Sweetness in the air

These pinks are intensely spicy sweet, like cloves. There’s waves of sweetness coming off this lump of lilac. And the first peony blossom is just opening. (It doesn’t smell like anything.) In the category of weeds I shouldn’t be tolerating…

Re: Sweetness and Light

There’s so many books about bees, and especially honeybees, you might think people are trying write a book for every bee in a hive. One expression of our fascination is Sweetness and Light, by Hattie Ellis, an overview of the history of human relations with honeybees, focusing on some real characters who spent their lives […]

2008 Hugo Recap

Here are the Hugo stories ordered very roughly by how much I enjoyed them. Reading them makes me want to read more of Elizabeth Bear and Daniel Abraham, and “Luminous,” by Greg Egan. Now I just need to buy my membership.

Brasyl – Take one

First, a confession: I’m only halfway through Brasyl, by Ian McDonald. It’s a dense, detailed, demanding story that’s impossible to read quickly, but I’m glad to spend the time for this book. After fighting my way through the Old Man’s War series, it’s such a relief to read something that’s consistently well-written. Though I don’t […]

Re: The Last Colony

The Last Colony reads like it was written by the same John Scalzi who writes his blog, which is relaxed, humorous, and entertaining. In Old Man’s War and The Ghost Brigades, the prose tends to be stiff, the humor forced, and the story begins only after chapters and chapters of exposition, and is constantly brought […]

Re: The Ghost Brigades

After three chapters of talk and exposition, The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi really wakes up with Jared Dirac. He’s the second clone of the purported traitor Charles Boutin, who shot the first one in order to fake his death. Luckily, Boutin was a researcher in consciousness (sort of a critical field when you’re decanting […]

Re: Old Man’s War

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi really got under my skin! The feeling of the book is Heinleinesque.There’s lots of nifty ideas and some wit in the voice of the hero, John Perry. The premise of giving old people one last chance to make their deaths serve humanity is interesting. But…

Syrphid fly?

Here’s some more flowers the bees are visiting. Not to mention another example of why the violets get free rein in my yard: they look nice next to the azaleas. Yesterday I thought I saw a bumblebee, but its buzz had that whiny fly quality. Probably a syrphid fly; they look a lot like bees […]

Re: Bonk

An amusing book about the ingenious ways scientists have studied sex and overcome the social barriers to their research, Bonk, by Mary Roach is filled with weird science facts. Most of them are pretty trivial, like the way porcupines do it. Some of them you may not want to know, like how to ape the […]

Re: Trunk and Disorderly

First off, I want to thank Charles Stross for writing “Trunk and Disorderly” and Subterranean Press for making it available as a free Audiobook. Listening to it on the drive from Boston to New York makes Connecticut disappear. The hilarity begins when Ralph’s “clanky” girlfriend Laura walks out and his sister Fiona calls up. Fiona […]