The Reading Corner.

[Rusty Edge]

I'm currently reading "A Higher Loyalty" by James Comey.

He's very introspective. One of the themes is leadership, and what he learned from the examples of his bosses.

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I also finished The Iron Druid series by Kevin Hearne. The ending was okay.

[Elok]

Hitler: 1889-1936 Hubris, by Ian Kershaw.  Six hundred pages, sometimes gets sidetracked into impenetrable German politics loaded with acronyms, generally good if a bit dry.

[Lorizael]

Currently reading The Big Picture, by Sean Carroll (a very thoughtful, philosophy friendly physicist), in which he develops an elaborate system called "poetic naturalism" for understanding the world. It's all wrong, of course, because there's no mention of an all-consuming telepathic techno-blob, but it's interesting.

[Buster's Uncle]

The Sunborn by Gregory Benford.  No very good, frankly, Benford being capable of hacking - but as bedtime reading, it's been putting me to sleep just fine.

[Elok]

Now re-reading The Mote in God's Eye, because I loved it the first time.  Still liking it, even if it is dated and loaded with stereotypes.

[Buster's Uncle]

I re-read that just a few months ago; I think the stereotypes were mostly on purpose.  Can't say I believe in Moties, though.

[Elok]

Well, Pournelle was pretty bloody racist.  Can't help thinking that it'd be an incredible book if you gave it actually believable characters, brushed out the Codominium ...

[Buster's Uncle]

Pournelle was --- easy to underestimate - but easy to overestimate, too.  I think he was pretty blind to his own limitations.  Thought Footfall deserved a Hugo.

[Elok]

Well, Footfall had elephant-themed creatures who relied on advanced military technology, had a fundamentally conservative and hierarchical culture, overran Kansas and ultimately declared a war of domination because they were outraged by a bit of pornography.  I'd say that's a pretty clever satire, if only he'd meant it that way.

[E_T]

One hand, other hand... Gripping Hand...

I liked Lucifer's Hammer better than Footfall, although the Orion was cool....

[Buster's Uncle]

Footfall was trying too hard, somehow.  Lucifer's Hammer, they hit their groove better on the first try at that story.

[Rusty Edge]

I guess I liked them all, but my lasting impression was that I enjoyed/recall Lucifer's Hammer the most.

[Elok]

While we're on the subject, does anybody else "get" the scriptural theme in TMIGE?  I'm squinting at it from every angle, and I'm not seeing how the plot involves hypocrisy, or seeing something in others while being blind to it in one's own self, or anything like that.  Yet they go out of their way to integrate that verse about motes and planks, to the point of having some crewmen arguing about it in the beginning.  In addition to the title, the epigraph, and the star system.  But it appears to be a JJ Abrams style allusion, where they take an idea and drop it at your feet like a cat dropping off a dead mouse, then look at you for approval without ever being clear about what, precisely, you're supposed to do with it.

[Buster's Uncle]

It's just a mention of mote in the eye -that would have to be Pournelle, as Niven doesn't seem all that well read outside science and a lot of nerd genre stuff- no need to dig for meaning...

-Niven, BTW, swears up and down it wasn't Star Trek - I can only conclude that Pournell didn't tell him where some of his part of the contributions came from...

[Rusty Edge]

While we're on the subject, does anybody else "get" the scriptural theme in TMIGE?  I'm squinting at it from every angle, and I'm not seeing how the plot involves hypocrisy, or seeing something in others while being blind to it in one's own self, or anything like that.  Yet they go out of their way to integrate that verse about motes and planks, to the point of having some crewmen arguing about it in the beginning.  In addition to the title, the epigraph, and the star system.  But it appears to be a JJ Abrams style allusion, where they take an idea and drop it at your feet like a cat dropping off a dead mouse, then look at you for approval without ever being clear about what, precisely, you're supposed to do with it.

Uh, It's been too long since I read the thing. I may be confusing it with another work. I have a hunch, but I will need to put it on my re-reading agenda. Then maybe I'll get back to you.

At present I just want to say I thoroughly enjoy your dead mouse metaphor!