A Friday before Hallowe'en Reading Update.

 

This post has nothing to do with Hallowe'en but it is the Friday before scary day so there you go. The last time I did a reading update was 16 Oct. Since then I've completed 3 more books. I'll update those plus the normal stuff; currently reading, new books, etc.

Just Finished

1. Tales of Gooseflesh and Laughter by John Wyndham. One of the first Sci Fi authors I remember enjoying.

"I can't exactly remember when I read my first book by English author, John Wyndham] but I think it might have been in high school and I'm pretty sure it was The Day of the Triffids. As a much younger boy, I used to walk by the movie posters at our base cinema, on my way to school. One of them that I remember was the poster for The Day of the Triffids. I think it showed a man with his arm around a woman, surrounded by Triffids. My sister told me about the movie at breakfast.

So I digress, as usual, but Wyndham remains one of my favorite Sci Fi authors. The Day of the Triffids is such a great book and their have been some excellent and some not so excellent movie / TV adaptations of it. The Chrysalids (which should have been adapted to a TV mini-series, in my humble opinion), The Midwich Cuckoos (also Village of the Damned) and The Kraken Wakes are all excellent Sci Fi / Horror stories. Over the past few years, I've discovered others of his books, some written under the name of John Beynon (much earlier works) and a few other stories.

So with that preamble, what about Tales of Gooseflesh and Laughter. Firstly, it's a collection of short stories. It was originally published in 1956 and it contains stories that, while not outright horror, are unsettling at times, humorous at times and all are entertaining reads. Wyndham has a dry, unprepossessing style, even when the subject matter is uncomfortable and dare I say, terrifying? I refer more to Day of the Triffids in this case. The short stories are uncomfortable in the same way that the short stories of Saki (H.H. Munro) are. They lead you down a path and leave you wondering if you should chuckle or maybe shiver a bit.

The collection has 11 stories and they are a nice mix. Let's look at a couple -

-  Jizzle - A monkey with amazing talents that makes its owner lots of money. But what happens when said monkey gets jealous of having to share its owner? 

- The Wheel - for some reason it reminded me of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. Technology vs religion

- Compassion Circuit - a poorly wife, struggling with her health finally allows her husband to acquire a robot servant to help around the house. Surprising ending......

- Confidence Trick - a subway full of passengers is suddenly emptied. The remaining five discover they are on a train to Hell. Unbelief vs established norms

- A Present from Brunswick - a Pied Piper type story but with an interesting twist.

- More Spinned Against - this is from the story of Arachne in Greek mythology. Arachne was the best spinner in Greece and angered Athena who turned her into a spider. Arachne can switch back to human for one day a year and comes to an agreement with the lady of the house. The lady wants to go and get some pretty stones. Surprise when she returns to human form

and...

- Opposite Number - kind of a combination Dark Matter and Dr. Who with alternate dimensions...

I believe it takes a special skill for a writer to write short stories, to make your point quickly but still be able to provide a rich plot and then make your conclusion effective and interesting. John Wyndham has done that very successfully with this collection. Most enjoyable. (3.5 stars)"

2. Old Man's War by John Scalzi (Old Man's War #1 / 2005). I'd had this book on my shelf for a number of years. I'm glad I finally tried it as it was excellent and will hopefully get me going on reading the next books in the series.

"I've had Old Man's War by John Scalzi, the 1st book in his Old Man's War Sci Fi series, on my book shelf since 2017. And like many books that I've not got around to reading, I'm an idiot for waiting this long to finally get to it. As per my normal refrain, too many books, not enough time. At any rate, what a great story and intro to this series; a reminder of other books like it that I've enjoyed - Battle Cry by Leon Uris and Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. With a neat twist, of course.

The story follows John Perry, a man on Earth who has just 'celebrated' his 75th birthday. He visits his wife's grave and then joins the army. But not just any army, the Colonial Defense Force. The CDF protects Earth and its outer space colonies. It's source of troops are residents of Earth celebrating their 75th birthdays, hence the Old Man's War. Like Battle Cry, the story follows Perry and a gang of friends as they go through basic training and then follows them out as they do battle with alien races.

