Hello all. It’s solidly below freezing here and the main thing that means is the cat Murray wants my body warmth.
Murray’s favourite way of gaining this is to paw at the blanket I am under until I lift my legs, hold up a flap, and make him a tent. At which point a tiny cat likes to ensconce himself and go to sleep. He has been there since I woke up today barring the time I got up to go to the loo, and I suspect he will be there all day if I let him. Which I might as he’s very cute, but my legs are beginning to ache.
Anyway, that’s my day. How’s yours? Hopefully about to get better with some stuff to read…
1. Blog of the week goes to Dr Shaun Duke’s blog. I’ve been following him on twitter and seeing bits and pieces from him for a while, but I only really noticed he had a blog when I saw his piece on why Sci-Fi doesn’t have a canon that I put into the Friday Five. That was my cue to start digging around on what he had there and surprise surprise, it’s fill of incisive and articulate thoughts on genre. I particularly liked these ones on Historical Accuracy and Criticism: Inside vs Out but I’ve yet to find a bad one. So if you want some intelligent thoughts on spec fic, head on over.
2. Fantasy Reviews
We’ll start with what Narratess calls a “perfect palate cleanser” in Marine Brennan’s Driftwood
Wondering whether to get into Discworld? Felice at Teas and Cats and Books gave The Hogfather ‘5 out of 5 cups of tea’
Want to know whether the hype machine is correct for Shannon Chakraborty’s latest? Nils and Beth at The Fantasy Hive find The Adventures of Amina Al-Safiri to be “a story of page-burning action, mysticism and magic, and so much heart.“
How about a story with ‘unreliable narrators, stories within stories and plenty of romance’? That’s Becky at Becky’s Book Blog’s take on Roshani Chokshi’s The Last Tale of the Flower Bride
Did you know we have another Penric and Desdemona novella? The Captain’s Quarters talks about “another wonderful addition” with Knot of Shadows by Lois McMaster Bujold
3. Other Reviews
Want an account of how to be a tourist to shit British attractions? The Orangutan Librarian loved Gareth Rubin’s Crap Days Out
A crime documentary in book form? HC Newton at The Irresponsible Reader was ‘obsessed’ by The Perception of Dolls by Anthony Croix
Some ‘grim, but funny’ Sci-Fi? Andrew at The Quill to Live recommends Rich Larson’s Ymir
For those interested in genre history, Berthold at Ruined Chapel reviews David C Smith’s Robert E Howard: A Literary Biography
Want some social media centered Sci Fi? Runalongwomble found The This by Adam Roberts ‘highly addicting’.
4. Other Bookish Things
If you want to know about the lives of authors, Glenda Larke talks about why it took her 30 years to become a successful author
Aquaventaus is going through The Stacks for Dark Fantasy Academia
Two recent Top 10s caught my eye – Jenna at Falling Leaves with her list on the Shikoku Pilgramage and Jordyn at Birdie’s Book Nook on books that deserve an anime
Is the Discworld unadaptable? They make the case at No But Listen
Last but very definitely not least, I cheered this article on Making Soft Magic Systems Work by MK Hutchins
5. Miscellany
If you’re a Pink Floyd fan and interested in the recent remaster of Animals, head on over to The Goat Review for an examination
There’s been some spectacular finds at Hadrians Wall recently
https://scuttlegoat.wixsite.com/thecaprineform/post/animals-2018-remix-examined
That’s it. Hope you find something you enjoy reading there and hope you have great weekends.
Peat Long's Blog 