tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32094678370060838402024-03-14T09:51:27.697+00:00Avid ReaderUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-16365559475533883742020-12-25T04:55:00.011+00:002020-12-26T06:05:46.248+00:00Book Review: Märchenmond (Magic Moon) by Wolfgang and Heike Hohlbein <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Märchenmond (translated: Magic Moon) by Wolfgang und Heike Hohlbein was one of this year's guilty pleasure reads. When I fell into the targeted age range for this novel (young adult fantasy), I took no interest in the genre, but I clearly remember one of my peers reading from the book when my class was given the task to introduce their favourite reads in a series of German lessons before the winter break. This must have been in year 5 (I was 10 years of age). Annika, if I recall the girl's name correctly, introduced us all to Hohlbein's Märchenmond, and whilst she was singing the author's praises, our German teacher proceeded to passionately deride Hohlbein and his opus in the aftermath of her presentation.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Annika's presentation did not capture my interest, whilst my German teacher's opinion on the quality of Hohlbein's work did stay in the back of my mind for years to come. Nevertheless, I was fascinated by the cover of Annika's edition (the Ueberreuter hardback, which is pictured below). The cover intrigued me and I distinctly remember coveting her hardback copy. As my mother's view of Hohlbein's output turned out to be congruent with my teacher's opinion, my pleas to buy a copy of the book just for its cover naturally failed to convince her. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Fast forward more than two decades and <a href="https://readaroundtheclock.blogspot.com/2018/12/german-fantasy-literature-of-1970s-and.html">as part of my ongoing reading project on 1980s German fantasy literature</a>, I finally bought my very own copy of Märchenmond. Not just because of the cover, but the cover art played a huge part in my decision to acquire the book. Of course, it had to be the Ueberreuter hardback edition with the artwork by Ernst Spalt. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UsffhW0vnfY/X-VsglU4OKI/AAAAAAAADnM/UyWP1PdOkzQFOJOdyVBJEW7XnBbILXKtACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/AC1D3082-56E8-40DD-9694-9998D03285B9_1_201_a.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Wolfgang Hohlbein Ueberreuter Märchenmond 1st edition" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1291" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UsffhW0vnfY/X-VsglU4OKI/AAAAAAAADnM/UyWP1PdOkzQFOJOdyVBJEW7XnBbILXKtACLcBGAsYHQ/w404-h640/AC1D3082-56E8-40DD-9694-9998D03285B9_1_201_a.jpeg" title="Wolfgang Hohlbein Ueberreuter Märchenmond 1st edition" width="404" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Wolfgang Hohlbein, Märchenmond, Ueberreuter 1st edition, cover art: Ernst Spalt </b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Apart from eventually getting hold of the physical copy of this book, I also wanted to put Hohlbein to another test. </span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: arial;">Based on the sheer quantity of the author's assembly line output of fiction, Hohlbein is, solely from a commercial viewpoint, too prolific a writer and can simply not be ignored when it comes to contemporary German fantasy literature.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: arial;">Having previously completed the first instalment of Hohlbein's </span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: arial;"><i>Die Chronik der Unsterblichen</i> in audiobook format</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: arial;">, I wanted to give him another chance and explore at least one more book of his. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818;">As far as <i>Chronik der Unsterblichen</i> is concerned, I am certain that I shall not be </span></span></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: arial;">pursuing this vampire series further. Following a promising start and an interesting premise, the story quickly descended into a seemingly never-ending, detailed and repetitive description of fight and torture scenes. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><span>I hoped that </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Märchenmond, which Wolfgang Hohlbein has written together with his wife Heike and which has evidently turned many of his readers into fans of the fantasy genre, would be a different experience, perhaps one that would convince me to read other Hohlbein titles. And the </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">big question, of course, was, whether my German teacher would be vindicated in his assessment?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><b>Märchenmond - Very Brief Summary of the Plot</b></u></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><span>To sum up the plot, in </span>Märchenmond we encounter Kim, a nine-year-old boy, whose younger sister, Rebecca, is not waking up from a coma following an operation. Kim later learns that his sister is held hostage by an evil magician by the name of Boraas. This interference is preventing her from regaining consciousness in the real world. