I recently picked up a couple of books since I felt like reading while travelling.
Bertrand Russel's Power is the first one, since I enjoy the man's style. It's certainly an enjoyable read, though he's less arguing that power is the fundamental drive that explains human behaveour and has spent more time studying the history of various forms of power. Though, I do have to admit, the idea that modern Europe and North America came to be possible because of a long drawn tie between the two primary ancient forms of power (ie, Kingly and Priestly) allowing for other forms to act as the kingmaker until economic power could effectively come up the middle and triumph.
But, since the two books are very different experiences, I'm basically reading both at the same time picking whichever one I feel like most at the moment, and the second is Dragon Keepers, by Robin Hobb. Set mostly in the Rain Wilds right after the events of Fool's Fate, it's basically looking at how the group of them deal with Tintaglia saying screw you all, I got a more enjoyable way to make dragons now.
Not entirely sure how this is going to play out, since I'm about halfway through, and the set up for the bigtrip on the back of the book hasn't even finished yet. Granted, this is a decent chunk of set up, focused mostly on three characters, one of whom may, or may not, be a villain. I'm currently betting on not, but it can go either way, and he's certainly better positioned to be a real threat than the ambiguously gay duo (hint, not ambiguous at all. But the author's sure acting like it is). Though, this brings me to the other thing. I'm pretty sure that the big voyage to the city of dragons ain't going to be the focus of this book at all, and instead will be about the start of said trip, given how much focus bingtown traders have, and given how unlikely it is that they'll try for a route that isn't upriver, and therefore away from all of those traders. Which, I suppose, makes sense given this is thefirst book in a two book series.
Which leaves the question, how are the Chalcedeans gonna screw things up, because they're always the villains!
