Sunday 10 November 2013

Shalee lhaih 2013: Shiaghtin 45

Jerrey wheiggoo hiaghtin as daeed ny Shallee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

Swordspoint (Ellen Kushner)

Chionnee mee y lioar shoh erreish da carrey aym screeu barel jeean as moylee jee. Va mee son goaill taitnyss jee, gyn ourys. Agh s'treih lhiam gra nagh dod mee geddyn greim aigney urree. Cha nel mee gra dy vel ee moal trooid as trooid, agh cha venn ee rhym. Ta barelyn kenjal er cooyl ny lioar, gra dy vel ee lane dy "aitt neuyerkit", as karracteyryn nagh dod oo nyn nyarrood. Atreih... ga dy nee skeeal cliweyn as marroo as cochialg t'ayn, cha dooar mee anaase aynjee. As c'raad ta'n aitt shen? Ta folliaght ny ghaa ayn, agh cha dennee mee dy row ad feeu feddyn magh: c'raad ass ta'n fer aeg nagh vel jannoo monney as nagh vel oyr aym anaase aym y ve er? nee fer ooasle ennagh goaill ynnyd fer ooasle elley? By gummey lhiam eh, dy jarroo. Shoh y red: er lhiam dy vel y lioar shoh croghey er ny karracteyryn t'ayn, as aght ennagh nagh row anaase aym orroo, as myr shen by gummey lhiam ny yinnagh ad ny haghyragh daue. S'bastagh eh.

Pirates of the Asteroids (Isaac Asimov)

Skeeal contoyrtyssagh far-skeealaght heanse. Rere cliaghtey Asimov, ga dy nee contoyrtys t'ayn, ta aght trome-chooishagh er as t'eh lane dy 'ishag. Cha dug eh monney yindys orrym, hoig mee y firrinys v'ayn leah dy liooar, agh t'eh giare, anaasoil dy liooar, as cha dooar mee monney dy 'accan er noadyr. Cha vow uss aase karracteyryn ny coloayrtys taitnyssagh ayns shoh, agh cha nee adsyn ta dean y liooar, agh contoyrtys beg 'syn 'eaynid mooar.

Philosophy and the Christian Faith (Colin Brown)

Shennaghys tappee jeh fallsoonys Heear as ny h-aghtyn venn eh rish Creestiaght. Cha nel anaase aym er fallsoonys, agh nish ta mee toiggal beggan beg myechione, ny mychione fallsoonee aghterbee. V'eh trome dy liooar, as ta'n screeuder currit da cosoylaghey cagh marish "lhiabbee Phrochrustes". Er lhiam nagh ghow mee monney assjee, trooid as trooid.

The Big Sun of Mercury (Isaac Asimov)

Skeeal far-skeealaght heanse elley. T'eh geiyrt er Pirates of the Asteroids, as t'eh casley ree: folliaghtyn beggey as contoyrtyssyn, as ny karracteyrtyn jannoo ram ymmyd jeh shease dyn veaysley. T'ee giare dy liooar, as ta cormid mie ayn eddyr folliaght as contoyrtys, er lhiam.


The end of week forty-five of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:

Swordspoint (Ellen Kushner)

I bought this after a friend enthused about it, and expected and wanted to like it. Unfortunately I've got to say it just didn't grip me. I'm not saying it's awful, but it didn't really do much for me. The cover features various nice quotes like "witty, sharp-eyed... full of interesting people" and promises "remarkable plot twists and unexpected humour". Sadly, I didn't really notice any of those things. Although it's a story of swords and killing and plotting, I couldn't find much to be interested in. There's some mystery, but I couldn't muster much enthusiasm to find out the truth. Where does the mysterious young man come from and why is he in the ghetto? I'm not sure why I'm expected to care about him. Will some nobleman manage to oust some other nobleman, neither of them particularly distinctive or interesting? The thing is, a book like this seems to depend heavily on its characters winning your affection or at least interest, and somehow they didn't - and so I don't really care what they do or what happens to them in the end. Certainly not enough to read another 250 pages about them. It's a shame.

Pirates of the Asteroids (Isaac Asimov)

A sci-fi adventure story. As with most Asimov, although it's an adventure story it takes a fairly serious tone, and is full of hardish science. It didn't really throw up anything unexpected, I'd guessed the main points of the plot fairly early on, but it's quick, fairly interesting and I didn't see much to complain about either. It doesn't feature character development or sparkling conversation, but that's not really what it's going for. Scientific Adventure in Space is what this is.

Philosophy and the Christian Faith (Colin Brown)

A quick history of Western philosophy and its relationship to Christianity. I'm not interested in philosophy, but I now know a little bit more about it, or at least about some philosophers. It's fairly stodgy and the author's obsessed with calling everything a "Procrustean bed". I don't feel like I got that much out of it, to be honest.

The Big Sun of Mercury (Isaac Asimov)

Another science fiction story, following on from Pirates of the Asteroids. It's similar stuff, a mixture of minor mysteries and adventure, with a hefty dose of science in the mix. It's also pretty short, and I found the balance between puzzle and action decent.

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