Bonus Bookpost
May. 5th, 2007 02:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellarienThis is what comes of not noting the books down as I read them: after the last post, I remembered three more I'd missed, and finished another couple.
C. Northcote Parkinson, The Guernseyman,
Tale of a young man working his way up through the British Navy in the time of the Revolutionary War and afterwards. Interesting glimpses of slightly different corners of naval history, but not entirely satisfactory as a novel; the bits of fully-realized narrative are few and far between, interspersed with the far too much dry summary, and the protagonist is no Hornblower. There are sequels, but I'm in great hurry to collect them.
Susannah Clarke, The Ladies of Grace Adieu
Short stories in the world of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell,
charmingly illustrated by Charles Vess; enjoyable glimpses into that faery-infested England.
Robert Kurson, Shadow Divers
Fascinating (non-fictional) account of the discovery and identification of a WW2 German submarine off the Atlantic coast, and insight into the perilous -- and very masculine -- world of wreck divers. I was rather reminded of the mountain-climbing books my father occasionally had from the library; that impulse to take insane risks for recreation is deeply alien to me, but none the less interesting to read about for that. Being familiar with the recurring
'quest for the magic breathing mixture' theme in Voyage, it was interesting to learn a bit about the 'tri-mix' and the difference it made for deep divers.
Karen Traviss, Ally
Fifth and penultimate entry in the Wess'har Wars series; suffers a bit from middle-book syndrome, I think, but still wrenching and engaging, piling the impossible ethical and environmental dilemmas higher and higher as the Eqbas fleet prepares to descend on and forcefully restore Earth.
Paul Park, A Princess of Roumania
Teenagers find themselves transported to an alternate world in which one of them really is a long-lost princess. It's a lot more original than that sounds, and very well done in a sparse but vivid style. I was a little put out to find it isn't a stand-alone, and I'm not entirely sure yet why the alternate Roumania is supposed to be worth saving.
C. Northcote Parkinson, The Guernseyman,
Tale of a young man working his way up through the British Navy in the time of the Revolutionary War and afterwards. Interesting glimpses of slightly different corners of naval history, but not entirely satisfactory as a novel; the bits of fully-realized narrative are few and far between, interspersed with the far too much dry summary, and the protagonist is no Hornblower. There are sequels, but I'm in great hurry to collect them.
Susannah Clarke, The Ladies of Grace Adieu
Short stories in the world of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell,
charmingly illustrated by Charles Vess; enjoyable glimpses into that faery-infested England.
Robert Kurson, Shadow Divers
Fascinating (non-fictional) account of the discovery and identification of a WW2 German submarine off the Atlantic coast, and insight into the perilous -- and very masculine -- world of wreck divers. I was rather reminded of the mountain-climbing books my father occasionally had from the library; that impulse to take insane risks for recreation is deeply alien to me, but none the less interesting to read about for that. Being familiar with the recurring
'quest for the magic breathing mixture' theme in Voyage, it was interesting to learn a bit about the 'tri-mix' and the difference it made for deep divers.
Karen Traviss, Ally
Fifth and penultimate entry in the Wess'har Wars series; suffers a bit from middle-book syndrome, I think, but still wrenching and engaging, piling the impossible ethical and environmental dilemmas higher and higher as the Eqbas fleet prepares to descend on and forcefully restore Earth.
Paul Park, A Princess of Roumania
Teenagers find themselves transported to an alternate world in which one of them really is a long-lost princess. It's a lot more original than that sounds, and very well done in a sparse but vivid style. I was a little put out to find it isn't a stand-alone, and I'm not entirely sure yet why the alternate Roumania is supposed to be worth saving.
