Brit in Canada. I read when I can't sleep, so yes there's a lot of books here. Nearly all SF.
he/him
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A lot of this is "why I hate short-term politicking, and the politics I am most familiar with is Canadian". Some of the 20th century social history is interesting. The "rah rah rah, I hate Canadians, well not really" does spoil it.
In some ways, this one roasts more than "Why I hate Canadians" but Ian perhaps removes some of the misanthropy, so it's a bit more cheerful. By this book I learned to just browse through the chapters that didn't immediately grab me. You can read in whatever order, any actual references between chapters are referenced.
My favourites are the discussions of the provinces and their driving styles. Bloody Canadian drivers.
Accompanied by his faithful minidrag Pip and a most troublesome alien called Abalamahalamatandra -- Ab …
The thing I enjoyed most about this is that I've read a few different humanx books before but never specifically noticed so much crossover of planets, factions and characters. This one doesn't get as creepy as Bloodhype but does have some lazy writing in it along the lines of "there's no time to explain, let's get on this month-long cruise, where apparently no further character development happens at all".
It's fine, clearly not supposed to be too serious.
Second attempt at this. Maybe I get the references now?
I would add a caution up front that a 300 page book about canoeing for several months does get pretty samey. However it's not really much of a surprise. The author has some lovely descriptions of the landscape and the absolutely terrible time he puts himself through willingly to cross it.
He's clearly not one for the busy modern world, although I think he's hamming it up a bit for some humour in the dry bits. It works.
Slough House is Jackson Lamb's kingdom; a dumping ground for members of the intelligence service …
I found the first third of this book a real struggle and only finished it because I wanted to read it ahead of seeing the TV series. The remainder of the book is more enjoyable, but it does shamelessly set a cliffhanger every 5 pages or so, through misinterpret-able references or missing information.
The idea of the far right rising I will grant is pretty prescient from 2010, mind. There's some great ideas, but I don't really like description such as "looked like Timothy Spall, gone to seed". Yes, I can imagine it, but I find it jarring.
The Android's Dream is a 2006 science fiction novel by American writer John Scalzi.The title …
It took me a while to get into this book, as I didn't read the synopsis and therefore had no idea where it was going. In 2024, the way computers, AI, and hacking is represented seems almost quaint now. In that sense there's some real Bladerunner vibes about the book. Scalzi's humour here also references fads from the early 2000s which also date it, not well.
But it's perfectly fine, and made me smile quite a few times. If it tried less hard to be funny, I think it would have been better. Preferred Kaiju Preservation Society, although the COVID references in that will probably age it just as well!
If you go to the Yukon, you can save reading most of the information signs in the whole territory as they're all cribbing from this book. It's in a very readable style, but that style is from the 50s, updated in the 70s, and reprinted ever since. The way the author treats anyone who's not a white man is...not great. Any individuals are described fairly, but at a general level First Nations are described as "crude" or "brutal" or other dismissive language, and women feature rarely. It was quite a surprise compared to federal and territorial literature. But it is of its time, and does draw on the last few actual eyewitnesses to the Klondike Gold Rush.
And oh boy, was that totally insane. The weather people endured, below -50C for the winter, with minimal clothes and tents, if they arrived early. Transporting 500kg of supplies, 40kg at a time, …
If you go to the Yukon, you can save reading most of the information signs in the whole territory as they're all cribbing from this book. It's in a very readable style, but that style is from the 50s, updated in the 70s, and reprinted ever since. The way the author treats anyone who's not a white man is...not great. Any individuals are described fairly, but at a general level First Nations are described as "crude" or "brutal" or other dismissive language, and women feature rarely. It was quite a surprise compared to federal and territorial literature. But it is of its time, and does draw on the last few actual eyewitnesses to the Klondike Gold Rush.
And oh boy, was that totally insane. The weather people endured, below -50C for the winter, with minimal clothes and tents, if they arrived early. Transporting 500kg of supplies, 40kg at a time, up the White Pass, and then learning how to build boats on Lake Bennett before shooting the White Horse and Five Finger rapids to get to Dawson City. It is indeed surprising that more didn't die.
Few made money, and those that did, instantly spent their money at terrifying rates, with the sawdust on the floors in the bars being worth thousands of dollars from the gold dust being dropped. It's all mad. When you only have gold, food and whiskey sell like crazy!
I can't quite believe it, a very addicting book.
Sure I'm going to regret this
Yukon holiday reading
On the border between Valdemar and the deadly Pelagirs Forest, the gryphon hero Kelvren returns …
After starting in a war, and finishing in something quite interesting, the middle of this book is mainly everyone sitting round and having a think about what to do next.
Not a good place to start reading Valdemar books. It'll make sense but it's using characters that have had several books of their own at this point.
The Owl Mage Trilogy Book 3 Two years after his parents disappearance, Darian has sought …
Not much happens in what-feels-like the first half of this book, just pleasant froth of everyone agreeing to agree about things, and have a nice party. The second half though is a bit more interesting, with a journey into untravelled lands and a battle.
The Owl Mage Trilogy Book 2 It has been four years since Darian saw his …
Another slow one, the barbarian tribe mentioned in the plot above doesn't turn up until about three-quarters through the book and there is minimal peril. The protagonists are less irritating though.
The Owl Mage Trilogy Book 1 Apprenticed to a venerable wizard when his hunter and …
The protagonist, Darian, is pretty whiny for the first third of this book, until the standard Valdemar-type Event happens (in this case, the village is attacked) and shakes everything up. Then there's the training not-a-montage which takes the next third, before fixing things up in the third act.
I don't think this series is the best, all three are a bit slow. But it's a fine comfort read.
