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40x40

Jon Hamm recommended Arcadia in Books (curated)

 
Arcadia
Arcadia
Iain Pears | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"I love reading plays. Part of the reason I became an actor was that I would read one and think, 'Ah, it’d be fun to be in that.' Arcadia is about the discovery of certain theories of physics and math, but it’s also a love story — a sad love story — infused with ideas of early feminism and the Industrial Revolution. The action bounces back and forth between the early 1800s and modern times stylistically and smoothly. And the words are just beautiful. Stoppard has an amazing command of the English language. He moves the plot along in such a way that if you’re not paying close attention, you won’t catch the five or six things that are going on. This is probably my favorite play — it’s got this weird combination of excellent dramatic writing and math and science. It sounds kind of nerdy, but there you go."

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40x40

David McK (3600 KP) rated Raising Steam: (Discworld Novel 40) in Books

Jan 28, 2019  
Raising Steam: (Discworld Novel 40)
Raising Steam: (Discworld Novel 40)
Terry Pratchett | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
6
8.0 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
The 40th(!) Discworld novel, that probably best fits into the Industrial Revolution sub-series of such novels (i.e. [b:Moving Pictures|34510|Moving Pictures (Discworld, #10)|Terry Pratchett|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320456553s/34510.jpg|1229354], [b:The Truth|51737|The Truth About Forever|Sarah Dessen|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1362767907s/51737.jpg|1032900], [b:Monstrous Regiment|34511|Monstrous Regiment The Play|Stephen Briggs|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1375908503s/34511.jpg|2073281], [b:Going Postal|64222|Going Postal (Discworld, #33)|Terry Pratchett|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388236899s/64222.jpg|1636617] and [b:Making Money|116296|Making Money (Discworld, #36)|Terry Pratchett|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1386925136s/116296.jpg|144656] (possibly also including [b:Unseen Academicals|6250169|Unseen Academicals (Discworld, #37)|Terry Pratchett|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388348045s/6250169.jpg|6432996] and [b:Snuff|1840511|Snuff|Chuck Palahniuk|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320410088s/1840511.jpg|2034926])), and is also the third book to feature Moist Von Lipwig as the main protaganist (after [b:Going Postal|64222|Going Postal (Discworld, #33)|Terry Pratchett|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388236899s/64222.jpg|1636617] and [b:Making Money|116296|Making Money (Discworld, #36)|Terry Pratchett|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1386925136s/116296.jpg|144656]).

This one is to do with the introduction of the railway to the Discworld, and also offers many a reference to previous characters and situations in the series as a whole: indeed, at times, it almost feels as if Pratchett is trying to squeeze as many in as possible.

Unfortunately, it's also not his best: I have to admit, in general, I've found most of his Industrial Revolution novels to not be as good as, say, those based around either The City Watch or those based around The Witches. Like the locomotive on which it is based, I found this one to take a fair bit of time to gather steam, and to feel a wee bit ponderous and unwieldy - this, I have to say, is not a novel I would use to introduce somebody new to the delights of the Discworld. :-(