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">To help Rebecca, Kim himself has to embark on a journey to Magic Moon. Yet, once Kim has arrived in Magic Moon, he soon finds that his quest to free his sister is inextricably linked to saving Magic Moon from destruction by Boraas and the dark forces he has unleashed. </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">On his perilous voyage through Magic Moon, he encounters an array of magical beings and quirky characters, including a dragon, a speaking bear and a giant, who will form a fellowship to assist him in his adventures.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">So far, so good. It all sounds like a fairly standard premise for a book in the genre.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u style="font-family: arial;"><b>My Verdict</b></u></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What becomes obvious rather quickly is that Hohlbein has attempted to produce a copy of Michael Ende's Neverending Story, and a mediocre one at that. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Of course, Hohlbein has also borrowed from other writers, including Tolkien and Lewis, t</span><span style="font-family: arial;">he similarities between Ende's novel, which was published around four years prior in 1979, and Märchenmond, which was originally published in 1983, are striking. Bluntly put, the book is a blatant attempt to ride on the waves of Ende's success.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In both novels the protagonists leave the real world to save a magic realm. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Both Bastian, the young boy in Ende's <i>Neverending Story</i>, and Kim in <i>Märchenmond </i>encounter an array of characters, including a dragon and a young warrior prince, and both have to face a series of challenges before their quest is completed. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">However, Ende's novel has depth and the author lovingly develops his characters, depicts his settings, engages in world building and designs a series of engaging challenges for his protagonists. In </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Märchenmond, on the other hand, Hohlbein simply copies the overall structure and characters of Ende's novel. However questionable this 'borrowing' of Ende's ideas may be, Hohlbein, also fails miserably in its execution, first and foremost by neglecting the development of his characters. Compared to the Neverending Story, Magic Moon remains a bland affair of haplessly assembled characters and plot elements. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What's more, the absence of world-building in Märchenmond is striking, considering that the book is after all a fantasy novel. The reader is largely left in the dark about the workings and forces that govern this world and its people, or the motivation behind Boraas's hostile takeover. Instead, Kim seems to stumble from one encounter with the dark riders into the next, leading to repetitive descriptions of fight and combat scenes, which Hohlbein, going by my experience of Chronik der Unsterblichen, seems to relish. Other types of conflict, which would allow his characters to respond and develop in meaningful ways rather than engage in close body combat, are few and far between.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Kim's initial motivation, the salvation of his sister's soul, is hardly mentioned for the best part of the second half of the book. This element of the narrative is only picked-up towards the end. By then it almost appears as an afterthought. It is also never quite explained how Rebecca is actually linked to Magic Moon and its survival. In the final chapters of the book Kim and his companions encounter an ever-expanding array of settings and characters. How these fit into the hierarchy of Magic Moon is largely left untouched as well. Perhaps Hohlbein expands on these in the sequels to the book.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The moral of the story, whilst subtly delivered through the description of Bastian's experiences and interactions in Ende's book, is, by comparison, overtly thrust into the reader's face in an utterly awkward and clumsy 'tell, don't show' style. For large parts during the final pages of the book, it appears that Hohlbein was in a hurry to make sure the audience absorbs his moral message. As he's failed to do so throughout the book, he resorts to delivering this by way of overt description and exposition in the final chapters. This comes across as awkward and amateurish; and I felt almost embarrassed reading it. I am aware that this was Hohlbein's first published novel. Yet, some passages are so riddled with platitudes, it was an utterly cringeworthy reading experience.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: arial;">As far as I am aware, out of more than 200 published Hohlbein titles (some of these are ghost-written), there are merely 3 of Hohlbein's books that have been translated into English, including </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Märchenmond, which was published as Magic Moon by Tokyo Pop in 2006. To this day, the book remains Hohlbein's biggest success</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: arial;">. As is evident from </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Märchenmond,</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #181818;"> Hohlbein borrows his plots, themes and motifs from other writers in the field, including but not limited to Michael Ende, Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft and J.R.R. Tolkien. