The Lambs of London

This is a recent (2006) novel by Peter Ackroyd. It is a historical fiction set in Industrial Age England.

All in all, I can't say I got a whole lot from reading this book. But, that is not to say there is nothing there. I suspect this is the type of book that would make for excellent discussion in a book club or just between friends.

From what I can understand, this is an existential book. It is essentially about living, but it is not going to give the reader any advice as to how to live.

So, out of purely selfish motives, I recommend everyone read this book. It may not provoke a huge revelation or change your life, but it may just inspire an intelligent conversation.

You Suck: A Love Story

This is a book by Christopher Moore (also author of A Dirty Job.)

It is written half in 3rd person, half as a diary of one of the characters. Honestly, this second part got on my nerves a little bit. Maybe there is someone out there who can appreciate this, but I can't really recommend this book to anyone I know.

Clearly not Moore's best work.

Storm Front

This is the first of a series of books collectively known as the Dresden Files authored by Jim Butcher. It is a bizarre combination of a wizard living in a very realistic Chicago and trying to make a living as a pseudo-detective.

I really enjoyed it. The book is not at all intended to be taken seriously. I find its comedy is much along the lines of The Gun Seller, if you have read that book, written by Hugh Laurie (from the TV show House.)

My bet is, if you enjoy House and you liked Harry Potter, Storm Front is just what you need for a good and easy read.

Dune

This is a six book science fiction series by Frank Herbert. According to the blurb on the cover, this is the second best selling sci-fi/fantasy series in history, after Lord of the Rings. I'm sure this is either out of date or not including Harry Potter, but whatever.

These books are lame. They are the soap opera of the science fiction world. So much "culture" is just made up on the fly and then forever forgotten that it is really just a cop out for what is normally filled by creative writing. If the author needs this person to attack that person, suddenly there are 3 deadly insults that are known throughout the culture but are just being mentioned now and will never be mentioned again. This other person is supposed to become a god, so have him put on his shoes correctly and say it fulfills a prophecy even though no such prophecy, or even religion, has been explained to the reader. It is with this sort of stuff that the author fails to give his readers anything to think about.

I am sure any intelligent reader will find this series more annoying than enjoyable. I tend to get caught up in books far more than the average reader, but with Dune I was constantly finding myself asking, "What the hell? Where did that come from?"

In short, this series is nothing more than the perverse ramblings of someone who had way too much free time.