Mid July is already here!

Only my 2nd post of July. I have been reading but not as much or as quickly as normal. I do have a few tomes on the go, so that's my excuse.. I've actually got off my butt a bit, cleaned the deck finally and put out the deck chairs. Mowed the lawn, even though it's pretty dried out as we're on Level 3 watering restrictions. I've vetted my book shelves and got rid of a few that have been hanging around. Yada yada... 

Not a lot to report re books, but I have finished two  more and am making steady progress on the others. I'll update my completed books, books I'm starting and any new ones that might have arrived. 

Recently Completed

1. The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tarzan #3 / 1914). Entertaining adventure.

"The Beasts of Tarzan is the 3rd book of Edgar Rice Burroughs adventure series featuring the Lord of the Jungle and it was originally published in 1914. My first exposure to his work was his John Carter of Mars Sci Fi series. I read that a couple of times. Over the past few years, I've been meandering through his other works, some standalones, the Caspak (Land that Time Forgot books). I can't say that his stories are fantastic but they are always entertaining and filled with action and adventure. 

In Tarzan #3, things start off with a bang. An old enemy, the Russian terrorist, Rokov (he was supposed to be in a French prison) and his partner, Paulvitz have a plan to destroy Tarzan's life. At this time, Tarzan is a civilized man, Lord Greystoke, living in London with his wife, Lady Greystoke and their infant child, John. The two schemers want to kidnap John and Tarzan, which they do manage to do. Jane, even though she's told to stay at home, follows the events and is also kidnapped.

Tarzan is dropped off on an isolated island off the west coast of Africa. Rokov plans to turn the baby over to cannibals on the mainland so he'll be turned into one as well. His plans for Jane are to have her reject her husband and choose Rokov. (Not likely, buddy!)

And that's the gist. Tarzan reverts easily to his jungle life style. He hunts, stalks, discovers a humanoid / ape tribe that he 'befriends' and also a black panther, Sheeta, that he wins over to his side when he saves it from a fallen tree. As well, an African tribe has run ashore on the island and after a battle between Tarzan and his friends, their remaining soldiers are also won over to Tarzan's side.

This motley group must find a way to get off the island (may I suggest an airship, a bridge.. oh, right how about a boat... duh) and then they will track Rokov and is group of reprobates through the jungles of Africa to help Tarzan save Jane and his child.

The story moves from Tarzan's perspective to that of Jane and even of the two villains. It's a quickly paced story, even though the writing is a bit turgid, I found. Put aside the portrayal of Africa as a savage, violent land (not that I was alive in 1914 to know what much of the world was like) peopled by cannibals and wild tribes, the story is still exciting and Tarzan always finds honorable,  faithful friends no matter where he finds himself.

Lots of action, lots of bodies, friendship, vengeful enemies, roaring jungle beasts, it's got a bit of everything you'd expect from Burroughs. Some of the throw-ins, like the sudden appearance of more villains, seemed unnecessary, but they all served a purpose. Not great, but still entertaining (2.5 stars)"

2. The Unquiet Night by Patricia Carlon (Mys / 2001). A new author for me.

"The Unquiet Night by Australian writer, Patricia Carlon was my first attempt at her work. I believe I discovered her during my exploration of the Soho Crime catalogue. It introduced me to many new, interesting authors. She lived from 1927 - 2002 and wrote 14 suspense novels between 1961 and 1970, one obviously being this one. As an aside, I've checked for copies of the other 13 books and thus far have only found one other.

OK, the story. It starts very quickly. A young man, Mart, is in the park with a young woman, Rose, and he's panicking. In a fit of rage, he's murdered her. She went with him, hoping for some fun, but he just wanted to talk about his dreams, etc. and when she said he was a strange bird, he shook her and shook her. Terrified now, he drags her body to a hill overlooking a reservoir, lake... and rolls her down the side into the water.

As he's leaving he sees a lady and young girl, Aunty Rachel and 9-year old Ann. Their eyes make contact, Rachel says hello, he responds and then a rainstorm begins and Rachel grabs Ann and rushes to her car.

As he stands there in the rain, Mart begins to worry. He's not really worried that the pair saw him killing Rose, but when her body is discovered, she might remember him being there. Now begins the real story as Mart tries to find out who the lady and girl are and how he's going to have to silence them.

It's a fascinating story, that grows tenser and tenser as it progresses. The story is told mainly from Mart and Rachel's perspectives, but it jumps from individual to individual as Mart and Rachel make contact with people in the small town. Mart isn't stupid and is quite ingenious in his way of trying to find out who Rachel and Ann are. But these contacts start to develop a picture for the police and mainly Rachel's sort of boyfriend, Steve, a radio broadcaster, who until the exciting ending, begins to put pieces together until the satisfying final sentence.

Carlon gives you a nice perspective of how people react to Mart's telephone calls, the fear he begins to inculcate in local mothers as he tries to find out Ann's name. I don't want to ruin the story because you should get the full impact, but trivial  little normal day-to-day activities impact on the final part of the story. Will Mart be able to silence Rachel and Ann? Why are people so frustrating!! I'll get at that tomorrow... No, no! You need to do it now! 

It's filled with those little scenarios that make suspense so suspenseful, disconnecting your phone so nobody can disturb you, telling your daughter that you don't want to talk to her about what she might have seen, etc. A pleasant surprise and I'm looking forward to reading my other book by Carlon, The Whispering Wall (4.0 stars)"

Currently Reading (One book started since my last update)

1. Traitor's Doom by John Creasey (Dr. Palfrey #1 / 1942) Continuing my exploration of the work of Creasey.

"Nazi Agents are at work in the neutral countries of Europe - attempting to subvert so as to provide further easy victims for the Third Reich. Dr. Palfrey and the 'Rescue Squad' are faced with the challenge and danger of meeting this treachery and overcoming the full might of the German state in its quest for power. There is much standing against them, and they are likely to be uncovered and caught at any moment, but they must succeed as the fate of the allies may depend upon it."