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: arial;">Given this lack of an original contribution, to an English-speaking audience blessed with a wealth of contemporary and classic fantasy fiction, Hohlbein's output is clearly surplus to requirements and the quality of his work is surpassed by a large number of even mediocre writers in the genre. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #181818;">In a German context this looks somewhat different. There he often appears to be the author of choice of many, especially younger, German readers. Considering that not many German authors were writing in the genre back in the early eighties and not forgetting the commercial success of Ende's <i>Neverending Story</i>, there clearly was an unquenched demand for fantasy fiction amongst the wider German readership, which accounts somewhat for </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Märchenmond's prolonged success and continuing popularity. With the publication of </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Märchenmond, Hohlbein and his publisher were able to effortlessly tap into this demand. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Yet, commercial success alone is not everything and certainly not a measure for quality. As far as </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Märchenmond is concerned, I wholeheartedly agree with my old German teacher. </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">All those wishing to save themselves from a cringeworthy reading experience are well advised to give this one a miss. </span></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-88438358559536003342020-11-29T07:25:00.006+00:002020-11-29T08:04:42.803+00:00Book Review: Gallowglass by Barbara Vine (aka Ruth Rendell) <p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G38wEa_qa5E/X736XjOQItI/AAAAAAAADl4/6vk8m5zTO-syPar7eghhPmT46l7nUVvRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1093/2468944D-FEB5-4EDA-BCE2-C450F51FDB34_1_105_c.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1093" data-original-width="718" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G38wEa_qa5E/X736XjOQItI/AAAAAAAADl4/6vk8m5zTO-syPar7eghhPmT46l7nUVvRwCLcBGAsYHQ/w420-h640/2468944D-FEB5-4EDA-BCE2-C450F51FDB34_1_105_c.jpeg" width="420" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Gallowglass - Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell), Harmony Books, 1990 - 1st American edition </b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Before launching into my review of <i>Gallowglass</i>, I would like to make a few preliminary remarks. As Ruth Rendell (aka Barbara Vine) is one of my all-time favourite authors, I actually regret leaving a negative review for <i>Gallowglass</i>. Dating back to my late teens, Rendell has been a favourite author of mine and I am slowly but surely reading my way through Rendell's back catalogue of novels, novellas and short stories. Never particularly taking an interest in her Wexford series, I am a great fan of her standalone psychological suspense fiction, including those titles published under her nom de plume Barbara Vine.</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you check out my book shelf, you will always find, amongst the read copies, an unread Rendell / Vine, ready to be consumed when I am in the mood for another dose of her very special brand of psychological suspense. Luckily, Ruth Rendell, who sadly died in 2015, was a prolific writer and I am thankfully not going to run out of titles any time soon. Many of the titles I have read, I would class as favourite reads, including <i>The Killing Doll</i>, <i>Lake of Darkness</i>, <i>One Across Two Down</i> and the <i>Tree of Hands</i>. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Numerous of Rendell's plots and motifs stayed with me a long time after reading. Despite having read her novel <i>Grasshopper </i>many, many years ago, I still habitually think of this book and its roof-climbing protagonists, gazing at the rows of terraced houses from the train when I am travelling into London. I can therefore safely say that Rendell's fiction and her style of writing have made a long-lasting impression on me. I am by no means saying that all of her titles are ground-breaking works of fiction. Nevertheless, as far as entertainment is concerned, I have thus far never come across a major let-down. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Unfortunately, apart from delivering an unexpected twist at the end of the plot, a let-down is what <i>Gallowglass</i> was, at least in my opinion. As a consequence it took me around twelve months to finish this book. I stopped reading two thirds into the novel last November. Around the same time I discovered the BBC mini-series, which I (BIG MISTAKE!) finished watching before completing the book. (For all those interested: The BBC TV adaptation closely follows the book and I would not hesitate recommending it to all those wishing to avoid reading the book.) </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It comes as no surprise that watching the TV adaptation caused me to completely lose my motivation to finish reading <i>Gallowglass</i> until I forced myself through the remaining 75 pages last weekend. Had the book not been written by one of my favourite authors, I might have relegated it back onto the shelf half-read. