This Week at the Library (18 Aug - 25 Aug)

This week at the library...

• Working IX to V, a romp through odd jobs of the ancient and classical worlds. Though informative, the author relies heavily on humor to connect with the reader.
• Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies was my last Hornblower read by C.S. Forester, alas, but the series enjoyed on an enjoyable note. In the West Indies is more cozy than dramatic, though.
• Gods of Night by David Mack is the first in the Destiny trilogy, which ties together various threads in the Treklit canon (the TNG relaunch and the USS Titan series, mostly, but with nods given to the DS9 and Voyager relaunches) and sends the Federation into a final, deadly grapple with the Borg.
• Sharpe's Eagle is the story of an English riflemen during the Napoleonic wars, who has to overcome the sturdy French army and the incompetence of his aristocratic overseers to redeem the honor of his regiment. Fun read. 
• The Lost World is Michael Crichton's sequel to his Jurassic Park, and follows the same general plan. Crichton does drama well, and the information he has his characters deliver on dinosaurs will of course entertain.

Quotation of the Week:
     "Then this is a whole lot of coincidences," Keru said. "A mysterious power source with an energy profile that resembles transwarp, shooting beams that point at Federation space, Borg space, and a planet in the Gamma Quadrant, where an old Earth ship has been sitting for two centuries."
     Tuvok arched one eyebrow to indicate incredulity.

(p. 222, The Gods of Night. This statement ties the stories of the four starship crews featured in the book together.)

Potentials for Next Week:

• The Birth of the United States, Isaac Asimov. 
• Disease Fighters Since 1950, Ray Spangenburg and Diane Kit Moser. Spangenburg and Moser's history of science books were staples of two of my last few summers, and their names caught my eye when browsing today. 
• I'll be tipping my toe into Will Durant's Story of Civilization series by beginning Our Oriental Heritage, which appears to be a largeish text on the Indians, Chinese, Egyptians, Babylonians, and company. 
• Odds are good that I'll pick up the second book in the Destiny trilogy at some point. If it's anything like Gods of Night, I won't be able to put it down for several hours.
• I also checked out Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brien. I tried it once a few years back but all the naval terminology kept me from getting into it. In the meantime I've read an entire series of sea stories set in the age of "wooden ships and iron men", though, so perhaps I'm better prepared this time. 
• And a mystery entry, when I have been waiting to read for weeks.

In the future...

• I wanted to read Michael Crichton's Timeline this week, but despite being checked in, it's not on the shelf. I'm guessing that like The Lost World, it was lost. Maybe this one is lost in time. 
• Although Alexandria by Lindsey Davis seemed readable, it never grabbed me. I'll return to her series of Roman novels at some point, though.