Amph What book are you reading right now?

I haven't read the book, but I have seen the Dustin Hoffman/Robert Redford movie, which was very, very good.

 

Yes, it was excellent. The book by the two reporters is predictably a good step by step account while the movie is more cinematic.

I am now reading A Dance With Dragons. About a fourth of the way through. So far, not enjoying it as much as AFFC.

 

Finished another passable Pathfinder Tales. Good characters, but a story of missed opportunity.

Reading Sherlock Holmes A Betrayal In Blood by Mark A. Latham

It is 1894, and the news of a Transylvanian nobleman’s death at the hands of a certain Professor Van Helsing is the talk of London.

Unsatisfied at the acquittal of the professor, Mycroft Holmes asks Sherlock to investigate what truly led to the deaths of Lucy Westenra and the mysterious aristocrat. The newspapers are full of inconsistencies and wild supernatural theories, and as Holmes digs deeper, he suspects that those hailed as heroes are not what they seem. The clues point to an innocent man framed and murdered for crimes he did not commit, and Holmes and Watson find themselves targeted at every turn, as what began as a quest to clear one man’s name reveals a conspiracy that draws them to the mountains of Transylvania and the infamous Castle Dracula.

 

That's exactly the reaction I had. After a few days, I decided it was dumb.

 

The Book of Los (1795) – William Blake

Los astonish’d and terrified, built
Furnaces; he formed an Anvil
A Hammer of adamant then began
The binding of Urizen day and night

So, first off, this is the BOOK of Los; it’s very different from the SONG of Los, which was actually the last review I did in this series. While the Song of Los is an exploration of various religions from birth to spiritual death, the Book of Los is a retelling of the Book of Urizen. This book starts in media res; the narrative here starts at chapter four of the Book of Urizen. This book contains the story of the battle between Los & Urizen for the soul of humanity from the perspective of Los, rather than the perspective of Urizen. It’s an interesting idea and one inspired, as a lot of this mythology was, by Genesis, where the second chapter is a retelling of the first. The raw viscerality of Blake’s writing is just a constant at this point and the fact that we’ve heard this story before does nothing to remove the passion and impact of this poem. Blake’s mythology has more than hits its stride and this is a worthy addition to the pantheon. 4 stars.

tl;dr – retelling of the Book of Urizen features more of Blake’s astonishing poetry and the visceral power of the poem is undeniable. 4 stars.

More Book Reviews!

 

Just finished James Luceno's Cloak of Deception.
Really like Luceno's Star Wars. So much of TPM's background essentials, really, are explained in this. (why the Trade Federation had a massive army, why Valorum was impeached and Palpatine nominated, etc.) Not enough Sidious/Gunray scenes! Those are my favorite parts.

The action wasn't as good as Labyrinth of Evil or Dark Lord, but I liked the Jedi's mission on Asmeru.

Appearances by C'Baoth and Tarkin.

All of the Bail Antilles scenes made me wish that the line in TPM had been 'Bail Organa of Alderaan'.

Also, the book's as much of a prequel to Attack of the Clones as TPM. You can see the seeds of the Confederacy in this.

 

New Jedi Order: Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand

 

That was a great series. I honestly thought that Wedge was going to die in those books.

 

Once I'm done with Rebel Stand, I'm probably going to start on the Dark Tower series by Stephen King.

 

Star Wars: Aftermath series.

 

Reluctant Fundamentalist. Quick read for a class, but I'm glad it was assigned- it's very good.

 

"Darth Plagueis" (also by Luceno) explains Sidious/Palpatine's side in this, as well as some more Gunray (and Jabba and Dooku and Sifo-Dyas and others).

I've heard they're like an unofficial duology, and have been meaning to eventually read them together.

 

Yah, not sure if I want to read Darth Plaguies next or jump to the New Republic era.

Jabba's in Darth Plagueis? Weird.

Actually was hoping for a little bit of Dooku in Cloak of Deception, like Luminara and C'Baoth's cameos.

Also, forgot to mention that one criticism I had was that Obi-Wan didn't seem like an almost-Knight like he was in TPM. I understand Luceno, as a writer, was having him be the 'eye of the reader', but it seemed off. I did not see Luceno's Obi-Wan one mission away from leading his own missions as a Knight.

Of Luceno's I've read:
1.) Labyrinth of Evil (my favorite SW book)
2.) Cloak of Deception (see above comments)
3.) Dark Lord (disliked it on my first reading, liked it better on second)
4.) Millennium Falcon (not super familiar with the Legacy Era, it was a Christmas present)

But I could see DL and COD flip-flopping depending on the day.

 

Just finished High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic by Glen Frankel, and I've just started Growing Up with Manos, the Hands of Fate: How I was the Child Star of the Worst Movie Ever Made and Lived to Tell the Story by Jackey Neyman Jones.

 

I would definitely read Darth Plagueis next, just my recommendation.

 

The City of Dreaming Books, by Walter Moers. A lighthearted fantasy about an intelligent dinosaur searching the city of Bookholm for a mysterious author. The city itself is filled with writers, professional readers, reviewers, critics (who get paid by writers to slam the competition), book merchants, performers and more. Booksellers sell everything from popular recent titles to rare novels, while book hunters don armor, grab their weapons, and explore the catacombs beneath the city, risking life and limb for those super-rare tomes.

Lots of fun so far and I can see this becoming part of my permanent collection.

 

Infernal Devices by K. W. Jeter

 

Lords of the Sith. About 2/3 through. I'm loving it.

 

You had me a William Blake!

 

Havac

Do you plan on finishing Austen's works? I'll have you know Emma is like the Corran Horn of Austen's novels, except she doesn't know how to fly an X-Wing and she's better written.

 

See, now I want a TV show featuring an X-Wing squadron made up of Jane Austen heroines.

 

Yes. I bought a collection of all seven books. I dipped out for a little nonfiction but I've almost finished it. Then it's Mansfield Park.

 

Finished Shatterpoint. It was interesting but also the most depressing book I have ever read. On Goodreads someone said this was a fun read. I have no idea how they can think that.

I'm on roll with SW books at the moment so I'm now reading The Clone Wars novel by Karen Traviss. When I'm done with that I'll read something non SW but I don't know what yet.

 

Star Wars: Shield of Lies