Tag: Discworld

WWW Wednesday – September 15, 2021

Ryan4 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

Nothing, I’m in between books at the moment. Once again I haven’t touched Hope is the Thing with Feathers: The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson either. When I have the time to read, I just don’t turn to it.

Recently Finished

Axiom's EndOver the weekend I managed to finish Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis, and I must say that I ended up loving this book more than I expected to. I didn’t expect to dislike it or anything, but it struck an unexpected chord with me. I guess I’m just a sucker for inhuman characters, though I do think the dynamic between Cora and the alien Ampersand is very compellingly written, regardless of my inclinations. It serves as a great first contact story and an exploration of personal connection between two people. Intimate, but not exactly romantic. It wasn’t without its issues, as I feel a few threads didn’t go anywhere when I was expecting them to go somewhere, but the heart of the story was so good it didn’t matter too much to me. I’m really excited for the forthcoming sequel now. I will hopefully have a full review up soon.

Reading Next

A Gathering of GhostsAny day now I’m going to start reading Jingo by Terry Pratchett, it’s just a matter of making time to read, which is harder to do when other hobbies often take precedence during downtime. With only two weeks left in September, I’m afraid it’s very unlikely that I’ll even get to start A Gathering of Ghosts by Karen Maitland, let alone finish it before the start of October. It’s not formally among my Halloween reads for the year, so it’ll probably have to be bumped until November or December. It’s on my yearly to-read list, so I’ll be trying to make extra certain that I finish it before 2022, regardless.

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

WWW Wednesday – September 8, 2021

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

Still no progress made on Hope is the Thing with Feathers: The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. She’s going to start haunting me.

Axiom's EndI’ve gotten nearly 100 pages further in Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis since last week, and considering how much less reading time I’ve got right now, I’ll call that a win. I am sincerely loving this book so far, as the potential friendship between Cora and Ampersand, the alien for whom she serves as interpreter, is a slow burn, if it’s developing into a friendship at all. There was a wonderfully touching scene between the two that filled me with all sorts of warm, mushy feelings. It’s just so effective when someone/something tries to do something sincerely kind, despite not quite understanding how to do it right. The only real negative with the book so far is that Cora’s strained mental state is so effectual that I’m actually starting to find it a little exhausting.

Recently Finished

Animals of a Bygone EraThis book feels like cheating, because it’s really just a picture book, but I’ve read through art books and comic strip collections before, so to heck with that. I read through Animals of a Bygone Era by Maja Säfström, which I feel like I’ve not shut up about over the last week or so. I picked it up during my first trip to a particular museum a few weeks ago. I knew I had to get it because I absolutely fell in love with the art. I really enjoy quirky or “ignorant” styles of art and this book filled that niche for me perfectly. I also love natural history and relish the idea to learn more about ancient life (this book deliberately excludes dinosaurs). This book made for such a nice, chill read.

Reading Next

JingoI recently got myself a copy of Jingo by Terry Pratchett, the next Discworld novel I need to read, so I’ll likely be starting that soonish. I’m hoping I can finish Axiom’s End by next week. Fingers crossed! I really do hope I can get to A Gathering of Ghosts by Karen Maitland this month too, but I refuse to let my Discworld progress slide, so it’ll have to be bumped if need be. I should probably read a comic or two soon as well, but I’m drawing a blank in terms of what I’d want that to be, other than single issues that I don’t count. We’re still working things out in these parts.

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

Book Review – Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

Ryan3 Comments

Hogfather

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett is the 20th novel in the author’s comic fantasy Discworld series, and the fourth in the Death sub-series. Susan Sto Helit, the granddaughter of Death himself, has settled into a life of education, living with a wealthy family as their astute and capable governess. Sure, she occasionally has to bash in the heads of monsters the kids imagine live under their beds or in the basement, but such things are old hat for someone like Susan. She knows all too well how powerful imagination and superstition can be on the Discworld. Aside from such hiccups, everything is perfectly normal, just the way she wants them to be.

