I tend to be overly critical of these kinds of books, but there's always something to dislike if you're looking for it. When i turned that part of my I tend to be overly critical of these kinds of books, but there's always something to dislike if you're looking for it. When i turned that part of my brain off I found the book fun. The high fantasy moby dick whaling segment was a highlight....more
Took a break from reading M John Harrison's short stories to read this very short novella. What I really like about both is how they portray the down-Took a break from reading M John Harrison's short stories to read this very short novella. What I really like about both is how they portray the down-at-heel quarters of a fantastic city. Also this has such a fast pace while still managing to pack in a ton of backstory....more
Tried reading some Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser years ago but just wasn't ready for it then I guess. This collection absolutely blew my socks off. InsanTried reading some Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser years ago but just wasn't ready for it then I guess. This collection absolutely blew my socks off. Insanely fun stories all around.
Lean Times in Lankhmar: my fave by far. He has so much fun just describing Lankhmar. The pair have fallen on hard times and split up, Fafhrd working for the only priest of a minor god in the city's religious district, the Gray Mouser working for an extortionist bruiser looking for a payoff from said priest. Hilarity abounds.
The Cloud of Hate: Badass.
The Adept's Gambit: Fafhrd falls prey to pig-trickery, every girl he tries to get with turns into a sow on him at the crucial moment. The Gray Mouser suffers a similar problem. The predicament is hilarious and the setting––no longer the fictional Lankhmar, we've passed to ancient Tyre––is described in loving detail. Ningauble of the Seven Eyes is fun, but the adept stuff gets a bit boring and loses the energy of the rest of the story.
When the Sea-King's Away: fun story about exploring the ocean floor.
Their Mistress, The Sea and The Wrong Branch: not really complete stories in themselves so much as just ruminations that serve to connect the book together....more
Great read in an area I'm not super familiar with. Gonna comb through that bibliographical essay at the back someday and find more good reading. Did aGreat read in an area I'm not super familiar with. Gonna comb through that bibliographical essay at the back someday and find more good reading. Did a thread of parts I found interesting here....more
Admittedly I didn't read this book front-to-back, but I did scan through it intensively looking for interesting bits relevant to today's election. YouAdmittedly I didn't read this book front-to-back, but I did scan through it intensively looking for interesting bits relevant to today's election. You can see the results in my thread here....more
There's a lot of red-baiting but i guess that's to be expected given the author is a CIA Librarian.
Admirably lays out Hemingways life and times from There's a lot of red-baiting but i guess that's to be expected given the author is a CIA Librarian.
Admirably lays out Hemingways life and times from 1935 through to his death, and digs into his connections to the NKVD (claims he agreed to work for them, but never actually put in any work despite taking meetings with agents in New York, China, ww2 Europe and surely to god Spain, though the author discounts this last one and says EH didn't start working for them until after Spain, despite the existence of his play The Fifth Column) and for and alongside the US embassy in Havana and then the OSS during WW2. Quite a few instances where I personally drew different conclusions than the author based on the evidence given, but interesting nonetheless. Very easy read, which is commendable, I stayed up late to read the back half in one sitting. ...more
Incredible. This ruled. I was already a huge fan of Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder (see my display pic), so to have a novel where theirIncredible. This ruled. I was already a huge fan of Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder (see my display pic), so to have a novel where their paintings come to life was amazing. At times it's kind of hard to follow the logic of the story, though the effect is to enhance the horror element. Definitely one I'd like to come back to and re-read in a few years.
My advice is, if possible, to read Hollow with a laptop or tablet handy so you can reference the paintings.
P.S. Can someone reading this point what painting the little pumpkin fellow is from? In the story, they're looking at Bosch's Temptation of St. Anthony, but then see the pumpkin in another painting off to the side, but for the life of me I can't figure out which one. It's next to an upended dog kennel?
P.P.S. If you liked this check out the film The Mill and the Cross starring Rutger Hauer as Pieter Bruegel the Elder. It's about his painting The Procession to Calvary in 1564, but it's more about the painting than the painter, and even more than Hollow it has its own sort of oneiric logic rather than a plot....more
Really useful stuff. Interesting to see how the material from the chansons de geste migrated to the German-speaking world and transformed. Also great Really useful stuff. Interesting to see how the material from the chansons de geste migrated to the German-speaking world and transformed. Also great summaries of some stuff that's not available in English....more
Admittedly I only read the intro and Daurel et Beto, being already familiar with The Song of Roland and Le Pelerinage de Charlemagne. Still, just browAdmittedly I only read the intro and Daurel et Beto, being already familiar with The Song of Roland and Le Pelerinage de Charlemagne. Still, just browsing the Roland translation I want to come back and read it at some point. It looks a lot clearer than the Sayers version, though I suspect Burgess will remain my favourite.
