I've started Jeff VanderMeer's new book, Borne, and it is very interesting so far. Although it is YET ANOTHER post apocalyptic story, he is being refreshingly creative with it. The very first thing we encounter in this destroyed world is not a zombie or a mutant person covered in boils, or a band of scavengers …
I FINISHED IT
I got to the end of the Glass Bead Game, finally! And boy... did it disappoint. The final 20% of the book is several poems and three short stories written by the character whose life we just got a long, tired account of. Two of the three stories were actually really good and I thought …
A piece to the puzzle…
Still running my mind through all the stuff I pulled out of the aether when writing this novel I'm now trying to rewrite. It is a very satisfying feeling when I find a way to make the pieces fit. A connection clicks and it's like 'ah, yes, that must be what I was really planning …
Magic vs facts
Ritual, magic, mystical powers--these things seem to comfort and guide people much easier than facts or science. One of the short stories at the end of the glass bead game features a 'rain maker', a sort of shaman type figure who is in charge of when to plant crops, and is supposed to warn of …
Somewhat redeemed
Glass bead game has made a slight turn for the better. The main character came up with some of the same complaints I had, and left the order of cloistered obsessives to live in the actual world and do something real with all his knowledge--tutor a child. His story now seems to be over now, …
Jonas David 