Truckers. Terry Pratchett

Truckers
Terry Pratchett
Delacorte: 1990.

The first in a new series for teens, Truckers has the usual (though a bit toned down) Pratchett humor and wacky mythology. This mythology is a biblical-sounding one based on the store (in which these little guys live) being the universe, and the store's founder being God. The creatures in question are "nomes," 3-inch high people who don't live very long -- but they live fast. Thus, a minute for us humans is like an hour for the nomes.

Some rural nomes are forced to move and they wind up in a store which is like a great metropolis with rival families and guilds. However, none of the store nomes believe there is a world outside of the store. Various political battles ensue, and soon it is revealed that the store is about to close down. So Masklin, our hero, gets everyone together and they steal a truck and make it to a quarry, their new home.

As it turns out, they arrived on this planet a long time ago, but have since lost all knowledge and technology -- except the Thing, which turns out to be a super intelligent computer that helps them.

Good, not his best, and definitely for teens.

Rising Tides. Nora Roberts.

Rising Tides
Nora Roberts.

Felt I had to read this due to Roberts' tremendous popularity. After consultation with Diana, I've learned that this follows the basic pattern of romances: two people feel undeniable and irresistable attraction, but against the better judgment of at least one of them. Fate throws them together and they're quite happy for a while, but then break up. Of course, in the end they get married.

This one involves a guy who was sexually molested (sold to men by his prostitute mother) and now doesn't want to have kids of his own: he does not want to pass on his evil mother's genes. The rest is pretty boring, though there's nothing actually bad about the book. It's inoffensive, but by no means am I inspired to read everything she's written.