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June 09, 2003
Review: (Book) A Rough Guide to the Universe
I'll admit it, I am in love with John Scalzi's writing. His short, pithy phrasing and go to hell attitude make me grin. He also once gave me a hand writing an article, so I should probably mention that. John Scalzi is a cool cat; were this review about his blog, he would get an A+...
Of course, this book is not about his blog, it is about his book, A Rough guide to the Universe. The short answer is that this book is good, but not great...
Let me start with the bad: My own expectations. I had expected funny, pithy, and clever. While all those elements are present, they are muted, toned down. This is a book about the stars, constellations, and that sort of thing. This is not a book for fun, but rather a guide to fun things you can do. It's a well written travel book, but ultimately it is just as functional as any other piece of luggage...
Of course, there is a lot of good: It is a well written book. There is at least a degree of pith. The cutout sections are where he really shines, it is almost worth buying the book just for that. Not quite, but almost. Anyone wanting to contribute to Scalzi's daughter's college fund, and is not interested in space, would be better off just buying a cool shirt...
Ultimately I bought it for my girlfriend (her reaction: "you are the best boyfriend _ever_"). We have yet to take it under the stars, but when we do, I know that it will help answer the question "what in god's name is going on up there?"...
Rating: 4 Mars out of 5 Earths. Very useful but not intrinsically pretty.
Posted by Andrew at June 9, 2003 01:17 AM
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