Test of the Twins by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Posted by melydia on June 8, 2012 No comment

Test of the Twins (Dragonlance Legends, vol. 3) by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman: This final installment of the trilogy was mostly about Caramon’s final development as a human being (he began the first book as a belligerent drunk), and Raistlin’s final descent into darkness as he faces the Queen of Darkness (one of three gods in this universe), hoping to become a god himself through her defeat. I admit I teared up a little bit there at the end, having against all reason become a bit attached to awful old Raistlin. I would suggest reading all six books (Chronicles and Legends) all through in one go; putting years between them kind of made things confusing for me, especially when Tanis showed up out of nowhere and I’d pretty much completely forgotten his story. But all the same, it’s a fun universe with interesting characters, and I am not surprised at its long-standing popularity among fantasy fans. I am sure to revisit Krynn one day.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Posted by melydia on June 5, 2012 2 comments

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (unabridged audiobook read by Michael Page; 24 hrs on 20 discs): My familiarity with this story was limited to the Disney film and the sort-of sequel, neither of which have much to do with anything. Our hero, the young d’Artagnan, longs to become a Musketeer. While he is proving his worth, he befriends the titular Three Musketeers: Athos, Portos, and Aramis. I had not realized that most of the characters in this book are based (however loosely) on real people, but considering I knew pretty much nothing about any of them going in, it didn’t really matter. Most of this story deals with tracking down and defeating Milady de Winter, a character of uncertain origin and indubitable evil. I was surprised by two things, mostly: first, that the Musketeers’ taking on married women as lovers and financiers was a totally ordinary thing, and second, how often I laughed. This is, quite simply, an adventure story. People tend to be either wholly good or wholly evil, anyone the good guys kill is justified and anyone the bad guys killed is an outrage. In short, it’s a lot of fun, but don’t put too much thought into it.

A note on the audio: A lot of classics are no fun to listen to on audio because most of them were recorded before people figured out that voice actors are the better way to go when reading books for people. Thus, your chance of horrendous monotone is higher the older and more famous the book. So I was quite pleasantly surprised (thrilled, actually) to discover that this reader was just great. It made listening a real pleasure.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

ATC Sunday

Posted by melydia on June 3, 2012 No comment

Happy birthday, Yibble! :D

War of the Twins by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Posted by melydia on June 1, 2012 No comment

War of the Twins (Dragonlance Legends, Vol. 2) by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman: I need to not wait multiple years between reading these books, but luckily I was able to find my place fairly quickly. We rejoin all the characters from the previous book – Raistlin the crabby dark mage, his twin brother Caramon the somewhat dimwitted fighter, Crysania the beautiful and rather misguided cleric, and Tasslehoff the entertainingly amoral Kender – now one hundred years in the future from where they were (and still two hundred years before their own time). This time they find themselves re-enacting the Dwarfgate Wars, seemingly without any choice in the matter. And you know, as terrible as Raistlin is, I really like him. Well, perhaps “like” is the wrong word. I’m fascinated by him. He’s evil and cruel and selfish and yet still oddly sympathetic. I look forward to the final installment in this trilogy, mostly to find out if he ever gets over himself and lets himself love Crysania. It’s not a complicated story, but it goes quickly and I’m enjoying it very much.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Silent Boy by Lois Lowry

Posted by melydia on May 29, 2012 No comment

The Silent Boy by Lois Lowry (unabridged audiobook read by Karen Allen; 3 hrs 57 min on 4 discs): I was kind of disturbed by this tale. It is told by Katy, a young girl at the turn of the century, about a boy named Jacob, the titular “silent” boy. He is what modern folks would refer to as mentally challenged, speaking no words but able to accurately replicate the sounds he hears, such as a grindstone in motion or a horse’s whinny. This is not a light read, and may be one that haunts me for quite a while. I can’t really say why without giving away the ending, but if you’ve read it, you probably understand what I mean. There’s no happy ending, and from the start Katy warns the reader that most would find this tale “too depressing”. And it’s not that, exactly, but it’s definitely sad. Well written, but very sad.

A note on the audio: I am often wary of movie actors as narrators, but Allen was fine. She didn’t really do any character voices, but her soft and husky voice lent itself quite well to the general tone of the story. That said, I think this book would be better read traditionally, as it was written based on a series of real photographs which appear at the beginning of each chapter. Being able to see those would, I imagine, add quite a bit to the realism.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

ATC Sunday

Posted by melydia on May 27, 2012 No comment

Why Rattlesnakes Rattle by Valeri R. Helterbran

Posted by melydia on May 25, 2012 No comment

Why Rattlesnakes Rattle by Valeri R. Helterbran: I like books of random facts, and this book does not disappoint. Each entry has a few paragraphs, providing more information than your standard trivia books of one-line “did you know” factoids. I was also pleasantly surprised to come across several things I hadn’t known and was actually curious to find out (it’s easy to find facts I didn’t know but most of them aren’t particularly interesting). Unlike many books of trivia, this one is just fine to read straight through, or you can turn to any random page. And with the thorough index, this book could even be relatively useful to keep around, more than just for entertainment.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Galileo’s Daughter by Dava Sobel

Posted by melydia on May 22, 2012 No comment

Galileo’s Daughter by Dava Sobel (unabridged audiobook read by George Guidall; 10 hrs 49 min on 9 discs): This is basically a biography of Galileo interspersed with letters from his devoted eldest daughter, a cloistered nun. The life story was of course quite fascinating, from his earliest publications to the trial by the Inquisition late in his life. His daughter’s letters, however, were less illuminating, consisting mostly of household minutiae and requests for money. Her repeated professions of love seemed to border on the passive aggressive, but I suppose that may have just been the translation. It’s too bad her father’s replies were lost; I would have liked to know what sorts of things he said to her. Still, this was a good overview of the life of a great man, and Sobel remains one of my favorite science writers.

A note on the audio: What can I say? It’s George Guidall. His name on a book guarantees it will be pleasantly listenable no matter what the subject matter. I know his voice well, and I appreciate that sort of consistency.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

ATC Sunday

Posted by melydia on May 20, 2012 4 comments

First Person Plural by Andrew W.M. Beierle

Posted by melydia on May 18, 2012 No comment

First Person Plural by Andrew W.M. Beierle: Owen and Porter Jamison are conjoined twins. They have separated heads, hearts, and stomachs, but a shared torso and each control a single set of limbs (much like real-life conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel). Porter is a star athlete, Owen is more interested in poetry and theater, but they both love music and soon form a popular band called, appropriately enough, Janus. The boys try to live as normal a life as possible, but there’s a wrinkle: Owen is gay, while Porter is most decidedly not. This causes a whole host of additional unforeseen problems, especially when Porter finds a woman he wants to marry. The whole thing is a little twisted, and I felt kind of voyeuristic reading it. Owen is brutally honest in his narration, answering a lot of the awkward questions a polite person would never have the courage to ask. It’s a drama unlike any other, I can tell you that, and it fascinated me in ways that made me a little uncomfortable at times. The ending was slightly unsatisfying, but perhaps more convincing than anything tidier would be. I’m not sure who I’d recommend this to, though if you like truly unusual love triangles, you can’t get much less usual than this.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

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