Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Still engaging if not completely original.  The butterfly meeting hall particularly stands out as a memorable scene.  It's interesting how focused Williams is on the novelty of a wolf as a mount/partner for one of his characters, while Eddings and Jordan had already taken this concept much further by the time these books were written - must've been a late 80s thang.  Given that the last book is 50% longer than the first two, I wish he had put more of the action and maybe a few more answers into this book, but fortunately I start the next one tomorrow!


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Book Review: The Dragonbone Chair

The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this trilogy back in high school, and I'd remembered it started slowly, but had forgotten how slowly.  It feels like Martin's Game of Thrones in that it creeps towards even acknowledging magic, keeping the facade of medieval dreariness for at least two-thirds of the book.  In general it's a typical kitchen-boy-finds-adventure story, but the world and cultures are rich enough to keep it fresh.  Looking forward to finishing the trilogy again.


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Daemon/Freedom(TM)

A friend at work turned me on to Daemon by Daniel Suarez.  In the book an Internet virus impacts the real world by controlling electronics and bribing/forcing/tempting people to act on its behalf.  It was fun with some interesting ideas, and will make a great movie some day, despite fairly flat characters.

The second book, Freedom(TM), pulls an Empire Strikes Back to supercede the original as the virus attracts more participants to its videogame-like real world culture.  The virus incents players in ways I didn't anticipate, and left me wondering what could be incorporated into the real world (and if I would want to).  I love books with ideas that demand further discussion and experimentation, and Daniel Suarez delivers.

P.S. I know my reviews are short - I want to convey lingering big-picture impressions, while not spoiling surprises.  Feedback is welcome, if you would find something different more helpful.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

This book has a few flaws.  The male lead Mikael Blomkvist is a journalist/magazine editor just like the author!  Unsurprisingly, the author describes in deep detail what Blomkvist enjoys about his job, reminding the reader why you don't want that job.  The author also considered himself a tech expert, and describes every piece of computer equipment ad nauseam.

Howver, those flaws only stand out because the book is amazing.  A great story with intense characters (although I look forward to more backstory in the sequels) that draws the reader along without resorting to Dan Brown-style gimmicks.  There are some very disturbing scenes (I don't want to see the movie, although it's supposed to be excellent, because of a few of these), but they're never superfluous.  I can't recommend it enough, and I'm looking forward to reading the sequels.

Forgot one thing when I first wrote this review: the translation impresses me even more than the writing.  Reg Keeland took a well-written Swedish book, and produced an at-least-as-well-written English version, which is amazing.

The Name of the Wind

I just finished Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind, which starts the epic fantasy Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy. Many elements are standard - boy (almost never a girl) loses family, lives a rough life, but his unusual skills and pluck draw him up in the world. Same as you'll find in the books of David Eddings (actually all of his series are point-by-point mirrors of each other - can you plagiarize yourself?), Terry Goodkind, and many more.

Yet I couldn't put it down. I'm almost angry now I have to wait until March for the sequel. And this book was published in 2007 - no idea when the trilogy will finish! The style is easy to read without any gimmicks, and the voice is familiarly sarcastic - Rothfuss has been photographed in a Joss Whedon Is My Master Now t-shirt, so he and I would get along just fine. He wrote the book well, but there's one element that really draws me to it.

Many stories give a high importance to books, or a specific Book, which is natural since authors tend to be readers. But the hero's bibliophilia struck a deep chord in me. His only connection to his past is a book - I think the only thing I have from my childhood in Hawaii is Lord of the Rings. His goal is to attend the University, primarily to immerse himself in the Archives containing millions of books. That is a goal, an obsession, I can relate to. Many lines in the book made me laugh out loud (sorry Laura!), but the book-loving parts drew me completely into the story. I wish I could find more books like this one.

Thanks, Andy, for the most excellent birthday present.

P.S. A quick Web search tells me the next two books are already written (where are they and why don't I have them?!?), and a second trilogy is already planned. Excellent. Most excellent.