Top 10 Favorite Books So Far

While reading a book recently on how to write I was asked the simple question.  “What are your favorite books?”  I could list a small number of novels and books that I’d finished in the course of my life, remembering the most recent ones first.  Even still I realized that I had never put together such a list.  Well, far be it for me the writer to proceed with my own self-discovery without spending some time looking back over the small library of books I’ve read in my life.

The first book I ever finished was “The Animal House” by Randall Jarrell (illustrations by Maurice Sendak) in the third grade.  I don’t remember a thing about the book, but I can recall vividly the moment I finished reading it.  I got up from the couch, closed the book tight (with a good thump from the hardcover) and announced to the world I had just finished my first “real” book.  I don’t recall how long it took me to finish that book, but it usually takes me months to finish a book today.  That’s disappointing, and probably one of the biggest things in my life I’d like to change. 

There are so many wonderful books to read, and so many classics that sit waiting for me to explore.  I say this not as an excuse … I will read them all some day before I die … but more to answer the question many of you will think after reading my list:  “Why didn’t he include this book???”  First of all, that’s a very subjective question.  This is not a list of the best books ever written, it’s a list of my favorite books so it has nothing at all to do with your opinions.  But, it also reminds you, Faithful Reader, that there’s still a lot out there for me to read and more than enough room on this list for a new book to push another off.  Enjoy.

1. Hamlet by William Shakespeare – I would argue it is the greatest work of literature in the English language all time.  I can think of no other work that captures so many ideas and philosophies, has such rich and diverse characters and is written with such beauty and poetry.  The tragedy of its story pales to the greatest of its themes.  I can’t get enough of it, and I try to see it on stage at least once a year.  If not, I have about 5 movie adaptations in my library to choose from.
2. Dune by Frank Herbert – I’ll admit, my first contact with this book was the David Lynch movie adaptation that flopped in the 1980’s but that I truly love, even to this day.  After reading the book itself, I feel more in love with the world, its characters and the amazing use of language that Herbert wields as deftly as Dickens and Shakespeare.  It floors me how many original ideas the man had, so many original words and societies and philosophies!  It is, for me, the most original work of the 20th century (followed closely by Tolkien).  While the themes are not new, everything else about it is.  Amazing and inspiring SF at its best.
3. Different Seasons by Stephen King – There’s a lot of things I love about Stephen King’s books:  his down-to-earth characters, his witty banter, his beautiful use of profanity, and the simple but dark analysis of human nature.  The short stories in this book, most of which adapted into movies that captured me as a child, do all those things with greatness and simplicity.  I remember reading the stories for the first time, marveling at how amazing they were.  I couldn’t put the book down, and these stories are the standard to which I compare my own short stories and novellas.
4. The End of the Circle by Jack McKinney – I got lucky when I discovered the Robotech cartoons while watching Nickelodeon during my summers in Tulsa.  I was instantly hooked by the transforming F-14’s and the alien spaceships.  But the novel adaptations of the cartoons written by McKinney were pure perfection.  He grasped onto the deep nature of the stories and lifted the characters out of the static, Japanese anime poses into people you honestly cared about.  He demonstrated how so many things in the universe are connected by music, and illustrated the sheer brutality of warfare.  The series story itself was excellent.  McKinney’s books captured me and never let go.  I stayed in that universe until the bitter end in this book.  While it was never made into an actual cartoon (Lord knows why not), it wrapped up all the characters and story lines that had been started.  Pure entertainment for the SF kid in me.  It currently holds the record as the book I’ve read through the most times (5).
5. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara – The summer after my sophomore year in college I got a job in Pennsylvania.  Some friends and I decided to take a trip to see the Gettysburg battlefield during our break.  One of them suggested I read this book before we went so I could better understand what happened there.  I was already a bit of a Civil War junkie, but nothing whetted my appetite to understand the Civil War more than this book.  The only Pulitzer Price-winning book I can recall reading, it’s just amazing from start to finish.  I felt transported to that battle.  I felt like I was right beside those generals and those campfires and those battling formations.  It was amazing, and it did make the trip to the battlefield more memorable.  I don’t know of many books that have transported me from my life into the world in the novel better than this one.
6. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card – This was quite possibly the first SF book I ever read.  I remember Tom suggesting I read it, and I think I did during a Colorado or Wyoming trip.  It was the first book I ever read and put the book down at the end, my mouth agape with surprise.  Sure, I wanted to join the Battle School and fight with the kids, but it was the great twist at the end that really caught me.  I grew up with Ender and I grew wiser by the end.  I also discovered, although I didn’t realize it at the time, that SF could be more than just the next planet the Enterprise stopped at or that Jedi visited.
7. Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor – I can’t think of any better pure storyteller than Keillor in the latter part of the 20th century.  It’s not just his voice (as powerful as it is), but his amazing ability to describe the scene, characters and interaction with such ease and grace that you feel like you’re hearing your parents read you a bedtime story each time you open the book.  You are taken to a place of safety where the silly and often ludicrous can lead to great moments of revelation.  I loved each scene and each character, filling out the fake history with such authenticity and honesty that I have come to love from everything Keillor writes.
8. The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan – The Wheel of Time series is by far my favorite series of books in any genre.  Jordan created a rich and diverse world that I just wanted to play in over and over again.  I wanted to see the characters grow.  I wanted to see the grand fights they got in and to see who lived to see the next day.  Reading his series is like reading the narrative of a massive world war … there are many people, relationships, histories, agendas and perspectives to consider, and Jordan juggled them all with great skill.  I will be sad to read the last book of the series this year, but I doubt the stories will ever end.  This book, the fifth of the series, was my favorite.  So many amazing battles, scenes, character interactions and a final battle that I could not put the book down until I finished.  It got my heart racing, and I think that says it all.
9. Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt – The best book I’ve read on Nazi Germany so far, this book changed my life in many ways.  It was the first historical narrative I’d read and opened the door to authors like Stephen Ambrose and Michael Shaara.  In order to properly write about this book I had to throw out all my pre-conceived notions on writing and start writing in my own way.  All that from one book.  Hall of Fame for me then.
10. Ready Player One by Ernst Cline – I’ll be the first to admit it’s nearly impossible to write a Top 10 list without a recent candidate to sneak in, and Cline’s book does.  In truth, I do think it belongs here.  So many references to computer and video games, comic books and movies … all the things that have filled up my life with joy.  And then, on top of it all, a SF world and story that hooks you in and makes you want to be there.  It’s pure entertainment, and it won’t win many awards, but what a great read it was!

As with all things in life, this list is subject to change over time.  I look forward to reviewing and revising it in years to come with all the great books that come my way.

Books I Read in 2011

Here’s a list of the books I read in 2011 and my ranking/thoughts on them.  Rankings are:

• 4 stars – An excellent/awesome/amazing book you must read!
• 3 stars – A very good read, definitely recommend.
• 2 stars – A good, average read. 
• 1 star – Not a good read, would not recommend.

1. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (3 stars) – Book 2 of the Hunger Games series, it picked up on the excitement of the first book.  Katniss’ rebellion is underway, and a return to the arena, while a little convenient, made for another action-packed book.  The love triangle got annoying in some places; Katniss definitely is one of the most naïve teenagers in the world.  But, the action and the cliffhanger ending made me pick up the next book right away.
2. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut (3.5) – I was introduced to Vonnegut last year by Sara Tonje, and I thank her immensely for it.  What a wonderful mixture of intelligence and wit in the words and the depictions.  The chapter where Vonnegut describes a bombing backwards is probably one of the best examples of prose I’ve ever read in my life.  The book itself got a little weird in the jumps between settings, enough to cost it half a star in the ranking.  It’s famous for a reason, definitely a good intro to his work.
3. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (2) – A poor ending to a solid series.  The final battles of the rebellion were very puzzling, but Collins definitely had to cut out a lot of the background stuff to move the story along.  The annoying qualities of Katniss were on every page, probably what made it worse in my head.  How could someone so naïve achieve so much? The ending is what really cost it points, in spite of the good depiction of a martyr's life in a rebellion is like.  Too quick, too thin and too sappy.  Even still, it was a solid trilogy and worth the popularity it has achieved.  I’m looking forward to the movies.
4. Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (2) – I loved “Alice in Wonderland,” but this sequel lacked the wonder (if you will) of the first book.  Dripping with analogies to chess, the book was tedious.  My excitement to learn more about the Jabberwocky was left unsatisfied.  The older Alice was less amusing.  Sure, I have a great sense of the immense world of Wonderland, but it seemed like Carroll was trying too hard.  Disappointing.
5. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rich Riodan (2) – Meh.  A nice take on ancient mythology I can get behind, although a little too much Harry Potter-like world for my tastes.  I think the timing of the publication would limit the actual impact of that series, so I keep them separate in my mind.  Even still, I’m sure it’s entertaining for those with a junior high school education in mythology.  For me, it was play and nothing more.
6. Pilgrims by Garrison Keillor (2) – A funny little story by one of my favorite authors, but just as slow and daunting as many of his novels.  Characters spend more time reflecting on their thoughts, emotions and religious perspectives than actually doing something.  The mass of pages setup a scene that ends quickly, the introduction hardly important to set the stage or add to the humor.  Even still, it’s a nice story of middle-aged fishes out of their pond (or frozen Minnesotan lake in this case), seeking adventure and purpose.  I doubt I’d ever go on a trip with them.
7. The Killing Dance by Laurel K. Hamilton (2) – I’ve tried to get into the Anita Blake books, I really have.  But this one turned me off.  There’s only so much sexual tension, innuendo and clichéd additions of monsters I can take.  The vampires and were-creatures (far too many) are too cool, and their menace is watered down.  The sex scene between Anita and Jean-Claude is steamy, no doubt there, definitely worth a read.  The rest of it is so packed with blood and waiting, I’m not in a hurry to read the next book.
8. Scanners Live in Vain by Cordwainer Smith (1) – Smith was listed in multiple books on writing SF as one of the best, this short story being a typical one for him.  While it’s a unique take on robots, the prose put me to sleep.  I didn’t feel like rooting for the characters.  I didn’t care about the tech.  Sure, it was ahead of its time and is one of the core SF works, but I’m glad we’ve come a long way since then.
9. 1984 by George Orwell (3.5) – Wow.  What a novel!  So packed with original perceptions.  Any dystopian work must bow down to it almost like fantasy novels to Tolkien.  The ending keeps it from getting 4 stars.  At the end of a typical dystopian novel the world must be left changed, and usually for the better.  Not in this case.  You feel depressed when you put the book down, hopelessly bound to the reality of the world just like the characters are.  Orwell did the same thing in Animal Farm.  Not quite the ending I would have written.  Even still, an amazing book that should be required reading for all high school students.
10. Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (2) – Another great work in the history of SF, this was a pretty depressing book from page one.  As a dystopian novel, I suppose it’s meant to be.  It’s a perfect example of a well-written dystopian novel.  All the common elements are there, and the dire situation of life in her community creates tension even with its predictable ending.  With the addition of the quotes at the beginnings of the chapters, the ending of the book is known from the beginning leaving the story as a whole without any suspense or tension.  The philosophy of the religion in the book is interesting, but flawed in small ways.  A nice read, not much more than that.  Probably one of the few SF works I’ve read where the main character was a black woman.
11. Dune by Frank Herbert (4) – Quite possibly one of the greatest books ever written, even outside of SF!  Amazing ideas, characters, philosophies and writing make this book a true work of art.  I’ll let my blog speak for the rest.  I plan on reading it as often as possible to learn how to write really, really, really good SF.
12. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (3) – I’d listened to the audiobook of this years ago, and re-reading it in anticipation of the HBO series was just as enjoyable.  It’s not your typical king/knights/fantasy-realm fantasy novel, not when the character you’re rooting for is dead by the end.  Even still, the political intrigue and the character plot lines are excellent and compelling from start to finish.  A strong start to the series.
13. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (4) – My favorite read of the year.  I think my blog says why best.  Just a ton of fun with great uses of modern technology. 
14. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (2) – A pale sequel to AGoT.  While the chess pieces are continually moved and progress is made on all storylines, the tension and action is far less than the first novel leaving long periods of talking and planning and little more revealed as to what will happen with each character.  Tyrion’s chapters are by far the best, and his wit and scheming are at its best.  New or returning characters are given importance that we’ll have to see if they pay off.  Bran’s wolf story seems like a blatant steal from Robert Jordan, but I’m letting it pass as the presence and impact of magic in this world is as yet established or explained.  A slow sequel, but I still want to see what happens to the characters so I’ve already started on book 3.
15. Doctor Who – The Stone Rose by Jacqueline Rayner (1.5) – I’ve usually avoided the novelizations of TV shows and movies.  In most cases, the stories are not supported by the producers/creators of the shows, so they’re basically published fan fiction and rarely impact the actual “canon” stories.  But, I’ve always enjoyed reading Star Trek novels, so I thought I’d give this one a shot.  Read by David Tennant, the audiobook was barely 3 hours long, a nice short read.  The book is dialogue heavy, helped by Tennant reading it with his thick accent, so at times you feel like you’re watching the show.  I thought a Doctor Who story in ancient Rome would be fun, but the lack of prose, descriptions or interaction with historical figures make the story very simple.  I might give these books another shot, but really I don’t learn more about the characters or the worlds that impact the show, so I’m not sure it’s worth my time.   

Here’s hoping in 2011 I read more books to make the list almost too long to maintain!

What I Think about “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One is the most entertaining book I’ve read in years.  You could read the first two chapters to understand why I would like it so much.  It’s packed full of so much trivia about the 1980’s, the time of my youth, and so many things that I can recall vividly.  The cartoons, the movies, the music, the roll-playing games, the attitudes, the rituals.  Ready Player One uses all of those snippets of nostalgia to make what is a very enjoyable read.  Add in banter and discussions that are almost exact transcripts from conversations with my friends, this book has just about everything that geeks like me could want.

