The Spiral Labyrinth by Matthew Hughes- May 29, 2008 The Spiral Labyrinth: A Tale of Henghis Hapthorn by Matthew Hughes. San Francisco: Night Shade Books, 2007. ISBN: 978-1-59780-091-4 This is the second time I've encountered the doughty Henghis Hapthorn, discriminator extraordinaire. I reviewed a collection of short stories by Hughes, several of which featured Hapthorn, back in July of 2007, not quite a year ago. This tale is quite a bit more satisfactory reading than were those stories. The novel length format provides a more expansive space...http://tillabooks.blogspot.com/2008/05/spiral-labyrinth-by-matthew-hughes.html Mozart's Sister by Rita Charbonnier- May 26, 2008 Mozart's Sister by Rita Charbonnier, translated by Ann Goldstein. New York: Crown Publishers (Random House), 2007. ISBN: 978-0-307-34678-0 Now here's an interesting novel! Based on the life of Maria Anna Walpurga Ignatia Mozart, Wolfgang's elder sister, who generally went by the nickname Nannerl, at least within the family circle. Nannerl was a musical prodigy too, though perhaps not quite so precocious as Mozart, although it is hard to know how we'd know for sure. But the earliest travels and..http://tillabooks.blogspot.com/2008/05/mozarts-sister-by-rita-charbonnier.html Team Chihuly by Dale Chihuly- May 22, 2008 Team Chihuly by Dale Chihuly. Seattle, Washington: Portland Press, 2007. ISBN: 978-1-57684-163-1 It has always seemed strange to me that Dale Chihuly, the great master artist of glass blowing, has always worked in teams. And that, in fact, for many years, has done very little actual glass blowing, glass handling, very little of the physical act of creation, himself. With so many others actually doing all of the physical work, why does Chihuly get all the credit Why is he considered the artist,..http://tillabooks.blogspot.com/2008/05/team-chihuly-by-dale-chihuly.html Spy vs Spy 2 by David Shayne- May 19, 2008 Spy vs Spy 2: The Joke and Dagger Files by David Shayne. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2007. ISBN: 978-08230-5035-2 I don't usually read comic books or graphic novels. However, I do avidly read the comic page, the funnies as we used to call them, every day in the newspaper. And I used to like Mad Magazine when I was younger, and had more time for such things. Everybody knows Spy vs. Spy. It's been a mainstay of MAD Magazine forever, pretty much. This is apparently the second...http://tillabooks.blogspot.com/2008/05/spy-vs-spy-2-joke-and-dagger-files-by.html The Da-Da-De-Da-Da Code by Robert Rankin- May 18, 2008 The Da-Da-De-Da-Da Code by Robert Rankin. London: Gollancz, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-57507-0-110 I picked this book up (off the new fiction shelf at my local library, per usual) because of the seemingly musical aspect to the title, and because, according to the flyleaf, the chief character is, indeed, a musician. I'm always on the lookout for fiction with a musical aspect to it, as reading such stories is one of my hobbies, so to speak. But, I'm sorry to say that I struck out with this one. I just...http://tillabooks.blogspot.com/2008/05/da-da-de-da-da-code-by-robert-rankin.html Rifkind's Challenge by Lynn Abbey- May 15, 2008 Rifkind's Challenge by Lynn Abbey. New York: Tor, 2006. ISBN: 978-0-765-31346-1 The entire time I was reading Rifkind's Challenge, it seemed obvious that this couldn't possibly be the first Rifkind book. That's because almost from the beginning, there are echoes of previous deeds, a reputation from before, a traveling back into other lands where Rifkind has had previous experiences. But you certainly couldn't tell from the front matter in the book itself. There is no listing of any other...http://tillabooks.blogspot.com/2008/05/rifkinds-challenge-by-lynn-abbey.html Resurrection by Tucker Malarkey- May 13, 2008 Resurrection by Tucker Malarkey. New York: Riverhead Books (Penguin Group), 2006. ISBN: 1-59448-919-X I read this book because I'm interested in that alternative branch of religious thought known as gnosticism, and especially in the Christian branches of it. This is a novel based around the original discovery, shortly after World War II, of the Nag Hammadi texts, which included a number of gnostic writings and gospels, including the Gospel of Thomas, and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, among...http://tillabooks.blogspot.com/2008/05/resurrection-by-tucker-malarkey.html The Music of Razors by Cameron Rogers- May 12, 2008 The Music of Razors by Cameron Rogers. New York: Del Ray (Ballantine Books), 2001, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-345-49319-4 Now this is one of the stranger novels I've read in recent years. About the only thing that surpasses it for strangeness that I can recall reading recently is Hal Duncan's Vellum. Let's see if I can define the premise. It's not easy to do. One of the angels that fell into darkness has somehow destroyed one of his fellows, and from his very bones, fashioned a set of instruments, not.http://tillabooks.blogspot.com/2008/05/music-of-razors-by-cameron-rogers.html |