Category: Books

I liked this book. It assumes that you know the context for the periods, but the introductory paragraphs do a good job of getting hazy memories up to speed.

The book provides a decent balance of highlighting the genuinely impressive moments during the revolutionary and early Republic era and mentioning the difficulties that were forseen but unsolved. It’s a good balance that reminds us that they were radicals (in 1775) who struggled with the difficult task of getting people to think of the United States as one whole. Politics and exaggeration rear their ugly head early, and “who holds the revolutionary spirit” is an ugly precursor of “who is a real American”. Overall, it’s a good look at the famous figures from history as people– basically good but flawed.

After he won his nobel, I thought it’d be good to read some of his books. Fortunately, Tyler Cowen was discussing Krugman’s books and ranking them relative to each other. Peddling Prosperity was his favorite, so I checked it out of the library.

Krugman does a good job of laying out the examples clearly, illustrating what academic economists thought about the big proposals from each side (basically, that both Supply Side and Strategic Trade are exaggerations or misconceptions from non-economists that filled politician’s needs).

Along the way, he provides a lot of clear description of economic thought and application. The review the 70s and 80s data from several different perspectives and testing against several different frameworks did a great job of explaining where the errors crept in– and helped correct some residual misconceptions I still had.

The book is engaging written– I look forward to reading several more.

A strong sequel, this book continues the previous series with most of the same main characters, but advanced twenty years. The war against the vuhls has been defensive but basically successful (particularly by the previous book’s standards), but a new group emerges claiming that victory is at hand.

Blazing Star is a splinter group founded by Owen Garret that uses a telepathic wave of aggression to kick the vuhl’s over. The first pages of the book set the situation up… then the Prophet is introduced. The prophet is the Destroyer that the vuhls feared in the last book– seemingly human, his leadership inspires Blazing Star to greatness. After he allies with the navy there’s a lot of vuhl stomping.

Of course, it isn’t that simple. There are a lot of groups interested in the distribution of power in the Solar Empire. Jackie has an interesting relationship with Ch’en’ya, who proves an important ally of Blazing Star– sometimes a strained mother/daughter exasperation, sometimes pure opposition. Meanwhile, other power groups in the Empire and among the Zor scheme for their own slice of power… and Stone comes back to tangle it all further.

Very enjoyable– the best book in the series since the first. (Also interestingly, I went to the author website to see when the next book is due… and it’s not. Evidently it didn’t sell that well, so no more books are forthcoming. It’s interesting how that lack changes the feel of the series.)

A clear sequel to The Dark Path, it picks up shortly after the previous book ended. This book is stronger, with Jackie making interesting choices. The world changes and unusual talents are revealed. We learn more about the vuhls, but not enough to steal their mystery.

Jackie finds out interesting truths about Zor myths, leading to more choices and a much more flexible feel. The books ends on a high note– and, though it appears to be just an interlude, the next book hops forward 20 years.

While this book is in the same world as The Dark Wing, it’s set 80 years later. The cultures have changed in the interval; Zor and Human are used to interacting, though resentment is still present.

This book centers around Jackie and Ch’k’te, who react to the discovery/invasion of strange aliens– the Ghuls. There’s a lot of confusion given the alien’s powers of deception. Along the way, Jackie looses control of her base and gets drug into complex Zor plans. She’s seen as the current incarnation of Qu’u and is dragged into events to replicate those of legend.

Despite a more personal viewpoint throughout and good characterization, it’s frustrating to be as lost as Jackie. The book doesn’t really end– unlike the Dark Wing, this is clearly a chunk of a larger book and doesn’t have a satisfying ending. I checked out the next book in the series and hope that it’s more rewarding in the end.

The Dark Wing is a tale of war between the (human) Imperium and an alien race– the Zor, birdlike and different.

The story is well written and centers on Sergei Torrijos, though other characters (including, later on, Zor protagonists) get POV chapters. There are elements that suggest roleplaying potential– like the ability of gunners to “crack” a shield early, and a pilot’s ability to evade/present new faces to the enemy in a way that prolongs the ship’s life. That information, and several other bits of history and technological explanation are given in straightforward info-dumps.

The book is mostly about the war; the Zor attack in the first chapter, and the humans scramble to counter attack. Interestingly, a cultural gulf between civilians and military is laid out and developed; the military is generally tired of the premature peaces that are negotiated, always leaving the Zor ready to attack again soon.

Admiral Marais steps on scene and begins driving the Imperial Navy onto a new path. It’s interesting watching through Sergei’s eyes as he learns about the Admiral’s drives and goals. There’s a very interesting subplot about Intellegence and spies, and hints at a future enemy.

The book lasts a longer than you’d expect– the war comes to a close, but the after effects must be navigated. This takes about 25% more of the book and casts a different light on the accomplishments of the war.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. This was a reread.