Llamafodder

Last week I read 4 different but interesting books while Jennifer slew dragons. (We’re a very progressive family that way.) The books were:
– The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis
– Pink by Lili Wilkinson (found via ktliterary.com)
– Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
– and The Dragon Waiting: A Masque of History by John M. Ford

I read Pink first, because it was the most immediately appealing–and because I’d read its teaser most recently. It’s an interesting book, about identity and the chance to change–with the main character as a female Australian junior in high school. There weren’t any fantasy/sci-fi elements, which is a bit unusual for me in my YA reading; Uglies and Leviathan are more my norm. It was fantastic to me–because being a popular female was as different from my high school experience as possible. Still, I had less trouble with it then Jennifer has–probably because Ava (the main character) is close enough that she identifies with her, but the differences are enough to break identification. While, I was able to keep reading undisturbed–exactly as I do when it’s a Klingon or elf I’m identifying with.

I read Starship Troopers second, because it was the most appealing remaining in the stack. I’ve been meaning to read it forever, and remembered the oft repeated “the movie is nothing like the book”. I liked them both, and thought the parallels were strong for two things related only by the title. I didn’t get an overwhelming pro-fascist agenda from the book; another thing that I’d expected from hearing about it for so long. All in all, it was a clean, quick moving, book that did a great job of building identification with Juan.

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine came third. It was a solid, workmanlike narrative that illustrated the height of the housing bubble/CDO/etc. problems, and introduced a few interesting characters to investigate and explore the system’s collapse. The focus on specific characters and the situation’s development over time made for an interesting twist that made the book more personal and less dry. Not many of the details were new, since I’ve heard many excerpts from this book and others tackling the same crisis. For the many people who still have no idea what a CDO is, or who understand that the system was rigged but not any of the details, this is a painless way to acquire more knowledge.

The Dragon Waiting waited for last; its early 80s cover and my lack of recollection as to why I’d requested it put it last on the list. It was an amazing Fantasy–because it’s from the era before fantasy began borrowing from itself. So it’s more an alternate history with solid grounding in historical Europe than Drizzt’s adventures. It was well written, with characters that I appreciated.

A good book, fun and fast reading. The world is relentlessly narrow– there aren’t a lot of extraneous characters. This gives the book a slightly cramped feel– the only classes mentioned are English and writing for the school newspaper; the only teachers mentioned are English and writing, etc.

I liked it, and wouldn’t mind reading the other books in the series. They seem right up Jennifer’s alley as good YA fiction with a strong female lead.

One significant flaw: for some reason they moved the “in character” glossary to the beginning of the book, before the story starts. It made me wonder if I’d joined in mid-series, since it also details the astrological signs of everyone. It’s dry reading, spoilery, and gets in the way. If they reprint, I’d strongly suggest that it get moved to the rear or eliminated altogether. (Though I freely admit that I’m not their target audience.)

A good sequel to Ariel, introducing several interesting characters. The story centers around Fred and Yan, a couple of teenage boys with a flair for magic.

The setting is post-change, but 40 years after the change, not 10. The world has eased into an understanding of the new rules. The huge depopulation was better explained, and the world continued developing along interesting lines. Our hero, Fred, is on the verge of a huge breakthrough…

It’s a good story– a solid setting, a likeable hero, a villain who is crazy but not too crazy… plus interesting family relationships and more.

The Thousandfold Thought is the third book in the Prince of Nothing series by Scott Bakker. I thought it would be the concluding book in the series, but the ending is left open. The book’s a solid advancement of the series; we get to meet papa Moënghus, find out that he’s been behind everything– but that doesn’t sour it all.

The book does a good job of bringing several threads to an end. It looks like he left the world alone for several years (real time and in the world) before beginning a sequel trilogy last year. The first book is The Judging Eye, which I may check out.