Here I put down some books I read recently, that I think are worth mentioning.
Spring 2006Rat Race by Dick Francis
I just finished this book, and it is definitely worth mentioning. The author Dick Francis is pretty well known. This book was first published in 1970. This was the firs of his books I have read, and I enjoyed reading it a lot. Here is a small outline from the book taken from amazon.com: "Matt Shore is a substitute pilot assigned to fly four racing buffs to the track. They're nervous, but Matt's not. That is, until he manages an emergency landing minutes before the plane explodes. Matt doesn't think anything else can possibly go wrong. Then he finds himself caught up in a rat race of danger that puts him on the wrong side of the odds...."
Winter 2005/2006Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
This is a cool book. You will probably laugh at me, because there are so many Sci-Fi and Fantasy novels listed here. But I like to read this stuff. Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan is actually a classical thriller as you can read by Tom Clancy, except the fact that it takes place in the far future and is filled with many fantastic Sci-Fi ideas. It reminded my of Tom Clancy's Without Remorse combined with a little Bruce Willis Die Heart.
The story of Altered Carbon is about this private detective Takeshi Kovacs, who is a specially conditioned elite fighter of the so-called Envoy Corps. He is hired by some rich guy to investigate a murder case in the earth's red light districts. A cool idea of the book is that humans are issued a cortical stack, implanted into their bodies, into which consciousness is "digitized" and from which-unless the stack is hopelessly damaged-their consciousness can be downloaded with its memory intact, into a new body. The story is fast moving and has a powerful and violent ending but the plot is good. I read the book in German, therefore I put both covers in.
Fall, 2005Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clark
I bought this book at the airport the day before christmas to give it to my sister. Yes, I had no present for her until that day. However, I had seen the book in many bookshops, but the story sounded a bit akward. Here is an excerpt taken from http://www.jonathanstrange.com:
"Two magicians shall appear in England. The first shall fear me; the second shall long to behold me…
Centuries ago, when magic still existed in England, the greatest magician of them all was the Raven King. A human child brought up by fairies, the Raven King blended fairy wisdom and human reason to create English magic. Now, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, he is barely more than a legend, and England, with its mad King and its dashing poets, no longer believes in practical magic.
Then the reclusive Mr Norrell of Hurtfew Abbey appears and causes the statues of York Cathedral to speak and move. News spreads of the return of magic to England and, persuaded that he must help the government in the war against Napoleon, Mr Norrell goes to London. There he meets a brilliant young magician and takes him as a pupil. Jonathan Strange is charming, rich and arrogant. Together, they dazzle the country with their feats.
But the partnership soon turns to rivalry. Mr Norrell has never conquered his lifelong habits of secrecy, while Strange will always be attracted to the wildest, most perilous magic. He becomes fascinated by the shadowy figure of the Raven King, and his heedless pursuit of long-forgotten magic threatens, not only his partnership with Norrell, but everything that he holds dear."
Well I have to say, that book is fantastic. My sister did not even get to take it home. I started reading it the day after christmas and had to borrow it right away. I enjoyed very much reading it. The story is great, not one bit cheesy, it is incredibly detailed, and has a nice sense of ironic humor.
The Shaddow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz ZafónThis was probably the book I enjoyed most in 2005. Here is the synopsis from http://www.amazon.co.uk:
"Hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is the 'cemetery of lost books', a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son Daniel one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book from the shelves and pulls out 'La Sombra del Viento' by Julian Carax. But as he grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find. Then, one night, as he is wandering the old streets once more, Daniel is approached by a figure who reminds him of a character from La Sombra del Viento, a character who turns out to be the devil. This man is tracking down every last copy of Carax's work in order to burn them. What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julian Carax and to save those he left behind. A page-turning exploration of obsession in literature and love, and the places that obsession can lead."
If you read science fiction, this is a good book for you. Here is the author's homepage. Even thought it is not so well known, it is definitly in line with Frank Herber's Dune, Isaak Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, and William Gibson's Neuromancer. It is an epic novel about seven pilgrims on a voyage to Hyperion with the fate of himanity on their hands. Check out the reviews at amazon.com.| -- | -- |
| This page was last modified on Oct 10, 2007. |