Books - June/July 2005
The Bourne Trilogy - Robert Ludlum: All three of the Jason Bourne books (Identity, Supremacy, Ultimatum) in a single volume. Having all 3 books together sounded like a good idea at the time, but after dragging this huge lump around for a couple of weeks, and trying to find any reasonable way to read it in bed, I’d have to recommend just buying the books separately.
All 3 books follow pretty standard spy archetypes, but they’re very well executed examples of the genre. The first book is the best in the trilogy. It’s a pretty intricate and interesting take on the “Spy loses his memory must remember in order to save his life” story. It gets the balance just about right between action sequences and mind games, and focuses on Bourne in his spy/assassin guise.
The second book, Supremacy, is more about David Webb the ‘real’ person behind the Bourne persona, who wants to get back to normal, but is forced to take up his alter-ego again. In some ways it feels like it started off as a separate story that was later altered to make it fit in with an established character. Not as good as the first, but still enjoyable.
The final book has an air of only really existing to close off the Webb/Bourne story, rather than really doing anything new. It’s more of a balancing act, with the main character being pulled between his Webb and Bourne sides, where only one can survive. It’s ok, but there was so much potential for exploration of the psychological side of the story that just gets glossed over.
Neuromancer - William Gibson: I reread this (for the umpteenth time) one evening when I had no other books lying around, and I’m still amazed by how it seems like it was written from 10 years in the future, just like it did when I first read it 12 years ago, (and, I suspect, just like it did when it was first published in 1984.)
Olympos - Dan Simmons: This is the sequel to Illium and finishes Simmons’ Illiad/Tempest/Space Opera story. At times it moves really slowly, but picks up towards the end. It felt a bit weaker than the first part, but neither of the books totally dragged me in. It might have had more impact if I knew more about the Illiad. Really, I think I keep reading his books in the hopes that he’ll write something as good as Hyperion again. Similar to why I bought Billy Corgan’s last album; I keep on hoping that one day he’ll make something as perfect as Siamese Dream was.
Lost in a Good Book - Jasper Fforde: This is the 2nd book in the “Thursday Next” series. It’s a lot of fun, lots of book-y in-jokes, and a nicely surreal story. The books are set in an alternative present and follow a detective who can jump in and out of books and interact with the characters and story. This one feels a bit disjointed though. It’s still great, but there are some elements that don’t really work as well as they could have, and seem to be in there just for the sake of being odd. However, persevere and read on for:
The Well of Lost Plots - Jasper Fforde: The third in the series is where everything totally gels. Everything fits together so nicely, and it’s a really satisfying experience. The books do the Terry Pratchett trick of mirroring real world events and concepts through the stories internal conceits. It’s pretty rare that something this clever is this much fun at the same time.
Update 06/08
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling I’d totally forgotten that I’d read this. How’s that for a recommendation? I’m not even sure why I bothered; the story continues rigidly along its Hero’s Journey course. No alarms and no surprises please.
October 9th, 2005 at 2:00 pm
[...] n - Jasper Fforde: This is the last in the Thursday Next series of books, which I’ve rambled on about before. It’s not quite as good as The Well of Lost Plots, but it [...]