|
Two books completed yesterday (a long train journey!):
"The Beckoning Lady", by Margery Allingham. The 15th book in the "Campion" series. A classic "English country-house" murder mystery. A local tax inspector is found dead in a ditch close to the home of two of Campion's friends, who are holding a large party. The book reintroduces many characters who have appeared in earlier books in the series, so this would not be a good book in read in isolation. Extremely enjoyable.
"Between the Strokes of Night", by Charles Sheffield. Originally bought from Baen in 2002. Superb hard SF - one of the best SF novels I've read in a very long time. The book explores the consequences of the speed of light being an absolute speed limit, and ways that the human race could still colonise the galaxy even with this limit. It explores some fascinating ideas in doing so, and stretches from 2016 into the very, very distant future (some 8 billion years). Unfortunately the book is no longer available to buy from Baen, although previous purchasers can still download it. I don't know if it's available elsewhere. This is a masterpiece: truly memorable SF that will keep me thinking about the issues raised for quite some time.
|