Spectre’s Sayings

I just finished Out of Thin Air: Dinosaurs, Birds, And Earth’s Ancient Atmosphere by Peter Douglas Ward. In it, the author argues that the most powerful force in Earth’s history driving the evolution of animals is the level of oxygen in the atmosphere and in the seas. I must admit, he makes a compelling argument, and I was mostly convinced. It’s an interesting read, and is especially useful for providing an overview of animal evolution over the past 500 million years. I recommend it.

Just finished The Elves of Cintra, the second book of the Genesis of Shannara series, and sequel to Armageddon’s Children last night. They blur the line a bit between science fiction and fantasy, but if I were running a bookstore, I’d stick them in the fantasy section. With a five-star rating.

I just finished reading Sandworms of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson. There were some interesting ideas in it. However, compared to Frank Herbert’s storytelling ability, this book is rather flat and pedestrian. I’m more relieved to have gotten through the entire story arc of the series than thrilled by the tale told in this particular installment.

I finished reading Hunters of Dune last night. The story was about the continued flight of those who fled from Chapterhouse was very good. However, the parts that depicted “The Enemy” were too dependent on the underdeveloped storyline of the books that covered the Butlerian Jihad. I think that if he had lived, Frank Herbert would have reworked that backstory to make it a much stronger story than Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson were satisfied with. But then, Frank Herbert was a genius….and so very few other people are.