So what else has transpired? I've finished the magnificent Hyperion cantos! Endymion was a bit slow, but the purpose of the events is revealed in the next and final book, Rise of Endymion. The purpose immediately reminded of two things - Magic: The Gathering (if you're familiar with the series, you'll be reminded of how mana is drawn) and Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination (quite obviously, jaunting). I'm not going to be direct here, as it'll spoil the fun for those who haven't read the book. One more thing - I especially liked the revelation of what was that mysterious medium that can transcend time and space; that medium which the A.I. TechnoCore cannot comprehend and practically abused: The Void which Binds. What a wonderful name. The "nothing" which brings people together; the "nothing" that allows people to live on after death. Go figure. ;) Can't put together what I've been saying? Then read the Hyperion cantos! You won't regret it.
Now, at that point, I wanted to read more of Dan Simmons. So I picked up Ilium and Olympos. Two mighty big novels. A lot has already been said in Amazon.com user reviews about these books - on how highly original and creative Ilium is, and on how Olympos sort of disappointed people. All I can say is: I can attest to the first, and only slightly agree with the second. Suffice to say, the books were great. :)
What else? Well, I finished Old Man's War and its succeeding novels, by John Scalzi. But instead of expounding it here, I think you can just refer to my review of the books.
I'm also done with the first book of John C. Wright's The Golden Age series. This 1st book is so well-written and overflowing with ideas that I have already ordered the the 2nd and 3rd books (The Phoenix Exultant and The Golden Transcendence, respectively) from Amazon.jp and eagerly awaiting their delivery within the next two weeks.
I know that seems to be quite a lot of books within the span of five months - well, my room here in Japan was kinda empty during my first month since I was low on budget, and without an Internet connection, there wasn't much I could do. :)
Although... given that I took the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) level 3 this past December, I think I should have spent more time studying. >p The results won't be out until the middle of Feb '09, but let's just say I'm confident I'll past, but won't be getting a high score (high being greater than 80%).
Other than that, there's just been work, and more work, and still more work - spending late hours in the office, and once in a while, catching the last train home. ;P
Well, that's it for today. I think I'll chronicle other events as I remember them. Just one last thing though: 紀伊国屋 bookstore was having a sale - 20% off - on foreign books last Sunday! Of course, I grabbed at the opportunity! How could I not? Bought some non-fiction books that I'll probably relate some other time. :)
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