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There are several problems with Gallowglass and whilst I cannot really put my finger on it, here are the two main reasons why I only moderately enjoyed this book: </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><b><span style="font-family: arial;">The perspective / tone of voice: </span></b></li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I cannot think of any examples of Rendell / Vine books, in which the author has chosen to tell the story from a character's perspective. Gallowglass, however, is in parts (around half of the chapters) told from the perspective of Little Joe, one of the story's main protagonists. The remainder of the book is narrated from the perspective of a third person narrator. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the chapters told from Little Joe's point of view Vine / Rendell naturally adapts her style and language to suit the character's linguistic abilities. Given Little Joe's background, these abilities are limited, which is reflected in his tone of voice, the conclusions he draws and the observations he makes. If you appreciate Rendell's succinct, elegant and detached mode of storytelling and prose, please be advised that you will not get this for very long stretches of this novel. Whilst reading, I could literally feel that I was trying to read through Little Joe's account of the story quickly, in order to get to the next chapter and be reunited with the third person narrator. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Contrived plot / inconsistencies: </span></b></li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In Gallowglass Rendell / Vine keeps the plot moving at a steady pace, whilst managing to provide accounts of historic events, the characters' backgrounds and motivations. Nevertheless, I felt that the novel was full of incongruities. Why, for example, security magnate Apsoland would employ an ex-teacher (Garnet) without a professional background in security to provide chauffeur services and ensure the personal protection of his wife Nina, aka the Princess, eludes me. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This point of criticism comes to bear later in the novel as well. Yet, for the sake of keeping this review spoiler-free, let's just say that Apsoland's employee selection and screening processes seem to lack depth. Given Apsoland's profession and stated obsession with security, this was one of the many preposterous elements of the plot and an inconsistency that continued to jar with me until the end, for it is both unbelievable and completely unrealistic, but was also a necessary element to achieve a coherent, albeit contrived, story and the all-important surprise twist at the end.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sadly, for these reasons I simply did not enjoy the book as much as I would have liked. Gallowglass, however, does not reflect the quality of Rendell's / Vine's other output and luckily for me, there are many more Rendell / Vine novels to discover. Even though <i>Gallowglass</i> did not convince me, having just started (actually almost finished) <i>The Bridesmaid, </i>Rendell will certainly not lose me as a constant reader.</span></p>Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-82384341098461596802020-11-21T09:10:00.583+00:002020-11-29T04:51:18.730+00:00Book Review: Dark Dance by Tanith Lee<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FIytjD04zPw/X7jZZx7x5dI/AAAAAAAADlQ/usnPTO83k7s6hrIiMoBRZz5rOFj1rGyNQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1118/2B0CD739-E892-4DA0-9DA1-651BE6563972_1_105_c.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Dark Dance (Bloof Opera I), by Tanith Lee," border="0" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="702" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FIytjD04zPw/X7jZZx7x5dI/AAAAAAAADlQ/usnPTO83k7s6hrIiMoBRZz5rOFj1rGyNQCLcBGAsYHQ/w402-h640/2B0CD739-E892-4DA0-9DA1-651BE6563972_1_105_c.jpeg" title="Dark Dance (Bloof Opera I), by Tanith Lee," width="402" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Dark Dance (Bloof Opera I), by Tanith Lee, 1992, Macdonald & Co<br /></b></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Cover Art: uncredited</b></span> </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Tanith Lee has come up in a number of my Goodreads reading suggestions and on the back of these recommendations I decided to actually read something written by the author earlier this year. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I came across several of her titles, including <i>Silver Metal Lover</i> and<i> Electric Forest</i>, which all sounded appealing, but decided to make a start with <i>Dark Dance</i>, which is the first book in Lee's Blood Opera series. </div></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As some of Lee's titles command quite a highish price tag on the second-hand book market, my decision to settle for <i>Dark Dance</i> was partially influenced by the availability of the hardback first edition for a reasonable price and, I have to admit, I liked the book's cover. (Sadly, the cover artist is not credited.)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Plot Summary - Dark Dance by Tanith Lee</span></h4><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jumping straight into a summary of this book without giving too much away: </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The story follows our heroine Rachaela Day from the point when she is plucked from her solitary and mundane life as a bookshop assistant in London to live with her father's family, the Scarabae, on the family's country estate, up to the point when her then 11-year-old daughter Ruth arrives to join the Scarabae family a decade later.