But things take a turn for the stranger on Hogswatch Eve, a time when a jolly fat man is meant to be about delivering presents to all the good little girls and boys. He’s nowhere to be found, and in his place is Death, trying to fill the big man’s over-sized coat. With Death unwilling to inform Susan of what is going on, it’s up to her to learn the reason for her grandfather’s odd behaviour and uncover what has happened to the Hogfather. It’s a race against the clock as Hogswatch morning approaches. If she fails, the sun may never rise again.Read More »

WWW Wednesday – June 16, 2021

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

Last night I stated reading Alien: River of Pain by Christopher Golden, which I managed to read 59 pages of. Reading quotas have been working out for me pretty well so far, as I set out to make sure I read at least 50 pages last night. So far, I think my suspicions were correct and that I will like this book the most in the trilogy of books it belongs to. So far, it feels a bit like cheating, though, because a few sections are just scenes from Alien and Aliens adapted into prose. They’re adapted well, mind you, so if they’re sparsely used I don’t think I’ll mind. They’re only just establishing the characters we’ll get to know at the Hadley’s Hope Colony, but it has been enjoyable so far. It has amusingly raised questions as to why anyone would want to make a colony there, and I wonder if that’ll be further addressed.

Recently Finished

HogfatherOver the weekend I finished reading Hogfather by Terry Pratchett, the 20th Discworld novel. This feels to be a rather momentous achievement, I wish I felt more inclined to bask in it a little. 20 books deep into a series is no small feat, even if it took me five years to get here. I really enjoyed this book—absolutely loved certain parts of it—but I can’t help but feel my experience was a little tainted by familiarity. This novel is among the most quoted of Pratchett’s work, and my own curiosity years ago had me looking up clips of the TV adaptation. I just wish I’d known less about it. Some other things in the execution held it back a little for me too, so while I loved it overall, I’m not completely enamoured with it. I should have a review up sometime later this week.

Reading Next

Slaughterhouse-FiveI’m hoping I can get River of Pain done soon, allowing me to squeeze in one more book in June. A novel that might just fit in perfectly is Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. I bought this book relatively recently and even added it to my yearly to-read list, but honestly, I can’t remember what precisely drew me to it. I know it’s an American classic, and it never hurts to read more classics, but I really can’t summon any relevant information about it in my memory. Well, I’ve got it anyway, so we’ll soon see how a fairly blind reading of it goes.

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

WWW Wednesday – June 9, 2021

Ryan2 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

I’m currently only 15% of the way through Hogfather by Terry Pratchett, the 20th Discworld novel, so the story is really only getting started. I am loving the setup so far, as I wasn’t completely aware that what Death and his granddaughter Susan will be dealing with is, essentially, the assassination of Santa Claus (named the Hogfather on the Disc). The assassin Mr. Teatime is spearheading the plot, and while it has yet to be executed upon, he’s so elegantly deranged I can only assume he will be successful, at least at first. He’s actually been the greater focus of the story so far, so I look forward to learning more of what Death and Susan specifically get up to. I’m weirdly familiar with this book, but in a vague way, so I don’t actually know a lot of what precisely goes down.

Recently Finished

Over the last week I’ve mostly been reading volumes of Berserk by Kentaro Miura, specifically finishing Vol. 28 and then making much shorter work of Vol. 29. I’m continuing to enjoy it a lot, though it feels a bit like its spinning its wheels at the moment. I had expected they would have made more progress trying to get to Puck’s homeland, but Vol. 28 was a lot of just fighting crocodiles and then a sea monster. The last few chapters of that volume did have some good character stuff with Schierke the witch, though, which bled into 29, where there was then some good stuff with Farnese. I’m realizing that lately Guts goes through stages of fighting and being hurt, with a lot of character focus going to his companions.

Reading Next

Alien River of PainI’m still going to read Berserk Vol. 30 before I even push hard toward finishing Hogfather, but I still have my next novel decided anyway. I need to get further along with my challenges, darn it. In keeping with reading a holiday(ish) book out of season, I’m going to read Alien: River of Pain by Christopher Golden, which tells of the events at the colony of Hadley’s Hope that the marines are deployed to in the film Aliens. I read the first two books in this trilogy around Halloween, but I’ve realized that I’ve set myself up to read so many horror books this year that I don’t want to read yet another Alien book during the spooky season this year.

