It's Monday and It's Sweater Weather

It's a beautiful, cool, fresh sunny Monday in the Valley. The puppies and I just came back from a nice, leisurely walk around the block. Jo and I are shortly going to Beninos for lunch. Great way to start off the week.

It's been awhile since my last update and I'm slowly working through the books I've got ongoing. I have completed one more book since my last update, the last book in the Tripods trilogy. I'll provide the review of that book, the synopsis of the one I've started next and also the synopsis of the one new book I've purchased in the past week. Since it'll be a relatively short post, I'll also continue with my ongoing (2 years?) look at the works of women authors whose writing I've been enjoying.

Just Finished

1. The Pool of Fire by John Christopher (Tripods #3 / 1968).

"The Pool of Fire is the third and final story in the Tripod trilogy by Sci Fi author, John Christopher. It leans towards a YA adventure but is more than suitable and entertaining for adult readers as well. 

In this final instalment, we follow Will and his friends in the resistance (a resistance to the Tripod overlords, that is) as they try to use the knowledge they gained in the 2nd book to destroy the Tripods and save Earth. Time is of the essence as an alien ship is on the way with the technology to turn all of Earth's atmosphere poisonous to the human inhabitants and turn it over completely to the Tripods. At the moment, they are confined to their three cities; one in Germany, one in Panama and the other in China. They can only move about if they are protected within their Tripod machines.

In this story, the resistance works to create a major movement of those yet uncapped by the Tripods (capping is how the Tripods control the minds of humans, from the time they reach 13 years of age). As well, they must figure out a way of destroying all of the 3 cities at the same time so that no warning can be sent to the other cities. Will and Fritz and a small group are sent back to the city in Germany with other teams going to the remaining cities. I won't go any further with the plot as much more happens that you should enjoy discovering by yourselves. Suffice it to say it's a dangerous assignment that should it succeed, will change the destiny of those living on Earth.

We learn more about the main characters; scientifically - mined Beanpole, the quiet leadership provided by Fritz, and the hot-headed personality of Will, the main focus of the story. Will his impatience negatively affect the mission? There are other characters as well, Will's cousin, Henry who has matured since the first book and the elderly Jules who provides the overall leadership. It's an interesting story, moving along at a medium pace, with time for introspection as well as considerable action. Can humanity defeat the alien invaders? Can they survive themselves. Interesting trilogy. (3.5 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon (1973). I have read one other of Tryon's horror stories, The Other, and enjoyed it very much. It being Hallowe'en month, I thought I'd give this one a try. It's building... 😎

"A family flees the crime-ridden city—and finds something worse—in “a brilliantly imagined horror story” by the New York Times–bestselling author (The Boston Globe).

After watching his asthmatic daughter suffer in the foul city air, Theodore Constantine decides to get back to the land. When he and his wife search New England for the perfect nineteenth-century home, they find no township more charming, no countryside more idyllic than the farming village of Cornwall Coombe. Here they begin a new life: simple, pure, close to nature—and ultimately more terrifying than Manhattan’s darkest alley.

When the Constantines win the friendship of the town matriarch, the mysterious Widow Fortune, they are invited to join the ancient festival of Harvest Home, a ceremony whose quaintness disguises dark intentions. In this bucolic hamlet, where bootleggers work by moonlight and all of the villagers seem to share the same last name, the past is more present than outsiders can fathom—and something far more sinister than the annual harvest is about to rise out of the earth."

New Books

I was checking out Books 4 Brains on Saturday and saw this one and thought it sounded kind of interesting.

1. Girlfriend on Mars, A Novel by Deborah Willis (2023).

"Amber Kivinen is moving to Mars. Or at least, she will be if she wins a chance to join MarsNow. She and twenty-three reality TV contestants from around the world—including a hunky Israeli soldier, an endearing fellow Canadian, and an assortment of science nerds and wannabe influencers—are competing for two seats on the first human-led mission to Mars, sponsored by billionaire Geoff Task. Meanwhile Kevin, Amber’s boyfriend of fourteen years, was content going nowhere until Amber left him—and their hydroponic weed business—behind. As he tends to the plants growing in their absurdly overpriced Vancouver basement apartment, Kevin tunes in to find out why the love of his life is so determined to leave the planet with somebody else.

An audaciously original debut from an “immensely talented writer” (Emily St. John Mandel), Girlfriend on Mars is at once a satirical indictment of our pursuit of fame and wealth amidst environmental crisis, and an exploration of humanity’s deepest longing, greatest quest, and most enduring cliché: love"

Women Authors Whose Work I've Been Enjoying - Rachel Smythe

Rachel Smythe

There isn't a lot of info I could find online about Rachel Smythe. Suffice it to say she is the creator of the graphic novel series, Lore Olympus, an updating of the Greek gods stories, especially focused on the romance between Persephone and Hades. She is based out of Wellington, New Zealand and has been working on this series since 2018. You can go to this link to find out more about her and her work.

