Archive for the 'Books' Category



Other Worlds

Monday, July 18th, 2005 @ 18:45

On the verge of finishing Guy Gavriel Kay’s The Summer Tree, here’s a thought that came to me regarding the concept of “people from our world suddenly transported into another, fantasy world”. A theme that is actually dear to my heart, given that my own current writings is done with this theme in the background (well… in a way, at least).

The concept itself, of course, isn’t exactly new. Stephen Donaldson has used it in the Mordant’s Need and Thomas Covenant series. In the Amber cycles, Roger Zelazny’s characters travel through a myriad of worlds (and it is interesting to note that prince Corwin, after all, begins his journey on Earth, while believing himself to be a “normal” man).

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The Bone Doll’s Twin

Saturday, July 16th, 2005 @ 12:21

I’ve pondered writing a few book reviews here and there, so here’s one about the latest read I’ve finished. Unsurprisingly for those who know me enough, it’s fantasy, with some predictable aspects, and some that aren’t that common nor especially conform to the “positive” genre.

The Bone Doll's TwinThe Bone Doll’s Twin is the first volume of the Tamir Trilogy by Lynn Flewelling, and also the first one I’ve read by this author. The legend has it that in order to be secure and prosperous, the kingdom of Skala must be governed by a Queen descendant of Gherilain; however, the throne is now between the hands of a king, who is working slowly toward getting rid of all female pretendants, whatever their degree of parenthood with the deceased queen, while wanting to secure the throne for his own son.

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Someone Comes To The Web

Thursday, July 7th, 2005 @ 19:04

It had been a little while that I wanted to write something about this – however, I was waiting until I had laid my hands on it, and above all read it, or at least a few pages, in order to not be completely clueless about the matter. The way it’s been released now in Second Life gives me one more reason to do so.

Cory Doctorow’s third novel Someone Comes To Town, Someone Leaves Town (yes, the same Cory who writes at Boing Boing) is available since july 1st not only as paperback, but also as a free e-book and as a very nice prims-made book in Second Life. I say “nice”, because I actually picked up a copy there recently, placed it on the first floor of my home/store there, and finds it pretty and well done. Not the easiest thing to read when in such a shape, but nice nonetheless. There’s more to this – Cory Doctorow himself, as reported by Wagner James Au, will be in Second Life on July 24th for an online discussing and signing of his book.

More convenient to read, both for SL residents as well as for those who aren’t interested in this virtual world, the free e-book copy is downloadable in PDF, HTML and text formats on Cory’s website. Of course, said book is also available for purchase, in case the paperback version would look more appealing (which it likely does).

I’m not very far yet in my reading of said book; however, it has been interesting, to say the least – in a very bizarre kind of way, where the caregiving son of a mountain and a washing-machine tries to spread a free wireless Internet with a group of cyber-anarchists. Yes, this sounds weird; a weird that is quite enjoyable to read.

(Tags: book, cory_doctorow, ebook, second_life)