Recent books

I have about six books in-process at the moment, plus my weekly comics et al., so my book throughput isn’t always what I wish it were. One reason I read while walking at lunch …

Book rankings in each section from 1 (bleah!) to 3 (yeah!).

Knight Life, by Peter David

• Summary: [2] This is a revised and rereleased version of one of David’s earlier works, wherein Arthur finds himself resurrected and running for mayor of New York, with a child Merlin as his campaign advisor.
• Entertainment: [3] Light, airy, and amusing, both on (re)takes on the Arthurian legend, as many of the folks from that saga make appearances in one way or another, and on politics (New York politics in particular). David manages a modicum of suspense, particularly as to the outcome of the renascent Arthur/Gwen romance. But most of the book is easy reading, with plenty of duck-out-of-water chuckles and bad puns. Vintage (literally) David stuff. And a sequel should be released in the near future.
• Profundity: [2] The course of true love never did run smooth. Obsessions can get you in trouble. Trust your feelings, Arthur. Out of the box thinking can come up with some very interesting — and superfially appealing — solutions to intractable social and legal problems. People like a guy on a white horse — and maybe that’s sometimes a good thing.
• Re-readability: [3] This could easily become a “comfort book.”

The Lord of Castle Black, by Steven Brust

• Summary: [2] This is the second volume of Brust’s The Viscount of Adrilankha Dumas pastiche. The Empire gets its legs underneath it, Morollan (the titular character) becomes involved in matters, and lots of folks run around doing a lot of sword fighting and exchanging witticisms.
• Entertainment: [2] The conceit remains entertaining, and is crafted with a now-polished fashion. But it’s almost become too easy, and I almost have the sense that Brust is rushing things along just a tad, to be done with it perhaps. The cast has now gotten so large that it’s easy to lose track of who’s who, who’s whose friend, who’s whose parent, who’s of what House, etc. that may contribute to the sense of a lack of focus. Every character, it seems, needs a parenthetical reference every so often, in a book that is built around parenthetical references, and the result becomes sketchier and sketcher. The lack of remembrance of who’s who isn’t a terrible barrier, though; you just kind of go along and enjoy it anyway.
     At the same time, Brust is finally more substantially dealing with characters we know, or recognize from the Vlad books. Enough of them, from Loraan to Sethra the Younger to the Sorceress in Green, pop up that it begins to feel artificial.
     All that quibbling aside, it’s still a greatly entertaining book, and I eagerly look forward to the next installment. Though, to be honest, I’d rather have another Vlad book.

• Profundity: [1] Despite Paarfi’s best efforts, there aren’t many.
• Re-readability: [2] No time soon, though. Unless I need a leg up on understanding the next book.

Speaking of which, Sethra Lavode is due out in April 2004 …