At 1910 this evening, 02 Jun 2022, I concluded an initial read of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus. After a bit of research, I settled on the 1818 edition, downloaded from Project Gutenberg, rather than the more often read 1838 revision.

I've seen a number of Booktubers say they consider Frankenstein the better book, but enjoy Dracula more. I too enjoy Dracula more. I'm not sure I consider Frankenstein a better novel, or even Dracula's equal. It was, however, an enjoyable read.

You might recall that I found Dracula's protagonists often either clueless, wrongheaded to a fault, or both. Frankenstein's sole protagonist shares these traits. The different, to me, is that Stoker's protagonists, despite their flaws, are at heart well-intentioned. Victor Frankenstein, on the other hand, is, in my opinion, a total piece of work. Unlike in the 1930s movie adaptations, he has next to no redeeming qualities. I find him more monstrous than his creation, who might have led a peaceful existence had he been given the chance.

I find a connection between Frankenstein and my last read; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. As mentioned, Victor Frankenstein is thoroughly unlikable. He shares this trait with Finn's Tom Sawyer, who makes life needlessly miserable for numerous characters in the book's lengthy final section, for no other reason that it suits his fancy to do so.

Am I the only person who feels this way about (book) Victor?

I prefer Frankenstein to Dracula. I found that Dracula tends to drag toward the end. It is a 400 page or so book, and I think it could have been a 300 page one without losing any of the events. Stoker is just long-winded for my tastes.

That said, I agree with you on Victor. I was rooting for the Creature, at least for most of the book. I could relate to the alienation that the Creature experiences (even if not the superpowers). Victor, OTOH, is at best a dead-beat dad who abandons all of his responsibilities after bringing a life into the world. He is deeply selfish, and a giant bag of dicks.

At 0958 this morning, 09 Jun 2022, I concluded an initial read of The Great King, book 4 in Christian Cameron's The Long War. I rate the series quite highly, this installment included. It begins with the Greek's trying to form an alliance to resist expected Persian invasion, and ends with the naval engagement fought in conjunction with the famous land battle at Thermopylae. An ambassadorial excursion to Persia's capital, headed by the series' main protagonist, fills in a sizeable chunk of space in between.

Though tempted, I'll likely hold off buying book five and instead tackle a book or two in my overlong TBR pile (of both digital and paper titles).

At 0923 this morning, 06/10/2022, I concluded an initial read of The Babylonian Story of the Deluge as Told by Assyrian Tablets from Nineveh, by E. A. Wallis Budge (1857-1934). The man looks to have been a rather prolific author of scholarly writings on ancient civilizations. His Wikipedia entry contains a lengthy list of "selected works". This book is not among them.

My copy is a Project Gutenberg free e-book download. I noticed no original copyright/publish date. Of those dates scattered throughout the writing, the most recent that comes to mind is 1920. I suspect that some, maybe lots, of the research presented has surely been superseded.

As to the book itself, it of course centers on the 'deluge' that in later incarnations would come to be known as the story of Noah and his Ark. Here we get two different versions of the tale, along with The Epic of Gilgamesh, here spelled Gilgamish. It also chronicles the discovery and excavation of pertinent sites, discovery of the tablets, and, at book end, plates (photos) of some tablets. (These are much easier to see in the online edition than on my wee Paperwhite.)

Believe it or not, this was my first exposure, in print form, to the material presented here. (I 'am' familiar with the Noah version.) It was an enjoyable read. It sparks my interest enough to contemplate seeking out more up-to-date documentation.

That is interesting. A lot of cultures have stories about great floods, which lead some to believe they are all recounting the same event. The MonsterTalk podcast has talked about this (though I don't remember which episodes). It turns out that these different flood myths are all things that happened if not centuries, but thousands of years apart.

The reason is simple. Water. Humans literally cannot live without it. So human settlements tend to be near rivers or coasts. What places are prone to flooding? Rivers and coasts. Even in the Sahara, the most common cause of death is drowning from flash floods.

I finished up the first entry in the Star Wars High Republic trilogy - Light of the Jedi. It's interesting to see how much stronger and in tune with the Force the Jedi were before Plagueis and Palps started their shenanigans with the dark side. Currently waiting for a copy of installment two to be available.

I rarely post in this thread because most of the stuff I read is trash, or it's too popular, etc. I have an addiction to Reacher novels, for instance. Which inspired me to start a couple character stories (Vicious is one of them) but I'd never recommend Reacher here at Chorrol. I went through a Janet Evanovich phase these last two years as well. Her books are humorous, but I'd never recommend them because they're cotton fodder, mostly.

But here is one I feel is worthy of mention for this thread. Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St. John Mandel. This is a really intriguing tale, with some unexpected twists and turns. I'm so spellbound by it, I only read 5 or 10 pages at a time. Don't want to rush through it, and so on.

