Here's my review of Making Money, the 2nd book in the Moist von Lipwig sequence (and 31st Discworld novel overall) by the inimitable Sir Terry Pratchett. Interesting, captivating, and very funny; if not as strong story-wise as its precursor, Going Postal. Recommended reading, both of them.
Moist von Lipwig (yes, that’s his real name, and no, he didn’t have a word in the selection) is Postmaster General, and the Post office is doing well (see Going Postal for how this came to be). And the thrill has gone: He’d done it. It all worked. It was the Post Office. And it wasn’t fun anymore It’s nothing but meetings, minutes, correspondence, committees, requisition forms, pension arrangements…
The Death of Bunny Munro, by Nick Cave, is a book which I received as a proof copy for review, which saved me buying it (thanks!). Nick Cave, of Bad Seeds (et al) fame, does not need introducing I hope. But, whilst most people have heard (of) his music, significantly fewer know that he also writes fiction. This here is his second book, after And the Ass Saw the Angel, his magnificent first.
It deals, as the title aptly suggests, with the death of Bunny Munro. Bunny (his real name) is a door-to-door salesman ('by appointment only!', he emphasizes) of beauty products, for the wonderfully named 'Eternity Enterprises'. And, when we see him in action, we learn that he has the social engineering that goes with the job as well as the pseudo-scientific sales patter down, er, pat. Bunny is also a sex addict. A compulsive seducer, who can pull most girls/women he's after, but who will harass all of them indiscriminately. But, despite (or because?) of his sexual prowess and success he is, at the end, a rather sad loser.
Now here's an unusual find - an SF book from Sri Lanka, written in English. Not sure about you, but it's a first for me!
Exodus 2300 is a religiously tinged Seeding/Uplifting story by Sri Lankan author Carl Muller. Carl is, apparently, the best-known author in Sri Lanka, and this is his first stab at SF. The book comes with an endorsement from A.C. Clarke; it is unusual, and interesting, but has parts that would have been in dire need of editing and potentially re-writing in my opinion.
It’s the end of the 22nd Century – Earth is slowly recovering from the impact of a star, only 36 million miles away, exploding into a Supernova and subsequently collapsing into a black hole, with our Solar System ‘barely out of reach’ of its gravitational pull. This, it will not surprise you to hear, has caused ‘elemental havoc’ on Earth, ‘like ten thousand nuclear wars’. Er.
Here are my thoughts, rather delayed, on Banner of Souls, the 4th book by Liz Williams, which I found to play in a world/universe more intricate and interesting than the actual story; a world which notably reminded me of Dune, nevertheless. And all of this in a good way, as I found the book to be a captivating read, and can recommend it.
Times are dark indeed in Liz William’s 4th effort, Banner of Souls. Earth has gone through a phase of warming, and is flooded, with significantly fewer land masses left. It is governed, as a colony, by the Memnos Matriarchy on Mars. Lunae is a girl, supposedly the Hito-Bashira (‘the woman who holds back the flood’ – don’t she wish she knew what that meant!), who lives above Fragrant Harbor (built up on the flooded ruins of Hong Kong), under the stern gaze of the powerful ‘Grandmothers’. She is being looked after by Tersus Rhee, a frog-like being known as a Kappa, and by Dreams-of-War, a Warrior from Memnos.
Here are my thoughts on Halting State, a near-future, online-gaming-detective-spooks romp by Charles Stross, at his social-trends-of-technology-extrapolating, the-geeks-will-inherit-the-earth best. The book contains, besides the novel of the title, an interesting interview with Charlie, where he explains some of the story, including the title pun. No, I won't spoil your, er, enjoyment...
The story kicks off when Sergeant Sue Smith from the Edinburgh Police force is called to a robbery at Hayek Associates, who have their headquarters set up in a former nuclear bunker. And the robbery took, of course, not place there, it happened at the Prestige Level Central Bank in Avalon Four, an MMORPG, and reeks of espionage, insider trading, and industrial-level hacking. Dealing with the Real-World implications of an online-robbery - it takes the police a few minutes to get their head around this (as has happened IRL!).
The Death of Bunny Munro