As an adventure story, Ready Player One is most definitely Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory meets The Matrix, all the way to the final scene taking place in the office of the world’s creator.  Set a mere 30 years in the future, the Oasis and all within it is certainly within reach of our technology today.  I for one would love a virtual world that would allow me to pilot the starship Enterprise to the planet Arcade where I could play the old video games and perhaps get into a battle with another player using magic missles, laser blasters and mechs.  The Oasis is my old basement made manifest through technology. 

I find myself insanely jealous of Cline to have thought of such a creative story using the details of our youth.  Often in my own work I’ve included tidbits of moments from my past as subtle reminders of the best of times.  Cline has successfully merged so many things into the Oasis, it was fun to recall each and every reference from Monty Python to arcade games to cartoons to Brat Pack films.  Cline obviously knows a ton more about some of the real geeky things in the world, from the easter egg in the original Atari Adventure game to the bug in the 1980 arcade version of Tempest.  He definitely did his homework, in his youth and today, to mix so many things together. 

There’s little I didn’t like about this book, primarily because there’s so much in it that speaks directly to my own life.  I listened to the audio version of the book, read masterfully by Will Wheaton (honestly, could they have picked a better person to read it? … especially since he got a small nod in the book itself).  I couldn’t wait to hear what would happen next, although there were very few surprises.  But that’s not the point of the book.  The point is that our youth was packed so full of imagination, adventure and humor that the potential stories we can tell allow us to relive and enjoy those times all over again.  If technology allows us to re-experience those moments of wonder, why not write a book about it?  Why not, indeed.  I enjoyed spending some time back in my basement while listening to this book.  Thanks, Mr. Cline and Mr. Wheaton for taking me back.

What I Think about Frank Herbert’s “Dune”

Let me put it simply:  best science fiction novel ever written.

I seriously doubt that anyone who has written a SF novel could disagree with that, harking all the way back to Verne and the earliest days of the genre.  To imagine Herbert writing such a rich and unique world in the 1960’s blows my mind.  He came up with new worlds, new religions, new languages, new titles all the while paralleling the world of the late Roman Empire and feudal societies.  It simply amazes me that a writer could sit down at a desk one day and come up with the words like “Muad’Dib” and “Kwisatz Haderach” and the deep meaning and mythology that surround them.  I’m jealous and envious of Herbert’s skill.  Without question, he is the SF equivalent of Tolkien.

It’s really the original ideas within “Dune” that attract me so much to the text.  Sitting down at my computer, it’s very difficult for me to imagine what the human race will be like in 30,000 years.  Granted, there are many things we’ll still have to deal with like politics and communities and religions and the irrationality of women.  But Herbert manages to create a world where all these things and more play out in an evolved manner.  Mankind has evolved past the need for technology to help us accomplish things, and the strive for mental, spiritual and physical perfection is evident in every character, whether they realize it or not.  Even the most vile, decadent and evil of characters still act with a sensibility and intelligence that almost every criminal mind lacks today.  And then, to impart the impact of religion and idolizing prophets on those advanced humans … simply amazing. 

The characters are a little wooden, but perhaps all mankind will be in 30,000 years.  We’ll be constantly introspective.  We’ll analyze and evaluate situations and people in fractions of seconds.  We will plan with so much precision that it’s almost as if we can predict the future.  To read for the first time an author purport that the human mind is capable of such analysis and foresight goes beyond the secondary schooling I was provided.  To operate in a world that advanced, with such advanced thinking and reasoning skills, before you’re even 18!  Would that we were so advanced today.

For an SF novel, it’s amazing how little emphasis is put on technology.  Even in the 1960’s when Herbert was writing there was the Hard SF that focused heavily on technology.  Herbert’s soft SF is refreshing and certainly more to my tastes.  Yes, there are shield walls and space liners and atomics, but there are also knives and needle weapons and an emphasis on physical perfection.  There’s homosexuality and concubines and inbreeding (after a fashion).  There’s intrigue and mystery and backstabbing.  All within one book.  It just amazes me.

I’ve been told the sequels lack the amazing qualities of “Dune” but that won’t stop me from proceeding to read them.  It’s a dynamic world Herbert has created, and I want to enjoy my time in it a bit longer.  For me and my own writing, Herbert’s influence is simple:  think bigger.  There’s more to my creativity and content than the prosaic words I throw out on the page.  There can be a well-thought out premise with intrigue and multi-dimensional characters.  There can be references at the beginnings of chapters to fictional historical texts to setup the reader and fill in gaps.  The qualities of SF may be maintained without focusing so much on technology.  Thank you, Mr. Herbert, for the “Hamlet” of our genre.

What I Think about Bookstores

This coming Friday, Borders will cease to exist.  It’s sad for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that many friends of mine will be without jobs.  Trusting in their ability to find new employment, I’ll focus my thoughts today on the state of the book industry and the death of such a symbol.

Growing up, my mother took us to two bookstores at least once a week.  The first was The Bookworm.  It was a small bookstore tucked into a strip mall near one of our favorite restaurants.  It specialized in kids books.  I think it was there that I became fascinated with reading.  They had a nice little bunk bed area where I always tucked myself in with the latest Tintin or Choose Your Adventure book.  I like to think my mother had to drag me away from it.  The other was the Little Professor, another strip mall bookstore that had the full gambit of books and where I discovered the full myriad of fantasy and science fiction novels.  I can recall spending almost an hour browsing the stacks, unable to decide which book I wanted to read.

The Bookworm has somehow survived the past 20 years of mega-bookstores and has expanded to include adult books and book clubs, their relationship with Berkshire Hathaway probably had something to do with that.  I was saddened to return from college one year to find the Little Professor had been closed.  I think it’s pretty clear that they were not the only bookstore impacted by mega-stores like Borders and Barnes and Noble. 

I remember when I first walked into the Borders in Chicago on Michigan Avenue.  I about wet myself, overwhelmed with the possibilities that awaited me.  I visited that store almost once a week for the two years I lived in Chicago.  I didn’t always buy a book, but I always kept my eye out for the next thing I would study.  By the end of my stay in Chicago I’d discovered a new bookstore to enjoy, Amazon.com.  I found that Amazon finally provided some of the books I really wanted and went through my savings fairly quickly.

Now it’s 15 years later and Borders is closing.  Barnes and Noble and all the other bookstores are now facing a serious shift in the industry: electronic books.  I remember in 2000 when Stephen King published his first e-book “Riding the Bullet.”  It was basically a PDF of his short story, but even he predicted then that e-books would revolutionize the industry.  Today, Kindles and Nooks and iPads provide easy access to thousands of books without having to spend hours looking through stacks.  They make it so you don’t have to lug 15 pounds of reading materials through the airports or school hallways.  At the touch of a finger, the greatest classics are available for us for FREE.

So, what happens now?  Simple.  Bookstores will need to downsize and cater to both the published and electronic versions of books.  You won’t see mega-stores with endless stacks like the Borders in Chicago.  Instead you’ll see trimmed down bookstores with electronic kiosks in the corners for folks to plug in their e-readers and search/buy their books.  The coffee shops and restaurants attached will get larger and more comfortable.  Bookstores will become great places to come and read or study or listen to music, even more than they are today.  Bookstores will become less about where people can find books and more about where people can come to enjoy their books.  And why not?  I still remember that bunk bed at the Bookworm 30 years later.  In another 30 years will I remember sitting at the table, sipping on my café latte and enjoying the latest Stephen King novel, a local jazz band crooning to a soft Miles Davis song?  Yeah, I hope so.