I also re-found my Lovecraft book, which has been missing for several years now. It's got a series of Lovecraft tales and short stories. So that'll be my summer reading: Lovecraft, and Emily St. John books. I'm going to get The Glass Hotel by Emily next, I think.

At 1824 this evening, 15 Jun 2022, I concluded an initial read of Salamis, book five in Christian Cameron's Long War series; well researched military/historical fiction set in early Classical Greece during the Ionian Revolt and an attempted Persian Conquest. Almost the entirety of the book is devoted to the lead up to and famous naval engagement at Salamis, in which the Greeks win a decisive victory over a much larger Persian fleet. It ends post battle with a personnel mission by the protagonist, followed by peaceful domestic concerns. As with the series as a whole, I rate this entry highly. Five down, one to go. I bought the final volume, Rage of Ares, not long before typing this. Don't know that it'll be the book I take up once my Paperwhite fully charges, but I'll almost certainly read it soon.

At 1536 is afternoon, 22 Jun 2022, I concluded an initial read of Rage of Ares, sixth and final book in Christian Cameron's The Long War series. This entry fictionally documents the final battles of Persia's attempted conquest of Greece during its early Classical era. As with previous entries, Cameron is a masterful storyteller, with combat depictions second to none. Here we return to land warfare, on a grand scale, unlike the preceding several volumes, which focused primarily on naval engagements. As usual, Cameron supplies interesting historical notes at the end. I continue to recommend this series to anyone who enjoys well written and researched military/historic fiction and/or has a fascination for Ancient Greece that extends beyond the Trojan War.

At 1428 this afternoon, 24 Jun 2022, I concluded an initial read of the fourth book in Edward Marston's The Railway Detective series; The Iron Horse. In this entry, railways play only a minor, incidental role, the title having more to do with the plot being centered around nefarious events leading up to and including Derby Day and its major horse race. Unlike at least one previous entry, here we are kept in the dark as to the guilty party until almost the very end. That said, my assumption of who the perpetrator, or at least an important accomplice, most likely was proved correct. Not normally drawn to the Detective / Crime genre, I've no idea how this book compares to its stablemates. For me it was an enjoyable, quick read.

I just finished reading Stranger Things: Rebel Robin by A. R. Capetta. I was turned on to it by its companion podcast- Rebel Robin: Surviving Hawkins. As the titles imply, it is a novel set in the Stranger Things universe, centered on the character of Robin Buckley. I really loved her in the show. She's my favorite character in the last two seasons (she does not appear until season 3). And that is what prompted me to try out the podcast, and then the book.

The book is your standard YA fare. It is a coming of age story about a teen girl in Anytown USA. Well not quite Anytown. This is Hawkins, and there are monsters afoot. The novel takes place mostly during the 1st season of the show, and there are occasional references to events from the show, like Will's disappearance. But mostly it is a separate story. It is not a horror story either. Aside from those references, there is nothing really supernatural or terrifying about it.

Like I said, it is about Robin, officially the wierdest girl at Hawkins, navigating school and home life, her dreams to get out of boring, suffocating Hawkins, and the obstacles in her path. The trials and tribulations with her friends. And under it all her grappling with the fact that she is a lesbian, and her friends constantly wanting to set her up with boys.

It all wraps up with a nice ending. Robin does not get what she wants. But she does learn to love herself, and embrace who she is at prom, while being chased by teachers and the police. Because of course. Lastly the epilogue shows her going to work at Scoops Ahoy with Steve the Hair (which is where we first meet her in the TV show).

All in all it is a fun book. It is well-written, and Robin really sings from the page. There is nothing special, or grand, or really exciting about it all. It is just a slice of ordinary life. But it was an enjoyable ride, so I recommend it.

The podcast btw, fits into the middle portion of the book. It is not a talk radio style podcast, but an audiobook style, that tells a fictional story. One thing that drew me into it is that Robin in the podcast is played by Maya Hawke, who also plays Robin in the TV show. She has a great voice, and once again, her character really comes alive. You don't really need to listen to it to enjoy or understand the book, or vice-versa. But they do go nicely together.

Wow I didn't know there is a Stranger Things book.

Yes, we LOVE the show too. Season 4 started up recently, but for me this is not enough. I actually went all the way back to Season 1, just so we can build toward 4. Robin is awesome. Nice to know she's got her own story as well.

In other news, I lost my Lovecraft stories collection book. Again. This'll be the third time since 2017 or so. Grrr...

At 1530 yesterday, 01 Jul 2022, I concluded an initial read of The New Achilles, book one of Christian Cameron's Commander. Unlike The Long War, this series is not told as reminiscences of an aged protagonist. Where Long War takes place during the beginnings of what is now seen as Greece's classical-period, this series documents events several hundred years later. The new Achilles, who is not the character whose point-of-view we are given, is, according to Cameron, a real-life figure who bought the Greeks several generations of freedom before their subjugation by Rome. I had trouble sustaining enthusiasm until around 30%, after which I enjoyed it quite a lot.

