The Yowie - Satire? This aint no satire Bob. This, my friend, is illogical, irrational humour!!!!!

Gridlinked, by Neal Asher – Book Review

April 1st, 2010 by Robert

gridlinked reviewIan Cormac is an elite agent for the Polity – an AI governed civilisation in the distant future somewhat akin to the “Culture” of Iain M. Banks’ books. For thirty years, Cormac has been “gridlinked”: his brain has been directly connected to the all-pervading information network pervading the entire Polity realm. The almost-omniscience this has brought him has made him a fantastic secret agent, but it’s also robbed him of much of his humanity. Read the rest of this entry »

The Game Players of Titan, by Philip K. Dick – Book Review

March 29th, 2010 by Robert

game players titan reviewPhilip K Dick was a man with many personal demons, and he wasn’t averse to exploring them in his work. The Game-Players of Titan is a study in paranoia, and it reads somewhat like a nightmare put to page. Read the rest of this entry »

The Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan – Book Review

March 29th, 2010 by Robert

eye world reviewLong and detailed, but saved from being boring by some episodes of genuine suspense and tension. The action scenes are very well written and, apart from some obviously Tolkienesque plot elements, this is one of the more original sword and sorcery genre series (not that originality is one of the genre’s strong points!)

The Unknown Soldier, by Gerald Seymour – Book Review

March 29th, 2010 by Robert

unknown soldier reviewWe see the stories on the news every day. Criminal proceedings against accused 911 masterminds. Carnage in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sometimes the terrorists even get through the stricter security arrangements restricting all our lives and manage to kill a few innocent civilians. But how do we really fight this war? Gerald Seymour’s The Unknown Soldier shows us how it all works from a variety of angles, and it’s a far cry from James Bond or Steven Seagal. It’s not glamorous. Sometimes it’s downright sordid. Read the rest of this entry »

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner – Book Review

March 29th, 2010 by Robert

freakonomics reviewEconomics gets a bad rap. To the layperson, the mere mention of economics evokes thoughts of suited bankers, interest rates, taxation and finance. Economists are seen as just another goon from the pantheon of Finance. Greenpeace doesn’t like them. They’re one of those guys whose reason for being is to help big business make more money, or to prevent countries from going broke. Read the rest of this entry »

The Tale of the Body Thief, by Anne Rice – Book Review

March 26th, 2010 by Robert

tale body thief reviewThe fourth volume of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles is quite a departure from the last instalment. Unlike The Queen of the Damned, which became an aimless mass of multiple plot strands and apocalyptic excess, The Tale of the Body Thief re-establishes a sense of intimacy with the series’ most interesting character, and its natural star, Lestat de Lioncourt. Read the rest of this entry »

Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson – Book Review

March 26th, 2010 by Robert

The theories and concepts Neal Stephenson expounds in his extraordinary novel, Snow Crash, are so intricate, broad-ranging and profound, that reading the book is something like riding an intellectual rollercoaster. Encompassing technology, sociology, economics, religion, linguistics, archaeology, physiology, history, politics and ethics, somehow Snow Crash still manages to work spectacularly well as an action adventure story. Two months after reading it, I’m still coming to grips with it.

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