slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) (11/26/85)
Here's some mini-reviews of some books I recently read. Five possible
stars...
Day One: Before Hiroshima and After, by Peter Wyden. A good over-all
account of the coming of the bomb. It is written from a more political
viewpoint than a technical one. Because it is an overview, the characters
involved are not deeply drawn. Not like "Lawrence and Oppenheimer" for
example. But the principals are all there. And he has a way of picking
one or two vignettes about a person to give the reader a feeling for
the personalities. Wyden has an axe to grind, but doesn't do it too
obviously. Three stars.
Ramayana, retold by William Buck. Beautiful. It is not a word-for-word
translation of the Indian classic, and if textual accuracy is what you
want, you need to go elsewhere (and possibly learn Sanskrit). But it is
lovely, and captures the spirit of Valmiki. Best read aloud to yourself.
The author has a version of the Mahabharata out, too. I wonder about it,
since it is the same size as the Ramayana (27 volumes reduced to this!).
But I bought it because I couldn't resist. At any rate, the Ramayana
is a wonderful read. Five stars.
Khai of Ancient Khem, by Brian Lumley. Avoid this turkey. I don't know
why I bothered to finish it. Bad history can sometimes be excused in a
fantasy, but not in a supposed time-travel novel. The author obviously
knew nothing about Egyptian history or religion. It has lots of gratuitous
violence. And I really couldn't care less about the characters. 1/2 star.
The Anubis Gates, by Tim Powers. Now HERE is a good time-travel novel.
Mixing the romantic poets and the ancient Egyptians--and he DOES know
his history and religion. The time-travel paradoxes are well handled,
I cared about his characters, and I get the feeling I can read it again
and get something new. Four stars.
The Moment of Creation: Big Bang Physics from Before the First Millisecond
to the Present Universe, by James S. Trefil. A book that fills my requirements
for physics. Not too dry so as to lose me. Enough that I've heard before
so that I can relate to it. Difficult enough to keep my attention. Enough
new information to be worth it. Would love a physicist to tell me how
accurate it is. It seems very accurate to this layperson. Best explanation
of how particle exchange explains forces that I've seen. Nice charts.
It relates atomic physics to the history of the universe. Four stars.
--
Sue Brezden
ihnp4!drutx!slb
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To search for perfection is all very well,
But to look for heaven is to live here in hell.
--Sting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~wilson_3@h-sc1.UUCP (bradford wilson) (12/02/85)
> Here's some mini-reviews of some books I recently read. Five possible > stars... > > The Anubis Gates, by Tim Powers. Now HERE is a good time-travel novel. > Mixing the romantic poets and the ancient Egyptians--and he DOES know > his history and religion. The time-travel paradoxes are well handled, > I cared about his characters, and I get the feeling I can read it again > and get something new. Four stars. > > > Sue Brezden > ihnp4!drutx!slb If you liked Anubis Gates you will also certainly like The Drawing of The Dark. This is his first book and it is mostly out of print, but is worth searching for if you're ready for Evil Turks, King Arthur, drunken Vikings, and Dark Beer. The Wombat .:. ------------------------------- TRIVIA: in Anubis Gates, what is the name of the innkeeper at the inn where the "Antaeus Society" hides out? Check out its significance! (E-mail me any confused replies)