Of course, you would be correct in asking, but how do a bunch of septuagenarians compete with alien races with all of their technology and superior powers and physical abilities? Ah, good question. And that's the neat twist and I won't ruin it telling you how because it's really quite awesome. And there is another even neater twist when you meet the Ghost Brigades. Wow!

The story follows the Old folks' adventures, their interactions, their battles with the aforementioned aliens and it just draws you in and lets you soak up their stories and lives. Scalzi lets the action move along at just the correct pace. He gets you under the skins and into the minds and souls of these interesting folks. 

Besides being an entertaining outer space action adventure, it's just an excellent story about people and their lives and emotions and thoughts. Don't wait as long as I did to finally try it. Even if you're not a Sci Fi junkie, I think you'd enjoy it. (4.5 stars)"

3. The House at the End of Lacelean Street by Catherine McCarthy (2024). A new author for me.

"The House at the End of Lacelean Street by Catherine  McCarthy is an interesting 'horror' story. It's horror in the vein of The Haunting of Hill House, not really scary but a mental exercise in uncomfortableness. Yeah, that doesn't do it. This is the story..

Three people, Claudia, a middle-aged woman, Stacey, a young drug addict and Howard, an elderly gentleman, find themselves on a bus. It seems to make only one stop, at the corner of Lacelean Street; this being in the middle of the night. Claudia notes a mansion up Lacelean Street and heads to it. The other two eventually make their way there as well. (None of them have any recollection of how they got on the bus or really anything of their past)

Once inside, they notice name cards for each of them on a table in the hallway. They are informed that where their rooms are, when meals are and that they all need to show up at the library at 9:00 a.m. In their rooms, they are given clean clothes (these appear when they don't notice, their own clothes disappear).

So gradually, they all make it to the classroom. Claudia is the leader. She wants to know what is going on. She cajoles Howard to the classroom but the door is locked. It won't open until all three show up. She forces Howard to help her get Stacey downstairs the next day. Stacey is drug addled and they must help her.

Finally after a couple of days, they all make it to the library. There are jars of chalk for each. Almost uncontrollably, one after another, they write messages about one of the others that will start them on a pathway. (I'm hesitant to get into much more detail as it might ruin the story) Where will the pathway lead?

The story is told from the 3 individuals' perspectives. Each chapter focuses on one of them. They each have a troubled past, that might come out throughout their stay. As I say, it's not scary, but uncomfortable, troubling. The story is told beautifully, the three characters are all well presented, with all their scratchy under-surfaces. It's definitely interesting and flows very nicely from person to person. It has made me want to check out some of her other work, especially Mosaic. (4 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. The Scourge between the Stars by Ness Brown (2023).

"Ness Brown's The Scourge Between Stars is a tense, claustrophobic sci-fi/horror blend set aboard a doomed generation ship harboring something terrible within its walls.

As acting captain of the starship Calypso, Jacklyn Albright is responsible for keeping the last of humanity alive as they limp back to Earth from their forebears’ failed colony on a distant planet.

Faced with constant threats of starvation and destruction in the treacherous minefield of interstellar space, Jacklyn's crew has reached their breaking point. As unrest begins to spread throughout the ship’s Wards, a new threat emerges, picking off crew members in grim, bloody fashion.

Jacklyn and her team must hunt down the ship’s unknown intruder if they have any hope of making it back to their solar system alive."

2. Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (2014). I've enjoyed two previous graphic horror stories from Carroll. I've been looking forward to the collection.

"A fantastically dark and timeless graphic debut, for fans of Grimm Tales, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and the works of Neil Gaiman

'It came from the woods. Most strange things do.'

Five mysterious, spine-tingling stories follow journeys into (and out of?) the eerie abyss.

These chilling tales spring from the macabre imagination of acclaimed and award-winning comic creator Emily Carroll.

Come take a walk in the woods and see what awaits you there..."