As of Oct 2023, 5 volumes have been released, encapsulating Chapters 1 - 102 of the series. I've enjoyed the first three volumes so far and have Vol 4, Chapters 76 - 102 on order. Vol 6 is slated to come out in early 2024. Let's take a look at the first 3 volumes.

1. Lore Olympus, Vol 1 (2021).

"I will preface my comments by saying it might be useful if you had a bit of knowledge of the Greek gods and myths before you read this graphic novel. But it's not crucial, I guess. I'll leave that judgement to other reviewers. Lore Olympus: Volume One by Rachel  Smythe is an updated, modernized take on the myth of the romance between Demeter's daughter, the goddess of Spring and Pluto, the god of the Underworld. It's a glitzy, sparkly take on the lives of the gods as they live in California? living lives of the rich and 'famous'.

This is the first book of 3 so far and I don't know yet if they all focus on this relationship or if others are highlighted. (One side story does cover Cupid and Psyche). Pluto makes the mistake of saying that Persephone is more beautiful than Aphrodite and Aphrodite, upset by this, gets her son Cupid to drug Persephone and hide her in Pluto's car. This begins an interaction between the two, with Persephone falling in love and Pluto, also, but trying to avoid complications with Demeter.

There is lots of plotting and interactions between the other gods and Persephone and Pluto. We meet Artemis, Cupid, Apollo, and all of the others. The drawings are bright and colorful, the story work, sometimes confusing, but at all times engrossing. I have always enjoyed the myths and this take brought back this enjoyment. I liked the modernization of the gods and just overall enjoyed the story. I've got #2 on my bookshelf and have seen Book 3 at my local. Yup, I'm buying it. (3.5 stars)"

2. Lore Olympus, Vol 2 (2022).

"Lore Olympus: Volume Two by Rachel  Smythe is the 2nd book in Smythe's updated look at the activities of the Gods of Olympus and continues the story of the romance between Demeter's daughter, Persephone, and the God of the Underworld, Hades. As I recall the story, Persephone ended up spending winters in the Underworld with Hades and came back to Earth during springtime, hence the rebirth every spring.

In this 2nd installment of the Lore graphic novel, Hera, aware of the budding relationship between the two, assigns Persephone as an intern to Hades Inc. Persephone is an 18 year old university student and Pluto is a 1,000 year old god. Yup, a spring / winter relationship. Hades has doubts about starting a relationship. His PA, Minthe, a Naiad, who loves Hades, tries to get rid of Persephone. 

It's a glossy story, great artwork, and entertaining. I sometimes had difficulty figuring out who was who, coz, well, you know, those Greek gods look similar. 😏 But try it out. I'm sure you'll enjoy the romance, the characters, the artwork and the coloring. I have Vol 3 on my book shelf and will get to it soon, I'm sure. (4.0 stars)"

3. Lore Olympus Vol 3 (2022).

"Lore Olympus: Volume Three by Rachel  Smythe is the 3rd volume of the Lore graphic novel / webtoon series and consists of episodes 50 - 75. The series is Smythe's updated, modern twist on the Olympian gods and focuses on the romance between the King of the Underworld, Hades and Demeter's daughter, Persephone (also known as Kori).

In this volume, Persephone has begun her internship in Hades' Corp, a situation made awkward as both Hades and Persephone are trying to deny their feelings for each other. Hades' right-hand woman, Hecate (maybe my favorite character) isn't helping as she tries to force the two together. Persephone is having issues because of her bad encounter with Apollo in the previous issue, one she can't really talk about as she is dealing with issues of guilt. Hades is trying to hide his feelings by seemingly having a relationship with water nymph Minthe.

The story moves back and forth between the present and back stories and that does at times make it confusing. As well, I find it somewhat difficult at times to keep track of the characters. Their images change sometimes due to the emotions they are displaying, an interesting concept. I have to say it's a fascinating concept and the artwork is rich and detailed. There are many characters to like and savor. There is an especially emotional, touching conversation between Cupid and Persephone as he tries to comfort her when he realizes that the encounter with Apollo was not consensual. 

Interesting characters, great artwork, complex storyline and a neat, modern take on the Olympians. Vol 4 is on order. (3.5 stars)"

You can find out more info on the series at this link. It's an entertaining series. Check it out. Enjoy the rest of your October.