Book Reports

I finished a couple of books in the last few weeks.

Darwin's Children, by Greg Bear, is the sequel to Darwin's Radio. I've read a number of other books by Mr. Bear and with the exception of W3 Women in Deep Time I feel confident recommending them all(Slant, the Eon Series). In the Darwin series, Bear asks what if the human race were on the verge of being replaced by the next evolutionary leap. Speculative genetic science and a dark view of the United States citizens and government hurl the protagonists through the story. It's a good read. The research that Mr. Bear puts into the Science behind his stories is evident, and he has a knack for being able to explain it to the lay person without dwelling on it to the expense of the rest of the story.
Where the sequel diverges from the original is its inclusion of spirituality. One of the main characters has an epiphany, feeling as though she is being directly touched by God. The story handles it maturely, exploring the emotional roller coaster this sort of experience subjects a person to. I'd be curious to discover what happened in the four years between the publishing of Radio and Children to make Mr. Bear decide to explore a topic like this in a work that had previously been grounded in pure science. Did he have such an epiphany himself, or did he stumble across the phenomenon of epiphanies while researching something else? Was he intrigued by the existence of God, or does the concept of a consistent unexplainable phenomenon happening to different people who have never met interest him more?
I've also just discovered that Slant is the last in a series of four. I need to get to the bookstore and find the first three.

Orion. Ben Bova. I don't believe I've read any of the author's other works, and I don't believe I will either. Orion is a monorail going over flat ground. The author spends as much time and detail on describing the character's feelings for a dead lover as he does listing the contents of a Neanderthal's rucksack. The time travel premises explored in the book are intriguing, but I think Mr. Bova could have gotten more mileage out of using them in a short story rather than a full length novel.

Reading is FUNdaMENTAL

Just finished the Ultramines Omnibus, which is really three books in one. This means I can get back to the fourth book of The Dark Tower. I'm also working through the newly discovered (to me) Geek Monthly. How did I not know about this magazine 4 issues ago?

Finally, I'm starting a lookout for The King in Yellow, first edition.

Thursday Commute: Bus both ways
Thursday Exercise: 6 miles running

Friday Commute: Bike both ways. In the rain. Lots of rain.
Friday Exercise: 38 miles biking

Saturday Exercise: 6 miles running. Hill workout.

I'm a Blog

Weblogs and diaries without regular updates are just web-pages and short stories. This post grabs hold of this simple collection of html and catapults it into the blogosphere. From these heady heights I feel as though I can see the whole world before me, the future laid out like a patchwork field. I can see the paths of destiny and know that I may travel upon whichever I choose.
My vacationing officially starts tomorrow. I have created a list of tasks to set myself about. There are errands to be run, trips to plan and couches to loaf upon. Spontaneity has been meticulously planned.

Currently reading Shadowrun: A Fistful of Data by Stephen Dedman

[edited to fix typo. thanks "me"]