At 1150 today, 07/07/2022, I concluded an initial read of The Last Greek, second and final book in Christian Cameron's Commander duology. As previously mentioned, these books are set near the end of Greece's Hellenistic Period. They chronicle the exploits of an actual historic figure, Philopoemen, who is credited with buying Greece a few extra generations of independence ere their subjugation by Rome. The tale is told from the perspective of a one-time Rhodian marine turned Healer Priest who finds himself a semi reluctant military sub-commander / companion to Philopoemen. Unlike book one, The New Achilles, which took me a while to get in to, this entry captured my interest from the start and maintained it to the end. While I continue to see The Long War as Cameron's "masterpiece", there is much to like here. Recommended.

At 1409 today, 10 Jul 2022, I concluded an initial read of Murder on the Brighton Express, book five in Edward Marston's The Railway Detective series. After a compelling start, I began to think this would be one of the series' more blasé entries. Then, past a certain point, it morphed into some of Marston's best writing; the plot became rather complex, with several unexpected twists. I wish Marston had thrown more railway trivia into the mix, but suspect readers without my strong interest in early British steam locomotives/railways will find the amount of such trivia on display here amply sufficient.

At 1143 on 23 Jul 2022, I concluded an initial read of The Red Knight, book one of Miles Cameron's The Traitor Son Cycle series. This is the Cameron whose historical fiction, writing under his given name Christian, I am so taken with. Only, this is fantasy. High fantasy. More or less traditional high fantasy. As is Cameron's wont, there's a large cast of characters to keep track of. Unlike those historical fiction titles of his I've read, here the story is told from multiple perspectives, switched between at sometimes lightning speed. Some standard high fantasy tropes are encountered here, which bothers me not at all.

Do I like it? Yes. Do I recommend it? Certainly. though I think the best introduction to Cameron remains his historical fiction series The Long War, especially considering that book one, Killer of Men, can be had on Kindle for $3.99USD and book two, possibly my pick of consistently topnotch the litter, is just $1.99USD.

An aside: During a YouTube interview Cameron states that he is a fantasy reader, but rarely reads historical fiction. Why? Historical fiction tends to anger him due to inaccuracies. With fantasy he is far more forgiving.

At 1345 this afternoon, 02 Jun 2022, I concluded an initial read of The Silver Locomotive Mystery, book six in Edward Marston's The Railway Detective series. In this one, railways play no part whatsoever except as a means of transport for some of the book's characters. The "Silver Locomotive" is a custom-built coffeepot rather than an actual loco, though the coffeepot is modeled after one. Despite feeling shortchanged railway trivia wise, the book was enjoyable start to finish. Good plot with some unexpected turns along the way. One series stalwart, who up until now came across as rather one-dimensional and overly predicable, gained a little welcomed depth.

This was a quick read. Indications to the contrary are nothing more than my having abandoned several false starts with other titles.

At 1435 this afternoon, 05 Aug 2022, I concluded an initial read of “A Hangman's Daughter Tale, book 1:The Hangman's Daughter” by Oliver Pötzsch, translation by. Lee Chadeayne. I read Pötzsch's two-volume Faust retelling at the beginning of the year. It remains one of the year's best reads. Unlike Faust, this novel, while fiction, has a solid historic basis. The hangman is both an actual person and one of Pötzsch's ancestors. The plot centers around a 17th Century Bavarian town midwife accused of witchcraft, several deaths and arson. The hangman strives to prove her innocence, against the wishes of town officials who want a quick confession and burning so things can return to normal. This book grabbed my attention from the start and didn't let go until the fat lady sang. Recommended, though those new to Pötzsch might want to tackle the two Faust books first.

At 2156, 08/18/2022, I concluded at initial read of The Tiger and the Wolf, book one of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Echoes of the Fall fantasy trilogy. It takes place in a world inhabited by tribes of humans, each tribe with an animal its members can morph into at will. Some few individuals can also morph into a special powerful “Champion” animal in addition to their tribal animal. (There are also “mute” animals, with no human counterpart. A few non morphing humans exist, but these are little mentioned in book one, and seem to consist of those whose morphing abilities are intentionally or accidentally lost . . . for now.) The book’s central figure is a girl verging on maturity who possesses not one but two animal souls, byproduct of a recent war of conquest. Little liked by the tribe/clan she grew up in, we see her find herself through a series of escapes/adventures. The supporting cast, both allies and hostiles, are well written.

Like several other recent reads, it took me a while to get into this book. Once hooked, it held my attention until the end. It is worth reading? Sure. It is top tier fantasy? We shall see.

I’m now roughly 27% into book two, The Bear and the Serpent.

At 1923 this evening, 26 Aug 2022, I concluded an initial read of The Bear and the Serpent, book two in Adrian Tchaikovsky's Echoes of the Fall fantasy trilogy. My recent post about book one gives a decent idea of what this series is about. In this installment, we follow two separate major plot-lines, both foreshadowed in the first book, though not its primary focus. I enjoyed this entry as much as the first. Bought book three earlier today. Will begin it within the hour.

