WWW Wednesday – March 11, 2020

Ryan11 Comments
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

MaddAddamSince last I started reading MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood, the final novel in her MaddAddam trilogy. I’m only 60 pages in so far, but I’m enjoying a how much more concerned with the present setting this book is compared to the previous two. The “Crakers,” engineered semi-humans made to inhabit the world after the pandemic has run its course, play a bigger role here that I’m enjoying. Their role in The Year of the Flood was so small, and getting exposed to them so much again has me firmly in the camp that they must be protected at all costs. Something horrible is going to happen to at least one or some of them, though, I just know it. Also, only recently realized the title is an anagram. How about that.

Recently Finished

Star Wars The Scourging of Shu-TorunOver the weekend I read a couple of comic books, the first being Star Wars: The Scourging of Shu-Torun by Kieron Gillen, which wraps up an arc involving the titular planet and their betrayal of the Rebellion. This scourging was spear-headed by Leia, and I liked how it was an act of vengeance on her part that did not betray her character at all. A rather flamboyant changeling named Tunga is plays another role in this mission, adding an appreciable variety to their ensemble. The alien Benthic of the Partisans from Rogue One plays a role as well and I enjoyed the discord him and his men brought to the mission, as well as how it is resolved. I really am enjoying how much these comics tie some things together without detracting from the original films.

Bloodborne The Veil, Torn AsunderI also read Bloodborne: The Veil, Torn Asunder by Aleš Kot et al, which you can read my full review of here. Though I mostly felt positively about this book, I am starting to waver a little bit on how committed these books have been to preserving the vaguery of the game’s world. I’m not saying they should do away with it entirely, but this was the most obtuse story yet. I can’t help but wish for the same story explored a little more conventionally. I still quite like what I got, all the same. It is fun to puzzle out the meaning, as I did with the game’s lore, and I did not come up empty-handed. Also, I forgot to mention in my review, but the cover is absolutely misleading. That is not the main character and that sort of action is not what the story is about.

Reading Next

I once again have no idea what I want to read next, on neither the novel nor the comic book front. I’ve been a bit impeded from reading, so I’m more intent on digging into MaddAddam more, but I’m scoping out some prospects on my list too.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

Comic Book Review – Bloodborne: The Veil, Torn Asunder by Aleš Kot, Piotr Kowalski, & Brad Simpson

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Bloodborne The Veil, Torn Asunder

Bloodborne: The Veil, Torn Asunder by Aleš Kot, Piotr Kowalski, & Brad Simpson is the fourth volume in the comic book series based on the Bloodborne action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware. Like its predecessors by the same creative team, this book is largely a standalone story. It follows Yarem, a self-styled adventurer, who has traveled to the city of Yharnam to uncover something he believes to be truth; that the nightmarish visions he occasionally suffers from are not the product of his sick mind, but rather glimpses into a reality overlapping with the human world. Reading an overlooked page in an old tome, which he understands while reading but can never recall the words of, he embarks upon a strange journey that throws all of reality into question.

I do get into some of my own interpretations here, which some may consider spoilers. If you care about that, you have been warned.

Read More »

Book Review – Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett

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Men at Arms

Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett is the 15th novel in the author’s Discworld series and the 2nd book in the sub-series about the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. Sam Vimes, captain of the city’s Night Watch, is getting married soon to the wealthy Sybil Ramkin. On his wedding day he intends to retire, hanging up his badge after many years of service. In the meantime, he has to deal with a handful of new recruits foisted upon him by the city’s Patrician in the name of diversity; a troll, a dwarf, and female werewolf. Trying to get the Watch in order before his departure is enough trouble, but matters are made worse as somebody in the shadows has been getting ideas about the rights of kings and destiny. Believing he has discovered the rightful king of Ankh-Morpork, this person steals a secret and deadly weapon to upend the current social order and make way for this king’s return.Read More »

WWW Wednesday – March 4, 2020

Ryan7 Comments
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Nothing at this moment. I’ve slacked a little bit on starting anything. I’ve got a fair amount on the docket, though, so this will be changing soon.