New Books (believe it or not only one book has arrived... Darn it!)

1. Zone One by Colson Whitehead (Horror / 2011). I've read one other book by Whitehead, but it wasn't horror.

"A pandemic has devastated the planet, sorting humanity into two the uninfected and the infected, the living and the living dead. The worst of the plague is now past, and Manhattan is slowly being resettled. Armed forces have successfully reclaimed the island south of Canal Street - aka 'Zone One' and teams of civilian volunteers are clearing out the remaining infected 'stragglers'.

Mark Spitz is a member of one of these taskforces and over three surreal days he undertakes the mundane mission of malfunctioning zombie removal, the rigors of Post-Apocalyptic Stress Disorder, and attempting to come to terms with a fallen world.

But then things start to go terribly wrong..."

Books in the Hopper (depending on the which book by challenge I complete next, these are a few of the books I've got waiting on my computer desk)

1. The Dream Master by Roger Zelazny (Sci Fi / 1966).

2. Inspector West Alone by John Creasey (Inspector West #9 / Thriller / 1950). I hope to read a few more by Creasey / Marric before the end of the year.

3. Wycliffe and the Tangle Web by W.J. Burley (Inspector Wycliffe #15 / 1988) I'm making excellent progress on this series

4. American War by Omar El Akkad (Dys / 2017). I've read Akkad's non-fiction work and thought it was very thought provoking.

5. Romola by George Eliot (Classics / 1863) I might not start this until I finish Tess of the d'Urbervilles. 

6. Cobra Trap by Peter O'Donnell (Modesty Blaise / 1996) A collection of short stories featuring action heroine Modesty Blaise.

7. Killadelphia by Rodney Barnes (Vol 1 / 2019). A new graphic novel horror series recommended by a friend.

So there you go friends. Some reading ideas for you. Enjoy the rest of July.

A Quick July 2026 Update

Just a quick reading update today. We're watching Wimbledon at the moment, the young English lad is doing great. Jo and I were thrilled at England's World Cup victory yesterday and today we'll be cheering for Belgium vs US. 

Just Completed

(Off to a slow start in July although to be fair I've got a few tomes on the go. Of those I'm reading at the moment I think my favorite two are Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros and Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts by Margaret Atwood)

1. The Dead Side of the Mike by Simon Brett (Charles Paris #6 / 1981). Always an interesting read.

"The Charles Paris mystery series is kind of a comfort read for me. I first heard of it when I discovered my wife listening to a radio dramatization of the series on BBC radio, starring Bill Nighy as Charles Paris. When I discovered it was also a book series, I decided to check it out. Dead Side Of The Mike by Simon Brett is the sixth book in the series and oddly finds the erstwhile Paris working within the BBC itself.

Paris is a constantly struggling actor, divorced... maybe just separated from his wife Frances, who occasionally has some success writing his own material, sometimes not so successful. He's managed to work his way into the BBC for some spot work and suddenly finds himself on a committee to improve the BBC's production quality, the Features Action Group Meeting. He's there as an outsider, to bring some freshness to the inputs. As usual, Paris is somewhat lost and also bored.

Things begin to pick up when he meets a young producer, Steve (a pretty young woman with fantastic eyes) and then even more so when they find the dead body of Steve's roommate in her production studio. All evidence points to suicide, but Steve can't believe her friend would kill herself and Paris's investigator's nose smells a potential mystery.

So that's the premise and it will lead to another body, a trip by Paris and Frances to New York, ostensibly for Frances's mother's funeral, but also provides Paris with more clues to the mystery of the murder (s)... maybe suicides...

The stories are always neat because they do provide an inside look at the actor's life and this time into the workings of the BBC (a very glossed over look, but still interesting). There are never any police involved in these investigations, basically, it's Paris snooping around with sometimes help from Frances or another of Paris's buddies, his lawyer friend, Gerald. There are the ongoing frustrations about Paris's personal life, his on and off relationship with Frances, his efforts, as a slightly over the hill (in his mind, anyway) man, to start new relationships or maybe just have sex..

The mystery is solved after a few twists and turns and it's reasonably satisfying. The books are usually short, page turners and satisfying. Check out Charles Paris if you like that sort of story. (3.0 stars)"

Currently Reading (started since my update 27 Jun)

1. The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tarzan #3 / 1914).

"As THE BEASTS OF TARZAN begins, Tarzan -- as Lord Greystoke -- is settled in civilized London. But two of his enemies, Nikolas Rokoff and henchman Alexis Paulvitch, are on his trail. The pair abducts Jane -- and Tarzan's son, Jack. Tarzan himself is stranded on a desert island, but with the help of Sheeta the panther and Akut the great ape he makes it back to the mainland. There he meets Mugambi, the giant chief of the Wagambi tribe, who becomes Tarzan's lifelong friend and ally. The group heads into the deep jungle after the kidnappers -- and when Tarzan finds them he lets the beast inside him wreck his vengeance. There's a beautiful irony, here -- Tarzan has come from the jungle into civilization, and his son must go from civilization to the jungle. Where Tarzan grew up without human guidance or moral direction, he has become an honorable man -- chivalrous, almost noble; a genuinely good man. And now his son, raised in civilization, must now walk a similar path. . ."

Newest Additions (3 books since my last update)

1. Ghoul by Brian Keene (Horror / 2007) I have one other book by Keene which I hope to read this year.

"June 1984. Timmy Graco is looking forward to summer vacation, taking it easy and hanging out with his buddies. Instead his summer will be filled with terror and a life-and-death battle against a nightmarish creature that few will believe even exists. Timmy learns that the person who's been unearthing fresh graves in the cemetery isn't a person at all. It's a thing. And it's after Timmy and his friends. If Timmy hopes to live to see September, he'll have to escape the...GHOUL."