Just got back from a cruise and took the first few books about Mercy Thompson with me - an urban fantasy series. So far so good. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Stormcrow have taught me that urban fantasy can be fun.

At 1141, 09 Sep 2022 I concluded an initial read of The Hyena and the Hawk, third and final installment in Adrian Tchaikovsky's Echoes of the Fall. This entry deals almost wholly with last-ditch efforts by the land's inhabitants to thwart invasion by an enemy from their legendary past, bent on conquest and annihilation. The outcome remains in question until almost the very end. The ending itself leaves enough loose ends to justify a followup book/series should the author so choose. As to the trilogy as a whole, I feel comfortable recommending it. I’m not ecstatic about it, but think it a solid fantasy read.

I'm now in the midst of a book seven in Marston's The Railway Detective series.

At 1220 today, 07 Sep 2022, I concluded an initial read of Railway to the Grave, book seven in Edward Marston's The Railway Detective series. I was initially going to write this off as one of the series' weakest entries to date. It grew on me as the story progressed. By book end, I found myself rather taken with it. There is next to no railway trivia here, a disappointment that likely won't matter to others. As to how it stacks up against others of its ilk, I've no real basis for comparison. As has been pointed out before, I am not normally drawn to detective / who-done-it fiction.

At 1919 this evening, 11 Sep 2022, I concluded an initial read of Blood on the Line, book 8 in Edward Marston's The Railway Detective. It doesn't spoil things much to say that this entry isn't a who-done-it, but rather a hunting down of two known criminals, one of whose capture our protagonist has a personal, vested interest in due to a traumatic event during his pre-detective past. As has become the norm for this series beyond its first few entries, railway trivia is sparse. These are comfort reads for me. I enjoy them. And as I have discovered, they're books I can read while otherwise in a reading slump.

At 1424 this afternoon, 15 Sep 2022, I concluded an initial read of The Stationmaster's Farewell, book nine in Edward Marston's The Railway Detective series. Another enjoyable entry, and an easy read, with a plot twist near the end I suspect most won't see coming. I certainly didn't.

There are plenty more books in this series. I plan to read them all. However, I hope to take a break and tackle something different, if possible. It might not be. I'm in the midst of a reading slump. The Railway Detective novels seem to be about the only books I'm able to focus on for any length of time.

At 1635 this afternoon, 21 Sep 2022, I concluded an initial read of Jan Swafford's Mozart, the Reign of Love, hardback print edition. This has been my kitchen-table read since the turn of the year. It's too big and bulky to read lying down, which is how I do almost the totality of my "serious" reading. Consuming it two-three pages at a sitting is no hindrance in this case. I've read one other Mozart bio, and numerous articles on him and/or his music. This book is far and away better than that other Mozart bio, which bordered on incomprehensible at times. On the other hand, I far prefer Swafford's Beethoven: Anguish & Triumph, read some years ago. Interesting as much of Mozart's life is, Beethoven is, for me, one of the most utterly fascinating individuals to have walked the face of the earth. Too, while I greatly enjoy much of Mozart's musical output, Beethoven has long been my musical god.

That aside, a good chunk of Mozart RoL is devoted to discussion of individual works. I found this tedious at times. He does this in Beethoven A&T too, though not as extensively. There, I had no issue with it, possibly because I'm quite familiar with most of B's output, so can hear individual passages in my head as Swafford describes them. I'm familiar with much of M's music too, but not always to the same degree. BTW, in both books these musical descriptions are relatively nontechnical in nature. A solid grounding in music theory is not needed.

It might seem as if I'm damning Mozart, Reign of Love with faint praise. I am not. It's a well written, comprehensive biography. I'm glad to have read it. It's simply not, for me, in the same league as his Beethoven bio.

(I am extremely lucky in finding Beethoven: Anguish & Triumph Kindle edition on sale for $3.99US some months ago! I scooped it up without hesitation. It is, to date, the only book I own both digitally and printed, discounting a few "classics" DL'd for free off Project Gutenberg to give me alternative translations.)

At 1401 today, 23 Sep 2022, I concluded an initial read of Oliver Pötzsch's mid seventeenth-century Bavarian-based historical fiction/mystery/detective novel A Hangman's Daughter Tale, book two: The Dark Monk, English translation by Lee Chadeayne. After a promising opening, my interest waned. I half-seriously considered DNFing it. Then, at around 30%, it grabbed my attention and didn't let go until the very end. As to the plot, it begins as a simple, or not so simple, death, which proves to be from unnatural causes. It soon morphs into a hunt for great treasure from long ago, purportedly stashed somewhere in the local area, with rival factions seeking said wealth. The hangman, his daughter, the young physician, and a new character I shall not name, take center stage. With the caveat that you too might find the book's early chapters slow-going, this end's up as a solid recommendation from me, especially if you liked book one or any other Pötzsch novels.