Recently Finished

Men at ArmsOver the weekend I finished reading Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett, my first reread in a long time. It’s actually been so long since I read this book that I forgot a lot of key plot points, which was great. In many ways it felt like reading it for the first time all over again. I may be a little biased, since this is the book that introduced me to the Discworld, but even after reading 14 other books in the series this is definitely one of the best. It does such a great job of encapsulating Ankh-Morpork as a city, making it feel like one of the characters itself. It also mashes up genres really well, with a fantasy-noir type of plot that plays with classic fantasy tropes of kingship and their right to rule.

Reading Next

MaddAddamI’ve talked about what I want to read next in the last couple of weeks already, but I suppose it bears running down again since I should actually be getting to all of them within the next week.

For my next novel I’ve got MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood, the final book in the MaddAddam trilogy. I also plan to read Star Wars: The Scourging of Shu-Torun by Kieron Gillen et al, to catch up on on the volumes I currently have. I also mean to read Bloodborne: The Veil, Torn Asunder by Aleš Kot et al, the 4th graphic novel based on the video game of the same name. Since two of these are comics, it’s likely I’ll have both finished by next week.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

New Books & Novel Discoveries (February 2020)

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An average month for book purchases this time around. No befuddlement on my part either, which is nice. I know exactly what I bought, and it was fairly spread out through the month. I made a much more concerted effort to purchase from a couple of local independent bookstores too, putting in requests instead of shopping online. I should do this more often, but it’s hard to resist convenience sometimes. It feels better to give these shops the business, though.

Enough rambling, on to the books!Read More »

WWW Wednesday – February 26, 2020

Ryan6 Comments
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Men at ArmsI’m just over 200 pages into Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett now, and I am loving this reread of my first ever Discworld novel. While I’ve become reacquainted well with the plot points as I go along, what I did not expect was just how much this book connects with previous novels. A surprising number of characters that feature in this story have appeared once before, such as Gaspode the dog and Detritus the troll from Moving Pictures. The undead collection of characters that live with Mrs. Cake from Reaper Man are referenced too, with new character Lance-Constable Angua living among them. This novel was noteworthy to me for just how rich it made Ankh-Morpork seem when I first read it. I’m so happy to learn that it’s even deeper than I thought.

Recently Finished

Star Wars The EscapeOver the weekend I read through Star Wars: The Escape by Kieron Gillen et al, the tenth volume in the Marvel Star Wars (2015) comic book series. The series under Gillen continues to be really enjoyable to read, though it has been long enough since I read the the last volume that I feel like I could have used a refresher. It was an enjoyably slower paced volume with Luke, Han, Leia, and the droids in hiding on a moon populated by an isolationist group of people. Unfortunately, this also means that they’re stuck there until either their friend comes to pick them back up, or they can get a ride with the trade ships that come every six months. I enjoyed seeing them all a little out of their element, especially with Luke and the brief romance he kindles with a local girl.

Reading Next

Bloodborne The Veil, Torn AsunderI definitely want to read the next volume of Star Wars soon; I actually meant to before today, but I decided to focus more on Men at Arms instead. More importantly, however, I can finally go pick up the new volume of the Bloodborne graphic novel series, The Veil, Torn Asunder by Aleš Kot et al. I ordered it back on the 6th, so I’m surprised it has taken this long. I really wanted to review it this month, but that will likely have to wait until March. Other than that, I still have every intention of start MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood as my next novel.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – February 19, 2020

Ryan7 Comments
www_wednesdays

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Men at ArmsI finally made my darn mind up and started reading Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett, the 15th Discworld novel. This decision was made in part thanks to a nudging from Sammie @ The Writerly Way. I wanted something light after all the dreary reads I’ve been going through lately. Pratchett is a perfect answer to that. This is the first novel in a long time that I’m actually rereading too. About 10 years ago now, this was my introduction to the Discworld series. It was a while before I embarked upon reading the rest of them, but I never forgot the book. I’m only 27 pages into it now, but I’m already enjoying revisiting it. I had forgotten how much this story in particular played with the fantasy trope of the King returning, ordained by Destiny.

Recently Finished

Here (away from it all)Over the weekend I finally finished up reading Here (away from it all) by Polly Hope. I posted my full review last night, which you can check out here. Reading this novel was certainly an experience. I was along for the macabre ride while reading it, but a lot of elements frustrated me once all was said and done. The small group of people made destitute after the island is cut off from the rest of the world are continually victimized by the native islanders, in increasingly horrific ways, but it doesn’t get enough into why things get this bad. There’s a vague sense of resentment that’s certainly not unfounded in context, but I really wish the story had taken a deeper look at it. The characters frequently fail to take proportionate action against their abusers as well, which I simply could not understand given what happens.

