Category: Books

Book of the Week: Golden Age and Other Stories.

Golden Age and Other Stories is Naomi Novik’s collection of stories from her Temeraire series. It’s an interesting collection of alternate takes, short vignettes, and “Dragons and Decorum,” which is absolutely worth the six bucks to any of my readers who enjoy both Napeolonic Wars stories involving dragons AND the works of Jane Austen.  …Yes, that story is exactly what you think that it is, and my only problem with it is that it is far too short*.

And so, adieu to The Man in the High Castle. Continue reading Book of the Week: Golden Age and Other Stories.

Lemme lay down a marker: we’re gonna see those unfinished Terry Pratchett novels eventually.

What’s that I hear?  The drives containing those novels got run over by a steamroller, then thrown into a stone crusher?  Yup!  Yup, they were.  At Sir Terry Pratchett’s own request, no less.  I understand.

I also understand this. Continue reading Lemme lay down a marker: we’re gonna see those unfinished Terry Pratchett novels eventually.

Book of the Week: The Man in the High Castle.

Philip K Dick, of course. The Man in the High Castle is interesting and readable* in its own right; but I would have liked to have read The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, too. It’d be interesting to read an alternate history World War II novel where the broad outlines were true to our history, but the details were not. Or at least, one written by Philip K. Dick. He was an interesting dude.  And, of course, a deeply weird one.

And so, adieu to The Starry Wisdom Library.

*While also being absolutely absurd. Cactus Jack Garner would have been perfectly capable of rallying the country** after a hypothetical FDR assassination; and Wendell Wilkie would have easily won the 1940 Presidential election, or some other fellow who would been able to add 2+2 and get “better keep England afloat.” I grant that FDR did a good, solid job of wartime Presidenting, but his skill set would have hardly been unique.

**We also have a more balanced view of the actual utility of the New Deal in these, more modern times.

Just finished the first three series in Jack Campbell’s The Lost Fleet.

Short version: hoo, boy, these were fun. I kind of wish that I had read them earlier; but then what would I have been reading over the last two weeks?  My reaction, by series: Continue reading Just finished the first three series in Jack Campbell’s The Lost Fleet.

Book of the Week: The Starry Wisdom Library.

I bought this one back in April; but it’s been a slow week, so I’m catching up on stuff. The Starry Wisdom Library: The Catalogue of the Greatest Occult Book Auction of All Time is indispensable for anybody doing Cthulhu Mythos gaming or writing. So indispensable, in fact, that I’m just going to use it as the definitive source for Mythos tomes from now on; there is no point in trying to improve on its entries, given how well it was put together originally.

And so, adieu to the Lost Fleet.  Which was excellent, all the way through.

Netflix acquires Millarworld.

Link here: what this basically means is that Netflix can now draw (heh) on Mark Millar’s comic properties when making its own comic book movies or shows.  Assuming that Netflix wants to do that. And why would they want to do that, anyway? — Aside from the fact that Marvel and DC are raking in the big bucks, of course. Which is why Netflix wants to do that.

There was also a list of what Millar properties should be immediately optioned, but I’m not linking to it because it was a stupid list.  And why was it a stupid list?  Because it didn’t have Starlight on it. Yes, I know that that’s supposed to be going to 20th Century Fox, but that studio hasn’t done anything with it and do we really want them to, anyway?  Starlight is probably my favorite Millar comic; it should get made into a miniseries, pronto.