Domesday
and "Fire Watch" were the beginning of my Willis love.
Lincoln's Dreams
was interesting but unsatisfying. I don't think I've been disappointed in anything of herssince.
To Say Nothing of the Dog
made me want to read
Three Men in a Boat,
but I haven't, yet. I think I've read all the Sayers there is, but ages ago, so I don't really know how much stuck. I don't think I could dredge up a single detail from any particular work. But that might have been enough familiarity to inform
To Say Nothing,
I don't know.
can't stand Sayers
Maybe we can get you therapy.
Hmm, yeah,
The Doomsday Book
does provide some explanation that comes in at least handy for
To Say Nothing of the Dog.
It's okay, brenda...I can't stand Willis.
I guess we all have our deep dark secrets.
I love Connie Willis, starting with Lincoln's Dreams, which held up for me on a recent re-read. Here's the weird thing though: Doomsday Book, which should have been tailor-made for me, fell kind of flat. I was doing a lot of reading about the 14th century at the time, and that might have been part of the problem, everything just blended in for me.
My dissatisfaction with the book may be pettier than that, however. The title just irks me. When I heard about the book, I thought it would have some connection to the 11th century survey ordered by William the Bastard. NSM.
Lincoln's Dreams has one of the more shiver-inducing endings of any book. I really liked Doomsday Book and the connection didn't really bother me, but that may be because I think of the survey as the Domesday Book, which, while pronounced the same way, is different in my head.
that may be because I think of the survey as the Domesday Book, which, while pronounced the same way, is different in my head.
Is there a 14th century reference to Domesday that I'm not getting? To me, it's like she's conflating, when she's really all about the detail. That's what bugs. Doomsday/Domesday -- same thing. 14th C, black plague/11th C, norman invasion -- not same thing. Irrational, perhaps, but irky for me. Irk, irk.
ETA: indulge me as I flog this plague-ridden horse a touch more. It's like she's making a fannish pun out of the title. Plague = doom, je comprends, but Domesday was referring to the "doom of man", ie. our mortal lifespan. It may be the first riff on death and taxes in English.
The subject matters are too close, like when someone says "they were using dogs for guinea pigs!" The brain stumbles over the reference and goes back. Well, mine does anyway.
I have been possessed by a sudden need to read more steampunk. I've read
Anubis Gates
(tho' it's been a while), and I'm re-reading
The Difference Engine.
Does anyone have any recommendations for other steampunk literature?
Perdido Street Station
is kinda steampunk.
