After the wacky Victorian time-travel hijinks, I went back to something familiar and revisited Pratchett Land. Reaper Man is earlier in the Discworld chronology than Jingo, but it's every bit as enjoyable, if not more so.
The Auditors of Reality, in one of their earlier efforts to make the universe a nice, orderly place without all these pesky life forms mucking everything up, fire Death, intending to replace him with someone who'll do a little less thinking about the job. Death goes off on his own, takes up a job, and decides to Do Something About This re: the Auditors. Meanwhile, nothing is dying like it ought to, and the excess life force causes problems; these problems range from the hilarious (the words of wizards have power, as do swear words; put the two together and hijinks ensue!) to the downright creepy (you'll want to keep an eye on those odd little snowglobes...).
Among other reasons to love this book: It's the first one with Reg Shoe. He gets more awesome once you know more of his backstory, but Reg the Zombie Activist is just as awesome as Reg the Watchman, or Reg the Living Activist.
03 February 2010
book the second: To Say Nothing of the Dog
...So maybe I should get back to this, since I've got the project going.
My second break book was To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. It came highly recommended, and more than lived up to that recommendation.
The time travel facilities at Oxford University have been overrun by Lady Schrapnell's efforts to rebuild Coventry Cathedral, largely because one of her ancestors had a life-changing experience there. But then one of the researchers brings something back with her that she shouldn't have been able to - and a wild chase ensues to set things right again. Most of the book takes place in the Victorian era (when the ancestor in question had the life-changing experience).
The poor POV character is overworked and under-prepared when he gets tapped to deal with 1888; the beauty of that is the reader learns the ins and outs of Victorian society along with him. It's hilarious and touching in turns, and very much worth not spoiling the ending. If you like wacky time-travel hijinks or historical fiction, give this a try.
My second break book was To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. It came highly recommended, and more than lived up to that recommendation.
The time travel facilities at Oxford University have been overrun by Lady Schrapnell's efforts to rebuild Coventry Cathedral, largely because one of her ancestors had a life-changing experience there. But then one of the researchers brings something back with her that she shouldn't have been able to - and a wild chase ensues to set things right again. Most of the book takes place in the Victorian era (when the ancestor in question had the life-changing experience).
The poor POV character is overworked and under-prepared when he gets tapped to deal with 1888; the beauty of that is the reader learns the ins and outs of Victorian society along with him. It's hilarious and touching in turns, and very much worth not spoiling the ending. If you like wacky time-travel hijinks or historical fiction, give this a try.
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