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

WWW Wednesday – June 2, 2021

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

Berserk 28I’ve started reading more Berserk by Kentaro Miura, specifically Volume 28. So far, this volume has really reminded me of the warmth and tenderness Miura was able to inject into his work, despite all the darkness and violence that permeates the story. It was a simple moment where a normally stoic character breaks down despite herself, and our gruff and detached hero Guts is able to provide a modicum of comfort for her. I was thinking more about moments like these thanks to a tweet I read reflecting on Miura’s work in the wake of his passing, and it’s a good reminder of how important positivity is, even in stories full of struggle and despair.

Recently Finished

BacchanalOver the weekend I finished reading my ARC copy of Bacchanal by Veronica G. Henry. I wanted to have the review up yesterday, but I wasn’t quite able to get it finished, and I really didn’t want to rush it out. Nevertheless, I should have it up soon. Overall, I quite liked this book. There were some notable hitches in the plot for me, but the setting and characters really won me over. It was a slow burn for a lot of the book, but I really liked the way it took its time getting Liza to understand the nature of her supernatural abilities. I was more than happy to spend lots of time with this otherworldly carnival too. I’ll have to keep an eye out for more of Henry’s work in the future.

Reading Next

HogfatherBetween personal reads that I didn’t list and getting ARCs done, I’ve gone off the rails a little as far as my reading challenges are concerned. So, I’m going to get back on track and start reading a few of those soon. To stay on top of my desire to read a Discworld book every quarter, I’m going to start reading Hogfather by Terry Pratchett next. It’s the penultimate Death novel, which makes me sad, but it’s also one I’ve seen most referenced, so I’m excited to finally check it out for myself. Feels a bit odd to read a Christmas-y book in June, but I shan’t put it off.

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

Book Review – Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett

Ryan3 Comments

Feet of Clay

Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett is the 19th novel in the author’s Discworld series and the third novel in the City Watch sub-series. There’s murder afoot, as the bodies of a priest and a baker have been found bludgeoned in their respective homes. Headed by Commander Vimes, Captain Carrot, werewolf Corporal Angua, and their new forensics expert Cheery Littlebottom, the City Watch is on the case. Despite the talents each bring to the case, however, it seems no other living thing was present for either murder, though a lot of clay was.

Golems are made of clay, but they’re just things that do as they’re told, not alive, and murder goes against the sacred scrolls that make them function. With the case only getting foggier, the Patrician of the city, Lord Vetinari, suddenly falls victim of poison from an unknown source, weakening him but not killing him outright. Vimes and the Watch’s policing skills are put to the test as they must uncover not only whodunit, but howdunit.Read More »

WWW Wednesday – April 7, 2021

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

Norse MythologyI started reading Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman last week and I’m a little over a third of the way through it at the moment. My only frame of reference for Norse mythology has been popular culture so far, but it turned out to be a decent primer. In the past I’ve had trouble with mythology books because I have no frame of reference for names and terms, which makes it harder for me to remember things. For the most part this hasn’t been the case with this book, plus Gaiman writes in a really accessible way. It still feels like I’m reading myths, which don’t flow quite like standard prose, but I’m enjoying it all the same. I had no idea our sources on Norse myths are so scant either, with most not even being from a time when the beliefs were practiced.

Where Have You Gone Without MeI also started reading Where Have You Gone Without Me? by Peter Bonventre, an eARC I received a little while ago. I’m a little behind on starting it, since it came out at the end of March, but wanted to make sure I read through it all the same. I’m only about 30 pages in so far, during which I’ve had a range of reactions to it. At first I was feeling a little iffy, but I think that had to do with the fact that I don’t read a lot crime thrillers. There have been a few recurring technical errors as well, but I’ll chock that up to it being an advance copy. By the end of my last reading session, it had grown on me a lot more. I’m still waiting for the story to hook me, though, but it’s very early on in the book so I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.

