urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:murbin Life as I know it. Mark Urbin 2008-03-31T12:27:58Z urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:murbin:129661 2038-01-19T03:14:07Z 2008-03-31T12:27:58Z I'm reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0765314894/eclipsswebwarren">In The Courts of the Crimson Kings</a> by S.M. Stirling. <br /><br />It's full of hat tipping references to various pop culture references. In the chapters I read last night, you had sand pirates with eye patches (including one who said his parents wanted him to be a pediatrician), feral airship engines that go "puckapuckapucka" (close enough to tapocketa for me), and rodents of unusual size. There are also references to Indiana Jones and Star Trek. There is a hat tip to Kwai Chang Caine, as well as Butch and Sundance. <br /><br />It's a fun adventure story. John Carter and Kickaha would be right at home in this setting.