As with book one, Pötzsch's End Notes and other appendixes are well worth reading.

At 1457 this afternoon, 28 Sep 2022, I concluded an initial read of the Project Gutenberg free ebook When the Movies Were Young, by Linda Arvidson, Mrs D.W. Griffith. Written in 1925, Mrs Griffith chooses to end her personal reminiscences with the 1915 release of Birth of a Nation, in a real sense when film came of age as a serious, respectable (and highly profitable) entertainment/art. What we read about is the time before that, when movie making was a much looser, more casual affair that didn't take itself over seriously. When movie cast and crew were, often as not, stage/vaudeville performers out to tide themselves over between "legit" engagements. When a film could be made in only a few days. As someone with a long held interest in silent cinema, I found the book entertaining and informative. As a free download, it's an obvious recommend.

At 1443 this afternoon, 02 Oct 2022, I concluded an initial read of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. Mine is a free Project Gutenberg e-book edition. This is my first exposure to Hemingway "in print", aside from The Old Man and the Sea, a required reading option during my long ago school years. I recall nothing of that earlier experience beyond the general gist of the story,

I like Hemingway's writing style here. He handles character interacts very well. As to the plot, if someone were to ask me what it's about, I'd be tempted to say: "About 275 printed pages". We witness the day-to-day goings-on of a group of youngish perpetual drunks who act like spoiled brats much of the time, sometimes cloaked in a veneer of wit and sophistication. I had no empathy with these characters, and little sympathy for them. I did feel a bit sorry for Cohn near the end. If it weren't so well written, I suspect I'd have DNF'd TSAR ere the end. That said, I can see what the fuss is about. Being an acknowledged "classic", it's beyond the likes of me to either recommend or disavow it.

At 1252 today, 08 Oct 2022, I concluded an initial read of Miles (AKA Christian) Cameron's The Age of Bronze, book one: Against All Gods. It's a good fantasy novel. I enjoyed it and look forward to book 2, not yet published. That said, my primary and strongest Cameron recommendation continues to be his early Classical Greece historical fiction series, The Long War, which I think holds it own against the best works in its genre.

At 1217 today, 10/10/2022, I concluded an initial read of International Cartoons of the War, by H. Pearl Adam. Published 1916, the title of course refers to WWI. It's a short, quick "read" once past the introduction. Sad to say, it is flawed on the Paperwhite, being mostly captioned illustrations as it is. A good number of images don't reproduce well enough to fully enjoy. A few I couldn't decipher well enough to grasp their intent. When all was said and done, I returned to Project Gutenberg and opened the book's Online version in my browser, which solved its Kindle image and formatting issues. If any of these images were originally colored, as I suspect a few might have been, that has been lost either during the original printing process or while scanning for e-book issue. It's an okay acquisition for those interest in the subject.

At 2024 yesterday evening, 13 Oct 2022, I concluded an initial read of Edward Marston's Peril on the Royal Train, book 10 in his The Railway Detective historical fiction whodunit/crime/detective series. I enjoyed this entry, as I have its predecessors. It centers on activities nefarious along the Caledonian Railway during the mid 1850s. I appreciate that here, unlike some entries, the railway is key to the entire storyline. We also get a bit more railway trivia here than is sometimes the case, a plus for me. As to how it ranks among its peers, I know not, the crime/detective genre being one I am not normally drawn to. I can say that it kept my attention from start to finish.

Anyone interested in this series should begin with book 1, later entries often referencing earlier volumes.

At 0750 today, 19 Oct 2022, I concluded an initial read of A Ticket to Oblivion, book 11 in Edward Marston's The Railway Detective historical fiction crime solving series, set in 1850s England. I had not planned to continue the series so soon after finishing book 10. But nothing on my Paperwhite held my interest any length of time. I eventually admitted defeat, visited Amazon.com, and bought book 11. As suspected, it proved an easy read and a page turner. That said, it's a solid entry but is not among my TRD faves. Nor is there much railway trivia here. Like most entries, the plot begins on a railway. Otherwise, railways are not involved other than as a means of transportation.

At 0840 this morning, 21 Oct 2022, I concluded a read of George Eliot's Silas Marner, a free Project Gutenberg e-book download. As with Twain's Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, I'm conflicted as to whether it's a re-read or an initial read. In this case, more so than Twain's books, I lean towards re-read. If so, it'll be my first bona fide re-read this year! Quite a change for someone who, until mid last year, existed primarily on re-reads, with few new-to-me titles read during any given year since the early '90s.

As to the book itself, I had some trouble acclimating myself to the old-style rural dialect pretty much every character uses. (It's a very "wordy" book.) Once adapted, it became another quick-read page-turner. It at first seemed merely okay for its type. As the story progressed, and I became more and more invested in the main characters and locals, I came to like it more and more. By the end I was hooked.