New Books

1. Nothing Special, Vol 2 - Concerning Wings by Katie Cook (2024). I enjoyed the first book very much.

"Callie thinks that in the grand scheme of the worlds at large, she's nothing special. With the unexpected addition of friendship and adventure into her life, she's about to find out that she was very, very wrong.

Callie, Declan, Radish, and Lasser return for season two!"

2. The Infinity Particle by Wendy Xu (2023).

"In this gorgeous graphic novel by Wendy Xu, co-creator of the award-winning Mooncakes, a young inventor falls for a lifelike AI and confronts questions of freedom and autonomy. Clementine Chang moves from Earth to Mars for a new start and is lucky enough to land her dream job with Dr. Marcella Lin, an Artificial Intelligence pioneer. On her first day of work, Clem meets Dr. Lin’s assistant, a humanoid AI named Kye. Clem is no stranger to robots—she built herself a cute moth-shaped companion named SENA. Still, there’s something about Kye that feels almost too human. When Clem and Kye begin to collaborate, their chemistry sets off sparks. The only downside? Dr. Lin is enraged by Kye’s growing independence and won’t allow him more freedom. Plus, their relationship throws into question everything Clem thought she knew about AI. After all, if Kye is sentient enough to have feelings, shouldn’t he be able to control his own actions? Where is the line between AI and human? As her past and Kye’s future weigh down on her, Clem becomes determined to help him break free—even if it means risking everything she came to Mars for."

3. Northern Nights by Michael Kelly (2024).

"Something stirs in the boundless dark of the Canadian north. Listen. Can you hear it?

Northern Nights is an anthology of strange stories, featuring the dark dreams and feverish imaginations of Canada's finest speculative authors. Steel yourself for a journey through these northern nights.

Featuring all new original stories from Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Camilla Grudova, Premee Mohamed, David Demchuk, Senaa Ahmad, A.C. Wise, Naben Ruthnum, Simon Strantzas, Richard Gavin, Rich Larson, Hiron Ennes, Siobhan Carroll, Lynn Hutchinson Lee, Rory Say, David Nickle, Marc A. Godin, EC Dorgan, K.L. Schroeder, Nayani Jensen, and David Neil Lee."

4. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #1 / 2006). I read a graphic novel based on this series.

"Mercedes Thompson, aka Mercy, is a talented Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. She also happens to be a walker, a magical being with the power to shift into a coyote at will. Mercy's next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a bus for a vampire. This is the world of Mercy Thompson, one that looks a lot like ours but is populated by those things that go bump in the night. And Mercy's connection to those things is about to get her into some serious hot water..."

5. Empire by Clifford D. Simak (1951). I've been working my way through Simak's books.

"Four men were in the room -- Chambers himself; Craven, the scientist; Arnold Grant, head of Interplanetary's publicity department, and Harry Wilson! Wilson's voice came out of the screen, a frantic, almost terrified voice. "I've told you all I know. I'm not a scientist. I'm a mechanic. I've told you what they're doing. I can't tell you how they do it." Arnold Grant leaned forward in his chair. His face was twisted in fury. "There were plans, weren't there?" he demanded. "There were equations and formulas. Why didn't you bring us some of them?" "I tried," pleaded Wilson. Perspiration stood out on his forehead. The cigarette in his mouth was limp and dead. "One of them was always there. I never could get hold of any papers. I asked questions, but they were too busy to answer. And I couldn't ask too much, because then they would have suspected me." Half a continent away, the men they were speaking of -- the very men that Wilson had been hired to spy upon -- were watching everything that was said. They were not pleased."

6. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy (2019). A lady at my local book store recommended this. The artwork looks beautiful.

"Enter the world of Charlie's four unlikely friends, discover their story and their most important life lessons. The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse have been shared millions of times online - perhaps you've seen them? They've also been recreated by children in schools and hung on hospital walls. They sometimes even appear on lamp posts and on cafe and bookshop windows. Perhaps you saw the boy and mole on the Comic Relief T-shirt, Love Wins?

