First gifts received in honor of Hitherby Dragons, from Shai:
Artemis Fowl: a nice, enjoyable read. Helpful on a hard day. Contribution to my thought processes mostly consisting of some new views on a couple of fun archetypes, which probably expanded their depth in my head slightly.
King Rat: kind of fascinating. This was the Mieville and not the Clavell (which is also fascinating). It contributed to my tangled morass of thoughts on the actions of people with integrity but without virtue. The antagonist didn't really interest me---I think that I have a more complex sense of what desire is and how it works than Mieville seems to. But the protagonist and pseudo-protagonists were very cool.
Stealing the Elf-King's Roses: Oddly, despite being a Diane Duane, this looks a bit complex. I think I need to be less stressed and push one of the older personalities forward to read it.
Thanks!