Reviews and Comments

The phrase "the encrypted carbons of past geological eras" is such a lovely way to refer to past carbon sources (coal? oil? ???) that have been sequestered and hidden away for long periods. #Bookstodon

5 out of 5 stars This was a re-read after almost two decades. The book holds up very well after all these years and I'm looking forward to re-reading the rest if time series.

Strong truths here: " But what was the difference between Ebonics and so-called "standard" English? Ebonics had grown from the roots of African languages and modern English just as modern English had grown from Latin, Greek, and Germanic roots. Why is Ebonics broken English but English is not broken German? Why is Ebonics a dialect of English if English is not a dialect of Latin? The idea that Black languages outside of Africa are broken is as culturally racist as the languages inside Europe are fixed. "

This is a pretty minor point, but it threw me off when I encountered it. In a section detailing historical claims of Black violence, this sentence:

Seceding Texas legislators in 1861 complained of not receiving more federal "appropriations for protecting ... against ruthless savages."

seemed to be interpreting the "savages" as meaning Blacks so I looked up Texas' 1861 Declaration of Cause for secession.

www.tsl.texas.gov/ref/abouttx/secession/2feb1861.html

The full statement:

They have refused to vote appropriations for protecting Texas against ruthless savages, for the sole reason that she is a slave-holding State.

In the context if the times, "savages" is how Native Americans were referred to. So the declaration is claiming that Texas wasn't appropriated sufficient federal funding to protect from Native American attacks because it was a slave-holding state. Not that they needed more federal appropriations to protects against enslaved Blacks.

This statement from President Bill Clinton on October 16, 1996 at the University of Texas on the same day as the Million Man March in Washington, DC really hits home right now: "Blacks must understand and acknowledge the roots of White fear in America." ... "There is a legitimate fear of the violence that is all too prevalent in our urban areas," he added. "By experience or at least what people see on the news at night, violence for those White people often has a Black face."

To me the critical part is the "what people see on the news at night" due to way too many "news" sources back then and still today not presenting accurate stories.

Immediately I'm grabbed by Chesbro's excellent description of Mongo's potential client Mike Foster. The authorial intent is to quickly establish that Mongo is a very observant person which servers him well as a detective. A layer back it indicates that Chesbro himself was a very observant person. I'm already sold that this re-read is going to be worth the time. But I'm likely going to spread the books out some to avoid rushing. (And I have a long TBR of living, working authors to read as well that I didn't want to ignore.) #Bookstodon

I'm re-reading George C. Chesbro's books about Mongo the Magnificent several decades after originally reading them. From what I recall and given Mr. Chesbro's profession as a counselor for troubled teens I'm expecting pretty much everything in the stories to hold up very well despite the passage of time.

If you are interested in learning more about Mr. Chesbro's life I highly recommend reading Prism: A Memoir as Fiction. As the title implies, it is a fictionalized memoir. I didn't know how true to his life it is, but it is definitely informative and moving. He doesn't shy from covering his failures as a parent, spouse and counselor,. After reading it I consider him a good, but flawed person (like the rest of us) who did see his flaws and at least attempt to improve (also hopefully like the rest of us). #Bookstodon

5 out of 5 stars Kudos to Mr. Scalzi on an excellent addition to the Old Man's War series. The main characters Gretchen and Ran (minor characters from The Last Colony) are very compelling and the story is engaging with many unexpected twists. #Bookstodon

5 out of 5 stars An interesting story with good character development. A twist that I didn't expect but it fit well in the story. #Bookstodon

5 out of 5 stars My wife highly recommended I read this and I highly recommend it to you as well. Excellent world building and story, it was easy to imagine this being a probable story of future England after a world-wide civilization collapse. The well fleshed out secondary characters generally made me at least a little empathetic even when I disagree with their thinking or viewpoints. (Some characters did not of course.) I look forward to reading the rest of this series.

5 out of 5 stars Again the flock find themselves solving a murder mystery (or even two) in France. This time they are experienced but will that be enough in the end? A thoroughly good read with great characters and unexpected twists and turns. #Bookstodon

5 out of 5 Well written (very grim) short story about population control.

5 out of 5 stars Very good mix of stories this month.

5 out of 5 stars An excellent end to the Discworld series, very well done by Terry and his team. Great reminders that humanity is flawed but the best among us come together in times of need to help.