At Christmas I got into an argument with a guy who claimed Leonardo Da Vinci was born "ahead of his time". The fact that I was pissed out of my head prevented me from 1) walking away, and 2) providing an articulate argument against his point.
Actually a lot of the designs in his sketches were pretty prophetic*. Not that he got practical versions to work, (his 'flying machine design didn't work for example, although it's very interesting) but I believe he even drew a tank of sorts!
Anyway, back to books. On my chug through the Wheel of Time series I'm now on
Lord of Chaos. I think this is where the story tends to slow down a lot and puts some people off, but I still find it interesting.
I'm also reading a GN Gotham Central: Dead Robin. On first look it appears to be a Batman book. While he certainly appears in it, the story is mostly told from the point of view of the Gotham City Police Department. It's basically a cop story featuring superheroes, and (certain clichés aside, particularly in dialogue, etc) it works very well!
Oh, and in my lunch break today, I went to the 99p shop in Eltham. I found there volumes of Charles Dickens hardback books going for (guess it) 99p! I picked up the Pickwick papers. (This version is in 2 volumes, but for £2 that's pretty good!)
I tend to keep mostly to fantasy and horror when I read (I'm open to sci-fi, but I seem to prefer that on TV programmes/films and comics for some reason) but I do like some Dickens, particularly
David Copperfield and
Great Expectations.
*Prophetic is probably the wrong word. But just as many sci-fi authors have predicted things that have since come about, the same is true for his sketches. It's understandable he would be thought ahead of his time in that regard.