Perhaps this will be the rebirth of the small specialized bookstore.  The Little Professor will re-open and cater to the young adult market which seems to be the strongest today.  The Bookworm will expand to include more bean bags and more reading spaces.  What’s important is that there should always be a place to go and find and read books, whether they’re printed or projected.  Reading is as much a social activity as it is a personal expansion of the human soul.  It’s cliché now to imagine me reading a good novel with a coffee cup in the other hand, but so what?  I’ll take it because it is just as meaningful to me today as it was to sit on that bunk bed 30 years ago.  There will always be people who will buy printed books.  I don’t think the e-book will ever end that.  But, bookstores should become havens of exploration where people can come and read and discuss and enjoy their books, with some food, coffee and music added in for extra flavor.    May that experience never, ever go away.

What I Think About "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

My friend Kaley recommended this book to me a few weeks ago, and I was looking for a simple, entertaining book that I could enjoy. "The Hunger Games" satisfied that completely. The book is very straight-forward (as are most books written for young adults these days, it seems) following the first-person perspective of the main character Katniss through her ordeal. There's plenty to like about the world, and nothing is shoved in your face so much that you tire of the story, and it's clear that Collins set out to write the book with the idea that the story would continue in future novels.

I particularly liked the dystopian world that Collins created. She spends no time at all to describe how North America turned into Panem and even less time on the war between the Capital and the Districts. At the same time, she clearly establishes the subjugated world of District 12 (and the other districts), and the Hunger Games themselves are a very creative invention of a ruling society to keep the man down as it were. Even in this fairly stable society are the small seeds of dissent. I also like how she so easily distinguished between the technologically advanced Capital from the low-tech Districts.

It is here that Collins' greatest work is done. Katniss becomes the central focus of the power of the Districts to subtly rise above their station, show strength to the ruling Capital, and begin to rally the revolution anew. And yet, at no point does she have an inkling of that intent. All she is doing is trying to survive, trying to keep her friends and family alive. Such simple motivations leads to the simplest of actions that in the broader canvas of the world stirs the embers of rebellion. I thought it was brilliant to see such radical changes come from such innocent actions. Most rebellions rarely come from such subtlety, and Collins paints the picture very well.

If there was anything I didn't like about the book was the fact that Katniss is such a girl! LOL! (Let me also say that Katniss is a terrible name for a character, in my opinion anyway.) The fact she can't see beyond 10 feet in front of her and missing the obvious in everything around her drives me mad but is completely necessary to setup the coming rebellion. Her oblivious treatment of Peeta (another weird name) got my nerves rattled more than once. But, in the end Katniss makes a very good heroine for readers displaying the innocence and courage of Alice along with for more inner strength than Bella Swan. I wish we could have gotten more of Rue before she was killed, but I understand how it was necessary.

While "The Hunger Games" is predictable for the most part, it sets up a world that I want to return to in the following books. I want to know more about the world, the other Districts and how Katniss' actions set about a revolution that needs to happen. I can't think of better praise for a series than to emphasize how much I enjoy spending time with the characters in their worlds. I'll be back for more.

What I Think About "Contact" by Carl Sagan

The movie "Contact" starring Jodie Foster is probably in my Top 20 Best Movies All-Time list (albeit towards the bottom). The script/plot is really quite ingenious, a twisty exploration into the perspectives of science and religion on our place in the Universe. I had hoped that the book would explore the difficulties presented in the movie with a greater clarity and detail that I could enjoy all the more. Unfortunately, all I found was a slow, prodding narrative drowned in unnecessary details that couldn't capture me the way the movie did.

There were two problems with my experience reading this novel. First, I listened to an abridged version of the book, something I'd vowed never to do. But, I was so fascinated by the plot of the movie I figured the text would continue to surprise me, even if it was a smaller text than originally published (not to mention audible.com only had the abridged version in their system). Second, this is the first time that I can recall where the movie was actually BETTER than the book!

Growing up, I watched Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" on Nebraska Public Television. After NPTV introduced me to Doctor Who I found myself latching onto anything that dealt with outer space on the channel, so I tagged along with Mr. Sagan for a handful of episodes. It became quickly clear to me that I was not yet educated enough to follow the lofty, scientific vocabulary and tone the show followed. Sadly, 30 years later, it was that same vocabulary and tone that led me to not enjoy this book.

For most of the book, I felt like I was listening to Mr. Sagan as if he were on his TV show reading his own text to me. Despite Jodie Foster's more-than-average emotional reading of the text, I still felt like I was listening to the lecture of a science teacher and not the relaxed tale of the storyteller. Page after page Mr. Sagan used the true scientific terms to describe and identify elements of the story. For example, the machine that Elle helps build is shaped like a "dodecahedron" in both the movie and novel. But, in the novel, anytime the machine did something, it was the "dodecahedron" as the subject of the sentence. I won't even mention how in the middle of a rise in tension in a chapter I'll get sideswiped by a scientific narrative about Pi or radio telescopes. All the asides that characters made to bring out a detail Sagan thought was important slowed down the pace of the story to the point where I gave up trying to get caught up in the story and just endured all the techno-babble.

I certainly thought the movie handled the characters far better than the novel. Palmer Joss as a love interest and foil to Elle makes a more engaging and interesting love story than the half-hearted manner Sagan describes Elle's love interest in the book. Joss is relegated to a foil to Elle's whole agenda for the duration of a chapter and only a potential love interest by the end of the book. The inner struggles of Elle between her quest to communicate with aliens and her affection for Joss, despite the religious obstacle he represents, makes her a more compelling and interesting character. In the novel, Elle talks about the nature of Pi with more passion than she does for her feelings for the men in her life.

It's clear from reading other reviews that the abridged version takes out any mention of Hadden and his role in potentially fabricating the message. While that scene between Kitz and Elle is in the version I listened to, it's left general and unaffiliated. Too bad. I thought that twist at the end of the movie really made me think, "Yeah, I can see how they could think that."

The book is saved by the last paragraph, arguably one of the best single paragraphs I've read in recent memory. I will work to find a copy of it to add to this blog because it captures the great message of both the novel and the movie ... the wonder of the universe is found not just in that which we can see readily, but in the things that we must experience and deduce on our own. I know Sagan enjoyed that in his life. I'm very happy with the role he played in my own life to open my mind and spirit to the ideas of things beyond my own world.

What I Think about "Animal Farm" by George Orwell

I can't remember exactly when I first read "Animal Farm." It was probably 8th or 9th grade, depending on whom my English teacher was (did I get that use of whom correct?). The only things I could honestly recall clearly from the first read were: The pigs were the bad guys, and the farm represented Communist Russia. I'm such a child of the Cold War ...

In truth, that's a good thing. The book was released as a fairy tale (which the commentary before the book clearly explains is a correct use of the term) in August of 1945. Perhaps you can recall a few other things that happened in that month ... Regardless, Orwell was talking more towards totalitarianism than specifically Lenin/Stalin Russia. He still hit the nail directly on the head hammering it straight through the point. His allegory is clear and on the money.

