"Full Black" by Brad Thor

When I was in the airport on the way back from DC last week, I picked up "Full Black" by Brad Thor. This book was hilarious, but not on purpose (I suspect). The first clue is the dedication: "To the patriots who exist all across the political spectrum." This is, of course, a warning that in this book if you're not a white Republican, you're going to have a bad time. The plot is based around an attempt by an antisemitic Jewish banking mogul who is trying to collapse the US government by using Islamic fundamentalist terrorists. I am not kidding - this reads like a Bourne Identity version of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The action sequences are exciting, but the plot gets more and more ridiculous over time.

The part of this book that really bothered me was the constant repetition that all Muslims are terrorists, and it's OK to think that until "good Muslims" stand up and denounce terrorism (what do you think they've been doing since 9/11?). There's one scene that is fantastically terrible - a woman in an airport line is looking at two Arabic men and decides that she's going to be different and not assume all Muslims are terrorists. She is immediately blown up by the men, who are of course terrorists. See what happens when you start thinking like a liberal?

You can probably pass on this one.

"The Magicians" and "The Magician King"

While on vacation, I read "The Magicians" and "The Magician King" by Lev Grossman. The easiest way to describe these books would be if Stephen King wrote a Chronicles of Narnia / Harry Potter mash-up. The basic premise is that there is a teenage guy graduating from high school who is obsessed with a fantastic world called Fillory (basically, Narnia). He goes to a college interview, and on the way home gets pulled into a magical college where seemingly, everything he ever dreamed about becomes true. But only kind of. In reality, all the magic is true, but it's not what he expects. It's much darker, and grittier, and much, much more dangerous than he expected.

This is basically an anti-Potter novel. It looks at what would happen if you gave a bunch of college age weirdos and outcasts phenomenal cosmic powers. I don't want to give too much away, but I'll give you a hint - it involves a lot more hedonism and ennui than Rowling could even conceive of.

There's a lot of depth to this book, and it deals with some really interesting questions about purpose, power, and responsibility. The magical universe has no "big bad guy" - so what do magicians do when they graduate from these magical universities? If you're immortal, how long can you handle it? Given phenomenal magical abilities, do you solve world hunger, or redecorate your house once a week to look like a different historical place? There's no simple answers in these books, and I think that's an interesting statement in itself.

The first book is better than the second, but they're both well worth reading. I'd be interested to hear from anyone else who reads these, so speak up if you do!

Out of the Blue: A History of Lightning: Science, Superstition, and Amazing Stories of Survival

I first heard about this book on NPR and was hooked as the author John S. Friedman talked about his research. I have always been awed by lightning and was curious to see how much myth and superstition he would bring into this book. So I picked it up from the library and dug in.

I did enjoy this book a lot and I learned so much about lightning and its impact on humanity and history. For instance I did not know that Ben Franklin's lightning rod sparked so much Theological debate about God's punishment vs this new technology. I really had no idea how much lightning affected the daily lives of people and how much it impacted history (especially Church history.)

I also learned so many facts about lightning that I never knew. Like how most people aren't hit by the direct bolt but usually a splash off. And I learned that lightning can be generated up to 30 minutes before and after a storm. You can literally be hit seemingly "out of the blue."

As much as I enjoyed reading that book, the jury is still out as to whether I should have read it. As a hypochondriac I will probably make a bee line indoors and stay away from all faucets, telephones, and outlets at the first sign of lightning. But I will also be peeking out the nearest window to watch God's light show.