Recently Finished

Feet of ClayLast Wednesday I succeeded in finishing Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett by the end of the day, in keeping with my personal challenge to read at least one Discworld novel every quarter of the year. I should have a review up within the week. This was a good novel, and I appreciated how different it felt from other Discworld books, but I couldn’t help feeling that there were facets of it that I enjoyed more than the whole of it put together, if that makes sense. I feel like I’m still collating my feelings on the book, even a week later. The mystery at play was a little too convoluted for me, but I really liked some of the ideas explored along the way, such as the questions of how life is defined when confronted with some truths about golems, which at first seem animate but not truly alive.

Reading Next

I’m not really sure what I’ll be reading next, especially with two books on the go right now. I should probably just shift focus towards some comics until I’ve got those two finished. I’ve been neglecting them again anyway, so I’ll probably go back to the Star Wars well.

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

WWW Wednesday – March 31, 2021

Ryan5 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

Feet of ClayI’m just over halfway through Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett, the 19th Discworld novel. As is usually the case with me, I wanted to be done with the book by now, but clearly that’s not the case. I might be blitzing through the rest of it today so I can have it done before April. I do think I have the time today, but we’ll see if I can manage it. Nevertheless, I’m really enjoying this book, which feels rather distinct from the many other Discworld novels that have come before it. It still has its comedic edge, but it’s taking itself a lot more seriously than other plotlines have. I’m really intrigued by the way he’s introducing golems into the world too, which function more or less like robots and seem to be gaining sentience, with all of the ethical dilemmas that come along with that.

Recently Finished

I haven’t finished anything else this week, as my focus was meant to be on Feet of Clay. Progress on it over the weekend was stunted by exhaustion, if I’m honest, and I have nobody to blame but myself for that.

Reading Next

Norse MythologyEyeballing my to-read list for the year, I have just this moment decided I’m going to read Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman next, which I expect will be a unique offering from the author considering he is adapting folklore and mythology, rather than crafting a novel all on its own. That’s what I presume, anyway. It’s been well over a year since I’ve read any Gaiman too, so it’ll be nice to get back into some of his writing again. I’ll probably try catching up on more Star Wars comics soon too, but with my Goodreads challenge nicely on track I’m not in a hurry to rush through comics at the moment.

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

WWW Wednesday – March 24, 2021

Ryan4 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

Feet of ClayI finally started reading Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett, the 19th Discworld novel, after goodness knows how long talking about starting it. This book already feels different from the usual fare, though it does actually seem to be following in step with Maskerade so far. Specifically because it has all the trappings of a murder mystery. With the City Watch more directly involved as lead characters, however, I’m sure this book will be a much different beast. Tonally it is still funny, but surprisingly a little more serious too, which I can appreciate. Either way, it’s great to be back among the City Watch and see how they’ve expanded since the events of Men at Arms. The plot is still unfolding and I can’t wait to see what’s afoot.

Recently Finished

to-be-taught-if-fortunateOver the weekend I finished reading through To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers, which I posted a full review for yesterday. I liked this book a lot, especially the way the significance of their scientific discoveries were outlined and made relatable to our understanding of life on Earth. I wish there was even more narrative time spent in active study, in fact. They were on some of these planets for several years, and while I’m sure by necessity that involved a lot of monotonous work, I would love more details of planetary exploration in a grounded narrative like this one. One section subjected them to a biome that made them utterly miserable too, and I was compelled by how worn out they became. Give me all the nitty-gritty.

My Last Summer with CassI also read through My Last Summer With Cass by Mark Crilley, the author/illustrator’s latest graphic novel, which just came out last week. It’s about the friendship of two young artists and childhood friends Megan and Cassandra, the former spending three week’s of the summer at the latter’s home in New York City. Both are talented artists, one more restrained and anxious about appeasing her parents, the other uninhibited, bold, and a little wild. I don’t want to get too much more into the story, as I want to review it within the week and it’s a fairly light and quick read, but I will say that I really enjoyed it. Crilley is a fantastic illustrator, but I found I especially loved the art in this book. The mix of sketchier lines and colouring really worked for me.

Reading Next

I’m at a bit of an impasse again, as I don’t rightly know what I want to read next. There are a few titles swimming around in my head, but nothing that I’ve fully committed to yet. One way or another, I’ll be sure to let you know when I do make up my mind.

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