Which for me, listening to the audiobook for the first time almost 20 years later, is what hits me most about the book: Its clear-cut allegory. Now, Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" (also a novella) is as hidden an allegory as you could hope for. The decent into hell is as clear here as a humid night in the bayou. But Orwell doesn't waste the reader's time ... he spells things out plainly and simply from word 1. This is how easy it is to dominate and control a society. And it's hard to argue with him. If you look at such modern states as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Cuba, North Korea ... it's hard to argue with Orwell's logic. Perhaps we could all look at Napoleon and Snowball and fit several 20th-century equivalents neatly into the package. It's quite sad that we can. Applying Orwell to past Empires would be an obvious waste of time; the lesson is just as true for Stalin as it was for Augustus Caesar.

Even still, Orwell doesn't waste a single word in this novella, going straight to the point and describing the events as they happened, letting the reader discern for himself the meaning and implications behind the story. Sure, English Teachers have all but programmed us to think of Orwell as a futurist and someone who could accurately dramatize the decline of democracy and mankind. Thus, my recollection of "Animal Farm = Communist Russia." In the end, it's a good story, told so simply that it may sound like a basic fairy tale to a child, but it opens a large world of implications to the more educated mind.

There's a great deal to learn from "Animal Farm" and I'm sure many modern-day Republicans would correlate the actions of the Obama Administrator to the wheeling-dealing ways of Squealer and Napoleon. But I think we miss the main point by applying it to modern society too quickly. Perhaps if the news media or other governmental members were to take a long, hard look at the policies of Napoleon's pigs, they might see some dangers ahead and choose to act on it before "Animal Farm" could ever come into existence. Regardless, the book "Animal Farm" contributes significantly to the body of published fictional/non-fictional works that should prevent tyrannical empires such as these from forming again ... unless, of course, we let them.

What I Think about "One Second After" by William Forstchen

For those of you who don't know, "One Second After" is a story about how the small town of Black Mountain, North Carolina tries to survive after an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is detonated over the U.S. The story follows Colonel John Matherson (ret), a local professor and widower with two daughters, who finds himself in a leadership position in the community as all social order begins to break down. Ultimately he becomes the leader of a local militia who repel a massive attack by scavengers and raiders while balancing the many other problems within the community and his own family. The book is designed to demonstrate on a small scale just how devastating the impact an EMP attack on the U.S. would be, and I think Forstchen makes his point clear. Thankfully, he abstains from preaching about our current unpreparedness until the last 1/3 of the book.

Forstchen makes it clear that a modern U.S. community would all but break down and barely survive after an EMP attack. Food and medical supplies would be insufficient to support our vast populations, and any patriotism or neighborly ways would be quickly replaced by selfishness and savagery to the point where people would do just about anything to survive. The doctor of the town is the prophetic voice for the town and us throughout the book, outlining step by step the decline of society by disease, insanity, etc. and an objective view of the outline must concede it to be accurate. In the end, the community finds a state of balance where it can support its own population, but not after losing thousands and thousands of people. The final number across the nation was 250 million. Sadly, I think those numbers would be accurate too.

Imagine the vastness of the infrastructure needed to sustain our current population, and then consider how much of that relies on electricity to operate. All of the food and medical supplies that are constantly shipping and arriving across the nation is staggering. In the event of an EMP attack, communities would no doubt find themselves isolated, forced to fend for themselves and in most cases completely breakdown and self-destruct. While that is not the focus of this book, I think it's pretty clear that is what was happening in the larger cities throughout the country at the same time as the events in the story.

An EMP attack on the U.S. is not an impossibility, no more than any sort of chemical or nuclear strike. What this book solidified in my mind is how our enemies would benefit the most from this type of strike over any other. Sure, the body count from your action wouldn't be high at all, but imagine the scope of a victory over an opponent that you bring down and barely lifting a finger to do it. The United States would, in the words of Lincoln, "die by suicide." We would quickly turn on ourselves, our neighbors, our communities and our country in order to survive. We'd destroy ourselves. Isn't that a greater victory than just destroying a few buildings? I say it is, and it's a frightening concept, particularly since I know I lack the survival and manual skills necessary to survive in a world without electricity. I would surely be one of the millions who would die from starvation or something far worse in the aftermath.

As a fictional work, "One Second After" is good as long as it doesn't preach, and it does not for the majority of the book. Unfortunately, the foreword by Newt Gingrich immediately puts the reader into the mindset that this is an analysis of what could be, and that we should be looking deep into the story and worry about what could happen to ourselves. We're not permitted to enjoy the work as a pure work of fiction, and that diminishes the work. But on the whole I think this was a very well-written, well-thoughtout book. Forstchen definitely looked at the big picture to imagine the multitude of things that would breakdown and worked many of them into his story. The fortune of Black Mountain to have the location and resources to survive as well as they did allows the story to work, and the characters move the story forward well. The scenes of loss are particularly strong.

I really only have two complaints. I've mentioned how the preachy message of the book diminishes the fictional pleasure of the read. The other is how the massive battle towards the end of the book is told in the past tense, looking back over sections of the battle after the fact. It allowed Forstchen to move on to the rest of the story but really killed any tension that had been built up in the previous chapters and threw the pace of the story off significantly.

If you're into post-apocalyptic novels, this is one definitely worth reading. If you'd rather not think about if you'd be willing to pick up a gun and shoot your neighbors to get food or go hunting instead of visiting the grocery store, better to stay in ignorance.

What I Think about "Under the Dome" by Stephen King

I'll admit, I started listening to the audiobook of "Under the Dome" about 200 pages in. In truth, I think I was spared a great deal of slow narrative that was referred to time and again in the pages after my starting point. Before I'd realized what had happened, I was actually impressed the King has chosen to start such a tale so far into the story.

Where I'd started in story, the dome had already covered the town, the sheriff, local doctor and priest were dead and all of the characters and conflicts between them had been established. And that's saying a lot.

As anyone who knows me can attest, I'm a huge Stephen King fan, but "Under the Dome" strained my patience and interest. The biggest problem with the book, as I see it, was there were WAY too many characters. There are easily 20-30 characters whose individual motives and habits and relationships I have to keep track of, because they'll show up out of the blue at the start of the next chapter. The assumed protagonist, the local chef nicknamed "Barbie" (hard to get into a male character named Barbie), was barely mentioned much in the first chapters I listened to and didn't really solidify himself as the main protagonist until almost halfway through the book. The antagonist, well the HUMAN antagonist, "Big Jim" Rennie was taken almost straight out of "Breaking Bad," one of King's favorite TV shows, but still plays as another great Stephen King villain. The story weaves through political battles between Barbie and Big Jim to the point where Big Jim establishes almost complete control over the town.

The secondary conflict in the story is the dome itself, as it rightfully should be. A town cutoff from the rest of world would turn in on itself just as Chester Mills does, allowing Big Jim to take over with such ease. Along with that, you have people dealing with life under the dome including everything from suicides to conspiracies to religious fanaticism (once again, it's those damn uber-Christians with guns mucking up the works). So many side-stories are supported by the extensive cast of the book, but most of the stories are anemic until they finally contribute to the main conflict. In the end, King manages to salvage a scene of tension and suspense so by the end of the book I can't honestly say who will live or die and kept me riveted to the end.

