The Family

 

Sometimes you just get lucky. In my case with both my family and the photo.

Bit of a blip

Well last night we seemed to lose the internet connection. Couldn't seem to call people either, although Jane had made a call earlier that night.

Tried to connect to the modem's config page, no joy.

Restarted the modem and everything is fine.

Anathem

Anathem

I have finished Anathem.


I am still processing it and so will not give it a score yet. It has marvellous ideas, and challenges the reader. My complaint is that because of the way it is written, there are times when the reader becomes a little disassociated from the action.

Solid SF, with hints of A Canticle for Leibowitz and that is no bad thing at all.

Shike (9/10)

Shike

Robert Shea
Historical Fiction

I have just re-read the two books in the Shike series Time of the Dragons and Last of the Zinja and they have reminded me that Robert Shea was far better than either Eric Van Lustbader or Lian Hearn at the whole Martial Art / Historical Fiction genre. This guy is up there with James Clavell (Shogun, Tai-pan) for compulsive page turning classics.

The story is set in Japan in the 12th Century, and is a tale of a warrior monk and a noblewoman who fall in and out of trouble. The story includes the Genpei War and the invasion of Japan by the Mongols.

If you liked any of the authors mentioned above, then I recommend you hunt down a second-hand copy, as it is currently out of print. It is also availiable for free at bobshea.net

Quality 4.5/5
Readibility 4.5/5