Grand unified books thread

[Ed Anger]

Seefor read me the riot act once for reading Max Boot.

[jimmy olsen]

Why?

[Ed Anger]

Max Boot was evil or something. I laughed at him.

[Malthus]

Finished Musashi.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/156836427X

Written in the 30s about Japan's most famous (historical) swordsman, this novel is well worth reading - for one, it's a rollicking read; but for another, it is a glimpse into a truly different set of cultural romantic expectations (for those of us who are not Japanese).

The ostensible subject is the adventures of a wandering swordsman, but very quickly it becomes obvious that the real subject is the quest for self-improvement - is this quest a noble one, or ultimately selfish? Everywhere our hero goes, disaster follows - he leaves the woman who loves him, and others who depend on him, basically to fend for themselves; his quest seems to be in equal parts a quest to perfect his murdering prowess and to perfect his skill in all of the arts - he's part serial killer and part artist, eventually able to appreciate a blood feud and flower-arranging (there is one passage in which he realizes the skill of a samurai by the message he passes on - which contains the gift of a cut flower; the cut of the stem is perfect).

The hero gradually comes to realize that perfection has to serve a social purpose, but it is not at all obvious what, exactly, that purpose is to be.

[Syt]

Pretty sure you'll enjoy him. He has big ideas and he knows how to put them into words. He aslo has a great sense of humour.

Recommend that you start with Consider Phlebas or The Player of Games.

I'm about half way through Consider Phlebas (end of the Damage game on Vavatch) and having a good time with it. It's satirical exaggeration and casual callousness reminds me of Transmetropolitan a fair bit, and I'd be surprised if Ellis wasn't at least partly influenced by Banks in his portrayal of the future.

[11B4V]

Back to the Eastern Front 

[Ed Anger]

East front sucks.

[Admiral Yi]

Back to the Eastern Front 

"Breathtaking in it's scope."

[Habbaku]

Currently reading The Steel Bonnets, by George MacDonald Fraser.  Good stuff.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71VAKmb5R9L.jpg

[Josephus]

Finished reading Alan Furst's Mission to Paris....did I ever mention how brilliant he is?

Also read Flashback by Dan Simmons, a dystopian future of an America ruined by Obama's spending and a population addicted to a new drug that allows them to relive moments of their lives.

[Grey Fox]

Reading this :

[garbon]

That Improbable bit seems like an odd subhead.

[Caliga]

For some reason I have no interest whatsoever in Australian history, but I've read up on the history of New Zealand a bit.

[garbon]

For some reason I have no interest whatsoever in Australian history, but I've read up on the history of New Zealand a bit.

For some reason I have no interest whatsoever in your posts, but I've read many.

[Caliga]

That describes most posts made by most posters from my standpoint.