Robison Crusoe (Daniel Defoe)

[****] audiobook

Yes, this is the classic novel by Daniel Defoe. Yes, its old and stodgy in a way, but it's wonderful stuff. I read or heard something that said it was the original English-language novel. How did one guy get it so right? Yes, it's anachronistic. But it's also engaging and fun, especially when read aloud by someone with a British accent.

Golden Buddha (Clive Cussler and Craig Dirgo)

[*] audio

Wow! What a truly horrendous mash of contrived television-grade plots and stereotyped characters and clunky writing. How did this get published? If these guys can get a book into print, I think I can. From what I've read, this is not representative of Clive's writing. I will give him another chance. Please don't read this book.

Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy (David Gerrold)

[**]

There were plenty of good tidbits and insight in here. But I was disappointed, overall. I think there was much self-indulgence in including huge sections of his own writing. And I mean huge. It was distractingly huge. Still, I think a few things crept into my brain that I will be able to use in becoming a better writer. I may have to come back and look at this again.

King Kong (Delos W. Lovelace)

[****]

During a busy time, I managed to squeeze in a read of the original novelization of the original King Kong movie. The main attribution is to Delos W. Lovelace, but apparently there was ample input from Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace. Very fun. A few extra details and slight divergence from the film, but good to read. The best parts, though, were the Preface by Mark Cotta Vaz and the Introduction by Greg Bear. It made me go out and get Mark's book about Cooper, which I review later.