Nothing about Masters of Doom, unfortunately. Don’t have it with me, and it’s been long enough that I can’t remember the detail of what I read. What I do remember, though, is:
- It’s a decent book, for interest value if nothing else. Carmack and Romero don’t really come across very positively in it, but being honest, it’s highly likely it’s a fair portrayal of them.
- The writing style isn’t so hot. I realise I’m not one to comment, but I will anyway. It’s a little too “hard copy” for my taste - I couldn’t shake the feeling I was reading a “secrets revealed” type of book.
- Print quality was crap. It was one of the cheaper books I’ve held. May not be important to most, but it didn’t help the overall impression I got.
I’ve also finished the first trilogy of the Uplift saga. Absolutely brilliant books. The basic premise is that the five universes are filled with a variety of galactic-travelling species. Everyone was “uplifted” at some stage by another species, right back to the progenitors. Uplifting is a nice euphemism for “genetic modification” - species that show potential sentience and promise are genetically tailored by a sponsor species for greater intelligence and, depending on the sponsor, deliberate modifications to better serve their sponsors.
In this very ancient system waltzes the clueless wolflings, the human race. Without a sponsor, and beliveing that they evolved intelligence. This, needless to say, is extremely challenging for every other species, making humans totally unique. Humans would have rapidly been enslaved, were it not for the fact that they had already started the process of uplifting dolphins and monkeys.
The trilogy deals with, in turn, a murder mystery, the beginnings of a galactic war, and the impact of the galactic war on a single human / monkey planet. Very good books - what makes them even more interesting is that the epic story is actually background. There’s a massive backstory going on, but it plays second fiddle to the main, character-focused story. Very worth reading.
I’ve also almost finished The Devil Wears Prada. The short description is that it’s the coming of age story of a small-town girl who finds a job with the premier fashonista of New York. She’s idealistic and wants to write, but she ends up working as a gofer for the boss from hell with the promise of anything she wants once she finishes her time as the local punching bag. Not so impressed, really - too Jackie Collins / trashy for my taste. I liked the first few chapters, but unfortunately the next 15 or so are exactly the same as the first three. Best I can see so far, it has little to do with the movie. Unsurprisingly, I might add. I haven’t finished it yet, so I don’t know if she goes to Paris or not, but it doesn’t look like there’s enough book left to fill the story, so to speak. If she does, it’s going to be rushed. I noticed in the airport that she’s got another book out with a similar premise, but my guess is that it’s not really worth reading unless these types of books are your thing. Or unless you really get off on fashion and trendy New York / Sex in the City type stuff. Without the raunch.
While I stuck on the tarmac this morning waiting for the lightning storms to die down so the unions would walk out on the runway and load the damn airplane with our baggage, I also read half of Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. Basic backstory is that the protagonist is the son of Anansi, the spider manifestation of ancient myth. Think the Trickster of the American Indians, Loki of the Norse, or Bre’re Rabbit of Disney. He finds out he has a brother who got the godly powers while he got … well, nothing really. His brother comes back into his life and hijinks ensue as he finds out his brother is a far better him than he is, right down to sleeping with his fiance who was holding out until marriage. Quite a painful book, in a good way - it’s well written, it’s creative, it’s funny, and it’s very emotionally cutting at times. He sees his fiance falling into bed with his brother, the god, at one point, crushing his heart, but the only problem is that his brother won’t let him back into the apartment, so he wanders around the neighbourhood for hours trying to find his own apartment but getting lost every time. Eventually he calls a cabbie, who treats him like an idiot, as his apartment is only around the corner. About eight hours later, they both give up and buy some bacon and eggs in a local diner. I’m only half-way through, but it’s a good book. Again, worth reading.
Not sure what I’m going to read next, really. I started reading the Mars trilogy - might go back and finish those. Wasn’t really gripped though, to be honest. Harry Potter’s out soon, which I’ll have to get. One can’t not know whether Dumbledor’s really dead or not, after all. 
I’ve got a few other books on the shelf ready to go, but I’ll probably pick up the second Uplift trilogy next. I already have the second book, just not the first or third. The other ones to read are the Quicksilver series by Neal Stephenson. I’m about 2/3 of the way through the first, and I’m seriously looking forward to the story actually starting in book two. Looks like it may be time for another trip out to the used book store, really.