It's hard to write a book about an entire town and not try to take into account how the town would be impacted by something like the dome. While King is able to do that well in some cases, in others it just gets annoying. One thing he liked to do a lot in this book was build up and build up a character and get you connected to them, then kill them in a quick and often senseless manner. Why should I endure entire chapters about Andrea Grinnell and he withdrawal only for her to be so easily dispatched at the council meeting. Sure, the predictable outcome was avoided in the scene, but I left feeling a little used having expended so much energy in connecting with the character. I feel the same way about Brenda Perkins, Rommie Burpee, Andy Sanders and a half-dozen other characters.

Watching a community/society, even one as small as Chester Field, adjust and eventually collapse under an isolated existence is an interesting story and well-told by King in many ways. But having to spend so much attention and energy to track two dozen characters reduced the impact of the message significantly. I like the fact that just over half of the book doesn't deal with the dome itself (its origin and destruction) and focuses back on the human beings beneath it. There are many points in the story where the dome didn't have to be there at all and still lead to a good conflict in the society.

All in all I think King tried to do too much in one book, not that splitting up the story into multiple volumes would have helped much. Instead, he tried to do as much as he could and involve as many people as he could and it overwhelmed me, his humble "constant reader." Not his best book, far from his worst book, and still worth a read.

What I Think About Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight Saga"

The movie version of "New Moon" comes out this weekend, and I'd be lying if I said I was excited about it. "New Moon" is arguably one of the most depressing books I've read in my life (for the record, I listened to the audio books of each novel, read beautifully by IIlyana Kadushin). For nearly 200 pages (6 hours) I sat beside Bella reliving the lowest and worst days of my own life after a terrible break-up. Why I would want to experience that again, even for 2 or 2.5 hours, is incomprehensible. Not to mention all the problems I have with the series in general.

So, here are my thoughts on the whole series, not just "New Moon." I will do my best to keep to the books, but in this day and age, it's hard for a movie adaptation of a book not enter into the equation of a book's success ...

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE SERIES

- Stephanie Meyer is to be credited for creating characters that we genuinely care about. As a proud member of "Team Jacob" I can say without prejudice (you'll pardon the pun here) that at no time in recently memory can I recall a "Team Darcy" or a "Team Hermoine" where fans of a book were so excited and proud to support a particular side of a love affair. While her human characters are quickly lost in the mists of the real world, the vampires and werewolves touch the reader's mind and heart in such a way that devotion to some or all of them comes naturally. That's good writing.

- I for one ADORE Alice. If she were real, and not wishing to rip my head off (literally), I'd say we'd make a great couple. Her gift keeps the story moving and whets the appetite of the reader early in the last two books. I was so disappointed that she barely appeared in book four, I couldn't see straight.

- I like the setting of Forks. It's as rural and unfamiliar to most readers as you'll find. The middle-of-nowhere town works well to hide all the strange things that happen there. I think, had she chosen to, the human characters of the series would have blended well into the macabre world. Instead, she focused on the treaty between vampires and the Quileutes, a wonderfully fresh idea that I enjoyed learning more about. I don't know anything about the Indian tribe (or even if they're real), but they made a great nemesis to the vampire heroes. I've always preferred a vampire setting to be more like "The Lost Boys" ... everyone knows about the vampires but can't do anything more than grumble about how they're making the community worse. Grandpa's line from the movie still cracks me up today ...

- The chapter in "New Moon" when Bella, et. al. are sitting around the campfire and listen to the story of the first werewolves was arguably the best moment in the entire series for me. I literally felt like I was sitting at that campfire listening to the story. Maybe it helped I was listening to it while driving late on a dark night, but it was grand.

- I like the Volturi as vampire royalty. In the modern world of instant communications, it makes more sense for me for vampires to get organized (just as they do in "True Blood"). Sadly, they are wasted until the final volume and then part of the lamest ending in the history of written fiction (more on that later).

- Is it my membership on "Team Jacob" that makes me more interested in the werewolves' stories more than the vampires or the lovestory? Quite probably, but I think the twists on the werewolf mythology are far more interesting. After a while I got pretty tired of the pack mentality that I had to deal with, but I suppose it's true about any pack of wolves (I find it in the Laurell Hamilton books too).

- I like the first-person narrative. I think this story told from a standard third-person view wouldn't have been as compelling. The series, in the end, is the coming of age of Bella the Vampire so why not tell the whole story from her prespective. I don't think there's too many details that we miss from this perspective, thanks in large part to Alice's visions and vampires (eventually) sharing all their true feelings. But, following the entire story from Bella's perspective really worked. There were times, listening to the story, when I felt it was Meyer herself writing a story about what she experienced in high school. Good writing.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE ABOUT THE SERIES

- Sadly, there's a lot I don't like. I'd still recommend people read it and understand better the popular interest in the series, but it doesn't even break my Top 20 all-time favorites.

- The thing that bugs me the most is how Meyer twisted and changed vampire mythology to meet the needs of her love story. In the end, being a vampire becomes a thing of beauty. It is cool to be undead. Sorry, but I am more in line with the Joss Whedon approached to vampires ... they are demons, evil and exist only in contradiction to the natural order of the world. Vampires exist off the life of other living things. Sure, they can exist off pig's blood and "hunting" but in the end they are sustained by taking the blood of another creature, an evil act. Because they cheat death and exist beyond nature, they cannot stand in the light (much less glisten in the light!) nor can they feel the good things in life like love or care about other creatures. Oh, and they don't kill a person to become a vampire, no, no. They are poisoned by a virus that hurts like hell. So, they're not murdered in so much as they just die and become vampires. Please. I say vampires are just plain evil. In Meyer's stories, vampires are cool. I'm right.

- Let me repeat it for emphasis ... vampires should not glisten in sunlight! They are the opposite of beautiful creatures! Please.

- Not only are the Cullens vampires, but they're vampires with superpowers. And the Volturi are vampires with superpowers. I'm all for psychics like Alice, but reading minds or causing pain with your mind? It's like mixing brocolli and chocolate ... it might taste kinda good, but it's just not right.

- So, what was the point for Bella to have human friends? And why did they care about her at all by the time "Breaking Dawn" came around? Sorry, most high school kids (even in small towns) would have left that bandwagon long time ago.

- Speaking of "Breaking Dawn" talk about the lamest, least satisfying ending to a series EVER. Sure, it was the evolution of the character of Bella into the force she was destined to be, but please. So many more interesting and satisfying endings I could think of ... even the cliche "Trial of Bella" ending would have been better. I remember yelling at the radio, "That's it?" as the Volturi left the field. Lame. I was hoping the Cullens would amass a large army, defeat the Volturi and establish a more reasonable vampire monarchy that would encourage co-existence with humans (or we'll sick or friends the werewolves on you). That to me made a lot more sense and would have better fulfilled my manly urges to kill and observe destruction.