2. The Witches: The Graphic Novel by Penelope Bagieu (Graphic Novel / 2020). Of course, based on the novel by Roald Dahl.

"Roald Dahl's darkly funny masterpiece, The Witches, now available as a graphic novel from Eisner Award-winning artist Pénélope Bagieu!

Witches are real, and they are very, very dangerous. They wear ordinary clothes and have ordinary jobs, living in ordinary towns all across the world -- and there's nothing they despise more than children. When an eight-year-old boy and his grandmother come face-to-face with the Grand High Witch herself, they may be the only ones who can stop the witches' latest plot to stamp out every last child in the country!

This full-color graphic novel edition of Roald Dahl's The Witches, adapted and illustrated by Eisner Award winner Pénélope Bagieu, is the first-ever Dahl story to appear in this format. Graphic novel readers and Roald Dahl fans alike will relish this dynamic new take on a uniquely funny tale."

3. Devil's Creek by Todd Keisling (Horror / 2020).

"About fifteen miles west of Stauford, Kentucky lies Devil’s Creek. According to local legend, there used to be a church out there, home to the Lord’s Church of Holy Voices—a death cult where Jacob Masters preached the gospel of a nameless god.

And like most legends, there’s truth buried among the roots and bones.

In 1983, the church burned to the ground following a mass suicide. Among the survivors were Jacob’s six children and their grandparents, who banded together to defy their former minister. Dubbed the “Stauford Six,” these children grew up amid scrutiny and ridicule, but their infamy has faded over the last thirty years.

Now their ordeal is all but forgotten, and Jacob Masters is nothing more than a scary story told around campfires.

For Jack Tremly, one of the Six, memories of that fateful night have fueled a successful art career—and a lifetime of nightmares. When his grandmother Imogene dies, Jack returns to Stauford to settle her estate. What he finds waiting for him are secrets Imogene kept in his youth, secrets about his father and the church. Secrets that can no longer stay buried.

The roots of Jacob’s buried god run deep, and within the heart of Devil’s Creek, something is beginning to stir…"

There you go folks. I said it would be a quickie, eh? Enjoy your week.

New Books

The raccoons in my neighbours yard have a lot to say this morning.

Because I went to the Rotary Club Book Sale last weekend and a few new books also showed up on my 'doorstep', I thought I'd do a quick 'New Books' update before I head off shopping. Jo is having a snooze so I won't disturb her. Let's go!

New Books

1. The Keeper of the Isis Light by Monica Hughes (Isis #1 / 1980). A new author for me.

"Olwen 16 lived her whole life alone on planet Isis with Guardian. To her more than a robot, he saw the danger to the human baby from such a harsh climate. When settlers come from Earth, she no longer needs to operate the Lighthouse. She and Mark 17 care deeply for each other, yet Guardian insists she wear a face mask and suit. Mark sees beneath and her world changes."

2. The Black Angel by Cornell Woolrich (Mys / 1943). I'm enjoying exploring his work. I just completed The Bride Word Black.

"A panic-stricken young wife races against time to prove that her convicted husband did not murder his mistress. Writing in first person from her viewpoint, Woolrich makes us feel her love and anguish and desperation, as she becomes an avenging angel to rescue her husband from execution."

4. Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Shadows of the Apt #1 / 2008). I enjoyed Elder Race and want to explore his fantasy / Sci-Fi more. This was one of my Rotary Club (RC) purchases. $2.50 a book, good deal.

"The city states of the Lowlands have lived in peace for decades, bastions of civilization, prosperity and sophistication, protected by treaties, trade and a belief in the reasonable nature of their neighbours.

But meanwhile, in far-off corners, the Wasp Empire has been devouring city after city with its highly trained armies, its machines, its killing Art...And now its hunger for conquest and war has become insatiable.

Only the ageing Stenwold Maker, spymaster, artificer and statesman, can see that the long days of peace are over. It falls upon his shoulders to open the eyes of his people, before a black-and-gold tide sweeps down over the Lowlands and burns away everything in its path.

But first he must stop himself becoming the Empire's latest victim."

5. The Golden Egg by Donna Leon (Commissario Brunetti #22 / 2013). The Brunetti series is one of my favorite mystery series. (RC)

"In The Golden Egg, as the first leaves of autumn begin to fall, Brunetti’s ambitious boss, Patta, asks him to look into a seemingly insignificant violation of public vending laws by a shopkeeper, who happens to be the future daughter-in-law of the Mayor. Brunetti, who has no interest in helping Patta enrich his political connections, has little choice but to ask around to see if the bribery could cause a scandal.

Then, Brunetti’s wife Paola comes to him with an unusual request of her own. The deaf, mentally disabled man who worked at their dry-cleaner has died of a sleeping-pill overdose, and Paola’s kind heart can’t take the idea that he lived and died without anyone noticing him, or helping him.

To please her, Brunetti begins to ask questions. He is surprised when he finds out the man left no official record: no birth certificate, no passport, no driver’s license, no credit cards. The man owns nothing, is registered nowhere. As far as the Italian government is concerned, the man never existed. It is even more surprising because, with his physical and mental handicaps, both he and his mother were entitled to financial support from the state. And yet, despite no official record of the man's life, there is his body.

Stranger still, the dead man’s mother is reluctant to speak to the police and claims that her son’s identification papers were stolen in a burglary. As clues stack up, Brunetti suspects that the Lembos, a family of aristocratic copper magnates, might be somehow connected to the death. But could anyone really want this sweet, simple-minded man dead?"

6. Minute for Murder by Nicholas Blake (Nigel Strangeways #8 / 1947). Strangeways is an interesting character. (RC)

"Wartime Britain: photos are stolen… a secretary is poisoned… a director is stabbed…

Who put the poison in blonde femme fatale Nita Prince’s coffee cup?

