RESEARCH ALPHA – even in this fix up book – is a great stand alone story and reveals what a great teller of short stories A.E. In Supermind, she is that at times, but at other times hopelessly weak and indecisive for no explicable reason. Van Vogt may have developed the character of Patricia in his original story as a strong willed, self sufficient woman. Here, it is a mishmash of the original with a great deal of obviously injected and incongruous new material that makes it disjointed and hard to follow. The PROXY INTELLIGENCE might have well been a decent stand alone story. The story was well written except where obviously new material was injected into it to link it and transition it to the second phase of the story. I would like to read ASYLUM as a stand alone story because its elements of intergalactic vampires coming to Earth to take over has great appeal to me. Here, it is a mishmash of the original with a great deal of obviously SUPERMIND, being a "fix-up" was an uneven reading experience. Please enable JavaScript if you would like to comment on this blog.SUPERMIND, being a "fix-up" was an uneven reading experience. If this were a painting it would be an expanse of calm white grounding areas of intense, vivid colour, its simplicity drawing the eye, the skill of its making a magnetic charge as a book, it's one that cannot be put down, its imaginative power lingering long. " the book itself has that feeling of stillness, imminence, foreboding. Like the rabbit beneath the hawk's shadow. There was a quality to the silence like a held breath. The leaves stilled, and the breeze died, and no animals moved in the brush.
First the quail went silent, then the dove. If this were a painting it would be an expanse of calm white grounding areas of intense, vivid colour, its simplicity drawing the eye, the skill of its making a magnetic charge as a book, it's one that cannot be put down, its imaginative power lingering long.Ī tender love story, a book not without humour, a moving re-telling of an archetypal tale, there is a scene in which Achilles' mother, the cruel, possessive sea goddess Thetis, appears to Patroclus in the early morning on the mountain Pelion: "The strangeness began as a prickling of my skin. While Achilles has been trained for the battlefield, it's as a healer that Patroclus comes into his own, the long years of war set to test them both and reveal their fates.Ī tender love story, a book not without humour, a moving re-telling of an archetypal tale, there is a scene in which Achilles' mother, the cruel, possessive sea goddess Thetis, appears to Patroclus in the early morning on the mountain Pelion: "The strangeness began as a prickling of my skin. When Helen of Sparta is abducted by Paris, son of Priam of Troy, the warriors of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy, and the two young men leave their peaceful life to take up arms. This awkward boy is befriended by Achilles and they become steadfast, constant companions, sent to the mountain home of the centaur Chiron to be tutored in the arts of war and medicine.
It's the story of Patroclus, exiled to Phthia and the court of King Peleus and his son Achilles.
This deft pairing of subject and craftsmanship is enormously impressive, and makes the book stand out as something original and fresh and beautiful (you won't be surprised to hear it's on my 'best of the year' list). It's a book of clean lines, spaciousness, an airy quality which forms a compelling contrast to the strong characters and dramatic events it portrays. Here is someone with a complete grasp of her material, but crucially that's teamed with the ability to present it in such a way that the reader is held in awe and admiration. The Song of Achilles is by Madeline Miller, a classicist who is also trained in drama, particularly in the adaptation of classical tales for a modern audience, and her background shows in her writing. If every first novel I read was as accomplished as this one is, it would say much for the future of publishing. Cornflower Blues - books of the year (22).
0 kommentar(er)