At 0923 this morning, 11/09/2022, I concluded an initial read of Timetable of Death, but twelve in Edward Marston's The Railway Detective series. It's another solid entry. An entertaining, quick read that kept my attention from start to finish. The perfect thing for someone battling a severe reading slump, as I have been for a while.

On the sixth, I finished The Communist Manifesto by Engels & Marx. Here my reading slump hurt me. I wasn't able to comprehend/digest some of the presented material as well as I'd like. Short as it is, I'll likely give it another shot when and if this accused slump ends. More than that I will not say, lest we drift into territory frowned on here.

At around 0935 this morning, 17 Nov 2022, I concluded an initial read of Stephen Fry's Greek Myths, book 2: Heroes. A good read. While passingly familiar with isolated events related to a few heroes mentioned, I knew none of their life stories in full, some not at all. I do now, though the vast number of heroes, gods, demigods, titans, other mythological creatures, and their associates/relations was more than my decrepit brain could absorb. There's one further volume in the series, Troy. I'll likely read it at some point but am in no great hurry.


Alas, the Nov 2022 ballot initiative to slash the city/county public library budget in half passed. It surprised me, though in hindsight it probably shouldn't have. I refer here to the city nearby. The little town I live in is far too small to sport a library of its own. That city, a University City with a population of some 80K, now has no general-purpose
or used bookstores and, thanks to the initiative, will soon have reduced library functionality. Admittedly, I've not visited the library in years. But I fully appreciate them.

(At the moment the library is trying to figure out what it will have to cut to operate within the new funding, but can't rule out that it might not be possible to remain in operation.)

I'm now 20% into an initial read of Master of Furies, book three of Raymond Feist's Firemane Saga. I acquired it Nov last year, read the opening chapter, then for some reason put it away and moved on to other things. Not only moved on but totally forgot I own it. Earlier this week I visited the Kindle Store to see if MoF had dropped in price. That's when I (re)discovered I have it! Been reading it ever since. I enjoyed the first two FS books. I've no cause for complaint with MOF so far.

I do not normally comment on reading in progress. Exception is made here due to an unexpected development read last night. A new character is introduced. Totally unanticipated (by me), that character proceeded to do something remarkably like a well-known character from Feist's Riftwar series. At that reveal, my eyes opened wide. I grinned from ear to ear. I'll say no more lest it spoil things for new readers. What little I've already said might be too much of a spoiler. In any case, I might be wrong and the similarity prove coincidence. Against my theory, so far as I know Feist is officially done with Riftwar. For it, why not? I certainly won't be displeased if proved correct. Time will tell.

I have been going through some audiobooks of Robert E Howard's horror stories. Roland Wieffering has them on his YouTube channel. I presume he is the one doing the readings. He has a lot of Clark Ashton Smith, and other writers too.

So far I have listened to the Black Stone, which might be the best. The Noseless Thing and The Thing on the Roof were ok. I like the mythology he built around his mythos book, Nameless Cults, which features in most of them.

Most of these I have read before in the past. You can get a lot of them from Project Gutenberg. The copyrights are all expired, so they are free to download. I am looking forward to the Fire of Assurbanipal. I remember that was a rollicking one.

At 1402 this afternoon, Thanksgiving Day 2022, I concluded an initial read of Master of Furies, book 3 of Raymond Feist's Firemane Saga. Enjoyed it, as I tend to do with all Feist's writing. My theory of a connection between this series and the Midkemia books, mentioned last post . . . well, let's just say the matter has been firmly settled, one way or the other. I am not displeased. (Note that I inaccurately used Riftwar instead of the more apt Midemia in that earlier posting.)


I began what seems to me to be an excellent audiobook of 1984 on YouTube sometime ago. Not sure why I abandoned it. Not for lack of interest. My problem with audiobooks in general is that I'm a slow person. I think slowly. I read slowly. I absorb knowledge slowly. Too many book readings are simply too fast for me.

Now, one area where audiobooks would be a godsend for me is anything written in verse / poetry. I've never in my life been able to read verse writing. It's sort of odd. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting on my mom's lap as a wee lad while she read poetry to me. Yet I never developed the ability to grasp it on the written page.

Yeah, one can find a wealth of Sci-fi, Action/Adventure, Mysteries and so-on, culled from magazines/periodicals, at Project Gutenberg. New stuff appears regularly. I'm tempted, but not yet taken the plunge. No, I take that back. I downloaded a couple of early Conan stories, but have not yet read them. (At least I "think" I DL'd them from PG.)

Amongst recent Project Gutenberg acquisitions is the title The Blue Castle, by Lucy Maud Montgomery. It is high on the list of PG's "most popular downloads". Having no prior knowledge of the author, I assumed the book to be an obscure work by and obscure writer, that for some reason has become popular with the PG crowd.