A hero returned from a secret mission visits his onetime colleagues (among them, Nigel Strangeways) at the Ministry of Morale. His former fiancée, the beautiful Nita, is now having an affair with the director, his brother-in-law…"

7. Tarzan and the Ant Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tarzan #10 / 1924) I'm enjoying this series, but I need to read the next one. (RC)

"No man had ever penetrated the Great Thorn Forest until Tarzan of the Apes crashed his plane behind it on his first solo flight. Within lay a beautiful country. But in it lived the Alali, strange stone-age giants whose women regarded all men as less than slaves. And beyond the Alali lay the country of the Ant-Men - little people only eighteen inches tall. There, in Trohanadalmakus, Tarzan was an honored guest - until he was captured by the warriors of Veltopismakus in one of the ant-men's wars. They had their plans for the ape-man. By the advanced science of the little men, Tarzan was shrunk to their size and set to work as a quarry slave."

8. The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett (Dystopia / 1955). I've liked some of Brackett's books more than others but this sounded interesting and it was published on my birth year. So there you go. (RC)

"One of the original novels of post-nuclear holocaust America, The Long Tomorrow is considered by many to be one of the finest science fiction novels ever written on the subject. The story has inspired generations of new writers and is still as mesmerizing today as when it was originally written.

Len and Esau are young cousins living decades after a nuclear war has destroyed civilization as we know. The rulers of the post-war community have forbidden the existence of large towns and consider technology evil.

However Len and Esau long for more than their simple agrarian existence. Rumors of mythical Bartorstown, perhaps the last city in existence, encourage the boys to embark on a journey of discovery and adventure that will call into question not only firmly held beliefs, but the boys' own personal convictions."

9. Exit by Belinda Bauer (Mys / 2020). I've read a couple of Bauer's mysteries and she's great, kind of reminds me of Kate Atkinson and Minette Walters as a story teller. (RC)

"IT WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE MURDER ...Pensioner Felix Pink is about to find out that it’s never too late ... for life to go horribly wrong.

When Felix lets himself in to Number 3 Black Lane, he’s there to perform an act of kindness and charity: to keep a dying man company as he takes his final breath ... But just fifteen minutes later Felix is on the run from the police – after making the biggest mistake of his life.

Now his routine world is turned upside down as he tries to discover what went wrong, while staying one step ahead of the law."

10. The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon (CanLit / 2026). This was listed on the CBC web page as one of the 40 Canadian fiction books to check out this summer. The synopsis reminded me of In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune. It may be the next book I start.

"In a near future where even the smallest of appliances are sentient, a robotic vacuum sets out to save the humans of her house from a rising technological power

In a self-running, smart house, a young and sentient robotic vacuum listens as her owner, Harold, reads aloud to his dying wife, Edie. Mesmerized by To Kill a Mockingbird and craving the human connection she hears in Harold’s stories, the little vacuum renames herself Scout and embarks on a journey of self-discovery.

But when Edie passes away, Scout and her fellow sentient appliances discover that there are sinister forces in their midst. The omnipresent Grid monitors every household in the City, and it seeks to remove Harold from his home, where he’s lived for fifty years.

With the help of Adrian, a neighbourhood boy, as well as Kate, Harold’s formerly estranged daughter, the humans and the appliances must come together to outwit the all-controlling Grid lest they risk losing everything they hold dear."

11. Extinction Machine by Jonathan Maberry (Joe Ledger #5 / 2013). I just completed #4. It's a series with plenty of action and thrills and strange enemies.

"The President of the United States vanishes from the White House. A top-secret prototype stealth fighter is destroyed during a test flight. Witnesses on the ground say that it was shot down by a craft that immediately vanished at impossible speeds. All over the world reports of UFOs are increasing at an alarming rate. And in a remote fossil dig in China dinosaur hunters have found something that is definitely not of this earth. There are rumors of alien-human hybrids living among us. Joe Ledger and the Department of Military Sciences rush headlong into the heat of the worlds strangest and deadliest arms race, because the global race to recover and retro-engineer alien technologies has just hit a snag. Someone or something--wants that technology back."

A Rotary Club Book Sale Visit

Yesterday I took an hour and went to see if there were any books that interested me at the local Rotary Club Book Sale. This time I started in the Sci Fi / Fantasy section. It's usually at the end of the visit because it's by the cash register, so I started there this time. I figured I wouldn't be too tired this way. Anyway, I did find a few books.

New Books

1. Mammoths of the Great Plains by Eleanor Arnason (Alternate History / 2010)

"Shaggy herds of mammoths still roam the Great Plains--to the delight of President Thomas Jefferson--in this imaginative alternative history in which the beasts thunder over the grasslands as living symbols of the oncoming struggle between the Native peoples and the European invaders. This unforgettable saga soars from the Badlands of the Dakota Territory to the icy wastes of Siberia, from the Russian Revolution to the American Indian Movement protests of the 1960s and one woman’s attempt to harness DNA science to fulfill the ancient promises of her Lakota heritage. In addition, this volume includes the essay “Writing During World War Three,” a politically incorrect take on multiculturalism from a science fiction point of view and an outspoken interview with the writer of some of today’s edgiest and most uncompromising speculative fiction."

2. Sick Heart River by John Buchan (Leithen #5 / 1941). I'm enjoying exploring Buchan's work.

"Sir Edward Leithen is in London when he is diagnosed with tuberculosis and told that he has a year to live. Initially unsure of how to live out his remaining days, Leithen is unexpectedly given an opportunity to help search for a missing man in the Canadian north. Accepting the task, Leithen embarks on a physical and spiritual journey that helps him come to terms with his life, death, and legacy. John Buchan is most widely known for his adventure novels, such as those featuring the spy Richard Hannay. The spiritually poignant Sick Heart River is a departure from Buchan’s usual themes, even more so because it was the last book he wrote, and was published posthumously after his accidental death in 1940. The main character, Edward Leithen, had appeared in several other, more lighthearted books of Buchan’s, including The Power-House and John Macnab . Harper Perennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in eBook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the Harper Perennial Classics collection to build your digital library."

