Jan

21

Posted by : atcampbell | On : January 21, 2003

The Duke of Uranium by John Barnes

Twelve people attended this discussion of at Judy and Jeff’s house. Our topic was The Duke of Uranium, a futuristic SF adventure. The story follows a group of teenage high school friends who get involved in a plot involving kidnapping, conspiracy, aliens, and daring rescues. All but one of us at the meeting had read the book in its entirety, and the other person was just at the meeting to socialize and tag along for dinner.

Several of us found the story to be a fast-paced romp in a classic style. We liked the old-fashioned flavor of earnest young people yearning to do brave heroic deeds. We were interested in the details of the Hive, the space habit in Earth’s

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Jan

07

Posted by : atcampbell | On : January 7, 2003

The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien

Seventeen people, including one first-time attendee, came to this meeting at Willie and Charles’s home. Our topic was The Two Towers, the second volume in Tolkien’s classic Lord of the Rings trilogy. The story involves friendship, honor, battles, poetry, loyalty, attempts to save the world, and talking trees. Everyone at the meeting had finished the book, and only one person had read the book for the first time in the past year. Most of us had first read it in high school or college.

About half of our group thought the book was wonderful. Tolkien’s writing style was described as “beautiful language,” “lyrical passages,” and “masterful storytelling.” Also, several people were impressed with the size of the story, with

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