Kvothe the arcane... and apes!

I'd been waiting for ages for the second book in Patrick Rothfuss' "Kingkiller Chronicles", and when it arrived I even managed to savour the delicious pleasure of not reading it straight away.
For a couple of days.
Sadly, once I started I was sucked in and now I've raced through it and will have to wait probably a couple of years for the next book! Ouch!
Although there were one or two aspects of the main character (Kvothe) that started to annoy me a little this time round, the book is still superb, the writing is quite poetic, and the story is compelling. On the face of it, it's a fairly standard fantasy story of a young man's journey into adulthood, learning cool arcane secrets, magic, martial arts, etc., but with the twist that he's telling the story of his life and debunking his own myths as he goes. That description doesn't do it any justice at all - you'll have to read it yourself to see how beautifully written it is.
Oh, and it's a hefty one - roughly 1.27 kilograms, apparently. That kind of heft makes me feel smart when I'm reading, and looks good on my bookshelf afterwards. Nice one.
Since I've just been accepted into the Mighty Ape referral programme, I'll give you this link if you want to have a look at The Wise Man's Fear

That's right, I'm using Mighty Ape for most of my links now because I like the idea of supporting a company that's based in New Zealand, and Mighty Ape have impressed me with their customer service, range of stock, and ape-related witticisms.
If you're reading this in the United States, you might prefer to click this link to Amazon.com instead:
The Wise Man's Fear (Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 2)

And if you're reading this in Hungary, szia! Thanks for stopping by!

Fremen stillsuit design flaw

I'm branching out a bit today into DVD territory, but to fulfill the brief of this blog I'll first mention that this version of Frank Herbert's Dune weighs in at 1.4 pounds. Not massive, but chunky enough to make you feel like you're attempting something significant. I remember really enjoying this book when I was a young fullah.
















I recently watched the crazy old movie version of Dune, starring Kyle McLachlan's hair.
While I enjoyed the nutty Baron Harkonnen's performance, I realised I had an issue with the design of the Fremen stillsuit. They breathe in through the mouth and out through the nose, with a nosetube collecting moisture from the exhalations.
But in a hot, dry environment, surely breathing in through the mouth would dry out your tongue and mouth very quickly. Also, your nose filters the air as it comes in, and cools the air. Wouldn't it be far better to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth, with a tube attached to the mouth?
It would stilt the dialogue somewhat, but then again, it was pretty stilted in the movie anyway...
OK, everybody do their best Baron Harkonnen cackling laugh!