Yup.
So What Are you Reading?: Generations
- Thread starter captcalhoun
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Yes, they are. A real head-scratcher. But the second chapter describes the initial meeting between the three Magi, somewhere out in the Arabian Desert, which is east (actually southeast) of Bethlehem. So they are coming immediately from the east.
The Rationalization of the Magi.
Wallace presumably had his reasons for assigning ethnicities to them.
Presumably storytelling reasons, as he was never a member of any particular congregation, or even any particular denomination, and was scrupulous (by the standards of his day) in depicting those ethnicities with accuracy and respect (even if some of it wouldn't pass muster in an opus written today, some 144 years later).
Presumably storytelling reasons, as he was never a member of any particular congregation, or even any particular denomination, and was scrupulous (by the standards of his day) in depicting those ethnicities with accuracy and respect (even if some of it wouldn't pass muster in an opus written today, some 144 years later).
I have never read Ben-Hur (we did watch the chariot race scene from the movie in Latin class in high school), but I recently saw a fascinating presentation about Wallace at the Nineteenth-Century Studies Association conference. Wallace was appointed U.S. ambassador to the Ottoman Empire mostly because the president really liked Ben-Hur and wanted to send Wallace somewhere he could research another historical novel! (The requirements for being appointed an ambassador were much less rigorous in the nineteenth century.) The sultan of the Ottoman Empire had Ben-Hur read aloud to him, and liked it so much that he told Wallace he had the true spirit of a Muslim... except for, you know, worshiping Jesus.
I'm very glad to be giving Death in Winter a second look. When it first came out, I think I hurriedly read it in a bookstore, as I was just focused on the various ongoing plotlines (Will someone in the named cast die? Will Beverly and Jean-Luc hook up? Who is the new first officer of the Enterprise-E?). Rereading it at a leisurely pace, I can enjoy the story being presented and hanging out with various Romulans and former Stargazer crew. It really does a lot to set up the post-Nemesis players in the Romulan Star Empire and dovetails nicely with Taking Wing.
I've moved on to Book II, in which we meet the protagonist, Judah Ben-Hur. Chapter I is essentially one big "info-dump," describing what had happened to Jerusalem in the two decades since the events of Book I, and Chapter II actually introduces the protagonist, and his boyhood friend Messala, newly returned from military training and no longer a friend, but a Roman with a superiority complex.
I've finished reading Ghost Ship by Diane Carey. A great early TNG novel where everything feels just slightly off. My reread would continue with The Peacekeepers, but Amazon has let me down once again, so I've moved on to The Children of Hamlin by Carmen Carter. Looking forward to re-reading this one as I remember it being one of the high points in these early novels.
"Just slightly" is being generous, I think.
Just re-read Chirstopher's "Greater than the Sum"
Also the second Vanguard novel.
Also the second Vanguard novel.
Reading ‘I, Robot’ by Isaac Asimov
Now through Book III, and over a quarter of the way through the entire opus.
In Book II, Judah, while jockeying for position on his roof in order to get a better view of the new procurator's arrival procession, dislodges a loose tile that falls with enough force to knock the procurator off his horse. Judah is accused of attempted assassination, and Messala, rather than vouching for him, throws him under a proverbial bus. This is the betrayal that sets Judah's adventures into motion: the procurator sentences him to life as a galley slave, and seizes the family house.
In Book III, Admiral Quintus Arrius is sent on a mission to deal with a pirate fleet in the Aegean, and Judah is the best galley slave aboard his flagship. This attracts the admiral's notice, and he calls him up on deck, to meet him. The pirates are defeated, but the flagship is sunk, and Judah saves the admiral's life, prompting the admiral to adopt him, and free him, ending Book III.
In Book II, Judah, while jockeying for position on his roof in order to get a better view of the new procurator's arrival procession, dislodges a loose tile that falls with enough force to knock the procurator off his horse. Judah is accused of attempted assassination, and Messala, rather than vouching for him, throws him under a proverbial bus. This is the betrayal that sets Judah's adventures into motion: the procurator sentences him to life as a galley slave, and seizes the family house.
In Book III, Admiral Quintus Arrius is sent on a mission to deal with a pirate fleet in the Aegean, and Judah is the best galley slave aboard his flagship. This attracts the admiral's notice, and he calls him up on deck, to meet him. The pirates are defeated, but the flagship is sunk, and Judah saves the admiral's life, prompting the admiral to adopt him, and free him, ending Book III.
I'm rereading Taking Wing for the umpteenth time. It's great to see Dr. Ree again. Once Tuvok is onboard, it is like a TNG/VOY crossover adventure, plus we get to see so many cool species. When I first really got into Trek books, this and Vanguard were both launching, and it was such an exciting time to be a fan.
I'm also reading Marvel: Year by Year. The time between Marvel Comics #1 and Fantastic Four #1 does not get discussed as much by fans or documentaries, so I am finding out some new facts. They also give some context each year about world events and the biggest movies of the year, which is fun.
I'm also reading Marvel: Year by Year. The time between Marvel Comics #1 and Fantastic Four #1 does not get discussed as much by fans or documentaries, so I am finding out some new facts. They also give some context each year about world events and the biggest movies of the year, which is fun.
Now four chapters into Book IV, one of the two longest sections of Ben-Hur. He has prospered as the adopted son of an admiral, and has now hooked up with his father's former servant, who has become a shipping magnate.
Reading’The Time Machine’ by HG Wells
Now six chapters into Book IV: Ben-Hur is visiting the Grove of Daphne, and is on guard against losing himself in the hedonism.
Does he get into a debate with a friend who thinks the Grove of Velma is sexier?
With apologies to Donny Osmond, "Cute, CLB, real cute."
(And while I quite literally never saw so much as a single complete episode of any version of Scooby Doo, I suppose I was more attracted to Velma.)
Over on Fountain Pen Network, somebody observed that the "Grove of Daphne" seemed an odd place to find hedonists, given that Daphne had herself turned into a tree, to avoid being raped by Apollo.
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