My oldest started reading not that long ago and oh how they’ve taken it to heart. Immediately into just about everything they can get their hands on. One of which?
Nate the Great!
They vary a bit in quality, but ‘Stalks Stupidweed’ is pretty high up there in my opinion. It’s cute and has a few laugh out loud moments. Worth a try (especially if you’ve read the first 8). :D
Constantine lost and found and so very screwed. Literally. A lot happens in this one and there’s a lot of potential for what comes next. Looking forward to it.
That’s a strange book. It’s one part historical novel–detailing the development, usage, and aftermath of the nuclear weapons detonated over Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II–one part technical manual–very roughly detailing the physics and engineering behind early nuclear weapons–and one part children’s book–many scenes involve Fritz, the talking (and super fast) dove. We’ll come back to that.
He is interested in the discoveries of science (“intellectual daring and imaginative brilliance without parallel”), the freedoms of democracy (in particular “the great democracy of reading and writing”), the evils of authoritarianism (“always reductive whether it’s in power or not”) and the pitfalls of education (“any education that neglects the experience of delight will be a dry and tasteless diet with no nourishment in it”). He is profoundly interested in religion, while remaining puzzled by aspects of it. “The first thing to say about the Bishop’s arguments in his book,” he writes in “God and Dust,” “is that I agree with every word of them, except the words I don’t understand; and that the words I don’t understand are those such as spirit, spiritual and God.”
Philip Pullman is an interesting author, which makes Daemon Voices an interesting sort of book. In a nutshell, it’s a selected collection of essays and presentation he’s given over the years on a wide range of topics. In particular, he talks a lot about Paradise Lost (makes me want to actually read it), his religious and philosophical views (and a dive into Gnosticism) and how those interact with his writing, and a bit on writing advice and his own particular style.
It’s a fascinating look and there’s a little for everyone, so if you like what Pullman has written, you can certainly do worse than give it a chance!
Below are a few interesting quotes that I highlighted for just about every essay. It’s not really the sort of book where one should worry about spoilers, but just in case that’s not a shared option, you have been warned. (Also: long)
A crazy bloody mess with some old friends in the longer stories and a few neat bits in the short ones. But more of Angela and Gemma.
A rather solid volume.
Where An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors was mystery and religious fiddling and A Labyrinth of Scions and Sorcery was a political story, culminating in a fall of power (or at least a shift), The Last Uncharted Sky shifts yet again. This time we have a (aero)nautical adventure with skyships, pirates, lost treasures, and found families. Really, it’s a wonderful exploration of just how wonderful and strange the world we’ve been allowed to inhabit for just a little while.
It’s… fine? I enjoyed the first two longer stories well enough but the latter one was all kinds of weird. And not in a way I cared for?
Onward! Maybe to something new?
That’s a few hard hitting stories. Hard Times is about Constantine in prison. Weird art style and hard to read. Good Intentions is the aftermath… people are terrible. Freezes Over it’s a pretty good locked room mystery with just the possibility of something more.
Overall, good but not the best Constantine. Needs more out and out unambiguous supernatural IMO.
Onwards!
Came across a reddit thread about this book. I’ve long been interested in alife, artificial evolution, simulated creatures, etc, and have been looking to add back in more non-fiction so I figured I’d go ahead and give it a whirl.
Overal though, it seems… rather lackluster. I guess if you’re just getting into the field, it’s a good summary of what all is involved, but it doesn’t get more than a page into detail about absolutely anything. Probably I’m not the target audience.