Reading Material
Aug. 30th, 2007 03:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sdelmonteThree books I've read of late...
- The Curse of Chalion - Lois Bujold leaves the VorkosiganVerse for epic medieval fantasy. The bad news is that some of the key plot points don't work for me. The good is that she's a good wordsmith even when the ideas are underwhelming or overly familiar. Recommended with the caveat that if you want the Vorkosigan style, this isn't it.
- Stalin's Ghost - Martin Cruz Smith's sixth Arkady Renko novel throws the ever inquisitive senior investigator up against several semmingly unrelated cases that all tie to one man. While the writing is as skillful as ever, the plot is far more far-fetched than in previous Renko novels. Renko remains a fascinating character, but by now, you'd think his superiors would have found a way to retire him.
- Limitations - This short novel by Scott Turow was orginally presented in serial form and then collected and revised for its current format. As such, it aoids some of the tendency Turow has to let the story go in too many directions. But like all the other books by him I've read, the ending falls to pieces. The resolution to the book's central msytery is both outlandish and something could have easily been discovered much sooner. The second this happened, I lost interest in the last pages of the book. Turow is a good writer, and often creates believable characters. But he still has yet to master plot. And I doubt he ever will.
- The Curse of Chalion - Lois Bujold leaves the VorkosiganVerse for epic medieval fantasy. The bad news is that some of the key plot points don't work for me. The good is that she's a good wordsmith even when the ideas are underwhelming or overly familiar. Recommended with the caveat that if you want the Vorkosigan style, this isn't it.
- Stalin's Ghost - Martin Cruz Smith's sixth Arkady Renko novel throws the ever inquisitive senior investigator up against several semmingly unrelated cases that all tie to one man. While the writing is as skillful as ever, the plot is far more far-fetched than in previous Renko novels. Renko remains a fascinating character, but by now, you'd think his superiors would have found a way to retire him.
- Limitations - This short novel by Scott Turow was orginally presented in serial form and then collected and revised for its current format. As such, it aoids some of the tendency Turow has to let the story go in too many directions. But like all the other books by him I've read, the ending falls to pieces. The resolution to the book's central msytery is both outlandish and something could have easily been discovered much sooner. The second this happened, I lost interest in the last pages of the book. Turow is a good writer, and often creates believable characters. But he still has yet to master plot. And I doubt he ever will.