</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Having been brought up as an only child by her estranged and now deceased single-mother, Rachaela is at first reluctant to join her relatives. (She has thus far never met her father.) Yet, as circumstances appear to conspire against her, she eventually embarks on the journey to meet and live with this rather weird bunch of characters.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Scarabae family is made up of a multitude of extremely long-lived oddballs, who idle away their days galloping through the house on toy horses or defiling books in the library before gathering at regular intervals for seagull stews and roast rabbit dinners. (The interaction between Rachaela and the Scarabae takes place almost exclusively during dinner time.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Following a rather disconcerting nightly encounter with the most reclusive member of the family, Adamus Scarabae, Rachaela's father, the family's dark secrets (a tradition of intergenerational, incestuous relationships mixed-in with a moderate amount of vampire-like behaviours) are gradually unveiled to Rachaela and the reader. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Overwhelmed by the enormity of it all in combination with an unwillingness to yield to Scarabae family tradition and play her part in this 'familial arrangement', Rachaela makes a first attempt at returning into her old life, but due to abysmal public transport links (Tanith Lee delivers a humorous, yet totally factual, and thus damning indictment of the British public transport infrastructure in these passages) Rachaela is soon retrieved by her very own father, for whom she is, much to her own dismay and bewilderment, now harbouring sexual attraction. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Following their passionate encounter in the aftermath of Rachaela's 'repatriation' to the Scarabae family home, Adamus, however, reverts to his reclusive lifestyle within the tower. Ignored and neglected by her absent lover and bored-out by the remainder of the geriatric family members, Rachaela decides to embark on a second escape from the family, which ends in her return to London.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here she intends to take-up her old lifestyle, but finds herself pregnant with Adamus's child. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">For the ensuing eleven years, we witness how Rachaela fits her life around her unwanted daughter, Ruth, until the family finally start stalking Ruth, who readily abandons her mother to take-up residence with the Scarabae. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the aftermath of her daughter's departure from London, Rachaela follows Ruth to the estate. Motivated for the most part by jealousy of Ruth, who is now at the centre of the Scarabae's and, above all, Adamus's attention, and by a sense of maternal duty rather than genuine concern for her daughter's emotional wellbeing, Rachaela attempts to extract Ruth from the family's clutches, but has to resign herself to the role of a bystander, witnessing both Ruth's betrothal to Adamus and her eventual revolt against the family's rulebook. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Verdict</span></h4><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Dark Dance was quite something else and I am at a loss how to best assign this book to a genre, though I would agree that, purely for the sake of assigning a genre label to the story, I think Urban Dark Fantasy probably sums it up nicely. Perhaps even <b>Urban Dark Erotic Vampire Fantasy</b>? How does that sound?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Yes, there are vampires or vampiric elements, but this aspect of the story is not really touched upon in great detail and the reader is largely left in the dark about the specific nature of the Scarabae-type vampire. Some reviewers highlighted the erotic elements within the story. Yet, despite the explicit nature of a handful of passages, I wouldn't describe Dark Dance as Erotica or Erotic Fantasy either. The book is not exactly littered with descriptions of erotic scenes. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Yes, Dark Dance contains explicit references and descriptions of intergenerational incest. Some readers clearly are put off by this. Deal with it, or don't. It's the premise of the book. I repeat: Dark Dance is about incest as a longstanding tradition practised within the Scarabae family. The plot revolves around it, the family's peculiar characteristics and, above all, their longevity are derived (somehow) through the practice of incest. If you are put-off by references to and the description of incest, don't read Dark Dance. Your choice. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Yes, the storyelling remains at times rather vague, both in respect of the characterisation of the main protagonists, their motivations and their backstories. However, through this omission of backstory and lack of explanation Dark Dance derives its appeal (at least for me), i.e. through the elements of the plot, which are not touched upon. The unexplained adds to the appeal of the book.