h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Firstly is anyone other than me reading this ? Just out of curiosity, also might have some bearing on wether or not I write anymore stuff in this journal. Not that I'll ever be a prolific writer.
About the only thing of interest that ever seems to happen in my life is the books I read, sometimes good sometimes not so good. So I guess I can put up review type things of books, obviously I have no ability to write myself so one might ask on what basis I can critic someone else's work. Simple really I judge by what I like, try to determin why I like or dislike it.

The book I finished most recently was Prelude To Dune Vol.1: House Atreides' By Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson.
Before I comment upon it, I'll say I am a fan of Frank Herbert, not that I think he writes well, the action and story of his books (at least those I have read; ie all of the dune series he wrote, The Eyes of Heisenburg, The Dosadi Experiment, The Saratoga Barrier, The Jesus Incident (With Bill Ransom), and one or two other I cannot recall the titles to without access to my bookshelves which I don't have here in work.) could have been written better. However, I have encountered no other writer who has as many ideas on polotics and philosophy, and few who write the backdrop to their stories with as much colour and vibrancy. The snippets from fictional texts within his own universe included are a wonderful device in achieving this.
Back to Prelude to Dune: House Atreides, If I were able to take this as a book alone with no connection to the great works of Frank Herbert, it would be acceptable adventure sci-fi, nothing special to be sure, but I wouldn't condemn it either. However, thats not the case, as the title clearly states it's ment to be part of the dune works, and yet it fails to fit in with the original works at all. To my mind they foul up in almost every possible way, the biggest is trying to write a prelude at all, remember of course the two most major characters in the Dune series, Paul Atreides and his son the God Emporer, both have access to all the memories (upto the time of Paul's birth) of the original Duke Leto Atreides, who is one of the major characters of this prelude. So any major life changing incedent, or world changing event, such as the take over of Ix by the Tleilaxu while Leto was on Ix would likely have been mentioned. So before we get down to details the major plot was a bad plan, I think I could go through the book dissecting it and pointing out all the inconsistancies of events and descriptions, but I don't have the book to hand nor do I have the original series to properly refernce it, so I'll not bother, except to say the faults in my opinion outweigh the portions of text which can reasonably be argued not to contain them.
Stylisticaly the book has almost nothing in common with the original series, it uses the device I mentioned of usingsnippets from fictional texts within thier own universe, but not all these are original this time, repeating things Frank Herbert had written in the original, and those that aren't repeates lack the depth and provocative ideas of those in the original books.
In conclusion then neither content nor style is in tune with the orignal works of Frank Herbert. I do not recomend this to anyone who enjoyed the originals.

Math
PS Apologies for spelling and grammar... while I care enough to apologise, I don't care enough to learn how to fix it properly.

I guess I didn't remember to give it a proper title, ah well...

Math

High there

Some of us do read your jouranl.

Can't comment on the book, or indeed the author as I've never read anything written by him.

How're you, other than at work?

Howdie Odo, I'm pretty good apart from the work bit. Though I left not long after posting that entry, I'm now back again...
Could be worse of course...(pause while I try and figure out how)... or maybe it couldn't, not sure .
Other than work and books very little happens in what might mistakenly be called my life.


Math

Strange things can happen when you least expect them to!

* mental note - must return book to library soon *

Hmmm, works like that isn't it? Though normally in my case I'm monaning about weekends being too short. I'm off this week and preforming in Tintern abbey in a sound and light thingy which is why I'm here and hyper as silly o'clock in the morning.

Battling on stage, sounds like fun to me
Silly o'clock is that before or after I finish work I wonder... you know I haven't managed to get to sleep before dawn in the past few months, kinda silly really .
Hellishly busy today, no time to think or write much.
Math

It's great fun, which is why I'm still up and hyper even after the preformance finised around two and a half hours ago now. Ah well, it's all part of me I suppose.

Silly o'clock is just that, some appaling time in the morning when you know you should be but just can't for whatever reason. It probably begins in my case before you start work. There's no way I could cope with shift/funny hours.

Hope it quietens down a bit for you. Have a good weekend.

I do read; but I do not always understand.

Probably not your fault VIP, I at least don't always make sense

Weekend has so far been quite, and I expect it will continue to be so...

Math

Quite a weekend? Isn’t it Tuesday or am I actually still ?



It’s very quiet here in work atm. So I’m currently reviewing our fiction section. Anyone up for a trashy novel?

My weekends don't start till sunday, but the don't end till wednesday...

Yeah sure,I'm happy to 'most anything, especially at the end of the month when I can't afford to buy new books, and I've read the ones I picked up earlier... there are so many times I can reread books, the more I like the book the more I'll reread it... anyway... umm no I can't remember what it was...

Math

Ah ha, a backwards week. Just the thing to keep people guessing.

I'd be lost without a library, either that or the shelves of the house I'm looking after atm which are full of intersting things to get stuck into.

I've never managed to get into libraries, well I do know how to use a door and so on so yeah have been inside a liubrary, but I like owning my own books, besides do you know a library that lets you wander in at 4 am when I finish a book to get a new one ?

Math

the 4am thing could cause problems……At least they let you wander out with large armfuls of books. You could always try a mission impossible style drop from the skylights.

Yes libraries are annoying, I know there are a couple of books I’d love to re-read but I can’t remember their tittles let alone who the author was. On the other hand they save me a fortune, and at least I don’t have to try and work out how to build book shelves.

Second hand bookshops save me a frotune, and if I don't like the book can get a swap for it... and they don't expect to get books i like back

There was a very good one up in Worcester........

Ah well, I think I'll just keep raiding the shelves of the house.

*curls up in chair with and book*

I like the college holidays.

Hay on Wye is the place for books isn't it ?

Reading anything interesting at the moment ?

I'm trying to save this month, so I'm rereading stuff, at the moment Katherine Kerr's Deverry series, I think Asimov will be next...

Math

I've never been up to Hay, but it's the place to go for bookshops.

I've just started The Belgariad at the reccomendation of a friend. I've not got very far with it atm as I'm having problems with a corcodile.

I know I shall feel foolish, but there's nothing new in that, but what is a corcodile ?

Belgariad is pretty good, but I wouldn't bother with the rest of the series, the mallorian and so on, always seem to me to be repeats of the same story, which imo isn't that original to begin with... good fantasy, I would suggest to anyone who asks or indeed who doesn't ask, but seems to show vague interest in reading

I'm not sure what a corcodile is either, I actually meant crocodile but seem to have twisted it around.

Mmmmm, the chap whose shelves I filched the books from said something similar. The original series is supposed to be very good, but the follow ons don't work so well.

I've not had time to get very far with it, but what I've read so far I've enjoyed.

WHat I really want to get my hands on is the final book of the latest Robin Hobb trilogy but that's not going to be published until later this year.