On lunch at work I’ve began reading Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth by R. Buckminster Fuller. I think it going to be rather interesting to see his predictions from 1969, considering he says his “long-distance thinking” is really only good for something on order of 50 years. (more…)
So, reading Lolita for the first time as a 30-something man with a new daughter is, perhaps, not the best combination.
But it’s a damn fine novel.
I’m currently reading The Lurker at the Threshold. There’s just one problem: Lovecraft puts me to sleep. (more…)
Once again Alfred Bester comes out as one of my all time favorite authors. Psychoshop, which Bester didn’t finish, was completed by Roger Zelazny — another Science Fiction author I respect.
The novel is a weird romp through all of time as a reporter works on a stroy of the Psychoshop — The Black Place were the Soul Changer will exchange any unwanted aspect you have for something else. Suffer from unwanted premonitions? Trade them in for something else, like good luck.
There are elements of Dr. Who, Total Recall, The Minority Report, etc., and I always have to remember that Bester came first. (Though maybe not with this novel. I’m unsure of the timeline for all of these novels. But Bester did have significant impact on all of Science Fiction — he is, after all, one of the founders of the genre.)
There is one flaw in the book. It seems to go along just fine, then about two-thirds of the way through the twist happens and it (sort of) rushes to conclusion. I attribute this to its unfinished state and Zelazny taking over. But who knows what Bester left behind for Zelazny to work with.
Overall, if you like SciFi, you owe it to yourself to pick up any Alfred Bester work. I’ve now read The Stars My Destination, Psychoshop and a couple of short stories. I’ll be picking up The Demolished Man and Virtual Unrealities (a collection of short stories) to fill out my Bester library. (These are all Vintage Press works. They have done very nice reprints with introductions from Greg Bear, Neil Gaiman, Harry Harrison and Robert Silverberg.)
I finally finished reading Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road by Neil Peart. A cross between travelogue and autobiography, he tells his motorcycle journey of 14 months and 55,000 miles that he undertook after losing his daughter (car accident) and wife (cancer) in an 8 month period.
The opening couple of chapters are somber and quite moving. His genuine anger and open honesty are somehow refreshing to read. Likewise, his descriptions of the places he visits (from Toronto to Alaska and Inuvuk to Belize) have made me want to visit many of them.
As the book wears on Neil includes some letters he writes while on the road. While these make for interesting changes in voice and tempo, I feel that he over-uses them. Several middle chapters are made up almost exclusively of letters with virtually no narration in between. While the letters provide a different insight into his feelings “at the moment,” they don’t form as good a narrative as his “regular” prose.
Overall I enjoyed the book, but would have liked the letters to be used more sparingly as interludes and highlights to his journey.