On Wed, 22 Sep 2004, Bradford Holden wrote: > > From: Philip Hart <philiph at slac.stanford.edu> > > > > That should be "Barry Hughart's wonderful /Bridge of Birds/". > > Yes. Run, do not walk, to your nearest used bookstore or > library to find this book and read it. Unfortunately, I can > make no statement on the sequels. The trilogy is available in an omnibus edition, but I think most readers will be fine with just _BoB_. The sequels are also very well written from a prose point of view, the main characters' interactions are still sharp and amusing, and Hughart continues to wear his (apparently great) erudition lightly. However, the fever-pitch creativity of _BoB_ is lacking, and the surprise, and the secondary characters are much less Dickensian. A contrast with another favorite book, _The Elfin Ship_ by James Blaylock: the two sequels are also reworkings of the primary material but the whole remains fresh. Perhaps the difference has something to do the contrariety between surprise and comfort: _BoB_ shows us a world we didn't know while _TES_ shows us the world we know made more sensuous (not sensual!).