Two Short Book Reviews for Two Long Books!

Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun tale for fans of the Discworld series. I'm a follower of the wacky wizards and their magic and sadly they only make a brief appearance in this tale, but over all there's plenty of action, adventure, terrorists (of the dwarf variety), and steam engines. Who could ask for more?

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  People of the Morning Star by W. Michael Gear
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating look into the Mississippian culture at Cahokia of a thousand years ago... I lived across the river from the mounds and always wondered what its citizens had been like before they disappeared. There's a large cast of intriguing characters in this story--from a thief on his way to becoming the first P.I. to a captured/enslaved warrior on his way to becoming the first paramedic--and the story has more twists and turns than the Big Muddy itself. There is a lot of graphic violence in the plot's resolution, so readers are forewarned if this isn't to their tastes. However, the full-bodied realization of what the Cahokians' city and culture must have been like captures your imagination and makes you wish you could have been there in the day.

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Book Review: The Science of Discworld

The Science Of Discworld by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

You can't keep a good wizard down! I loved the chapters with the story line of the wizards of the Unseen University meddling with their "Roundworld" universe. My favorite character, Rincewind, finds himself named Egregious Professor of Cruel and Unusual Geography--how appropriate! The one thing that mars this otherwise enjoyable book are the non-fiction chapters. They're simply too long-winded for laypersons and detract more than add to the fun of the Discworld story. Really, for atheists these guys preach and preach and preach... Not a turtle in sight. Boring! It's much more fun to read about the wizards in action trying to unravel the mysteries of a planet very much like our own.

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