Had a reasonable run / walk this morning. There were a couple of slick patches on the sidewalk. We've had near 0 ℃ temperatures and some fog the past few days (Yes, I realize it's nothing like what's being experienced back East... stay warm and safe by the way) so it has made things a bit greasy. But it was still a refreshing run. Jo started a new chemo regime yesterday and it didn't seem to affect her too much. We had a nice lunch and a pretty good dinner; a couple of Aussie steaks, fried potatoes and some veggies. I'm a pretty darn good cook. It's nice she seems to have her taste back again and is enjoying her meals.
I'm off to donate blood this afternoon but thought it might be good to do a quick update.
Just Completed
(4 completed and one Did Not Finish - DNF since my last update)
"Over the past few years, I've been exploring the work of American Sci Fi author, Clifford D. Simak. He's been a hit-and-miss sort of author for me. There have been a couple of 5-star reads, City and The Werewolf Principle but there have also been 2 star selections, like Time Is the Simplest Thing and Empire. So it's always with a bit of trepidation when I decide to try another of his books.
My latest was a collection of short stories, Worlds Without End, which contains 3 short stories. And, to be fair, this ran the same gamut as the novels I've tried. The first story, Worlds without End was probably my least favorite of the 3. It is set in the far future where people sign up for the Dream, basically hibernation. They've been doing it for 500 years. Norman Blaine is one of the people who works there and gets involved in a struggle between the various Guilds who run Earth. His boss is found murdered. A man escapes after 500 years in Dream. Norman tries to figure out everything, the plots and schemes between the guilds. The concept was interesting but the ending wasn't satisfying and it didn't really grab me... I'd give that one 2.0 - 2.5 stars
Story 2, The Spaceman's Van Gogh, follows Anson Lathrop as he teleports to a distant planet, following a 'famed' artist, Reuben Clay, who had died there. Anson has been following his route through various planets and has jumped to this planet because he has lost Clay's trail. At the planet, Lathrop meets the inhabitants of the planet, a gnomelike people, who had admired Clay, thinking his art was magic. It was a more enjoyable story, still not perfect but thoughtful and interesting... 3.0 stars
The 3rd story, Full Cycle, was definitely my favorite. It's set in a dystopic future and follows history professor Amby Wilson. Wilson's life has been upturned as his university in Minnesota (or somewhere up north) has closed down. Amby decides to go on the road, with his neighbour and family, trying to settle with one of the roving communities that have formed in the US. They work on farms, factories, etc. and move on when that work has been completed. It's a fascinating life. Amby and his friends cannot find a community to settle with as they are all filled up and neither can offer any particular skills. One morning Amby discovers his travelling companions have abandoned them. As Amby continues down the road on his own, he discovers something new and exciting in this 'new' world order. I won't ruin it by getting into much detail but it's quite interesting. Definitely my favorite story and I'd rate that a 4.0 stars. Overall, an interesting read, some better than the other. (3.5 stars)"
"I can't remember where I heard of this book, The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Family Stories by English author Joan Aiken but I'm so glad that I discovered it. Such a wonderful collection of fantasy stories. The cover artwork in this Big Mouth House edition was by American artist Beth Adams. My wife thought it was so striking that I ordered a print of it for her Xmas gift this year. The inside illustrations are also excellent and they are by Andi Watson.
So with that out of the way, what to say about this surprising book. The book contains the complete collection of the Armitage family stories that Joan Aiken wrote over the period 1953, to some previously unpublished that were discovered in 2008. If you've ever enjoyed The Secret Garden, the Narnia books or the fantasy books of Susan Cooper, amongst others, you'll love these stories as well.
The Armitage family live in a small village in southern England and consist of the ever harassed Mr. Armitage, the lovely Mrs. Armitage and their two children, Mark and Harriet. In the final story, a new edition, Milo, makes an appearance. It's a seemingly normal village, with village fairs, music classes, school life, etc. but it's also peopled with witches, unicorns, magicians, goblins, little people, sometimes the Furies, etc. And the lovely thing is, it's all taken as just in the course of normal events. Sure, the goblins might cause some irritation. Sure the cantankerous witches might cast the odd spell on you if you bother them. But it's all dealt with.
Mark and Harriet live their lives, dealing with all of the fantastical, wonderful things that go on about them, with coolness and aplomb. The stories tend to focus on one or the other, or both. They get the normal illnesses like whooping cough, measles and the other one might have an adventure then. They get visits from weird and strange relatives. Oh, they have a 300 year old ghost who lives in the spare bedroom and in one instance chaperones Harriet on a school day because her parents are otherwise occupied. As I mentioned previously, they also have a unicorn who lives with them and a big old cat, the Walrus.
The fantasies are just so wonderful and imaginative. For the most part they end fairly happily, but even there, there are a couple of story lines that are quite touchingly sad. There is Mr. Johannsson, the music teacher, who lost the love of his life, many years ago when she cast a spell so the two of them could marry, but the message was not passed on by her mean sister. Now the Countess lives in a fairy world waiting for Mr. Johansson. At least two attempts are made by Harriet and Mark to reunite them, but ... well, I'll leave it at that.
The collection of stories are rich, wonderful, entertaining and just a joy to read. They suit adults and at the same time would be wonderful for parents to sit with their children to read together. Just lovely, great stories and a fantastic collection. (5.0 stars)"
"The Devil's Breath is the 3rd book in the Dr. Thomas Silkstone historical mystery series by Tessa Harris. I 'liked' the first two books but after 85 pages of this 3rd book, I've decided to put the book & series down.
