I've a couple of weeks holidays coming up ta the end of August and would be interested to hear some reading suggestions. But, as one shouldn't take without giving, I thought I'd get the ball rolling with a brief description of some of the books I've found good in the past few months ;-)
Harry Thompson, This Thing of Darkness: I owe this tip to Ian - thanks mate! A well researched, very well written historical novel, based mainly on the voyage of the Beagle and the lives of its captain, Robert FitzRoy and his most famous passenger, Charles Darwin. The character of FitzRoy, an interesting historical figure in his own right, is particularly well done. Sadly, there will be no more gems from this author, as he died tragically young four years ago. Tom Holland, Persian Fire: Who says ancient history is boring? Holland's excellent book describing the war between east and west, a war between a superpower representing then civilised values (the Persian empire) against barbarian rogue states (Athens and Sparta) challenging the world order reads like a thriller. His previous work, Rubicon, about the fall of the Roman Republic is equally good. I'm loking forward to reading his latest, Millenium, about the early European Middle Ages, featuring the crusades. Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind: This is the best fantasy book I've read in a long time (and I read quite a bit of fantasy). Extremely well written, it's hard to describe. As the author himself says, "If I could sum it up in 50 words, I wouldn't have needed to write a whole novel about it." The first of a trilogy, the second part of which is due out this summer, it's simply an amazing first novel. Daniel C. Dennett, Consciousness Explained: For anyone wanting to get into contemporary philosophy, and particularly the vexed questions of consciousness and epistemology, this is a very good starting point. Dennett's position is unashamedly empirical (he identifies himself as a Bright and is a pal of Dawkins [though a much more incisive thinker]) but, more importantly, he also, unusually for a philosopher, writes lucidly, entertainingly and well. Mary Doria Russell, The Sparrow/Children of God: These two have to be read together. Wonderful science fiction, the hero being a Jesuit scientist whose first contact with an alien civilisation brings his faith into fundamental crisis. The books take a sympathetic position regarding rational faith in a personal God, although the author describes herself as an agnostic. Many issues discussed on Minds Eye come up here, along with complex characters, a compelling story and good science fiction. So, what about you? Francis --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
