What I'm currently reading

A few comments about books I'm currently reading or have been reading recently.

The Science of Discworld II

Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen are having fun with narativium, which we make ourselves on Roundworld, not having it conveniently lying around as an element like in Discworld. An entertaining sojourn through various fields of science in search for the human mind and a funny story. Warning: May contain nuts!

Hidden Warrior

The second book in the Tamir Triad, by Lynn Flewelling. I was so angry when at the end of the first book (The Bone Doll's Twin) she left it open whether Ki was alive or dead. I'm glad to report he survived. Unfortunately this book was way too short and now I'm left waiting who knows how long for the conclusion.

Fool's War

Science Fiction by Sarah Zettel. Sarah recommended this to me. In fact she gave me her copy of the book. A story about an ongoing conflict between mankind and artificial intelligences. Nothing really staggering, but that didn't keep me from reading during lectures to finish it. I have absolutely no idea what the professors were trying to teach me that day.

Asha - Sohn von Malta

Originally called Ironfire. This is an adventure story by David Ball. I guess I could classify it as historical fiction, but first of all I don't know how historical it actually is and second adventure really fits much better. I got the same feeling when I read his earlier book, Empires of Sand. If you've got one, two free afternoons and you're looking for easy entertainment without much ballast to weigh you down, check out these books. You do get a touch of historical knowledge on the way.

Geschichte Palästinas

By Gudrun Krämer. An objective history of Palestine from it's conquest by the Ottoman empire in 1516 to the formation of Israel in 1948, all in 400 pages, excluding bibliography, endnotes etc. I haven't finished this yet but it does seem to do it's job well. I'm reading this because I've always been interested in the causes of the Israel/Palestine conflict and this is supposed to give me an idea of the historical background in one piece.