In the Devil's Breath a mysterious fog is sweeping across England (acid rain??) and people are dying when caught out in it. At the same time, Thomas and his fiancé Lady Lydia are looking for her son. She had always assumed that the boy died in birth but it turns out that her husband of that time, had given it to a wet nurse... When he died, the wet nurse put the child into a work 'camp'....
And there is more intrigue as someone else is trying to find the boy, as, being the next male of the family, he stands to inherit the estate from his father..
It was an interesting concept but I just couldn't find enough interest to keep going... Please don't use my review to make your decision. If you liked the 1st two, keep on going. But for me, I'm finished... (NR)"
"Sin City, Vol. 3: The Big Fat Kill is the 3rd volume of the Sin City graphic novel series by Frank Miller. Dwight is with Shellie when her abusive boyfriend and some pals barge in. They want Shellie to get some of her girl friends so they can all party. Dwight scares them away so the 'boys' decide to joyride around Sin City to find girls.
Unfortunately, they run into Gail and the other girls who run Sin City, with an arrangement with the cops. The cops will stay away and the girls will control the prostitution, drugs and keep the city safe. Jackie Boy and pals harass one of the ladies of the night and are attacked and killed by Gail, Mihu and the other girls.
Dwight and Gail discover that Jackie Boy is actually an undercover cop so they need to dispose of the body so the cops won't know he's dead. While Dwight takes all of the bodies to the tar pits, the mob hits Sin City and take Gail... Lots of problems.
Dwight and the other ladies now have to save Gail and get rid of the mob...
Needless to say, it's a gritty, violent, stark, excellent story. All of the artwork is black and white which creates a great effect. The characters are drawn so well. Everything about this series is excellent. Great crime novel, great, strong characters and enough action to satisfy you. (4.0 stars)"
"God Flare| is the 3rd graphic novel in the Reckoner Rises graphic novel series by Canadian indigenous author David Alexander Robertson. The series started with a novel trilogy as well. I have yet to read the novels.
The series is set in Winnipeg, Manitoba and the Wounded Sky reservation. The folks at Mihko Labs are trying to sell the creatures / monsters to another organization but the lab doesn't trust the potential buyers. They have a bad feeling about the buyers and send their pack to deal with them... some weird creatures.
Meanwhile, Cole and Eva and the others are trying to discover the God Flare, a potion that will five another of them super powers. They need more so they can do battle with Mihko.
That is the basis premise of this short story. Like the others, it's interesting but it leaves everything hanging at the end. The artwork is excellent and the story is also interesting. I look forward to finding out what happens next when Volume 4 comes out...
Oh, one neat textual thing happened, the crossing of the 4th wall. One of the characters tells the author that he needs to move on with the story rather than give up secrets of a spirit lodge. And the author (shown in the story) agrees to move on. (3.0 stars)"
Currently Reading (just the books I've started since my last update)
"Brother Cadfael is witness to a shocking near-death confession and accompanies a fellow Benedictine on a dangerous quest for redemption."
"A holiday gift for all P. D. James fans to stand alongside her bestselling The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories : six previously uncollected stories from the beloved "Queen of Crime"--swift, cunning murder mysteries from throughout her extraordinary career.
Put your feet up and enjoy a good read! Longtime P. D. James fans will devour these short tales of criminality and deception, each one a pleasure, evocative and engrossing. Including several stories originally published in magazines, this enchanting arrangement of memorable whodunits treats the reader to atmospheric storytelling, mysteries to be solved, and enjoyable puzzles that will keep you guessing. With wit and warmth, P. D. James pays tribute to her English crime-writing forebears, delighting in the dark secrets that lurk beneath the surface of quintessentially English settings.Sleep No More is a beautifully produced, rare gift book, and an exciting addition to the P. D. James library, offering her devoted readers a glimpse of earlier work never before collected between two covers, and--for those who come newly to it--a delightful place to begin."
Archivist Wasp fears she is not the chosen one, that she won't survive the trip to the underworld, that the brutal life she has escaped might be better than where she is going. There is only one way to find out."
Samantha Heather Mackey couldn't be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at New England's Warren University. A scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort--a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other Bunny, and seem to move and speak as one.
But everything changes when Samantha receives an invitation to the Bunnies' fabled Smut Salon, and finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door--ditching her only friend, Ava, in the process. As Samantha plunges deeper and deeper into the Bunnies' sinister yet saccharine world, beginning to take part in the ritualistic off-campus Workshop where they conjure their monstrous creations, the edges of reality begin to blur. Soon, her friendships with Ava and the Bunnies will be brought into deadly collision.
The spellbinding new novel from one of our most fearless chroniclers of the female experience, Bunny is a down-the-rabbit-hole tale of loneliness and belonging, friendship and desire, and the fantastic and terrible power of the imagination."
When Daniel announces a plan to install a lavatory in church, the parish is suddenly (and unexpectedly) divided: as lines are drawn, long-buried secrets come dangerously close to destroying the apparent calm of the village.
And then Anthony Bowness - cousin to Bernard de Floures, patron of Champton - is found dead at the back of the church, stabbed in the neck with a pair of secateurs.
As the police moves in and the bodies start piling up, Daniel is the only one who can try and keep his fractured community together... and catch a killer."