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As a deliberate stylistic choice, this ommission adds a layer of mystery and kept me guessing and pondering about the protagonists' choices and motivations long after finishing the book. Why, for example, is Adamus opting for a reclusive lifestyle away from the family, whilst at the same time complying with its traditions? What is the reason behind the persecution of the family, their residence in exile and how did they come to be what they are today in the first place? </span><span style="font-family: arial;">I am very much hoping that some of these aspects will be addressed in </span><i style="font-family: arial;">Personal Darkness</i><span style="font-family: arial;">, the second instalment of the Blood Opera series, which I shall definitely be getting hold of.</span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Lastly, I have to mention that I enjoyed Lee's style of writing immensely. It's evocative, atmospheric, sparse at times and not overly descriptive. She has an incredibly subtle sense of humour, which brilliantly came to life in her depiction of Rachaela's transport nightmare following her first escape from the estate, and she is extremely apt at conveying deadpan humour through dialogue. I will certainly be reading more by Tanith Lee.</span></div><div><p></p></div></div>Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-65458690601990849262020-05-03T14:15:00.001+01:002020-05-04T18:49:46.610+01:00Book Review - The Killing Doll by Ruth Rendell<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Killing Doll, first released in 1984, showcases Rendell's tremendous talent as a writer of psychological suspense, and being the first Rendell I ever picked up, it introduced me to her work some twenty years ago. It also turned me into what I would describe as a constant reader. Though years may pass without reading one of her novels, there is usually an unread Rendell on my shelves. As soon as I have completed it, another appears to fill the void. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the age of 85 Ruth Rendell very sadly passed away in May 2015. Yet, thanks to her prolific output spanning over fifty years and comprising of over sixty titles, I will not be running out of reading material for a while. Though I am not overly keen on her Inspector Wexford series, I am particularly fond of her stand-alone, psychological suspense novels and the books she chose to publish under her pseudonym Barbara Vine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ruth Rendell (<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015)</span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Too eager to explore her plots and to meet more of her ill-fated characters, I have thus far never ventured into re-reading my Rendell / Vine books. As The Killing Doll was my first ever Rendell, which I read back then in its German translation </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Der Pakt </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">(The Pact), I thought it was time to make an exception and get hold of the original, English version for a re-read. I was not to be disappointed.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ruth Rendell - The Killing Doll, 1984, Book Club Associates Edition </span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Judging by other readers' reviews, The Killing Dolll seems to divide opinions, both between seasoned fans and those new to Rendell's work. Whichever side of the fence you are on, the book appears to provoke strong emotions in both camps. Whilst some praise it for its tight plotting and unexpected twist at the end, others seem to criticise it for its alleged lack of pace, the absence of likeable characters and its subject matter; i.e. the protagonists' dabbling in the occult. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left;">The plot by and large centres around the Yearman family, comprising of siblings Dolly and Pup as well as their widowed father Harold. Coinciding with Mrs Yearman's demise, Pup begins to dabble in magic rituals, selling his soul to devil in exchange for worldly goods and, above all, physical growth. He enlists the help of his sister Dolly, an apt seamstress, who - owing to a facial disfigurement - has very few social contacts and leads an isolated life mostly confined to and maintaining the family's</span><span style="text-align: left;"> home. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">Dolly sews Pup's ceremonial robe and is from time to time allowed to attend the so-called 'temple', which Pup has created in an unused room in the house, whilst their father - oblivious to the ceremonial magic practised under his roof - is completely absorbed by his obsession with historical fiction and, eventually, his new wife, Myra.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left;">Following Mrs Yearman's death, Dolly's interest in occult matters is amplified when she attends a number of seances and gets further fuelled by her desire to employ magic in order to banish Myra from the family home. Yet, after discovering his business acumen and penchant for casual sex with a string of affairs, both Pub's emotional connection to his sister and involvement with the occult are waning, and he is increasingly viewing his preoccupation with magic as a childish pastime obsession. Though still fond of his sister, both his sexual proclivities and newly found role as a businessman leave little time to devote to his sister's </span>emotional well-being.