Books 2010: there isn't that much ocean between Boston and St John's

Books 2010: 140-143


140. Plato, Timaeus & Critias. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005. Translated by Robin Waterfield.

Ack. Ack. Ick. This is the most unreadable book in the history of unreadable books, the one most purely concerned with the nature of the universe and the reasons for created bodies - and I have never been much in the theological line.

I will have to go back and take notes with more assiduity on Plato's teleology of the human form. But right now, I cannot bear the thought.


141-143. Patrick O'Brian, Clarissa Oates, The Wine-Dark Sea, and The Commodore.

Clarissa Oates is possibly the first believable non-incidental woman I have encounted in O'Brian's writings, and whether or not that says more about Oates and her peculiar circumstances or me, I can't say.

Notwithstanding O'Brian's women, he writes most excellent naval men, naval actions, and the relationship between Aubrey and Maturin. I admit to beng somewhat disappointed in Martin's fate/development, but it may well have been only to be expected.

Books 2010: there isn't that much ocean between Boston and St John's

Books 2010: 140-143


140. Plato, Timaeus & Critias. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005. Translated by Robin Waterfield.

Ack. Ack. Ick. This is the most unreadable book in the history of unreadable books, the one most purely concerned with the nature of the universe and the reasons for created bodies - and I have never been much in the theological line.

I will have to go back and take notes with more assiduity on Plato's teleology of the human form. But right now, I cannot bear the thought.


141-143. Patrick O'Brian, Clarissa Oates, The Wine-Dark Sea, and The Commodore.

Clarissa Oates is possibly the first believable non-incidental woman I have encounted in O'Brian's writings, and whether or not that says more about Oates and her peculiar circumstances or me, I can't say.

Notwithstanding O'Brian's women, he writes most excellent naval men, naval actions, and the relationship between Aubrey and Maturin. I admit to beng somewhat disappointed in Martin's fate/development, but it may well have been only to be expected.

...the hell?

Snow, by god. Snow in November.

This hasn't happened in a donkey's age.

(I can't hardly remember if it happened in my lifetime.)

...the hell?

Snow, by god. Snow in November.

This hasn't happened in a donkey's age.

(I can't hardly remember if it happened in my lifetime.)

Books 2010: there's a decade's worth of dying gone to waste

Books 2010: 144


144. Sharon Lee, Carousel Tides.

A modern-day fantasy. When her grandmother fails to return her calls, Kate Archer returns to the Maine sea-coast town where she was raised, to find said grandmother's property deeded over to her and grandmother gone, with no one knowing either where or when she might return. While she looks for her grandmother, Kate's murky past returns to bite her, to say nothing of encounters with magically-protected drugrunners, etc.

This is quite a brilliant fantasy. The sense of place is very strong, and both Kate and the interaction between magic and the mundane feel to me both real and believable. I enjoyed it extremely, recommend it without hesitation, and devoutly hope there will be a sequel.

Books 2010: there's a decade's worth of dying gone to waste

Books 2010: 144


144. Sharon Lee, Carousel Tides.

A modern-day fantasy. When her grandmother fails to return her calls, Kate Archer returns to the Maine sea-coast town where she was raised, to find said grandmother's property deeded over to her and grandmother gone, with no one knowing either where or when she might return. While she looks for her grandmother, Kate's murky past returns to bite her, to say nothing of encounters with magically-protected drugrunners, etc.

This is quite a brilliant fantasy. The sense of place is very strong, and both Kate and the interaction between magic and the mundane feel to me both real and believable. I enjoyed it extremely, recommend it without hesitation, and devoutly hope there will be a sequel.