Books we’re reading

We’ve gone through an very variable crop of books recently. Here they are:

Skinjob by Bruce McCabe

Skinjob isn’t easy to classify. It’s about advanced technology creating human-like robots and using them for prostitution. It’s about religion using technology to turn belief into corrupt big business. It’s about humanity’s baser drives given a kick into overdrive when technology is not bounded by morals and ethics. But over all that it’s a good detective, action story. While I cringed at some of the scenes, this was a well-written, fast-paced book.

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe by Romain Puertolas

This book with an extraordinarily long title is a complete contrast to Skinjob. It is whimsical, amusing and uplifting. In spite of a basic conceit that leaves you blinking in confusion – our hero goes to Ikea to buy a new bed of nails – the story develops beautifully. This a wonderfully entertaining read. We loved this book.

Lethal Code by Thomas Waite

Oh dear… Lethal Code is awful. The core idea of a terrorist cyber-attack on the United States is interesting and Waite clearly knows a lot about the technology and the likely responses. But the writing is terrible, the story jolts along with illogical jumps, and the underlying American jingoism is hard to take from outside. Sorry, this one’s just lethal.

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

Abercrombie is making a career out of heroes that he forces you to like in spite of yourself. His characters tend to the craven, ugly and misshapen and Prince Yarvi is all those things. But in spite of himself he grows both in character and in the reader’s estimation. It’s no surprise that this is yet another rollicking good read from a talented author.

We read review copies of these books.