So while Jo is asleep, I'll take this time to do a quick update. Perfect time, actually because we've got a busy week of appointments ahead.
Just Completed
Two books completed since my last update. (Ed. Note. I apologize in advance if I get any characters' names incorrect.)
"Maddie Hatter and the Timely Taffeta is the 3rd and final book in the entertaining steampunk adventure trilogy by Canadian author Jayne Barnard. It's light, fun and filled with action as we follow Maddie and her friend Serephine around Venice. Serephine, the daughter of a rich British manufacturing family, who wants her to marry into a titled family, is in love with a Scottish inventor and Maddie is pretending to be her chaperone.
Scottie has invented a new thread, spun by spider bats that have certain qualities and he is working at a Venetian fashion house run by a French lady, Madame Frangetti. Venice is about to have its annual festival which will fill the canals and streets with imaginative boats and costumes. The fashion house, like many businesses are busy making outfits, costumes. Serephine is apprenticing there so she can spend time with Scottie. Maddie is helping her but also working in disguise for her newspaper boss, trying to prepare stories about the festival.
Various groups seem anxious to discover Scottie's secret fabric. Why? But there are all sorts of costumed people lurking about, disguised as Pinocchio, the Cricket, Cats and Foxes, etc. It's all very exciting. Maddie, Serephine, Maddie's friend Obie and Maddie's mechanical messenger bird, Tweedle D, along with some new friends and some old enemies are working to keep Scottie safe and discover who wants him so badly.
It's all very confusing, exciting and just an entertaining story. I think it's suitable for young adults getting into fantasy but also for those just looking for a fun, entertaining story with a neat world created and interesting characters. (3.0 stars)"
"Out of Time's Abyss is the 3rd and final book in the Caspak trilogy by American adventure / Sci Fi author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It completes the adventures of a group of British explorers ship wrecked on a forgotten land in the Pacific, a land filled with prehistoric creatures and a mix of humanoid beings.
In this final book, Bradley and a group of his men leave Fort Dinosaur to try and find Bowen Tyler and his wife who have gone missing. On the way back, Bradley is captured by a being they've not previously encountered on their adventures in Caspak. He is carried away by a winged humanoid to their island city deep inside Caspak. Now it's sort of confusing why they took him. But as I gathered somewhat, the Oo Oh (as they are called) have need of a way to birthing Oo Oh babies without having to kidnap women of one of the other races. Suffice it to say, they want to see what makes Bradley and his group tick. (As I say, it's somewhat confusing)
Bradley spends his time trying to escape the city and also meets a Galu woman (one of the races that are higher up on the evolutionary ladder in Caspak) and takes her with him as he tries to escape. The Oo Oh's use the Galu women in their procreation activities.... I believe. 😔🤨😎
At any rate, like most of Burroughs' adventures, it's filled with action, while also thoughtfully trying to explain life in Caspak. Interesting and confusing stuff. And all the while trying to escape back to his men at Fort Dinosaur and maybe finally getting off the island. (3.0 stars)"
Currently Reading
As I mentioned in my last entry, I'm only reading two books at a time. I already highlighted The Other Wind, the 6th book in the Earthsea Chronicles by Ursula K. Le Guin, a book I'm enjoying very much. The other is -
"The original, seminal Love & Rockets comic book series, which ran for 50 issues from 1981 to 1996, singlehandedly defined the post-underground generation of comics that spawned Daniel Clowes, Chris Ware, and so many others. Now collected into 15 volumes, Love & Rockets is a body of work that The Nation has described as "one of the hidden treasures of our impoverished culture." Created by brothers Gilbert, Jaime, and Mario Hernandez, three Southern California Mexican-Americans armed with a passion for pop culture and punk rock, Love & Rockets gave a voice to minorities and women for the first time in the medium's then 50-year history and remains one of the greatest achievements in comic book history."
New Books
Well, how do you like that, no books arrived since my last update. I do have a few on order but I'll surprise you with those in my next update.
Tata for now, folks. Stay warm and dry.
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