3. For Us, The Living by Robert Heinlein (Sci Fi / 2003). It's been quite awhile since I tried anything by Heinlein.

"July 12, 1939 Perry Nelson is driving along the palisades when suddenly another vehicle swerves into his lane, a tire blows out, and his car careens off the road and over a bluff. The last thing he sees before his head connects with the boulders below is a girl in a green bathing suit, prancing along the shore....

When he wakes, the girl in green is a woman dressed in furs and the sun-drenched shore has transformed into snowcapped mountains. The woman, Diana, rescues Perry from the bitter cold and takes him inside her home to rest and recuperate.
Later they debate the cause of the accident, for Diana is unfamiliar with the concept of a tire blowout and Perry cannot comprehend snowfall in mid-July. Then Diana shares with him a vital piece of The date is now January 7. The year...2086.

When his shock subsides, Perry begins an exhaustive study of global evolution over the past 150 years. He learns, among other things, that a United Europe was formed and led by Edward, Duke of Windsor; former New York City mayor LaGuardia served two terms as president of the United States; the military draft was completely reconceived; banks became publicly owned and operated; and in the year 2003, two helicopters destroyed the island of Manhattan in a galvanizing act of war. This education in the ways of the modern world emboldens Perry to assimilate to life in the twenty-first century.

But education brings with it inescapable truths -- the economic and legal systems, the government, and even the dynamic between men and women remain alien to Perry, the customs of the new day continually testing his mental and emotional resolve. Yet it is precisely his knowledge of a bygone era that will serve Perry best, as the man from 1939 seems destined to lead his newfound peers even further into the future than they could have imagined."

4. Haunted by James Herbert (Hor / 1988). I've really come to enjoy his horror stories.

"James Herbert's Haunted is the first chilling novel in the David Ash trilogy.

Three nights of terror at the house called Edbrook.

Three nights in which David Ash, there to investigate a haunting, will be victim of horrifying and maleficent games.

Three nights in which he will face the blood-chilling enigma of his own past.

Three nights before Edbrook's dreadful secret will be revealed, and the true nightmare will begin . . ."

5. Factoring Humanity by Robert J. Sawyer (Sci Fi / 1998). I've read one book by Sawyer so far and really enjoyed it.

"In the near future, a signal is detected coming from the Alpha Centauri system. Mysterious, unintelligible data streams in for ten years. Heather Davis, a professor in the University of Toronto psychology department, has devoted her career to deciphering the message. Her estranged husband, Kyle, is working on the development of artificial intelligence systems and new computer technology utilizing quantum effects to produce a near-infinite number of calculations simultaneously.

When Heather achieves a breakthrough, the message reveals a startling new technology that rips the barriers of space and time, holding the promise of a new stage of human evolution. In concert with Kyle's discoveries of the nature of consciousness, the key to limitless exploration---or the end of the human race---appears close at hand."

6. A Wild Light by Marjorie M. Liu (Hunter Kiss #3 / Fantasy / 2010). I've been really enjoying Liu's Monstress graphic novel series but it's winding down. I was pleasantly surprised to see she's also written novels. I'll have to get the 1st book in the series.

"For too long Maxine Kiss has felt an inexplicable darkness inside her-a force she channels into hunting the demons bent on destroying the human race. But when she finds herself covered in blood and crouched beside her grandfather's dead body with no memory of what happened, Maxine begins to fear that the darkness has finally consumed her."

7. Why Call Them Back From Heaven? by Clifford D. Simak (Sci Fi / 1967). I don't always like his stories but for some reason, I'm hooked on exploring Simak more.

"Immortality - The ultimate To come back to life - and never die again - that's what Forever Center promises the human race. And that's why, in the year 2148, people spend their whole lives in poverty, giving all their money to Forever Center to ensure their happiness and comfort in the next eternal life.

Daniel Frost is a key man at Forever Center. When he accidentally stumbles onto some classified documents, Dan incurs the wrath of an unseen enemy who has him framed and denounced as a social outcast. With the notorious mark of ostracization on his forehead, he is condemned to the desperate life of a hunted animal. But a few people will risk their lives to help Ann Harrison, the beautiful renegade lawyer who is convinced of his innocence, and Mona Campbell, the brilliant mathematician who has discovered some shattering information about Forever Center...and the essence of life itself."

8. Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson (Historical Fiction / 2002) I do hope to eventually read everything by Atkinson.

"1926, and in a country still recovering from the Great War, London has become the focus for a delirious new nightlife. In the clubs of Soho, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time.  

 
The notorious queen of this glittering world is Nellie Coker, ruthless but also ambitious to advance her six children, including the enigmatic eldest, Niven, whose character has been forged in the crucible of the Somme. But success breeds enemies, and Nellie’s empire faces threats from without and within. For beneath the dazzle of Soho’s gaiety, there is a dark underbelly, a world in which it is all too easy to become lost.
 
With her unique Dickensian flair, Kate Atkinson gives us a window in a vanished world. Slyly funny, brilliantly observant, and ingeniously plotted, showcases the myriad talents that have made Atkinson one of the most lauded writers of our time."

9. The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu (Three Body Problem #2 / 2008). I have yet to read the 1st book, but I hear such great things about this one.

"Time is running out for humanity in The Dark Forest, the stunning sequel to Cixin Liu's award-winning and bestselling masterpiece The Three-Body Problem.

Earth is still reeling from the revelation of a coming alien invasion. The aliens' human collaborators may have been defeated, but the presence of the sophons, the subatomic particles that allow Trisolaris instant access to all human information, means that Earth's defense plans are totally exposed to the enemy. Only the human mind remains a secret. This is the motivation for the Wallfacer Project, a daring plan that grants four people enormous resources to design secret strategies, hidden through deceit and misdirection from Earth and Trisolaris alike. Three of the Wallfacers are influential statesmen and scientists, but the fourth is a total unknown. Luo Ji, an unambitious Chinese astronomer and sociologist, is baffled by his new status. All he knows is that he's the one Wallfacer that Trisolaris wants dead.

