Sean Gillies (Posts about fifth season)https://sgillies.net/tags/fifth-season.atom2023-12-31T01:26:19ZSean GilliesNikolaThe Broken Earth Trilogyhttps://sgillies.net/2018/01/21/the-broken-earth-trilogy.html2018-01-21T11:30:00-07:002018-01-21T11:30:00-07:00Sean Gillies<p>I've just finished "The Stone Sky," and with that, J.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth
series. Damn, what a trio of books. I haven't been this engrossed in novels in
a long time. I'm behind the curve in reading and figure that almost anybody
reading this post has already them. If you haven't, don't worry, no major
spoilers here. There <em>are</em> spoilers in the blog posts that I link below,
however.</p>
<p>I predict that I'll be coming back to this series in time, like I have with Le
Guin's Earthsea books. <a class="reference external" href="http://nkjemisin.com/2015/08/tricking-readers-into-acceptance/">Essun</a> is,
I think, right there with Ged as the most complete and most human wizard in all
of fantasy literature. And her <a class="reference external" href="http://nkjemisin.com/2015/10/on-family/">family</a>, allies, and enemies are also
portrayed with great care. The descriptions of the landscapes and cityscapes,
both living and dead, warrant another read, for sure.</p>
<p>I shouldn't compare Jemisin to Le Guin, but I always (guiltily) wanted more
action in Le Guin's stories, and I found myself instantly hooked by the
punctuations of danger, force, and urgency in the Broken Earth series. It's
a thrilling tale that lives up to all the hype.</p>
<p>Next up on my reading list: "The Trail Runner's Companion" and "The
Architecture of Open Source Applications." I'm going to cherry pick some
chapters from the latter. I'm mostly interested in lessons from Berkeley DB,
HDFS, and LLVM.</p>Readinghttps://sgillies.net/2017/12/02/reading.html2017-12-02T11:03:58-07:002017-12-02T11:03:58-07:00Sean Gillies<p>I'm spending less time running and scrolling through Twitter this season and
more time reading. Reading what? Fiction and a memoir.</p>
<p>I've read the copy of "The End of All Things" that John
Scalzi signed for Ruth and me at his 2015 reading in Fort Collins. The story
about the Conclave leadership was the one I enjoyed the most.</p>
<p>Afterwards I read N. K. Jemisin's "The Fifth Season." It's harrowing and
mysterious and subversive and beautifully written. It's also a geography and
history book of sorts, complete with an intriguing map. Interestingly, Jemisin
has written that <a class="reference external" href="http://nkjemisin.com/2015/08/the-stillness-in-all-its-glory/">she's not a fan of maps in fantasy novels</a>. She had the
help of an illustrator named Tim Paul, who has a site full of <a class="reference external" href="http://www.timpaulillustrations.com/maps/">lovely fantasy
world maps</a>.</p>
<p>Now I am simultaneously reading the 33rd edition of "The Year's Best Science
Fiction," edited by Gardner Dozois, and "Girl in a Band" by Kim Gordon. I'm 100
pages into that 600-page collection of short stories and novellas. "Three Cups
of Grief, by Starlight" (Aliette de Bodard), "Ruins" (Eleanor Arnason), and
"Another Word for World" (Ann Leckie) are my favorites so far.</p>
<p>Kim Gordon is a founder of one of my favorite rock bands and a fine writer and
storyteller. Her reflections on growing up in L.A. in the late 60s are unique
and new, to me. I don't read memoirs, generally speaking. Gordon writes
frankly and, I believe, honestly and I find it pretty compelling stuff. Is this
book particularly good, or am I discovering that I <em>am</em> a memoir reader after
all? I read chapters 25-51 after cleaning my kitchen, while
listening to "Goo" and "Daydream Nation," an indulgent and fun start to my
Saturday.</p>