Le Guin’s books are like the little girl with the little curl right in the middle of her forehead, and this one is not very, very good. It uses her old trick of demonising something she disagrees with (in this case, organised religion) to set up the plot conflict. As with that unfortunate run of books where her male characters were capable of evil, but her female ones were never worse than misguided, she has substituted paper tigers and dogmatic thinking for serious character development. It is a waste of a good background and a previously invisible bit of her future history. Even her usual luminous prose cannot save The Telling.
Tag Archives: legendshome
John Sandford – The Devil’s Code
A hacker acquaintance of Kidd’s is killed under suspicious circumstances, and his sister asks Kidd to investigate. He pokes around, and finds the signs of a bigger mystery, with threads leading to another murder, the NSA, and a mysterious hacker group called “Firewall”. The story sprawls a bit, and the plot isn’t as tight as the first two Kidd books–too much of the action seems to be going on in places other than the main narrative. And there are only a few instances where Kidd’s character gets stretched beyond a thumbnail sketch, which is a shame.
John Sandford – The Fool’s Run
This is the first Kidd and LuEllen novel. For a book–a mass-market thriller, no less–about computer hacking that was published in 1989, it hasn’t aged a bit. Sure, the tech is old, but it’s never silly in the way that some “hi-tech” books seem after the fact. This is partly because Sandford puts a lot of research into his books, but mainly because at its heart The Fool’s Run is a fundmentally human story about crime and betrayal. Very good.
Robert Crais – Hostage
A robbery goes wrong. The three perpertrators break into a suburban house and take the family hostage. On the surface this looks like a simple hostage negotiation story, but it soon becomes more complicated than that. Some of the plot twists are expected, but all are perfectly timed to ratchet up the tension and keep the action flowing. The characterisation is simple but effective, resulting in a highly satisfying thriller that’s just begging to be turned into a film.
Scott Adams – Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel
Not as good as The Dilbert Principle, but still a very funny and cynical look at work life. If you don’t recognize any of the underhanded, conniving weasel behaviour he describes (either in your colleagues, or in yourself), then you clearly haven’t spent enough time working in an office.
The Grill Room at the Sheraton
Unquestionably one of the finest restaurants in Edinburgh. The food was exquisite, inventive (monkfish and lamb), and immaculately presented. The service was flawless. The only reason I’m not giving it five stars is because the place was lacking in atmosphere. We were only one of three tables dining, while the Terrace restaurant on the other side of the windows was hopping with Christmas parties.
Amélie (Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain)
A fabulous, sweet story of a dreamer who finds friendship and love when she decides to change the world around her for the better. Hilariously funny, gentle, and romantic, and all without crossing the line into sickly sentimentality. A truly beautiful film.
Mulholland Drive
Certainly one of the most challenging films I have watched in a long time. Bizarre and confusing, but also beautiful, elegant and circular. The uneasy tension it builds in the first two acts is pierced in the third, and the story is re-told in the mental unravelling of the main character. Or is it? Don’t watch this unless you’re willing to pay close attention for the whole two-and-a-bit hours, otherwise you’ll just go “huh?”
Robert B. Parker – Widow’s Walk
It’s got all the usual Spenser banter and wisecracks, but no character development for any of the regulars this time. A rich man is murdered, and Spenser is hired to clear his wife. As soon as he starts nosing around in their backgrounds, more people start getting killed. A well-plotted, quick read.
Robert Ludlum – The Bourne Identity
The only thing the recent film has in common with this book is the name “Jason Bourne”, and the fact that he has lost his memory. Everything else is completely different. The book deals with an intricate and highly secret plot to catch an assassin called “Carlos,” and how Bourne comes to learn of the part he has to play in it. Good action thriller.