Ford upped the weirdness level with this one, which occurs almost entirely inside the sleeping mind of one of the main characters of the The Physiognomy. This allows him to create an even stranger world than before, one both grotesque and beautiful.

In this one, we learn a bit more about the history of Drachton Below, but it mostly just raises more questions about the world in which the novels are set. Now I've got to find the sequel, The Beyond.

I stumbled across the sequel to this book by accident looking for books by John Ford, and it sounded interesting. It took a while to find this one, Uncle Hugo's finally had a used copy the last time I visited.

It's a really interesting novel, mixing science, fantasy, with a lot of Borges-esque weridness. It has a very (dark) fairy tale style, and it occurs in a very strange and not well-defined world. It also has one of the more despicable (at least at first) protaganists I've come across, although the whole theme of the story is his redemption.

I will definitely be seeking out more of Ford's work in the future.

Fortunately, this book has very little to do with algebra. It's the first non-Culture SF novel from Banks in quite some time, although it almost feels like it could be a very early in the timeline culture prequel, except for some details.

I enjoyed it fairly well, though it didn't break any new grounds for Banks. The twist at the end did surprise me, though there are sufficient hints that a more attentive reader than myself should be able to figure it out. Worth reading if you're a Banks fan, and probably a better place to start with his work than a random Culture novel.

While in Toronto I went to the local SF book store and picked this up in a nice UK edition, not yet available in the US. This was a nice treat since I'd just finished The Year of Our War.

This one takes place five years after The Year of Our War, and starts to explore more of the politics and history of the Fourlands, which is interesting stuff. I'm hoping that if Swainston writes more in this setting that she continues in this vain. I'm also hoping to see more of an explanation for the "god left our world" bits present in both books, as it's said so literally that one would think that god might really come back.

This is the first Alastair Reynolds' novel I've read (and that he's written?) not set in the Revelation Space universe. This one is set a few hundred years in our future, where all humans live in space after earth was destroyed by rampany nanotech. It's also simultaneously set in 1950s Paris, and to reveal how they intersect would take some of the fun out of the novel.

Like his other novels, it's quite creative and full of large-scale mysteries. It was a good read, though not exceptional.

So first off, the title is like "AD" as in "2002 the year of our war", which confused me at first because I didn't quite get how to parse the title.

It's about an immortal (one of 50 plus the immortal Emperor) who are engaged in a really long battle against the Insects. This particular immortal, Comet, is the only one who can fly (though many people, mortal and immortal, have wings), and besides that is a junkie.

It's a pretty interesting book, if for no other reason than to read a fantasy novel that's not at all Tolkien-esque. It reminds me of China Mieville, though it's not quite as deep or dark. Elements of it are kind of goofy, but it's interesting stuff.