Here, you will find them together in this book of Charlie's most-loved drawings, adventuring into the Wild and exploring the thoughts and feelings that unite us all."

Female Authors Whose Work I've Enjoyed - Minette Walters

Minette Walters

Minette Walters has long been one of my favorite mystery writers. Unlike many of my others, she writes standalone mysteries. I can't say I haven't enjoyed one of them so far. They've all been excellent. Walters was born in Bishop Stortford, England in 1949. Since then she has written about 20 novels / novellas. Quite a few of her books have been turned into movies as well. So far I've enjoyed 9 of her novels. I've yet to explore her more recent works. I do have another 4 sitting on my bookshelf awaiting my attention. (Jo bought me a few for Xmas one year that I recall) Let's look at them to give you an idea of her work.

1. The Devil's Feather (2005).

"With private security firms supplying bodyguards in every theatre of war, who will notice the emergence of a sexual psychopath from the ranks of the mercenaries?

Reuters correspondent Connie Burns is no stranger to the world’s trouble spots, including the vicious civil unrest in Sierra Leone and the war in Iraq. But as she begins to suspect that a foreigner is using the chaos of war to act out sadistic fantasies against women, her efforts to bring him to justice leave her devastated.

Degraded and terrified, she goes into hiding in England and strikes up a friendship with Jess Derbyshire, a loner whose reclusive nature may well be masking secrets of her own. Connie draws from the other woman's strength and makes the hazardous decision to attempt a third unmasking of a serial killer . . .

Knowing he will come looking for her . . ."

2. The Chameleon's Shadow (2007).

"A compelling look into damaged minds, The Chameleon's Shadow is a psychological thriller from crime queen Minette Walters. When Lieutenant Charles Acland is flown home from Iraq with serious head injuries, he faces not only permanent disfigurement but also an apparent change to his previously outgoing personality. Crippled by migraines, and suspicious of his psychiatrist, he begins to display sporadic bouts of aggression, particularly against women, especially his ex-fiancée who seems unable to accept that the relationship is over. After his injuries prevent his return to the army, he cuts all ties with his former life and moves to London. Alone and unmonitored, he sinks into a private world of guilt and paranoid distrust . . . until a customer annoys him in a Bermondsey pub and he attracts the attention of local police investigating three murders which appear to have been motivated by extreme rage . . . Under suspicion, Acland is forced to confront the real issues behind his isolation. How much control does he have over the dark side of his personality Do his migraines contribute to his rages Has he always been the duplicitous chameleon that his ex-fiancée claims And why if he hates women does he look to a woman for help."

3. Shape of Snakes (2000).

"November 1978. Britain is on strike. The dead lie unburied, rubbish piles in the streets - and somewhere in West London a black woman dies in a rain-soaked gutter. Her passing would have gone unmourned but for the young woman who finds her and who believes - apparently against reason - that Annie was murdered. But whatever the truth about Annie - whether she was as mad as her neighbours claimed, whether she lived in squalor as the police said - something passed between her and Mrs. Ranelagh in the moment of death which binds this one woman to her cause for the next twenty years. But why is Mrs Ranelagh so convinced it was murder when by her own account Annie died without speaking. And why would any woman spend twenty painstaking years uncovering the truth - unless her reasons are personal . . ."

4. Fox Evil (2002).

"When elderly Alisa Lockyer-Fox is found dead in her garden, dressed in her nightclothes and with bloodstains on the ground around her, the finger of suspicion points at her wealthy husband, Colonel James Lockyer-Fox. A coroner's investigation deems it death by natural causes, but the gossip surrounding James refuses to go away." With James friendless and alone, his reclusive behavior begins to alarm his attorney, whose concern deepens when he discovers that his client has become the victim of a relentless campaign accusing him of far worse than the murder of his wife. James is unwilling to fight the allegations, choosing instead to devote his energies to a desperate search for the illegitimate granddaughter who may prove his savior as he battles for his name - and his life."

Pique your interest at all? The complete listing of Walters' books can be found at this link.