The gossip in the Cooper is kind of the main attraction, if you're tuned into the channel. It's not just interesting in its own right, but also as a kind of snapshot of one whole channel of disciplinary/guild conversation.
I read both of these and ended up liking the Cooper better, but hating Stanford lots more than ever. White does write in a fairly engaging style. Maybe I was just more interested in the Harvard archaeology intrigue and gossip, though.
The gossip in the Cooper is kind of the main attraction, if you're tuned into the channel. It's not just interesting in its own right, but also as a kind of snapshot of one whole channel of disciplinary/guild conversation.
I read both of these and ended up liking the Cooper better, but hating Stanford lots more than ever. White does write in a fairly engaging style. Maybe I was just more interested in the Harvard archaeology intrigue and gossip, though.
"It reads a bit like an adaptation of a Columbo script, with White playing the lead detective."
Which makes me want to read it, actually. But I'm a sucker for a "Gilded Age plutocrat captured by weirdo spiritualism" narrative, admittedly.