Terrapin SunRay Wheat Beer
Last gasp of summer, but my first taste of Terrapin.
Cloudy pale yellow, not much head to speak of.
Getting banana and clove on the nose right off.
Fairly typical array of flavors for a wheat beer: banana, clove, but an extra spiciness as well. I thought the honey might add more sweetness, and it does give some, but it just didn't mesh with the other flavors for me.
I think I'm just not a fan of honey in my beer, it just throws me off. Maybe my next Terrapin will be better.
Overall rating: 3.2
The Signal
The Signal: A Novel by Ron Carlson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Kind of an odd book. Ron Carlson beautifully depicts the setting of his novel in the mountains of Montana and Wyoming. But the interactions between Vonnie and Mack fall into the terse limited ways that people who have been together for years tend toward. And in its own way, those interactions are beautiful too.
Carlson keeps the story tight and short, so you'll finish it quickly. But I think it will seep into you for a while after you read it. Nice work.
Next up is The Magicians by Lev Grossman.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read an interview where Seth Grahame-Smith admitted that P&P&Z was 85% Austen, and only 15% him. My wife asked me whether I had read Pride and Prejudice before, which I hadn't, but now I feel like I got through most of it, at least, enough to fake it better than reading the Cliffs Notes. Really, the zombie part doesn't come into play all that much, other than to be a common ground between Elizabeth and Darcy, and to slightly change what happens to Charlotte and Wickham. But those changes are pretty flippin' awesome. Hence, it must be five stars.
Next up is The Signal by Ron Carlson.
Fragment
Fragment by Warren Fahy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Fragment is pretty heavily influenced by Michael Crichton. A "lost world" island isolated in the Pacific Ocean has its various life forms evolve on a separate path for hundreds of millions of year, until us foolish humans stumble across it and end up screwing it up, of course. Fascinating and terrifying stuff. There's a good bit of science in there too, with the island dwellers having copper-based blood, crustacean-like properties, etc. And the quick pace will keep you hooked, even if you pretty much know where it's going all along.
Next up is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith (and Jane Austen).
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