reading (The Children of Men)

I finished "The Children of Men" last weekend. P. D. James certainly has a gift for words, but I spent most of this book waiting for something. At first it was waiting for something to happen. Then it was waiting for a character that didn't feel like cardboard. Then it was waiting for some reason for the actions other than it had to be that way for the plot.

It's quite possible I didn't get it. Oh, I got the overarching theme, but maybe I missed something deep. The sentence structure is great. The world is interesting, though the central premise feels contrived since no explanation is ever offered. But the book overall feels like it's saying, "Look how very deep and artful I'm being." Or maybe I'm just pissy because I feel like this story was gendered to death.

43. P.D. James "The Children of Men"

reading (The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues)

I finished "The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues" yesterday. This is actually the first of the Rat books I've read, so I can't compare to other books in the series. This book starts off with a bang sufficient to suck in the adventure seeking young adult reader. The pace slows considerably in places, there may be some hard going for less than patient readers. Harrison plays fast and loose with time, technology, and absurdity.

Overall, not a book I'm going to re-read a dozen times, but could be a fun romp for a young reader. I'm interested to see how it stacks up against the rest of the series.

44. Harry Harrison "The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues"