Made by Mikal – Page 45

Princess of Wands

Post author:mikal
Post published:May 24, 2011
Post category:Book

This book is very different from John Ringo's books (or at least the ones I have read). This one revolves around a cross between a soccer mom and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Its a fun, relatively light read and doesn't have nearly as much combat as the other Ringo books I've encountered. The book takes the form of two short stories and a novella, with the novella having a pretty obvious dig at David Drake, which I thought was a bit odd. Overall, I enjoyed this book. [isbn: 1416573860;9781416573869]

The Stainless Steel Rat Returns

Post author:mikal
Post published:May 16, 2011
Post category:Book

Harry Harrison is back to reprise his Stainless Steel Rat series. This book is much like the others -- think light fiction with contrived situations, but a bit of fun. In other words, much like the rest of Harrison's work. This book isn't the best Rat book, but it also isn't the worst and given the drought I think something is better than nothing. It is also much much better than the terrible Bill the Galactic Hero series. [isbn: 0765364034;9780765364036]

Canberra’s LCA2013 bid

Post author:mikal
Post published:May 15, 2011
Post category:Conference

I'm really proud of the hard work that all of the Canberra 2013 team has done in preparing our bid for LCA 2013. I just sent off the emails making our bid formal. Here's what I said on the linux-aus mailing list: Hello. I am pleased to present Canberra's bid for linux.conf.au 2013. It is traditional to produce a PDF document for distribution to the linux-aus mailing list. Instead, we have produced a small web site covering the same information that would normally be in such a document. It is our hope that this will be a more dynamic and accessible document than a static PDF. This website will form the basis for our conference site if Canberra is selected. The website is located at http://lca2013.clug.org.au. Sincerely, Michael Still Canberra 2013 bid lead

The Princess Bride

Post author:mikal
Post published:May 9, 2011
Post category:Book

To be honest, I think the movie is better. The story in the movie is simpler, but also more beautiful. I think the embroidery around the edges of the story in the book detract from the overall story, and the asides start out cute but end up just being annoying. [isbn: 0345348036]

The Light Fantastic

Post author:mikal
Post published:May 2, 2011
Post category:Book

A short little note about this one, as I am sure everyone has already read it. This was better than The Colour of Magic (more polished, cleverer, funnier), but still not as good as I remember the Pratchett books being from my childhood. This book to ages to read, I suspect because it just wasn't compelling enough to overcome the general business in my life. [isbn: 0061020702]

Mistress of the Empire

Post author:mikal
Post published:April 22, 2011
Post category:Book

This is the third book in this series (preceded by Daughter of the Empire and Servant of the Empire). I didn't enjoy this book as much as the other two, and put off reading it for ages. I think the problem is that the book feels padded, and keeps going for too long. I liked the conspiracy subplot, but it would have been nice for the resolution to be a bit more believable. Overall, the weakest book in the series. [isbn: 0553561189]

Richistan

Post author:mikal
Post published:April 7, 2011
Post category:Book

This book examines the lives of the newly wealthy in America. Its a little dated, in that it was written before the recent real estate crash, but apart from that is a very good book. It is readable, interesting, and raises some interesting questions about what will happen with wealth in an increasingly globalized world. The book also does a good job of highlighting the increasing gap between the ultra-wealthy and not just the poor, but the middle class as well. I really enjoyed this book. [isbn: 9780307341457]

The Bad Popes

Post author:mikal
Post published:April 1, 2011
Post category:Book

This book focuses on bad popes from the middle ages, and there were some hilariously bad popes in that period. The story is interesting and engaging, even if the commentary is a bit dry in places. However, given this is a factual well references history book, it is surprisingly readable. I enjoyed it. [isbn: 0750933372]

Cally’s War

Post author:mikal
Post published:March 22, 2011
Post category:Book

Let's be honest, this book has not reviewed well over the years. However, I had a long flight, and figured I'd give it a go. It wasn't actually all that bad, and was certainly massively better than some other share cropped books I have read. The writing is competent and the plotting reasonable. I think the biggest problem is that the start of the book would be quite shocking to some people (it certainly bothered me), and Cally's character is so out of line with where I wanted her to be 40 years after the last book. I can see how it would be possible for her to end up like she is in this book, but it was a disappointment to me. The pretty much constant shagging is distracting from the rest of the plot too. Overall, I am left wanting to know more about the Darhel plot, and the book did help further that story line, if only a little. I don't regret reading the book, even though it isn't the strongest in the series. [isbn: 141652052X;9781416520528]

East of the Sun, West of the Moon

Post author:mikal
Post published:March 18, 2011
Post category:Book

This book didn't review well, but I thought it was ok. Its not the best book in the Council Wars series, but it is readable and has an interesting story. It doesn't wrap up the story line completely though, so I guess I'll have to wait for the next one to be written. [isbn: 1416555188;9781416555186]