The Dark Forest continues Cixin Liu's ground-breaking saga of incredible scope and vision."

10. Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi (Fuzzy Sapiens #7 / 2011) Back in my university days, I enjoyed the 1st 3 books in this series, by H. Beam Piper. It seems that it's been continued by other authors.

"Zara Corp holds the right to extract unlimited resources from the verdant planet Zarathustra―as long as the planet is certifiably free of native sentients. So when an outback prospector discovers a species of small, appealing bipeds who might well turn out to be intelligent, language-using beings, it's a race to stop the corporation from "eliminating the problem," which is to say, eliminating the Fuzzies―wide-eyed and ridiculously cute small, and furry―who are as much people as we are."

There you go.. Enjoy your week, folks!

Home for the Weekend

Another week passed in Victoria and we're back home for this weekend. Two weeks left with Easter in the middle. The drive home was good, Jo was feeling the best she'd felt in a few days and we were so glad to be in familiar surroundings.

And baseball has started again and the Blue Jays have made their first two games more interesting than I wanted, but they are still 2-0. Both starting pitchers were excellent.

So, it's Saturday night and Jo has dropped off. Before I head up to bed, I thought I'd provide a quick update... hope it's quick anyway. I did drop into 3 book stores in Victoria so did buy a few books and there were some more waiting for me when I got home. I'll try to whip through this update as briefly as possible. I hope there are some books that pique your interest.

Just Completed

Since my update last weekend, I've completed 4 books.

1. Gideon Falls, The Black Barn by Jeff Lemire (#1 / 2018). A new graphic novel series.

"One of my Goodreads' friends, knowing how much I enjoy graphic novels, especially of late, thought I might like to try a new series. So I got the first volume, Gideon Falls, Vol. 1: The Black Barn by Canadian author, Jeff Lemire. And darn her socks! I liked it... As she said in her review, if I remember correctly, she has no idea what's going on yet, but she's along for the ride. That's how I feel too.

The initial chapters of Volume 1 focus mainly on a washed up priest, Wilfred, who is sent to take over a parish in Gideon Falls after the other priest, Father Tom, has died. He doesn't want to go but is pressured by the bishop anyway. From phone calls between the two during this volume, it seems as though the bishop knows something strange is happening in Gideon Falls.. I presume this will either be confirmed or not in future issues. 

The other person is Norton, a young man, who grew up homeless as a child, spent much time in an asylum and is being treated now on an out patient basis by female psychiatrist, Dr. Xu. She is worried about Norton's obsessions and is considering placing him back in the institute. Norton is searching through garbage and finding old nails, pieces of wood, etc. to prove his obsession.

Both men have seen visions of a Black Barn, Norton since childhood and Wilfred since moving to Gideon Falls. Wilfred sees Father Tom, who leads him to the body of a woman and disappears. At the same time, that's where Wilfred sees the barn... which doesn't really exist... apparently.

The story flashed between the two men and the people they come into contact with. Dr. Xu begins to see the barn as well. A local doctor, who Wilfred meets, is a member of a group, called the Ploughmen who are trying to protect Gideon Falls from whatever 'evil' the Black Barn represents...

It's a complex, fascinating story (darn!) and the artwork is excellent, muted colours, interesting panels, that turn upside down, sideways (reminds me somewhat of the various pages in House of Leaves). I enjoyed this introduction very much and now have to continue. Volume 2, Original Sins has been ordered. (3.5 stars)"

2. Lore Olympus, Volume 7 by Rachel Smythe (2024). It's been awhile since I read Volume 6. It was good to get back to this graphic novel.

"Lore Olympus: Volume Seven is of course, the seventh volume of the stories of the romance between Persephone and Hades, a modern Webtoon update by Rachel  Smythe. It's a fascinating series, at times confusing but always well drawn and interesting.

It's confusing because the stories have a tendency to jump around and the various gods appearance changes as their mood or story line changes. Be that as it may, it's always fun to work through each volume. The Volume includes episodes 153 - 179 of the series.

As always, there are various stories but the main one is the continuing growth of the relationship between Persephone and Hades. They have secrets that are coming out, especially about Hades' past relationships and how he became the Prince of Hades. Persephone still can't tell Hades about her rape by Apollo (there is a warning at the beginning of the Volume (in fact all of the volumes) 'Lore Olympus regularly deals with themes of physical and mental abuse, sexual trauma and toxic relationships'. I have to say that I think these topics are dealt with quite gently (maybe not the correct word)..

The story builds until there is ultimately a court case against Persephone and Demeter. Persephone is accused of the murder of many humans and Demeter of hiding Persephone away to avoid punishment. The case builds with witnesses like Hermes, Thanatos and others testifying. Of course, I'll have to wait until the next volume (at least) to see the result.

As well, Persephone finally goes to get mental counselling for her ordeal and reactions to it. Apollo wants Persephone as his wife and colludes to try and make it happen. Artemis wants to know what happened between Apollo and Persephone and tries to get Eros to tell her. As I said, many things going and the stories are told so well. 

It's been a fascinating, excellent collection so far and I have Vol 8 on my book shelf! (4.0 stars)"

3. Love and Rockets, New Stories #3 by Los Hermanos Hernandez (2010). I've become sort of addicted to this graphic novel series since I discovered it.

"The Love and Rockets graphic novel series by Los Hermanos Hernandez has been a breath of fresh air in my exploration of graphic novels. This isn't meant to denigrate the other graphic novels I've been reading and enjoying but this series has really grabbed me. They're about life, they are about people. Love and Rockets: New Stories #3 by Jaime Hernandez & Gilbert Hernandez is the 3rd collection I've enjoyed.

It features 5 stories; Scarlet by Starlight by Gilbert; The Love Bunglers, Part One by Jaime; Killer Sad Girl Star by Gilbert; Browntown by Jaime and The Love Bunglers, Part Two by Jaime. The two sets of stories by each brother are each quite different.

