Book Log 2018 #40: The Dante Chamber by Matthew Pearl

I was a big fan of The Dante Club (which I apparently read before logging books, or maybe I just forgot to log it), so I was looking forward to this sequel, which moves the action to London, where a number of murders tied into Dante lead to the fear that artist and writer Dante Gabriel Rossetti will be the next victim. A litany of English literary figures, from Rossetti's sister Christina to Browning and Tennyson are enlisted to find Rossetti and figure out who is committing these murders - and why.

I was somewhat disappointed in the book, though I have a hard time articulating why. It could be I found the first novel more to my interests (being set in the Boston area), or perhaps I set my expectations too high. In any case, it's not a bad book, and I do like Pearl's novels generally, so I do think it's worth a look. Just keep your expectations in check.

 Book Log 2018 #39: The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

This is the first book of a trilogy where we make first contact with an alien civilization, with the result that (spoiler alert) the aliens decide they want to invade Earth.  This is a very simple statement of the plot, which folds in a variety of historical, philosophical, and scientific detail. It's one of those books that I enjoyed even though I constantly felt like I was missing something.

Part of that might be due to the book being translated from Chinese. I also wonder if there's a cultural difference between Eastern and Western science fiction that might account for some of this. Of course, it could just be that the book was operating at a level above the amount of work I put in to reading it.

All that being said, if you're into science fiction it's very much worth reading.

So my younger son has been calling Columbus Day "Columbia Day," and while this seems to be a simple slip of the tongue (he still says "Orlando" whenever we see a licence place from Ontario, so he's a little malapropish), it did get me thinking. 

Columbus Day has been falling out of favor for years, especially as the impact of his trips on the native population become more well known. The rise in localities opting to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day reflects this, and has led to an expected backlash from those who want to keep Columbus on the calendar.  Why not satisfy both sides and change the holiday to Columbia Day?

Columbia Day would be dedicated to celebrating the development of the United States and the contributions of all parties. It would recognize both native populations and the explorers who brought the New World into the orbit of the Old World. People would be free to tailor their own celebrations accordingly, though they would ideally reflect the varied and rich history of human history.

It's not a perfect solution, of course. Columbia was often used in the context of manifest destiny, which didn't go so well for native populations in the west. I could also see residents of the District of Columbia co-opting this day to highlight their lack of representation in Congress and further the push for statehood. Still, it would likely irritate partisans on both sides of the issue, which suggests it may not be that bad of an idea.

In any event, let me be the first (and only) person to wish you a happy Columbia Day today!

 Book Log 2018 #38: The Secret Dead by S. J. Parris

This is a short story prequel to the series featuring the former monk and amateur detective Giordano Bruno, set just as he's taking orders.  Restless on a hot summer night, Bruno goes for a walk and stumbles upon the illegal autopsy of a young woman. Bruno pokes his nose in, learns that there is something sinister about the woman's death - and potentially other deaths - and he has to decide between seeking justice or keeping his mouth shut and advancing his career. 

I liked this story just as much as I liked the novels, and would recommend seeking it out.

 Book Log 2018 #37: 12.21 by Dustin Thomason

When a smuggler brings a rare Mayan codex into the US, he also brings something else - a deadly disease that spreads quickly across southern California.  It's up to an expert in Mayan artifacts and local doctor to put a stop to the growing pandemic by deciphering the codex.

As you might have guessed, the story (and title) of this book is based on the "end of the world" scenario that was linked to the end of a cycle of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. The scenario was that the end of the cycle - on or around December 21, 2012 - there would be some sort of apocalyptic event or shift in the cosmos or something that would be bad news for us all. This wasn't something the Maya actually believed, but it sold a lot of merch so people just went with it.

The book is kind of meh. I had higher hopes for it as Thomason was one of the co-authors of The Rule of Four, which I really did like. You'd be better of reading (or re-reading) that book rather than taking on this one.