Daurel et Beto, I was vaguely familiar with the plot from reading various summaries elsewhere, but I really wasn't prepared for the violence. It's not the martial violence common to the geste, but rather a lot of women being tortured and infanticide. Still, there's much to commend here. We finally have the gestes depicting childhood and lives outside of the chivalry. Would be interesting to compare this depiction of a jongleur to the few instances in other gestes. Usually it's just a knowing nod to tip your servers, but Daurel gets a much fuller life here even if he is just sort of merged with the typical depiction of a knight....more
I think this is what the science fiction writers call a stitch up, based on two previously short stories and a novella. It doesn't really work as a unI think this is what the science fiction writers call a stitch up, based on two previously short stories and a novella. It doesn't really work as a unified whole, it's hard for example to care about all the "haves" after the Harry Morgan's adventures as a "Have Not." Yet even still Hemingway's mastery is on display in every individual element, on every page. Not one of Hemingway's masterpieces but a bad Hemingway is nothing to sniff at....more
I thought this would've been a great setup for a farce but it was played a little too straight. Also that scene halfway through the book of the guy hiI thought this would've been a great setup for a farce but it was played a little too straight. Also that scene halfway through the book of the guy hiding in the bottom of an outhouse while his enemy defecates on him for like four pages was a bit too much for me....more
Very cool. Says proudly and out loud something the left is often afraid to admit: work sucks. Love the defiant tone throughout. Also that style of wriVery cool. Says proudly and out loud something the left is often afraid to admit: work sucks. Love the defiant tone throughout. Also that style of writing, where the first person singular gives way to the plural before returning? I quite like it. Captures the way people speak to each other, but you almost never see it in fiction. Kim Stanley Robinson is the only person I can think of who does it, and he also uses the passage of time in a similar way. He must be familiar with Balestrini....more
Vague in the wrong places. About aliens, yes, there should always be something vague and unexplained, otherwise you're only writing about the exotic. Vague in the wrong places. About aliens, yes, there should always be something vague and unexplained, otherwise you're only writing about the exotic. But the vagueness about the ship itself really disappointed me. A shame. I was so stoked to read this, too. Oh well.
All that said, maybe I'll come back to this in the future. Give it another chance....more
Oh man, Miriam Toews nails it pretty much every time. Gotta be one of or maybe even the best living Canadian writer. Really enjoyed reading about SwivOh man, Miriam Toews nails it pretty much every time. Gotta be one of or maybe even the best living Canadian writer. Really enjoyed reading about Swiv and her adventures with her grandmother. I don't think people appreciate her as they should. I hope this is the year Toews gets her Giller. Fight Night is exuberant and funny and even at times cartoonish (in a good way) but still managed to pack an emotional punch. Read it. ...more
Very cool. Lot of info I'm still trying to wrap my head around.
Mostly just wanted to read about Charlemagne's war on the Avars––the horse pestilence Very cool. Lot of info I'm still trying to wrap my head around.
Mostly just wanted to read about Charlemagne's war on the Avars––the horse pestilence that wiped out both sides horses and the mysterious Avar ring fortifications and the vast treasure the Franks took him with them all have a huge appeal to me, yet they often get skipped in histories.
Unfortunately, to get there I had to go through like 2-3 centuries of Avar history. Some of it is quite exciting, especially their campaigns against the Byzantines, but the archaeology stuff bored me to tears. (Though 60,000 known Avar compared to 3-6 Avar names or titles is a wild discrepancy). I should've just skipped to the end but there was some cool stuff in there. Oh and the stuff on ethnic identity formation especially in comparison with the Slavs is fascinating.
Also really neat that the Avars vanished from history not because of Charlemagne's decisive war, but essentially because of how their land changed: they ran out of steppe when their homeland was reforested, so no more horses. No more horses, no more steppe-prestige, so everyone starts identifying as a Slav or whatever instead.
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