Gilbert's follow Scarlet and her attempts to get into acting, alien movies, failed television shows and also just living her life with mom and dad. Jaime's stories delve into the past life of Margaret (Perla) as a young girl and moving with her mother and the rest of the kids to Browntown to be closer to her father... who is a cheat, unfortunately. Each set of stories has their own sexual element with Jaime's particularly powerful, dealing with sexual assault... (I guess I should give a warning to anyone who is interested in the work but has issues or experiences with this)

The stories are beautifully drawn, peopled with fascinating characters. They deal with life, not always the good side of it, but covering issues of family break-up, growing up, dealing with life. I don't know how better to say it, but suffice it to say, these graphic novels, the Love and Rockets books are just excellent. (4.5 stars)"

4. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl #1 / 2020). I bowed to pressure and tried this book... sigh.. now I've got #2 on my shelf.

"I finally see what the fuss is all about with Dungeon Crawler Carl, the first book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl fantasy series by Matt Dinniman. It's an entertaining, escapist, well written adventure fantasy / Sci Fi novel. 

It starts off with a bang, or more accurately a collapse, and the story takes off from there. Carl is cat-sitting his 'girl friend's' cat Princess Donut, one cold winter night and discovering that his girl friend, Bea, is probably dumping him and also Donut. Donut decides to jump out the window onto an adjoining tree branch and then refuses to come back inside. Carl, wearing just a leather jacket and boxers, runs outside to get Princess Donut, when calamity happens. Every building collapses into itself, killing everybody still inside. To be clear, this is worldwide. Everybody still alive is warned they have a certain amount of time to get underground if they want to survive.

It seems that an alien syndicate has chosen Earth for its next 'games'. The surviving humans and critters will be taking part in games (read Dungeons and Dragons, sort of) and must move from level to level lower into this huge alien constructed Dungeon, if they want to survive. As they kill creatures in the dungeons and even each other, they gain points and prizes that will help them at each level. Across the whole Earth, there seem to be about 5,000,000 that have survived initially. Each level has different creatures at all levels of destructive power and the more you kill, the stronger you get.

So that's the gist. Carl and Princess Donut are a team for now and have an adviser, Mortdecai, a Crawler who survived from another world. Donut will be able to speak as she gains power and the communication between her and Carl are always interesting and fun. Oh, they also discover that there are Trillions of people across the universes watching the games and that they need to get more Likes and followers to improve their odds of surviving. Something that Princess Donut craves and Carl hates. The two also have a manager, Zev, a water creature who arranges interviews for them.

So it's a fast paced, action filled story. You have to bear with periods where Carl and Donut go through all of the items and powers they win every time they have a battler, but it becomes easy to gloss over those portions and they don't really take away from the story.

It's interesting watching Carl and Donut's friendship develop and who their characters grow as the story progresses. Their contact with other humans have mixed results... And who is Agatha, the elderly woman who wanders in and out of their lives. Carl and Donut don't know.. yet? And there are creatures who are saved by Carl and Donut. Will they show up again? At the end of this portion, there is a teaser about two goblins who were spared by the two. What role will they play in the follow-on books? And we see others from a distance, battling the creatures successfully. How will they show up in future books??

The more I got into the story, the more I got involved in the characters, their lives, their growth and I look forward to exploring the series more. I don't know if I'll be as quick as some getting through the books, but I will continue definitely. Oh... did Carl's ex, Bea die in the collapse? Questions, questions.. (4.0 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. All the Tea in China by Kyril Bonfiglioli (1978).

"Kyril Bonfiglioli, the groundbreaking satirist whose writing The New Yorker described as “an unholy collaboration between P. G. Wodehouse and Ian Fleming,” was truly a writer ahead of his time. In this hilarious novel, Bonfiglioli takes us back in time to an ironical maritime romp—Master and Commander by way of Monty Python.

Inspired by a shotgun blast in the seat of his breeches, young Karli Van Cleef quits his native Holland to seek his fortune. He arrives in early Victorian London and soon he is turning a pretty profit. But Karli sees that true opportunity flowers in India’s fields of opium poppies and the treaty ports of the China coast. So he takes a berth in an opium clipper hell-bent for the Indies.

It is a journey beset with perils. Karli is confronted by the mountainous seas, high-piled plates of curry, and the ferocious penalties of the Articles of War. He survives the malice of the Boers, the hospitality of anthropophagi, and the horrors of Lancashire cooking. En route he acquires some interesting diseases, dangerous friends and enemies, a fortune, and a wife almost as good as new."

2. Assassin's Code by Jonathan Maberry (Joe Ledger #4 / 2012). Great series.

"When Joe Ledger and Echo Team rescue a group of American college kids held hostage in Iran,the Iranian government then asks them to help find six nuclear bombs planted in the Mideast oil fields. These stolen WMDs will lead Joe and Echo Team into hidden vaults of forbidden knowledge, mass-murder, betrayal, and a brotherhood of genetically-engineered killers with a thirst for blood.

Accompanied by the beautiful assassin called Violin, Joe follows a series of clues to find the Book of Shadows, which contains a horrifying truth that threatens to shatter his entire worldview.

They say the truth will set you free…
Not this time.

The secrets of the Assassin’s Code will set the world ablaze."

3. East of West; There is No Us by Jonathan Hickman (#3 / 2014).

"It's the third volume of the Eisner-nominated East Of West. There Is No Us sees the breaking apart of the future-scape of America as the world races forward towards the apocalypse.

