesTying it all together is a massive job, and all in all I fairly happy with the end result. Harry did reach some sort of conclusion even though he should have paid a grater price (according to classical heroism).The epilogue is terrible. What a waste of space. I’m actually sad I read it at all. There’s nothing to prepare the reader for a Harry, Ron, Hermione at age 37, with kids. No character development, no background. I understand the sentiment, but it could have been done other ways, leaving more place to tie up things we really want to know in immediate connection to the story.Snape… I missed him. When he entered, it was too little too late. And having him go out in a whimper was… Sad. Which perhaps was the point, in which case: fair enough.I realize there must be a new puzzle (ie. the Hallows), but really: We could have used the time it took to tell about those plot devices to fix up loose ends and deepen some of the characters.The deaths. Did anyone die? I didn’t notice. Really. See the paragraph above, since none of the characters had been developed fully in the book, their demise went by unnoticed. Save perhaps Hedwig. Instead of snuffing one of the big names she kills a lot of middle-men. Well… *shrug*ConclusionDamn good stuff all in all. I’m happy I decided to read the series in the first place, it has been a pleasant journey. Can’t compare with Pullman or Stroud, but it is certainly money and time well spent.

My book library have been updated. First, the latest installment of Steven Erikson’s epic fantasy series, The Bonehunters. I am, as I suspect many others, slightly in awe of Erikson. Extremely complex. Extremely well written. Extremely good stuff.

The second update is the classic The Design of Everyday Things, by Donald A. Norman. This is really good stuff, and anyone aspiring to design software, be it GUI or API’s, really, really should read it. I picked it up after reading an interview with Ken Arnold over at Artima.com:

Taste is a very personal thing. There is no textbook. When people ask me about books on object design, the books I hand them have nothing to do with object design per se. I commonly recommend The Design of Everyday Things, by Donald Norman. This book promotes focusing on usability in the design of doors, teapots, and faucets – everyday things. If you do that for objects, you’ll have the idea. 

Oh yes, Ken Arnold as in:

State is hell. 

Or:

Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one instruction — from which, by induction, it is evident that every program can be reduced to one instruction that does not work. 

Sooo, Gaimans Stardust is becoming a movie. Wheee!But, they show the trailer on Yahoo Movies only. Booo!But what kind of retarded moron of inbread stupid som-of-a-manager put it on Yahoo Movies, the worst movie site ever to be created?! I mean, mixing Flash and ActiveX (?) to embed Windows Media Player? What a great idea!! NOT!Let’s see, I’ve got a Windo$e XP at work. Will it work? No, because I need to use MS Interfuck Exploder, and funny enough M$ has fucked it up, so I can’t install Flash on it. Morons. Firefox I have got flash on, but lo’ and behold, the ass-licker incompetent bloody visual basic scripters have made it impossible. Idiots.Linux+Firefox, no. Linux+Opera, no. Windows+IE7, no (because of flash install). Windows+Opera, no, Windows+Firefox, no.And I don’t have a Mac at hand. Coffe cup IQ bloody amateurs.After much wailing and gnashing of teeth I finally figred out how to paste the source link of the embedded stream stright into Linux+Firefox and get my MPlayer plugin to fix it. *sigh*Seems hyped ehough. They seem to have added a lot more action than what I remember from the book. That’s fair enough in my mind, as long as the Gaiman style and pace survives. Stardust is a remarkable book, much thanks to the same said pace and it lovely fairytale-for-grownups groove.So here’s to hope. Despite the morons at Yahoo+Paramount.