- I don't understand how Bella can be so willing to want to become the undead. Oh, yeah, it's cool to be dead. And your boyfriend and you stay hot. Yeah, you're right, life is worthless. Just die.

- Renesmee is probably the dumbest name ever.

- Jake should have just left Bella to her fate after getting screwed in "New Moon." When she dumped him even harder at the end of "Eclipse" he should have stayed away. When she became a vampire, he should have fulfilled his duty.

- So, Jacob was destined to be with Bella's daughter? Guess what, I bet she grows up to screw him over too in order to be with a vampire.

- The Volturi were pussies, well school bullies more likely. Really, they were toothless. They were all scary and dangerous in books 2 and 4 and yet ended up doing nothing but strut around saying "Oh, yeah, we'll hurt you. Big time." Seriously, take a lesson from "The Usual Suspects" it's about being men of will. The Cullens, despite their family feelings, had will to do what they wished. They'd win that battle if they weren't such pussies too. Hell, the redhead had the best shot of ruling over all of them, and she was crazy.

- Aside from the massacre of the vampire mythology, I didn't like the pacing of her books. They were ALL THE SAME! The first 2/3 of the books were all about teenage love, which I could only take in doses. It was bad enough the first time around. Then, the final 1/3 would be this flash of intense action at a furious pace, like trying to cram a whole action movie into 100 pages. The books never got into a rhythm or keep the heart beating. Thankfully, the action portion started at just about the point I wanted to stop listening lest I remember my own high school horrors. Perhaps it is the romantic nature of the story that makes the books so popular. To me, it was the most unbearable part of the series. I prefer a rise and fall to tension and action as the plot progresses forwards.

WHAT I THINK ABOUT THE MOVIES

- Well, I haven't seen "New Moon" the movie yet and probably won't for a while, so I'm afraid I don't have all the facts just yet.

- Robert Pattinson is the wrong guy for Edward. I know Meyer says he is (now rather than when he was first cast), but I don't agree. The Edward I pictured should have been a little older and wouldn't have passed for a high school in any U.S. small town. He certainly wouldn't have gone beyond the notice of the local sheriff (although just about everything else seemed to). Pattinson is Cedric Diggory and won't be much more in my eyes ever. Who would I have cast as Edward? No one pops into my head immediately, but I'd say if they'd made the movies in the late 90's David Borenaz would have fit the bill perfectly. Just as a side note, if I had to choose between following the love life of Edward or Angel, Angel wins easy. At least his girlfriend wasn't such a floosy and a whiner.

- I for one imagined a girl like Kristen Stewart when I thought of Bella, except perhaps someone less brooding. Knowing how pretensious the actress is in real-life, I don't find her to be a good fit anymore. But, she's getting the job done there so I guess I can't complain, as long as I don't read/watch interviews or award shows with her.

- Hate the vampire make-up. I'm sorry, but even in a town where the sun rarely shines, people don't look like walkng corpses that much. Carlisle looks like a walking black/white movie.

- Like the transforming effect of Jacob into the werewolf. Very cool.

- I got a bad feeling the kid who plays Jacob is going to be a mess in about 3 years. He needs someone there to keep him straight, and I don't see the chain-smoking castmates getting the job done.

All in all, the stories had great potential, and Stephane Meyer obviously has ways to connect her characters to the reader well before any actor or actress was cast for the movies. That's hard to say about many books these days, and she's to be commended for that. Beyond that, I think I'll pick up the latest Buffy or Angel comic written by Joss Whedon and enjoy the best and worst that vampires, werewolves and hot co-eds can be.

What I Think about Robert Jordan's "The Gathering Storm"

In the spring of 1992, Rena recommended that I try reading "The Eye of the World" by Robert Jordan. I was hooked immediately. I raced through the books that had come out by that point. I loved the characters, finding something in each of them that I could relate to or enjoy seeing develop over time. And it was obvious from the beginning of the series it would take a VERY long time to tell the whole story of so many characters, kingdoms, prophecies and conflicts. Since then, I've gotten giddy with excitement as the next novel came out, no matter how large they got. For the most part, I was never disappointed in the great stories throughout the series.

So, when Robert Jordan died a few years ago, I was genuinely worried that the series would either languish unfinished for years or taken up by a lesser author who would kill the mythology and mystique of what is possibly my favorite series of books all time.

Well, I just finished "The Gathering Storm." Storm is the 12th book in the series, the first of the last 3 novels to be published, and the first book co-written by Brandon Sanderson. The publishers and editor (Jordan's wife) insisted that a great deal of the work is based on discussions with Jordan, excerpts he has written, and outlines he'd prepared. Not knowing Sanderson as an author I was skeptical of what we might get out of it. I started to listen to a "Mistworld" novel Sanderson had written and became worried that he might twist the world I cared so much about.

Having finished the book, I can say with complete honesty that the series, characters, mythology, and mystique are all in good hands. It is very easy to tell which chapters were written almost entirely by Jordan and which mirror his style from the pen of Sanderson. After a while, I stopped trying to tell one from the other. The Prologue (always one of the most frustrating parts of the Jordan books for me since they always introduced situations and storylines that weren't always resolved in the pages that followed) was pure Jordan. You get a sense that the end is truly near, in not just the series but the world itself. The dark tone of the world is beautifully set and then referred to again too many times in Sanderson's chapters (Yes, we get it! The grass and crops should be growing but they're not!).

The first paragraph of the first chapter always referred to the nature of the Wheel of Time and follows a wind from start to finish to introduce the story. The paragraph from Storm, I believe written by Sanderson, is my favorite of the whole series. It reinforces how things have changed and just how bad things are in the world. Masterful writing! Even if it wasn't written by Sanderson, it transported me back into the world perfectly after three years. It was hard to put the book down in the days to follow.

A few plot points that I like/dislike:
*SPOILER ALERT!!! DO NOT READ ON*

- Sanderson moves the plot forward much faster than Jordan. I can't tell you how angry I was after reading "Winter's Heart" and NOTHING had moved forward until the very end of the book. I need characters and plot to develop, resolve old problems and deal with the reprecussions. In this book there is forward movement on many of ongoing story lines, particularly Rand preparing for the Last Battle and the splitting of the White Tower. Even the stories of Perrin and Mat moved forward appropriately, although I thought the side trip to Hinderstap, while an interesting idea for a short story, wasn't really important to the plot. The story lines that aren't addressed: Elayne's pregnancy, Mazrim Taim and the Black Tower, Logain, and the Whitecloaks.

- Tuon, now Fortuona, is in place to play the important role I think she and the Seanchan are meant to be. I wish she'd been introduced earlier in the series. She is the kind of foil to Rand and Mat that Moiraine was in the early books.

- Speaking of Moiraine ... obviously she's going to play a huge role in the next two books. There is at least one reminder in each chapter of who she is, what she did in the earliest parts of the series, her early departure from the character's lives or how effective she was able to manage almost every situation better than the current characters. It's like they needed to remind the reader who she was to justify having her re-enter the story and change things for the better. While she may not actually return to the world and participate in the Last Battle, I've got a feeling that she will provide guidance and/or power to assist the characters when they try to free her from the Eelfinn.

