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I really have to watch something, so that my Media Monday can actually be media-y again, instead of just books. Maybe Doctor Who will come back soon. I mean, there's Agents Of SHIELD, obviously, but I don't tend to talk about that. Stuff blows up, Coulson is cool, alien ray guns, boom. Although wouldn't Elizabeth Henstridge make a good Doctor? Yeah, I know - 90% of my f-list don't know who she is! But trust me, she'd be great.
Anyway, books. I'm currently reading something called The Outcasts Of Time, by Ian Mortimer. He usually writes non-fic, and is the author of the excellent Time Traveller's Guides series, amongst one or two others. This is his first foray into fiction, and is basically a time travel adventure. In practice it's a thinly disguised history text book, but I don't mind that: a time travel adventure with a shedload of accurate historical detail is no bad thing. It's an odd one though. In a nutshell, it's about a man living each day ninety-nine years after the last, after making a deal with someone or something, in order to escape the plague. Given the odd complexity of the set-up, and the fact that it appears completely without reason or logic, I can only assume that the Master is behind it all. I fully expect some goateed sniggering on the final pages.
I do quite recommend this one. It's written both in the first person and in the present tense, two literary conventions that I generally loathe, but I'm not minding too much. It's amiable enough, it's very readable, and the historical detailing is lovely. The plot is a bit thin - John arrives somewhere, examines his surroundings and meets a few people, and then hops forward another ninety-nine years - and there's the ever present issue of quite why anybody would set him at his time-hopping in the first place. But it's as good a way as any to read some social history; and maybe there'll be an explanation for it all eventually (I'm still betting on the Master). If you fancy a time travel adventure (and who doesn't, at least occasionally?), you could do a lot worse. That doesn't exactly sound like effusive praise, I know, but it's a first attempt at fiction, and I don't think he's trying to be the next Michael Crichton or Isaac Asimov. I'd prefer a bit more plot, but I'm happy with what it is. If you like his other books, it's a pretty fair bet that you'll like this.
I also read a book called Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari, which is a history of humankind. Quite provocative, very readable, and roughly the size of a small country (about five hundred pages). I'm glad I waited for the paperback! Very good, anyway. Not as easy a read as the above, perhaps, but worth it.
And now I'm off time-travelling again. Next stop, 1941!
Anyway, books. I'm currently reading something called The Outcasts Of Time, by Ian Mortimer. He usually writes non-fic, and is the author of the excellent Time Traveller's Guides series, amongst one or two others. This is his first foray into fiction, and is basically a time travel adventure. In practice it's a thinly disguised history text book, but I don't mind that: a time travel adventure with a shedload of accurate historical detail is no bad thing. It's an odd one though. In a nutshell, it's about a man living each day ninety-nine years after the last, after making a deal with someone or something, in order to escape the plague. Given the odd complexity of the set-up, and the fact that it appears completely without reason or logic, I can only assume that the Master is behind it all. I fully expect some goateed sniggering on the final pages.
I do quite recommend this one. It's written both in the first person and in the present tense, two literary conventions that I generally loathe, but I'm not minding too much. It's amiable enough, it's very readable, and the historical detailing is lovely. The plot is a bit thin - John arrives somewhere, examines his surroundings and meets a few people, and then hops forward another ninety-nine years - and there's the ever present issue of quite why anybody would set him at his time-hopping in the first place. But it's as good a way as any to read some social history; and maybe there'll be an explanation for it all eventually (I'm still betting on the Master). If you fancy a time travel adventure (and who doesn't, at least occasionally?), you could do a lot worse. That doesn't exactly sound like effusive praise, I know, but it's a first attempt at fiction, and I don't think he's trying to be the next Michael Crichton or Isaac Asimov. I'd prefer a bit more plot, but I'm happy with what it is. If you like his other books, it's a pretty fair bet that you'll like this.
I also read a book called Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari, which is a history of humankind. Quite provocative, very readable, and roughly the size of a small country (about five hundred pages). I'm glad I waited for the paperback! Very good, anyway. Not as easy a read as the above, perhaps, but worth it.
And now I'm off time-travelling again. Next stop, 1941!
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They're really good.
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By the way, this is very funny
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09yp1hx/cunk-on-britain-series-1-episode-1
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Big books are much better in paperback except when you need a weapon.
I hope you land somewhere safe in 1941!
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The Outcasts Of Time sounds good though it's a bit of an odd bargain. Wouldn't the hero be at risk of jumping into the middle of a dire situation that's just as likely to kill him? He might have been better locking himself into his home and refusing all human contact.
Sapiens sounds enthralling too, though not at all complimentary to humans. I shouldn't be surprised at that.
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As to our time travelling man, he landed in a few sticky situations! I think he felt it a worthwhile bargain though, as he was desperate to avoid the certain death of the plague for long enough to find some way of saving his soul. I'm glad I'm not Mediaeval. The religion was scarier than religion has any right to be!