2 for Chunkster Challenge!

So i finished two GIANT books today. i must admit that i read only the last 100 pages today and that I have been working on these for a few weeks. I think i may actually post a bunch in the next few days as i am close to finishing several.

So, worst first! Finished Cities in Flight by James Blish. A 582 page series of 4 novellas. The first good, second great, third awful and way too long and fourth was ok. my total score is 4/7. The stories are linked by a technology called a spindizzy and anti-age drugs. the first story is about the discovery of these two things. The spindizzy is a sort of anti-gravity gizmo that can do all sorts of stuff, like lift a city from a planet, contain an atmosphere inside itself, and send the whole mess flying faster than light through the galaxy. Then the people on the cities take the anti-aging drugs and live practically forever. The main character in the third and fourth stories ends up being over 1000 years old. Unfortunately, that was a character i didn't really care for. The third story was too long. I really think it would have worked much better as several really short stories as it details all these various incidents in the flight of New York City.

Also finishes
Duma Key by Stephen King. 609 pages. LOVED IT! Definitely a 7! Tense from the beginning, great characters, incredible atmosphere. Some of the things i thought were going to happen did and that is just fine. Some of the spooky things weren't fully explained and that is fine. Edgar is a wonderful voice and the descriptions of the art were great. I could see the sketches and paintings described. Having said that, i would have loved for the artist who did the Dark Tower inserts to have done Edgar's paintings and had those included. Maybe for the trade paperback? Please? The last few i've read by King i have really liked, more than some of his stuff from the 90's. Cell was really good and i liked Lisey's Story just as much. Looking back now, i do think that maybe the reason i wasn't too keen on his 90's stuff is that i felt like he was just messing around. We all were waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the Dark Tower to get finished and here he was messing around with stuff that sucked ass like Dreamcatcher. I think i maybe resented that. It would be like if JK Rowling got done with Order of the Phoenix and then went and tried her hand at some bodice rippers for a few years. UGH!

But enough. If you liked King at all, try Duma Key. If you are a super duper sci-fi head, try Cities in Flight.

Currently: realizing that yes, it really is going to storm MORE!

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