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Things of interest seen / learned / read / discussed while on vacation:
1) In Mary Robinette Kowal's delightful book (review coming soon) Shades of Milk and Honey
, there is a mistake. The book is set in Regency England, and back then, the word "hello" wasn't in use. Mary knows of the mistake (she'd purged all but one instance of the word) and during one of her presentations, she discussed greetings in general. Apparently, when the telephone became popular, a greeting needed to be found. Apparently, Alexander Graham Bell wanted to use Ahoy hoy, but Edison recommended the word "hello" instead.
2) Should you ever find yourself hungry and in downtown Raleigh, let me recommend eating at either The Big Easy, a Cajun bar-restaurant, or La Volta, a casual Italian place.
3) On the flight into Raleigh, I read David J. Williams second book, The Burning Skies
. I was underwhelmed. There were entirely too many double-crosses, the story started immediately after the events of the first book (which I read over a year ago) and the action was very Rambo-ish. By that I mean that, much like Rambo, William's special ops characters were able to move unscathed through vast armies of people shooting at them. It was highly unrealistic.
4) Years and years ago, I read Sheri Tepper's book Grass (S.F. Masterworks)
. The book came out in the late 1980s, so my recollection was vague, but it had made an impression, so when I saw it had been reissued I ordered it. I read Grass while at Raleigh. Damn was it a good book! The main plot, a race capable of mind control busily killing humans for the joy of it, was powerful, and the subplots I'd forgotten were also impressive.
Sheri has gotten somewhat of a reputation as a "feminist" SF writer. I can see that from Grass, which has a competent and realistic woman as hero / protagonist. Having said that, Tepper's feminism is not preachy, and actually quite subtle. Grass is well worth the read.
1) In Mary Robinette Kowal's delightful book (review coming soon) Shades of Milk and Honey
, there is a mistake. The book is set in Regency England, and back then, the word "hello" wasn't in use. Mary knows of the mistake (she'd purged all but one instance of the word) and during one of her presentations, she discussed greetings in general. Apparently, when the telephone became popular, a greeting needed to be found. Apparently, Alexander Graham Bell wanted to use Ahoy hoy, but Edison recommended the word "hello" instead.2) Should you ever find yourself hungry and in downtown Raleigh, let me recommend eating at either The Big Easy, a Cajun bar-restaurant, or La Volta, a casual Italian place.
3) On the flight into Raleigh, I read David J. Williams second book, The Burning Skies
. I was underwhelmed. There were entirely too many double-crosses, the story started immediately after the events of the first book (which I read over a year ago) and the action was very Rambo-ish. By that I mean that, much like Rambo, William's special ops characters were able to move unscathed through vast armies of people shooting at them. It was highly unrealistic.4) Years and years ago, I read Sheri Tepper's book Grass (S.F. Masterworks)
. The book came out in the late 1980s, so my recollection was vague, but it had made an impression, so when I saw it had been reissued I ordered it. I read Grass while at Raleigh. Damn was it a good book! The main plot, a race capable of mind control busily killing humans for the joy of it, was powerful, and the subplots I'd forgotten were also impressive.Sheri has gotten somewhat of a reputation as a "feminist" SF writer. I can see that from Grass, which has a competent and realistic woman as hero / protagonist. Having said that, Tepper's feminism is not preachy, and actually quite subtle. Grass is well worth the read.
