Looking for Variable Dark Aireden

[maribou]

Dark Mondays, by Kage Baker
Everything in this book was good. Not all of these stories induced swooning love in me, but enough of them did to make me happy. Also twitchy for the Company novel I haven't got yet.
(186/250)

Airborn, by Kenneth Oppel
This is a shiny YA adventure story with blimps and natural philosophy. I would've liked it to be more in depth, but you know, sometimes that is the peril of YA (and it's a compliment that I wanted it to be written for full-blown college-educated science geeks, so).
(187/250)

Edenborn, by Nick Sagan
I did not like this as well as Idlewild because a) it didn't end satisfyingly, b) some of the viewpoint characters were annoying (they were meant to be annoying, and all, it's just tiresome being annoyed), and c) reading it felt like watching a spinning top. That said, I still liked it. And I am glad I don't have to wait for the trilogy's conclusion to come out.
(188/250)

Variable Star, by Spider Robinson (inspired by Robert Heinlein)
As Spider Robinson novels go, this one kept me very engrossed and turning pages. He has a compulsively readable voice. Robinson used a few pages of notes for an unwritten RAH novel as a seed for this book, and that was a mixed bag - some pros, some cons. Also, the 9/11 stuff stuck out like a sore thumb - the parallels would've been much less effective if less obtrusive, and it strains credibility to believe that the hero, a 23rd century musician from Ganymede, would really see 9/11 as THE important event needing to be compared to future atrocities. At great length. Plus it just added to the dated feeling - the whole book felt kind of like near-future in 23rd century clothing. I'm glad I read it though; it was a lot of fun.
(189/250)

Looking for My Country, by Robert McNeil
A pleasant, elegant, little memoir about choosing one's place in the world. No complaints, no swoons, just pleased.
(190/250)

Comments

[cai.livejournal.com]

Okay, this is not related to the above books, but because you are a book fanatic, I would like to run this by you. A long time ago (I was in fourth grade), a teacher read a book to us. She read a lot of age appropriate books (Tales of a Fouth Grade Nothing and so forth) and also a book that I cannot remember the name of. I don't even remember what it was about particularly. But I remember loving it with a warm squishy feeling. Maybe you will know...

What I do know about it: There is an outsider sort of figure who shows up and travels with some (kids? I think) around the world on an adventure. At some point they travel in a balloon, but that's not the primary method of travel, I don't think. The thing I remember most was that this figure was remarkable because he never looked down as he walked, and he taught everyone that more interesting things are going on if you look up and around instead of down. Okay, so it's not much to go on, but ... here's hoping. :)

[maribou]

It feels like it might be "Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles" by Julie Andrews, but that's purely intuition on my part, I can't find anything to prove it to myself one way or the other. But you might want to check it out anyway.

Also, if that isn't it, you might want to post to the lj community whatwasthatbook - it just got lj spotlighted so it is really backed up right now, but it's been around for ages and I really like it - plus the recent influx of people seems to mean that books are more likely to get identified.

[cai.livejournal.com]

Wow. I really do think that's it. The name sounds right, and the descriptions of it I've read all seem like it's probably it. I thought for sure that I'd never figure it out. *dances* Thank you!

[maribou]

Ooo, I hope it is:). I just reread within the last couple of years myself, so even though I don't remember all the particulars, my intuition is fairly likely to be really 'stuff I do remember but don't remember I remember'.

[faerie-writer.livejournal.com]

Make sure you read Ken Oppel's sequel 'Skybreaker'. It's fabulous as well! :D

[maribou]

It's near the top of the list! I loved his Sunwing trilogy, even more than this one.

[faerie-writer.livejournal.com]

Oh, I totally agree with you! And 'Firewing' was my all-time favourite! :D