Karsa Orlong

Nope. DId have a blast of Waterloo Sunset as the plane landed, but it was mostly this . . .

I have stoked the fire on the big steel wheels Steered the airship right across the stars I learned to fight, I learned to love, I learned to feel Oh I wish that I could live it all again :D

^^ Nice! I'm waiting for my stamps to turn up. I ordered complete sets of first day covers for both the Olympics and Paralympics. The Olympics ones were supposed to be sent within 28 days ... it's now 30 days since I placed the order. Still, it is the Royal Mail, I suppose! (and to be fair, they probably got swamped with orders ...)

Yeah, there's nothing particularly original about it, but it is different to the kind of sf I usually read, so it was kind of refreshing on that level. I may pick up the next book in the series if I can find it in Chicago, as they don't seem to be readily available over here, apart from at FP, and they didn't have it last time I was there. Looking forward to them

Totally agree with you, James. The weird thing is, I've read it twice - first back in the 80s, and then again a couple of years ago (after seeing the films and not really remembering much about the book from my first read). There's something about Ludlum's writing that just hasn't aged well at all. There's something very stuffy about it, hard-bitten and yet keeping you at arm's length so I never really engaged with the characters. I read The Osterman Weekend back in the 80s, too, and I remember enjoying that at the time, as it was much shorter and more focused. I wonder what I'd make of it now?

That'll be me Although, to be fair, I've never really understood the fuss, even since the Jon Pertwee days, which was when I first saw it. I actually gave up on it at the halfway point of the last season. I suppose I need to watch the rest of those before watching this series . . .

Book #63: The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt Blurb: Two hundred years ago, humans made a stunning discovery… In the far reaches of the solar system: a huge statue of an alien creature, with an inscription that defied all efforts of translation. Now, faster-than-light drive opens the stars to exploration, humans are finding other relics of the race they call the Monument-Makers – each different, and each heartbreakingly beautiful. But except for a set of footprints on Jupiter's moon Lapetus, there is no trace of the enigmatic race that has left them behind. Then a team of scientists working on a dead world discover an ominous new image of the Monument-Makers. Somehow it all fits with other lost civilzations, and possibly with Earth's own future. And distant past. But Earth itself is on the brink of ecological disaster – there is no time to search for answers. Even to a question that may hold the key to survival for the entire human race… Thoughts: Joy, another book with quotes from authors comparing the author of the book to other authors This time it's Stephen King, saying McDevitt is the 'logical heir' to Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov. Hmm . . . Anyhoo, this book is one I picked up on a whim when I saw it. The archaeology aspect intrigued me. The story centres around the discovery of alien artifacts, the first of which is discovered on one of Saturn's moons, and then more of which are found as man spreads beyond the solar system. The creators of these artifacts are known as the Monument-Makers, and it is the quest to find out who they were and where they came from that drives the story. Much of the book takes place around the excavation of a temple, on an alien world, that has been submerged and left in ruins at the bottom of the sea after some earth-shattering event far in the past. McDevitt uses this setting, plus the goings-on up in orbit and on the world's moon, to create some very tense situations. How a story about a bunch of archaeologists manages this is a little convoluted, and it's perhaps one of the weaknesses of the novel, but the sequences themselves work very well. The characters are a mixed bunch, from the archaeologists themselves, to corporate terraformers who want them out of the way, to the pilot, Priscilla Hutchinson, who is the main protagonist. Typically, in a time when the Earth is on the brink of ecological meltdown, the humans out there trying to find new worlds to inhabit don't seem to get along very well! The book has largely average reviews, but I enjoyed it a great deal. It gets a little bogged down in the latter stages, and the characters make perhaps a couple too many rash decisions which manage to put everyone in danger, but there was enough to keep me interested, and McDevitt is pretty good at creating and ratcheting up tension. 7/10 ETA: Oh, and it's got one of the worst covers I've ever seen

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it, bobbly! As the first book is one of the best ones in the series, and if you didn't like it, I'd suggest it's not worth carrying on. Sure, the third book (A Storm of Swords) is the best by a country mile, but the format remains the same throughout the series, so you'll still have many (many) chapters about characters you're not interested in, and he introduces a whole lot more as it goes along. You might be better off checking out the likes of Guy Gavriel Kay, David Gemmell, Joe Abercrombie and such, if you want to try more fantasy - they're all far better writers, and they write far less bloated books

I had to give up at the end of the 4th set - gone 1am and had to be up at 5 Well done Murray, I take it all back. Hopefully the first of many

Thanks! I've only just realised that Kat Copeland and Sophie Hosking are in the one with Mark Hunter and Anna Watkins. I didn't recognise Kat without her mouth agape And Kath Grainger is behind Anna, with her back - quite wisely, probably - to me

Here's some of my photos. They've actually come out quite well You can see Mo's back in the first one, doing the Mobot. He turned away just as I took it, as did Becky Two of Anna Watkins, just because

That's Joanna Rowsell, gold medallist in the cycling (team pursuit, with Laura Trott and Dani King)

Nope, it hasn't. Or, if it has, they've made me come to work anyway Oh, and I saw one of my personal heroes from the Games: Mark Hunter. How could I forget? I can't get my photos off my camera until I get home but, just as a taster, here's a photo my colleague took of Sir Chris. Although, as he only got half of him, it must be Sir Chr . . .

We've just been outside the office on Fleet Street to cheer the parade past. Saw - among others - Greg Rutherford, Tom Daley, Ellie Simmonds, Becky Adlington, Christine Ohuruogu, Anna Watkins, Sarah Storey, Joanna Rowsell, Zara, Mo, and Sir Chris. Took loads of photos - remains to be seen how they come out - I got a bit excited

I'll hope that my Kindle Keyboard keeps going and wait for this one to reach the UK : Kindle Paperwhite

I turned it on, saw Coldplay were on, switched channels immediately

Oi I didn't know I had any, either . . .

Yay, hope you enjoy them, too

^^ Same here - I'll stick with my existing one until it's had enough, then probably get a Touch

Mount Virginia-ing? You can read samples and stuff from the Dresden books here: http://www.jim-butch...m/books/dresden

Thanks Kay Although I wasn't being scathing about anything, especially not Harry Potter - I think maybe you've read something into my post that wasn't intended. I love the HP books I just think the quote on the front of the book (from Diana Gabaldon?) is a bit unnecessary. It's like the way they plonked stickers on the covers of Jo Nesbo's books to say he's 'the new Stieg Larsson'. Er, no he's not, he's Jo Nesbo, simple as that Have you read any of the Dresden books? It does bear more similarities to those, imo, but obviously that won't grab people's attention like Harry Potter will.

Had to laugh at Google's tribute to Star Trek on its 46th anniversary today

That'll be the goddess known as Kate Beckett

I remember racing to Our Price in Harrow after school to get this album the day it came out. Thirty years ago. Bloody hell . . .