Looking for something to read after finishing Feist's Master of Furies, I sampled Blue Castle's opening. I liked what I read. Ms. Montgomery obviously knows her craft. I decided to give it a go. Cut to the chase, I am highly impressed. It's very well written, with interesting characters, character interactions and a compelling storyline. I finished it at 2004 yesterday, 27 Nov 2022. Despite being a genre I'm not normally drawn to, I enjoyed it start to finish. And as I found out after the fact, Ms Montgomery and her books are far from obscure. Very far.

All that said, I don't know that I will seek out more of her output any time soon. As to what I'll take up next, I've no idea. Between Master of Furies and Blue Castle, both of which I devoured, I assumed my reading slump at an end. It isn't. I've not been able to focus on anything I attempt, abandoning book after book, with no end in sight.

I almost forgot to mention that Blue Castle is my fiftieth completed read of the year. Yes, I did it again. Two years in a row. Who would have thought? I'm not sure if I'm pleased or not. I don't need the self-imposed mindset of thinking I need to read fifty (or more) titles each year. Then again, I certainly don't mind reading that many (or more). I most definitely don't plan to read less solely for the sake of staying under the fifty-mark!

I'm currently 20% into a reading of the Kindle e-book edition of The Curse of the Mistwraith, book one of Janny Wurts' The War of Light and Shadow series. I'm blowing hot and cold on this one. To be fair, I'm still battling a severe reading slump and find it hard to maintain focus for any length of time. Since finishing my last read, which I surprisingly devoured, I've abandoned book after book. None lasted as long as CofM has. I'll stick with it as long as I can, and hope for the best. It certainly won't be the first book I've read this year that took awhile to get in to, then became quite enjoyable. Assuming that's what happens with CofM. <crosses fingers>

I DNF'd Wurtz' The Curse of the Mistwraith. What I read of it made no impression on me. So little impression that, resuming reading following breaks, I frequently couldn't recall who the characters were or what they had been doing.

Two or three other books were set aside due to lack of focus. I'm not necessarily abandoning any of them for good. They simply don't suit me at the moment.

What finally captured and kept my interest was the Project Gutenberg e-book edition of Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, as translated by David Wyllie. I consider it akin to Hemingway's The Son Also Rises in that, aside from being well written, I can't quite figure out why I like it as much as I do.

As to what I'll take up next, who knows?

I have been diving into a lot of audiobooks that I have taken from YouTube. There are a ton of people like Edward E French and Ian Gordon from Horror Babble who have put up readings of classic science fiction and horror stories. I have been playing them back and saving them as mp3 files, then copying them to my mp3 player to listen to while I do work around the house.

I listened to Who Goes There? by William W Campbell. I read it years ago, so it is not something new. But it was interesting to compare it to the various The Thing movie adaptations.

Algernon Blackwood's The Willows and The Wendigo are also old favorites of mine that I have gotten reacquainted with via this method. Granted, the create he describes in the Wendigo is not a Wendigo. But it is interesting nonetheless.

I tried Arthur Machen's The Three Imposters. But I just could not get into it. It is too fragmented a story, made up of nearly a dozen other, smaller stories, which don't seem to really connect very well. In fact, it is hinted that some might be false. The Novel of the Black Seal and the Novel of the White Powder are in there, and I have read them each as standalone stories before, so I will probably do that, and just skip of the rest of the book.

I also dived into some of the Carnacki stories of William Hope Hodgson. These have been pretty good. I love his electric pentacle, and the whole idea of a magical detective. I also like how not all of his cases turn out to be magical in nature. Some turn out to be hoaxes, that he foils without even the help of a group of meddling kids.

At 1959 yesterday evening, 15 Dec 2022, I concluded an initial read of Project Gutenberg's e-book offering of Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet, the debut of Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes. It at first didn't impress to me, but got better as it progressed. Then, at a chapter change, it morphed into something else altogether. After reading much of the first morphed chapter, I became all but convinced that whoever prepared this e-book had been working on multiple projects and somehow managed to graft part of a totally different title into the Doyle.

I shut down the Paperwhite and returned to the computer to look at the ASiS in its HTML browser version. There, where it is fast and easy to scroll between sections, I saw that the seemingly foreign material is no mistake. Satisfied that it would all make sense at some point, I returned to the sofa and resumed reading. Sure enough, only a few pages beyond where I left off, a few name-drops expose the connection twixt what I was reading and the book's arching storyline. What's more, now that the dust has settled, that assumed foreign material has proven to be my favorite part of the tale. The book's closing section sees a return to Watson and Holmes and the conclusion of the case they investigate.

A good read, especially its middle "foreign" section. Believe it or not, this is my first exposure to Holmes and Watson in written form, though I've seen and enjoyed quite a few of their adventures via movies and television. As to Doyle, it's too soon to say. My only exposure to him is this book and a DNF of The White Company earlier this year, which I might resume at some point.

