17 October 2011

To the ends of the earth...


We may sit in our library and yet be in all the corners of the earth.
John Lubbock

13 October 2011

Deus ex machina


Deus ex machina

I just like this phrase. I will tease you with this phrase. At one point in the book "Ready Player One" this comes into play. I recently listened to the book on CD version of this with Wil Weaton as the narrator. He does a pretty good job, but I would have preferred a full cast recording with sound effects by the BBC Radio. Did you read that BBC? Get on that.

I was also thinking about the Percy Jackson series and how the gods sometimes tweak the outcome of events.

Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson & the Olympians Book 3)


Titan's Curse
Percy Jackson & the Olympians Book 3
by
Rick Riordan
children's fantasy fiction, ages 9-13

In the third book of the Percy Jackson tales new characters are introduced and others are out of the picture. I would say that they died, but in a fantasy series that features Hades and the Underworld, who can say that they are dead for real? Let's just say some characters "exeunt". There are some hints of future and past romances. Hard decisions are made about being on the side of the Olympic gods or on the side of Kronos who is gaining power. Obviously these actions are leading up to a dramatic finish in the last two books in the series - "Battle of the Labyrinth" and "The Last Olympian".

There are a bunch of gorgeous but deadly maidens who follow Artemis on the neverending hunt to extinguish monsters. I don't think there is anything wrong with using the word "huntresses", but the author calls them hunters. I think huntresses sounds better and is more accurate. Apollo delights in harassing them and his sister (Artemis) as brothers often do. It seems like the Artemis girls could have their own spin-off series.

This is a good read, but is obviously a "middle of the series" book. It would be confusing to read it without reading the other books in order.

http://percyjacksonbooks.com/