Oct

21

Posted by : atcampbell | On : October 21, 2003

The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson

We had ten people for this book plus one email review, all at StrangeHurst House. Although 8 people started the book only 4 people finished. Five people had read KSR before, mostly his Mars trilogy.

The book follows 3 souls through several incarnations in an alternate world where the Black Plague killed off most of the Europeans. Using the “bardo,” an in-between-incarnations waiting room, to separate the different lives helped the souls and the reader to review and separate each life. The episodic nature of the

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Oct

07

Posted by : atcampbell | On : October 7, 2003

A Scattering of Jades by Alexander C. Irvine

We had 9 people for this book discussion at the home of the Brothers Siros. Seven people finished the book. Many people were surprised to discover this was Irvine’s first novel.

A dark fantasy set in an alternative 1840’s America, the novel centered around events designed to incarnate an Aztec mummy with a god who would control the world. We were impressed with the amount of work Irvne obviously put into the novel. A semi-sharp reader could recognize historical details such as the Bowery fire, the first explorer of Mammoth cave, and a fairly crazy steamship race. Plus

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