- I did like some of the summaries and references to past books that Sanderson added to the chapters. It was very helpful for readers like me who forget far more details than we remember. I find the Internet invaluable to remind me who is whom, what they've done in the series and where they ended up after the last book. Reprinting things like Moiraine's letter to Thom in her glossary entry is an excellent way to remind the reader of important passages from past books. I'd wished they'd done that sooner.

- I loved every chapter with Egwene in it. I think her story was definitely outlined out by Jordan before his death. From within the tower she managed to unnerve Elaida, sponsor whispers of revolt and inspire confidence in her leadership abilities. The dinner scene when she confronts Elaida is one of my favorites for her throughout the whole series. It's the kind of thing I wanted people to yell at Elaida even back in "The Great Hunt." Egwene battling the raken was awesome. In the end, the only thing I didn't like was her escape. Gawyn and her love affair is a nice thing, but I've never thought Jordan wrote romance well and this couple just doesn't work for me. While it makes sense for him to love her, I'd think she, as a true Aes Sedai, would tell him the world must come first and treat him like any other soldier. At least then he'd have gotten over her long ago. Instead, there's this fruitless rescue party whose only real accomplishment is to bond Siuan and Bryne together at last and fulfill Min's prophecy (see what I mean about moving the plot forward?). Did it really matter whether she was with the rebels or in the Tower to bring the two sides together?

- And why didn't the rebel Aes Sedai do anything while the Tower was being attacked? Don't they care?? Their friends and home are being destroyed and all they do is prepare for an attack on their own camp! I expected them to stand up and say, "Burn our differences with Elaida, we stand together against common enemies!" and a massive army squashes the Seanchan between them. Oh well, at least Elaida got what she deserved. I hope we don't see her again.

- I thought Semirhage and Graendal got it easy. Balefire is a cool weapon, and used as it was on the tower in this book was a neat change, but it's too easy a victory. Graendal gets several pages in the Prologue as she's setup nicely to impact what happens in this book. We don't even get to see her do anything other than set Compulsion on a few nobodies. I did like Rand touching the True Source in order to defeat Semirhage. I see that playing a huge role in the Last Battle. Even still, Forsaken need to go out like Rahvin in "The Fires of Heaven," a blazing gun battle of skill against skill.

- I hated Rand getting all closed up emotionally the way he did. It's really just another way he could whine and whine about his life. Ug, that attitude is as old and stale as all the grain in the world. Get over it, kid. Accept the fact you're a powerful and respected person. You're a king, so act like one. He needs Elayne around to remind him of that. I did like how he figured out by answering with questions and a stern dismissal he could temper the Aes Sedai around him. About fucking time.

- Cadusane's big, master plan was to unleash Tam on Rand and that would fix him? What a let down. There's probably some psychological theories in real life to support the plan working, but I would think Rand too far gone for that to work on it's own. I think there's probably only two things that could have snapped him out of that ... resolving the Lews Therin voice in his head differently than how it was done in the end or having his twin babies born and brought to him. Perhaps a sign of life in a time of so much death could restore hope in him.

- Verin has always been a character I hated to have around ... until now. In all the books, I swear that whenever she appeared I rolled my eyes. She was always such a boring character, just nagging everybody around her. I imagined her like the short, pudgy nurses you see in Shakespearean plays that just annoy the characters and the audience and slow down the plot. I suspected she was Black Ajah but when I couldn't find anything malicious she'd done, I dismissed the thought. To find out she was a mole, and an effective Brown mole at that, was a perfect ending for that character. She redeemed herself in my eyes and provided information that finally ended the Black Ajah storyline and allowed the White Tower to heal. Way to go, Verin!

- So, there I am, happily reading along when I reach chapter 36 and read its titel, "The Death of Tuon." I stopped short and yelled "Oh, shit! You're kidding me!" Any thought of going to bed was dismissed at that point. When I realized the trick that had been pulled on me, I blushed. Am I really 36 years old and smart if I can be so easily duped? Congrats, Mr. Sanderson, at least you got one reader with that gimmick.

- Bye, bye, Masema. I'm glad you're dead.

So, what happens in the next book?

- I have to think that most of the next book will continue to be about Rand bringing his forces together to march north. Two HUGE obstacles standing in the way of that. First is Mazrim Taim. I'm certain he's Demandred. Big battle between the Black and White Towers in this book. I agree with Kevin who says that Logain will kill him and achieve the glory Min foresaw (in the appropriate tradition of defeating Forsaken, see above). Second is the Seanchan. There will be another meeting of Rand and Fortuona and Rand will kneel before her in the best interest of the world, but not before securing the peace and independence of the kingdoms. Once the Asha'man and Seanchan are behind him, they all go north and the second book ends.

- Elayne solidifies her throne, gives birth to the twins and sends her armies to support Rand. Something tells me she'll tag along, perhaps even insist he marry her and become King. Their romance has always annoyed me, so why stop now? Heaven forbid a mother stay with her babies rather than fight and possibly die ...

- Aviendha visits Rhuidean and finally comes to terms with her status as an Aiel, her feelings towards Rand, her place beside Min and Elayne with him, and while she's getting her Wise One status help Mat and Thom save Moiraine.

- Mat and Thom go to the world of the Eelfinn and save Moiraine. Verin's letter helps them find a way to the Tower of Ghenjei.

- Perrin meets up with Rand and a sweet reunion ensues. Perrin becomes Rand's hammer, a strong force that he will throw at their enemies ruthlessly. Perrin accepts this role, coming to terms with his imbalance between the practical leader/Lord and the passionate wolf. Oh, yeah, and Rand, here's this army of wolves I can summon to join us ...

- Min discovers something in her books about how to seal up the Dark One forever. I don't know why, but I don't see her surviving the series.

- I definitely want more personal interaction between Rand and Moridin. That was a very fun scene.

- Egwene meets with Rand, either personally or through emissaries (Siuan makes the most sense), and offers to send Aes Sedai to aid his armies to the north. She'll ask that he no longer allow men to bond Aes Sedai. Min reminds her that in the Age of Legends men and woman linked and bonded together regularly, and it's only the lingering prejudice against male channelers that are guiding her feelings. It was men going to Shayol Gual alone that led to the Breaking of the World, after all. Men and women must work together to win. In the end, by joining Rand and Nynaeve in a chain to properly use Callandor against Taim, Egwene sees the value in allowing men and women to link and will encourage it from then on.

- I'm not sure I like the reconciling of the voice of Lews Therin. I prefer it to be more like the whispers in Mat's head, the memories of old versions of himself coming forth to aid him in the present. I want to think that the knowledge of Lews Therin exists in Rand's mind and will be accessed in the second or third book to determine how to defeat the Dark One.

- The third book will be nothing but The Last Battle from start to finish.

All in all, "The Gathering Storm" returned to many things about the early books of the series I enjoy ... epic battles, intriguing characters, plot twists and resolution of problems. Sanderson has done a good job to replicate Jordan's writing style while reducing the number of unnecessary descriptions and plot redirections. I think if I didn't know that the last chapter, the last word on the series had not already been written by Jordan, I'd be worried about how the series will end.

I don't worry about that anymore. The series is in good hands.