At 0349 this morning, 18 Dec 2022, I concluded an initial read of British author Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's novel The Wind in the Willows. My copy is a free Project Gutenberg download. I came across this book due to its inclusion in a YouTube booktuber's "10 (or was it 12?) Must-Read Modern Classics" video. I don't see it as a must-read, but it was enjoyable. It takes place on an alternate earth, where animals live and behave much as we humans do, and indeed mix with us on occasion. This world didn't always make sense with itself to me. For instance, much is made of these animals' love of meals. Prepared, cooked meals no different from ours. Meals that include such staples as ham and rabbit.

Another oddity. One of the four lead animal-characters, a toad, is imprisoned in a human jail. He eventually escapes by gaining the sympathy of a certain human female, who has him dress as a washerwoman to slip past the guards. This washerwoman is a relative of the human female, thus human herself. In the book's world, human and animal sizes are the same as on our earth. How did the toad fit into human clothes and fool his jailers into thinking he himself was human?

Speaking of the toad, he/it put me in mind of Tom Sawyer as portrayed in the latter part of Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Self-centered and self-serving, out for his own pleasure regardless of the harm it sometimes causes others.

A good read, but again, for me not a top-10 (or 12) must-read.

At 1729 this afternoon, 20 Dec 2022, I concluded a fifth read of Elric of Melnibone, book one of Michael Moorcock's The Elric Saga. Last read at the very end of Dec 2006, its first read occurred Feb 1986, soon after my switch from predominantly non-fiction to almost wholly fantasy. Though I still own my original paperback, this reading took place on my Paperwhite, an omnibus edition of the first four Elric books bought on sale at Amazon a while back. I had not intended to tackle it this year, but fell victim to a severe reading block that I thought I had put behind me a few reads ago. Four or five initial reads ended almost before they began, due to an inability to focus. Knowing that Elric would almost certainly hold my attention from the start, I reluctantly committed myself to it.

As to the book itself, there's little point in me rehashing its plot and merits. It's a well-known commodity, after all. Instead, I'll relate a quirk of mine. Since first picking up this title, I can't for the life of me remember whether its titled character is named "Elric" or "Erlic". While typing this post my old paperback rests beside me, so I can double-check that I type the correct name. It wouldn't surprise me in the least to check back later and discover that I got it wrong at least once.

At 1740 this evening, 27 Dec 2022, I concluded an initial read of Paladin's Strength, book 2 of T. Kingfisher's The Saints of Steel series, fantasy with a heavy dose of romance built in, more so than the sort of fantasy I'm used to. I enjoyed it, especially the book's concluding section, which was exciting and suspenseful. As with book 1, there is an interesting chemistry between the two main characters.

No idea what I'll tackle next.

At 2102 yesterday evening, 5 Jan 2023, I concluded an initial read of Signal For Vengeance, book thirteen in Edward Marston's The Railway Detective series. This entry varies from the norm in that an ongoing development in the detective's personal/home life receives almost equal footing with the murder he investigates. Also, the superintendent's role is somewhat more prominent than usual, and a bit more fleshed out. While not one of my favorite series entries - they can't all be - it was an enjoyable, easy read.

While on the subject of whodunits, Arthur Conan Doyle's The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes enters public domain in the U.S. this year. I DL'd a free copy from Project Gutenberg a few days ago.

At 1419 this afternoon, 19 Jan 2023, I concluded an initial read of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1852-53 novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon, supposedly at least loosely based on the exploits of a real-life individual (of another name), told in first-person narrative. One thing for sure; however many books I read this year, it is extremely unlikely that I will encounter a character as unashamedly odious as Lyndon. Despite, maybe because of, that, I found the work thoroughly engrossing from start to finish. I suspect it will remain a strong contender for 2023's Favorite Read of The Year award. As with so many classic reads, mine is a free Project Gutenberg download. (For what it's worth, I noticed at least one free Amazon Kindle edition.)

A disturbing aspect of the book; our modern world contains too many BL emulators, who, like him, achieve fabulous success but, unlike him, rarely get their comeuppance in the end.

At 0456 this morning, 23 Jan 2023, immediately prior to shambling off the sofa to prepare breakfast, I concluded an initial read of Adrian Tchaikovsky's standalone fantasy/war novel Guns of the Dawn. This book carries what I suppose is a subtitle, printed in small text below the aforementioned main title, which reads; "The First Casualty of War is Truth", as true here as it is in real life. We have here an interesting cast of characters, an engrossing storyline, plenty of action, and possibly best of all from my perspective, it's, as several characters mouth throughout the novel in response to questioning, complicated. It's the sort of book that keeps me thinking and second-guessing what's really going on and what might happen next. If handled well, as I believe it is here, I like this sort of thing very much. Admittedly, my assumptions generally proved correct in the end, but that's okay too.

This is my second exposure to Mr. Tchaikovsky, having read his three-volume Echoes of the Fall last year (2022). I was favorably impressed by it too.