Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Shogun - James Clavell
Clavell depicts a medieval
It is a wonderful historical novel with more accuracy in details than usual in that genre although it is not historically accurate.
It is a good book which will delight the reader & educate him about the Japanese culture & way of their thinking.
Links:
Friday, January 06, 2006
The Bourne Identity - Robert Ludlum
Robert Ludlum is one of my favorite authors. I can’t remember which book I read first, but I think it is Bourne Identity. I did it before the movie came & I liked the novel more than the movie (movie is good, but book has more details & it’s a bit different story). This is story about a man with amnesia (he doesn’t remember the past). He is rescued by a group of fishermen who takes him to a shady doctor. Doctor revives him & he begins his quest for his identity. He finds out that he has quite a lot of money in a Swiss account. From the bank he gets to know he is one Jason Bourne. And the problems start to escalate from that point onwards.
Jason Bourne is supposed to be an infamous assassin for hire. Interpol & many security agencies are after him. But the main threat is that the Carlos the Jackal is also wants him dead. With no one to help him he gets a Canadian diplomat to help him. With her knowledge & his skills he uncovers a plot which involves a top secret American organization & Carlos. The plot is quite good and the pace is maintained quite well. The main character is hunted by good guys as well as bad guys. And his inability to identify the good guys from bad guys makes it a riveting read. Although I think it is a quite a good book, the sequels to this one ( Bourne Supremacy & Bourne Ultimatum) is better since they have more action & less baggage. Anyway this is a good novel from a master thriller writer.
Links:
Bourne Identity - The Movie
Book @ Amazon
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Cry Once Alone - E.V. Thompson
This is an old book, which was written in 1984. I read it first time around 1997, when I was in school. I liked it very much & bought it from a second hand bookshop. It is a historic adventure, set in the wild, lawless
But with the massacre of red Indians he looses his pregnant wife & her whole family. When red Indians retaliate & kill the crippled son of a wealthy Mexican landlord who
Fantastic Fiction - EV Thompson
Redemption of Althalus by David & Leigh Eddings
Althalus is a thief whose uncanny good luck has suddenly left him. He is ready for any job & quite an easy one comes along his way. Or he thinks it is an easy one. Althalus has to steal a book from the house at the end of the world. But the problem is some far more powerful people are also interested in the same book. Actually two of them are Gods! And they are brother & sister. But while brother want it to change the world to his likening (and his likes are decidedly unpleasant), Dweia (sister) want to protect the book (which is written by their elder brother) & the world from her sibling.
Althalus is captured in the house by Dweia & she trains him for the mission, Namely the epic struggle between the three gods--of creation, fecundity, and destruction. Although trained by a God Althalus remains a thief. He cheats, lie & steal to accomplish his noble mission. But at first he has to assemble a crew with widely differing abilities under the guidance of Dweia.
Husband & wife team of David & Leigh Eddings create a fascinating world, where Gods take an active part in the proceeding in the mortal world. Where they use humans for their purposes without any moral restrains. Although the novel spans thousand of years and sometimes the plot is bit hurried & feels lightweight it is quite a witty & interesting read. Redemption of Althalus was the first novel I read from Eddings couple, which I borrowed from British Council. And since I like their style of writing so much I bought “ Polgara the Sorceress” last week along with Terry Pratchett’s “Feet of Clay”. Still haven’t finished reading it yet (In fact just startrd to read it). So after I finished it I’ll say what I think about it.
Other's on Redemption of Althalus:
My Previous Post on Me & My Thoughts
Science Finction & Fantasy World.com
Pandora's Star - Peter F Hamilton
And with the life extension technology which guarantees a virtual immortality these two inventors change the whole human life as we know it.
By 24th century, where the story mainly unfolds, humans have colonized many star systems & encountered several alien species. Although, most of them are not advanced as humans. But then astronomer Dudley Bose witnesses a seemingly impossible envelopment of the Dyson Alpha planetary system by some kind of artificial shielding system, an event repeated at the sister star Dyson Beta. Since this points to a hugely advanced civilization beyond human capability, they launch a spaceship towards the Dyson star system. The interstellar ship is captained by the same Wilson Klime, who piloted the first Mars landing. From this comes the title of the novel. In wanting to know whether this unknown civilization represents threat or opportunity, the mission unwittingly unleashes, as the title suggests, a catastrophic series of events. The only question remaining is who is responsible?
But bear in mind this is not simple as it looks. There are multiple plot lines with so many characters, events in this massive sci-fi novel. And this is just the beginning. The second part of this novel is “Judas Unchanged”. So at the end of “Pandora’s Star”, nothing is revealed. All the plotlines are unfinished. But it is not boring. Although some times you wish there were less description, the constant action & the differing plotlines kept me entertained until the end. The one downside is when I get to read “Judas Unleashed”, I may have to read “Pandora’s Star” again to get myself updated on those plot lines. But I guess that there would be sort of a summary in the beginning of the second part. It would be interesting to see how he summarizes such a huge & complicating like this novel to a few pages.
Others on Pandora's Star:
Barnes and Noble.com
amazon.co.uk
Monday, January 02, 2006
Feet of Clay
Let's start with a Discworld Novel. I came across them at British Council. And after reading all the available books of the series I was searching for them at many book stores. Finally I found them & bought Feet of Clay. As most of the Discworld series it is centered on Ankh-Morpork & its inhabitants. There has been a murder in Ankh-Morpork, infact three murders! Readers who are familiar with City of
Actually it is almost a daily happening since Assassins literally have the license to kill. But these are quite different from Assassin’s work. And Watch Commander Sir Sam Vimes is worried. Mindless but tirelessly industrious Golems are getting targeted because of the tracks of white clay found at the murder sites. As usual the highly placed inhabitants are trying to force their own agendas in these troubled times. Such as try to find a successor for the leader of Ankh-Morpork Lord Vetinari, who is bed ridden because of a suspected assassination attempt. Vimes have to solve all these puzzles & tangles before they disrupt the every day life of the city.
It is quite an interesting read. Although it may not as funny as some of the other discworld novels it has good plot line & a mystery angel. With several clues to solve the mysteries & few red herrings thrown in to it “Feet of Clay” keeps the reader entertained until the very end. It shows that Terry Pratchett is also a good novelist as well as a brilliant humorist.
Not Another Review
Here I plan to post my thoughts about the books I read & movies I watch. And the games I play ( since I'm getting a new PC by end of this month, there will be plenty of them too).
Motorola Razr |