Reading Next

MaddAddamAs far as novels are concerned, I can confidently say I will be reading MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood next. I very much mean to finish that trilogy this year and I’ll waste no more time getting to it. I’m excited to finally finish the series after letting it languish for so long.

Other than that, I’ve got some graphic novels that could probably use some attention; I’m thinking either Star Wars or Doctor Aphra, though The Immortal Hulk is tempting too. We’ll have to wait and see.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

Book Review – Here (away from it all) by Polly Hope

Ryan1 Comment

Here (away from it all)

Here (away from it all) is a 1969 novel by Polly Hope, originally published under the pseudonym Maryann Forrest. On an unnamed Greek island, often swamped with tourists, a small number of wealthy expatriates from around the world live a fairly carefree, relaxed lifestyle in one of the island’s villages. Our unnamed narrator lives with her husband, only referred to as “N,” and a number of her children. One lazy summer’s day the island is covered in a thick layer of dust, as if the fallout of some cataclysmic incident. Communication with the rest of the world ceases after this “Day of the Dusting” and leaving the island becomes hazardous. Left to their own devices, the precarious relationship between the native islanders and the foreigners stuck there begins to fall apart, as some of the old traditions come back into fashion and the expats realize they may never have been as welcome as they thought.Read More »

WWW Wednesday – February 12, 2020

Ryan6 Comments
www_wednesdays

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Here (away from it all)I’m coming up on halfway through Here (away from it all) by Polly Hope. The story was a bit of a slow burn for several chapters, but the situation has been steadily ramping up in a way that’s become more and more interesting. As expected, humanity is disappointing me in this story. I really would like to think that in a crisis such as this, small communities left on their own wouldn’t take such a bad turn, but I do know it’s very probable. I’m a little thrown by some of the language in the book; taking place on a small Greek island there have been some names and nuanced language I’ve had to research while reading. I do wish context had just been given, but it’s an issue I can live with.

Recently Finished

Hellboy Winter Special 2019It’s been a bit of an odd week. Along with personal matters, I for some reason struggled to get my review of The Year of the Flood finished. I wanted it up Friday, but didn’t finally get it posted until Sunday morning. So, I failed in finishing Here over the weekend like I wanted to. Oh well. It’s not much, but I did read the Hellboy Winter Special 2019 by Mike Mignola et al. Fairly self-explanatory by the title, it’s a single comic issue that’s a little longer than normal, featuring three Winter/Christmas-y stories. Perfect time of year for them. Only one of them featured Hellboy, but it was a great little Christmas ghost story with a nice, warm sentiment and a creepy final panel as a spooky little cherry on top.

Reading Next

I am still drawing a blank on what I want to read next…but I have decided that whatever it is ought to be lighter in tone. The Year of the Flood and Here have both been heavy stories. I could use something a little more fun and/or uplifting.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

My First Accepted Submission!

Ryan8 Comments

In my last writing report I mentioned that a story submission of mine had been accepted months ago and I was waiting for it to be produced before I officially announced anything. I’m excited to finally talk about it now.

The story in question is my short horror story “Shower Thoughts” which you can hear wonderfully produced for audio on Season 13 Episode 10 of the NoSleep Podcast (my story starts at 00:24:30). They did a stellar job with it and I was thrilled to finally listen to it.

So, you may be wondering “Why the Slowpoke?” in the featured image (a creature known for its slow wits and reaction time). Well, as it turns out I’ve needlessly waited.

I was asked to not talk about my submission being accepted until it was ready to be heard, which I was happy to oblige.

At the end of last week I noticed someone had been linked to my blog through a NoSleep page. From there, I learned that the episode had already been released back on August 25th.

My notification for its use either got lost in the aether, or more likely, I misunderstood the importance of the date I was paid (which coincided with the release). Regardless, I feel like I’ve got an entire hard-boiled egg on my face for not noticing until now.

That all being said, I’m thrilled to share it with you now. Better late than never. I hope you all enjoy giving the episode a listen, and thank you for reading 🙂