Collecting: East Of West 11-15"

4. Report from Planet Midnight by Nalo Hopkinson (2012).

"Infused with feminist, Afro-Caribbean views of the science fiction and fantasy genres, this collection of offbeat and highly original works takes aim at race and racism in literature. In “Report from Planet Midnight,” at the International Association of the Fantastic in the Arts, an alien addresses the crowd, evaluating Earth's "strange" customs, including the marginalization of works by nonwhite and female writers. “Message in a Bottle” shows Greg, an American Indian artist, befriending a strange four-year-old who seems wise beyond her years. While preparing an exhibition, he discovers that the young girl is a traveler from the future sent to recover art from the distant past—which apparently includes his own work. Concluding the book with series editor Terry Bisson’s Outspoken Interview, Nalo Hopkinson shares laughs, loves, and top-secret Caribbean spells."

Newest Purchases

Bear with me here...

1. The Blanket of the Dark by John Buchan (1931). I'm enjoying exploring Buchan's stories.

"Buchan skillfully weaves the story of young clerk Peter Pentecost, who has a claim to the throne, and a tale of intrigue against King Henry VIII, where 'under the blanket of the dark all men are alike and all are nameless'. Buchan's description of the ruthless king is compelling. His knowledge of the time of Henry's reign and his love of the Oxfordshire countryside are apparent."

2. The Cave Girl by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1913). I've enjoyed so many of Burroughs' adventures and fantasies. This is one of his standalones.

"Waldo Smith-Jones shipwrecked from Boston, desperately tries to survive on a lost island of primitive men and beasts. Given the name of Thandar, he strives for the hand of Princess Nadara amid misunderstandings. If a rescue ship arrives, what will they do?"

3. The Possessors by John Christopher (1964). I keep finding more books by Christopher. Great horror and Sci Fi.

"It all started when a group of British vacationers was cut off by an avalanche. The skiing chalet up in the mountains seemed a good place to hold out for a while, but then the little boy mysteriously died...or appeared to. And in the impenetrable Swiss Alps something alien stirred..."

4. Play it as it Lays by Joan Didion (1970).

"A ruthless dissection of American life in the late 1960s, Play It as It Lays captures the mood of an entire generation, the ennui of contemporary society reflected in spare prose that blisters and haunts the reader. Set in a place beyond good and evil - literally in Hollywood, Las Vegas, and the barren wastes of the Mojave Desert, but figuratively in the landscape of an arid soul - it remains more than three decades after its original publication a profoundly disturbing novel, riveting in its exploration of a woman and a society in crisis and stunning in the still-startling intensity of its prose."

5. The Bone Mother by David Demchuk (2017). I enjoyed Red X by Demchuk last year.

"For two hundred years, the Grazyn porcelain factory built its reputation on its magnificent thimbles. It is said that even the Czarina Anastasia Romanova had received one in her trousseau. The workers come from the three neighboring villages on the border of Romania and Ukraine. Nourished, dressed and educated, they are the envy of all at a time when a famine programmed by Stalin sweeps the countryside and cannibalism rages from city to town to farm. But what is the secret of this factory and why does the Grazyn family protect its employees so scrupulously?

The Bone Mother revives the great figures of Slavic mythology on the eve of the Second World War, from rusalka and Baba Yaga--The Bone Mother herself--to the golem. The existence of mortals is intimately linked to that of witches and vampires, in a universe where strigois rub shoulders with mermaids, ghosts and seers...and all are in peril from the Nichni Politsiyi, the Night Police, which wish to eradicate them."

6. When Secrets Die by Lynn Hamilton (Lena Padget #3 / 2005). Always enjoy her mystery / thrillers.

"They have kept the heart of her child... They have accused her of murder... Angels of mercy...or the devil in disguise? Who owns your body, anyway?

Lynn Hightower's novels have tackled such diverse subjects as female serial killers and lethal debt collectors. Now, in her most explosive and controversial thriller to date, she exposes the hidden secrets of hospital pathology labs, the darkest mysteries of motherhood, and the most unthinkable crime of all.

Private investigator Lena Padgett has been approached by a single mother with a stunning tale to tell. Emma Marsden, still grieving over the death of her infant son from an inexplicable illness, has been dealt another devastating blow. Her pediatrician, Theodore Tundridge, has accused Emma of poisoning her son in a psychotic bid for attention. Emma wants to counter his charges by accusing Tundridge of keeping a shocking chamber of horrors in his pathology lab -- all the more frightening because it is entirely legal. Lena agrees to take on Emma's case and uncovers other suspicious deaths under the doctor's care. But when a secretly taped video incriminates Emma in the most intimate of ways -- and Emma's teenage daughter disappears -- even Lena isn't prepared for where the truth will take her."

7. The Seafarers by Nevil Shute (2002). Shute is one of the many authors on my bucket list... whose books I want to read completely.

"The story of a dashing British naval Lieutenant and a Wren who meet right at the end of the Second World War. Their romance is blighted by differences in social background and economic constraints; in unhappiness each turns to odd jobs in boating circles."

8. Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson (1998). I'm currently reading another collection of Hopkinson's work and essays.

"The rich and privileged have fled the city, barricaded it behind roadblocks, and left it to crumble. The inner city has had to rediscover old ways – farming, barter, herb lore. But now the monied need a harvest of bodies, and so they prey upon the helpless of the streets. With nowhere to turn, a young woman must open herself to ancient truths, eternal powers, and the tragic mystery surrounding her mother and grandmother.

She must bargain with gods, and give birth to new legends."

and finally....

9. Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl #2 / 2021).

""The training levels have concluded. Now the games may truly begin."

The ratings and views are off the chart. The fans just can't get enough. The dungeon gets more dangerous each day. But in a grinder designed to chew up and spit out crawlers by the millions, Carl and Princess Donut need to work harder than ever just to survive.

They call it the Over City. A sprawling, once-thriving metropolis devastated by a mysterious calamity. But these streets are far from abandoned. An undead circus trawls the ruins. Murdered prostitutes rain from the sky. An ancient spell is finally ready to reveal its dark purpose.

Carl still has no pants.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. For Carl and Donut, it's anything but a game."

Enjoy the rest of March and maybe you'll see some April reading ideas here. Good night and happy dreams.