Books on parade

One of the advantages of a long flight (and a good bookstore) is that it give you a chance to do some reading. Fortunately, I did indeed pick up some good books, along with the ones I’d brought with me.

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

Sethra Lavode, by Steven Brust

• Summary:
  [2] A wrap of the Viscount of Adrilankha trilogy, this novel concludes the tale of the reestablishment of the Dragaeran Empire after the Interregnum. Battles are fought, magical stuff happens, characters do things that we first heard hinted about in the Taltos novels, and some people end up dead, often with very little fanfare. The trilogy’s titular character — and, indeed, this novel’s titular character — do show up, neither are the focus of the tale. The focus, in fact, seems to be getting to a conclusion.

• Entertainment:
  [2] The same breezy-yet-baroque style of the previous works continues here, though it feels increasingly rushed, as though Brust needed to get the remaining plot threads wrapped up and done with so he could move onto something else. I don’t know if he got tired of the conceit, or found himself painted into a corner, or simply had other things he needed to do, but compared to the initial books in the pentology (starting with The Phoenix Guard), the whole setup feels a little threadbare, capped by an odd epilog I still haven’t quite puzzled out. The characterization for some of the folks is nearly lacking — some touching scenes between Khaavren and Piro aside, the players feel more like chess pieces moved around to make the story work than people driven by actual emotions. Even the Big Set o’ Deaths at the end feels more functional (having to figure out which people might show up in a future novel, or why we haven’t seen them in previous Taltos books) than there being much of a point to it. The basic idea of the series still works, but there’s not much there there, and it shows.

• Profundity:
  [2] People make decisions of honor that sometimes conflict. True love may, or may not, conquer all. Small decisions and happenstance can have tremendous effect. Brust doesn’t overdwell on these sorts of heroic lessons, but to be honest, he doesn’t dwell on much here at all.

• Re-readability:
  [2] Certainly it could be re-read, though it would need to be done as a collection of at least the trilogy, if not the pentology. It was, alas, a disappointing-enough wrap that I’m not sure how soon I’ll feel like doing so.

Straczynski Unplugged, by J. Michael Straczynski

• Summary:
  [2] A compilation of New Twilight Zone tales, some of which have been previously published. They all have that flavor, though — the setup, the odd goings-on, the twist, the strangely just conclusion. The bad guys get theirs, and the good guys, too, with a healthy dollop of irony, and perhaps a dash of the poignant. It’s the formula that Rod Serling (and, even better, Richard Matheson) honed to a sharp edge during the orignal run of TZ, and JMS picks it up and runs with it admirably. [Note that Amazon has this book listed under it’s original proposed title, JMS Unplugged]

• Entertainment:
  [2] The formula, in turn, is both the good stuff here and the primary problem with this collection. The stories end up feeling formulaic, and once you assume that there will be a twist ending, you end up spending more time trying to figure out what it will be than enjoying the trip there (and, all too often, it’s not too difficult to figure out). I recommend this book for JMS fans, and TZ fans, and for folks who like That Sort of Thing. But it’s not Joe’s most imaginative or intelligent work. No regrets for having bought it, but I’m not going to send out copies of it at Christms, either.

• Profundity:
  [2] Justice will be served. Reality is stranger than we think. Intolerance is intrinsic to Christianity (well, that seems to be the lesson from at least one story). The lessons presented aren’t quite as preachy as when Serling would wrap things up with a voice-over, but only just.

• Re-readability: [3] Just like the series, even knowing the “twist” doesn’t prevent a pleasure. I can see picking this up for some quick, breezy reading.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves, by Lynne Truss

• Summary:
  [3] A faboo British best-seller on the charm and usefulness of proper grammar, written in a breezy and endlessly entertaining (if still educational) style. Is punctuation important? Are the rules changing? Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? And how old are those rules, anyway? Delightful. Even though British punctuation rules, symbols, and vocabulary vary a bit from American, it’s still very readable and valuable (and the Yanks get side notes as needed). Anyone who is serious about writing should read this book.

• Entertainment:
  [3] Truss’s writing style fits a lot of info into very little space. She touches on technical material, waxes philosophical, and provides any number of amusing anecdotes and humorous examples.

• Profundity:
  [3] Punctuation is, in fact, important. And that importance is beyond smoothing the feathers of niggling sticklers, but of how we communicate with clarity and, beyond that, artfulness.

• Re-readability:
  [3] I can see this as both a resource and a re-read, without any problem.

Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life, by John McCain (with Mark Salter)

• Summary:
  [3] McCain discusses what does, and doesn’t, constitute courage, as well as why it’s important, something we can all aspire to, but need to train ourselves toward. It lacks footnotes and bibliography, which would have been handy.

• Entertainment:
  [2] This is not a heavy, ponderous book, but, even amongst the examples provided and the lessons McCain draws from them, the reading is relatively quick. The main critique is also probably a blessing: the book is not very organized, largely because it’s more meditative than instructional. McCain goes back and forth on what is (or, more properly, isn’t) courage, and why it’s important, but ultimately is able to provide only hints at how to pursue it as a goal. At times this meandering becomes a bit irksome, but never drags the book down too far. The comparison to Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage is probably inevitable, and mixed — the book is far less structured than Profiles, but a bit less heavy-handed as well. It certainly makes me want to go back and reread the Kennedy book, though. And it makes me wish that the author was on one of the presidential tickets this fall …

• Profundity:
  [3] Courage manifests itself unexpectedly, and sometimes inexplicably. It can be trained toward and prepared for, but cannot be predicted. True courage is not simple endurance, but endurance for a higher reason of what could have been avoided. The book is inspirational without being preachy, and illustrative without being treacly. McCain’s straightforwardness shines through, and he’s as quick to dismiss his own courage (and confess to his lack thereof at times) as one could hope.

• Re-readability:
  [3] I plan to keep this one at hand for a while. It’s a useful topic these days to be able to look up thoughts on.