Books I've Read Recently

This will be an ongoing post so I can keep track of what I have read - more for my own benefit rather than anyone else's interest I think (reverse chronological order).

Planet Of Adventure (Jack Vance) - 6/10
Pretty trashy and simplistic sci-fi but it still kept my attention enough to read all 550 pages in 24 hours.

Eragon (Christopher Paolini) - 7/10
Predictable fantasy done well (by a teenage author - maybe the best author for fantasy?).

Burmese Days (George Orwell) - 9/10
Obviously drawing on much personal experience - found it relevant to my life in several ways too.

Sphere (Michael Crichton) - 3/10
Ok - I'm sick of Crichton now...

Stranger in a Strange Land (Robert Heinlein) - 4/10
Sci-fi, life on mars novel. Started out ok then got wafty. Heinlein at his most dated/sexist.

Prey (Michael Crichton) - 7/10
Another evolution/nanotechnology sci-fi book. Interesting concepts - reminded me a little of one of my all time favourites - Diamond Age (Neil Stephenson). No where near as creative though.

Origin of the Species (Charles Darwin) - 5/10
Pretty boring really compared to what is written on evolution now days. Could have been condensed into about 20 pages. Still has some interesting points to make. I feel a bit guilty for ranking Quest for the White Witch higher than Origin of the Species, but my rankings are based purely on their entertainment value to me.

Congo (Michael Crichton) - 7/10
Aeroplace escapism but done well.
Same genre as most books found here in bali - either that or some self help enlightenment hippy chick trash

Quest for the White Witch (Tannith Lee) - 7/10
Ok, fantasy pulp fiction