10/3/2008

1. prelude
   
   jason wants to talk about genres and this io9 post:
   http://io9.com/5050871/do-you-really-want-science-fiction-books-to-be-more-literary
   heated discussion ensues and will not be transcribed.
   
   
2. josh: gene wolfe. pirate freedon.
   
   
   1. verdict: -
      
   2. review:
      
      "maybe i missed something." josh did not like this book. "maybe there
      was some weird time travel or something, but it was hidden?" this was
      a book about pirates. evidently there was a time travel element of
      this story, corroborated by other reviews, but josh completely failed
      to pick this up. he hated it, but finished the slog. not recommended.
      at this point, with his widened experience, josh would like to upgrade
      his recommendation of foop and the name of the wind.
      
   
   
3. chris: opinion of gene wolfe.
   
   chris has read a number of his books. they're all slow and very dry. a
   number of them, he couldn't finish, too boring. but the good ones were
   quite good. some speculation follows about the decline of
   culture. chris will challenge "pirate freedom" and report back.
   
   
4. jen: audrey niffenegger. the time traveler's wife.
   
   
   1. verdict: ++
      
   2. review:
      
      jen read this book "because i enjoy time travel." the book was quite
      popular when it came out. jen heard the writer on the radio and found
      her so annoying that she chose not to read the book. eventually she
      repented and liked the book quite a lot. the main character travels in
      time involuntarily, while his wife does not. the book is about the
      rather odd strains on such a relationship. it's very good, she liked
      it a lot. highly recommended.
      
   
   
5. jen: mary robinette kowal. for solo cello, opus 12.
   
   
   1. verdict: meh
      
   2. review:
      
      short story, won a best new writer award at the world sf
      convention. "there's no sex, although there are babies." concerns a
      very good professional cellist who has lost his hand in an
      accident. naturally he's having a hard time with this. his agent says
      "we can get you a new hand..." his wife is pregnant, they can grow him
      a new hand, but they need the fetus. and so on, i won't give it
      away. it was ok. "it was only six pages. if this was a book, i
      would've stopped reading it."
      
   
   
6. jason: leinad zeraus. daemon.
   
   
   1. verdict: none yet
      
   2. review:
      
      jason is about a third of the way through this book. basically, it's
      about an mmo programmer who dies of cancer, and has evidently set up a
      complex set of boobytraps, triggered by the appearance of his
      obituary. people begin dying. not terribly impressed, but will
      definitely finish the book and report.
      
   
   
7. chad: michael chabon. the yiddish policemen's union.
   
   
   1. verdict: ++ so far
      
   2. review:
      
      chad reviews kavalier and klay for us. chris doesn't want to hear a
      word about the yiddish policemen's union, on the grounds that he's
      still reading it. well, aren't we all. anyway, the plot of this is
      well enough known. it's an alternate history story in which jews have
      been given special status in alaska, have established a yiddish
      culture there, and so on. drama ensues, and will not be discussed
      here. everything about every character is really hilarious, it's very
      good so far and is highly recommended.
      
   
   
8. that's all, folks.