Monthly Archives: September 2007

The Prestige, by Christopher Priest (Books 2007, 5)

The most annoying thing about The Prestige is the way it ends; though I can see that there was no real reason to continue it after that point. The story is told, all that can reasonably be revealed is revealed (without going into preposterous and unnecessary details).
The book is finished; the tale (which, [...]

Add a comment

The Steep Approach to Garbadale, by Iain Banks (Books 2007, 4)

It’s not The Crow Road, but then, what is?
In my opinion, the quality of Banksie’s non-SF work rose in shallow, slightly wiggly, climb from a high start, to a “can do no wrong” plateau that includes The Bridge, Espedair Street and Complicity, as well as the aforementioned. Thereafter it dropped a bit (but who [...]

Add a comment

Rock and No Roll

The people who are queuing outside branches of Northern Rock are fooling themselves, and if anything are likely to trigger the problem they fear.
I must admit that, if you had asked me a few days ago, I would probably have said that I thought that the Bank of England already backed the banks to the [...]

Add a comment

A quote from Charlie Brooker

Charlie Brooker’s screen burn | The Guide | Guardian Unlimited
‘Spirituality’ is what cretins have in place of imagination.

Add a comment

The only ‘Transformer’ I really like is an album by Lou Reed

Took the kids to see the Transformers movie tonight. It’s not a franchise that I grew up with, of course, but my two older nephews were into them when they were kids, and so I was aware of them even before my son started watching the more recent cartoons a few years ago.
But I [...]

Add a comment

Ink, by Hal Duncan (Books 2007, 3)

So, The Book of All Hours is finished. And fine, fine stuff it is, too. This volume seems somehow more polished than the first , but perhaps not as exciting, as startling.
The story is brought to a conclusion of sorts, but as you might expect, it’s ambiguous, open to interpretation. This is, [...]

Add a comment