"The time has come," the Walrus said...
..."To talk of many things. Of shoes, and ships, and sealing wax, and philosophy papers." Yeah, so that's pretty much what I did today. I wrote a philosophy paper, or rather, the first part of a series of three. Topic: Blaise Pascal. A really interesting guy, if you are a philosophy type. If not, well, you might not care.

Book review:
So I just finished the first novel in David Gemmel's Rigante novels, The Sword in the Storm. The Rigante are a tribe of agricultural warriors who live in a land very reminiscent of modern-day Scotland. The main character in the book is a young warrior named Connovar. Through the course of his exploits, he attracts the attention of magic spirits called Seidh, a thing for good or ill, since they are not totally benevolent. Due to his selfless protection of his friends and family, he is chosen to save the Rigante from an invading Roman-esque army. On the whole, I found the book entertaining and for the most part well written. The only complaint that I had was that Gemmel's characterizations are sometimes a bit too far on this side of perfect. Characters are all basically good at heart, with a few minor blemishes here and there, but nothing a healthy beating or talking to won't cure. The only exception to this is Connavar, who engages in mass murder, revenge, and adultery. What makes his character remotely redeeming is his keen sense of guilt. He knows when he has failed, when he has broken the law, and he accepts the punishment for it. Ultimately, it is a tale of how he learns to forgive. As I say, though, many of the characters are more flat than they needed to be, and serve no purpose but to act as things to happen to Connavar. For the sake of the good story and skillful description, I will overlook the sometimes one-dimensional characters and give this one a three out of five stars.