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The Tailor of Panama by John Le Carré
I feel sure I saw the film with Pierce Brosnan and Geoffrey Rush, but I don't remember a damn thing about it. Anyway, Le Carré's writing is so dry that it takes a while [me anyway] to figure out that this is something of a black comedy. It has the feel of Basil Fawlty pursuing some plan, with layer after layer of lies building up to a fiasco. But instead of a crappy gourmet night, we have death and an invasion of Panama. A good read.
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
Set in a very strange fantasy world, a detective assistant duo unravel mysterious murders that also tie into the political elites of the world. Many have commented on the similarity to Holmes/Watson in the main characters. It's very strong in the first chapter, where our Holmes does annoying Holmes-like deductions. But later, I think the book settles down and finds its own weird groove, and feels fresher than warmed over Conan Doyle. Also a good read.
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
Very different people from very different worlds become psychically linked and must work to solve the problems facing their worlds. I found much of the story appealing, but a lot of elements bothered me. The story purports to be narrated by a particular well-informed narrator; when it intrudes more into the story, it's both unhelpful and, well, intrusive. Conscious or not, the book has a streak of anti-science. Coming off the Tainted Cup with a very weird world that was somehow real, this novel gives us two very weird worlds that are bullshit. The author must be doing something right to get people to fork out millions for a Kickstarter, but I was not impressed.
I feel sure I saw the film with Pierce Brosnan and Geoffrey Rush, but I don't remember a damn thing about it. Anyway, Le Carré's writing is so dry that it takes a while [me anyway] to figure out that this is something of a black comedy. It has the feel of Basil Fawlty pursuing some plan, with layer after layer of lies building up to a fiasco. But instead of a crappy gourmet night, we have death and an invasion of Panama. A good read.
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
Set in a very strange fantasy world, a detective assistant duo unravel mysterious murders that also tie into the political elites of the world. Many have commented on the similarity to Holmes/Watson in the main characters. It's very strong in the first chapter, where our Holmes does annoying Holmes-like deductions. But later, I think the book settles down and finds its own weird groove, and feels fresher than warmed over Conan Doyle. Also a good read.
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
Very different people from very different worlds become psychically linked and must work to solve the problems facing their worlds. I found much of the story appealing, but a lot of elements bothered me. The story purports to be narrated by a particular well-informed narrator; when it intrudes more into the story, it's both unhelpful and, well, intrusive. Conscious or not, the book has a streak of anti-science. Coming off the Tainted Cup with a very weird world that was somehow real, this novel gives us two very weird worlds that are bullshit. The author must be doing something right to get people to fork out millions for a Kickstarter, but I was not impressed.