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">Despite this, Pup continues to perform rituals to please his sister, thereby continuing to fuel her belief in his abilities. When in the aftermath of one such ceremony involving the ritual stabbing of Myra's effigy in the form of a cloth doll, Myra is discovered dead in the Yearman's bathroom, Dolly's belief in the efficacy of her brother's geomancy is reaffirmed, triggering a fateful spiral of events and further accelerating Dolly's descent into madness. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To me, <i>The Killing Doll</i> delivers perhaps one of the best contemporary depictions of a protagonist's gradual descent into substance abuse and schizophrenia as well as the concomitant circumstances of isolation and dysfunctional family relations, which in the end enable the condition to take hold and completely engulf the individual.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I therefore firmly belong into the camp of those, who did not merely enjoy the novel but would also recommend it to all those wishing to explore Rendell's body of work further. After all, to maintain the reader's interest, characters do not have to be likeable. Quite the contrary. Childish preoccupations such as dabbling in occult writings and rituals as well as unexpected chance encounters (similar to the one at the end of the book) can have fateful consequences and are therefore utterly believable. As for the alleged lack of pace, I would argue that Rendell does not deviate from her usual norm and succinct style, telling a story spanning a timeframe of over five years in the space of less than 240 pages suggests that the book is not cluttered with unnecessary detail.</span></div>
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Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-26561518218757622652018-12-26T17:49:00.001+00:002019-01-01T09:25:45.336+00:00German Fantasy Literature of the 1970s and 1980s - A preliminary reading list and an ongoing reading project<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am not entirely sure when exactly I started toying with the idea of creating a reading list for popular German fantasy fiction published in the late 1970s and 1980s, but I believe it coincided with the time when I was reunited with my copy of Hans Bemmann's '<i>Stein und Fl<span style="text-align: left;">ö</span>te' </i>(english title: <i>The Stone and the Flute</i>) some six months ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shortly after its arrival, </span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Stein </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ind</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Fl</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">ö</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">te </span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(first published in 1983) was allocated a space on my bookshelves and ended up in the fantasy section, where it is currently leading a lonely existence as the only fantasy novel written by a German-speaking author. (My copy of Michael Ende's </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Neverending Story</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> is currently back home in Germany.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Perhaps unsurprisingly, the fantasy section of my shelf is populated by a diverse bunch of primarily British or American authors, who have traditionally dominated the genre. Other nationalities appear to be conspicuously absent. As a result, I got intrigued and decided to delve a little deeper into the matter in order to see whether I could locate works that fit the fantasy label and were published in Germany during the 1970s and 1980s. Ende and Bemmann aside, who else was at the time writing similar books in Germany? Who inspired authors like Ende and Bemmann; and who, in turn, was inspired by their work?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am aware of the widely embraced distinction between Fantasy Fiction and Phantastik in German-speaking literary circles. In my view this separation constitutes an artificial barrier, which is perhaps necessary for an academic engagement with the matter. For the purposes of my investigation, however, I shall continue to refer to the genre as 'Fantasy' to avoid complicating matters unnecessarily. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All those familiar with Ende's </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Die Unendliche Geschichte</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> (</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neverending Story</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">), which was first published in 1979, will probably agree that the fantasy label fits the book rather well and I will thus use it as a descriptor going forward. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With this in mind, I started my search for books that would fit the description. To be added to the reading list, candidates had to fulfil two criteria: they had to be first published in Germany during the 1970s and 1980s and should be categorised as 'Fantasy'. Science fiction was to be strictly exempt from the list. Reading lists showcasing the German contribution to science fiction are easily obtainable as is evident by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/127293.Kurd_La_witz_Award_Winners">this Goodreads reading list, featuring all of the Kurd Lasswitz award winners to date: </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At this point I was still blissfully unaware that I had set myself a rather ambitious task. Collating and locating reading lists on specific topics is normally never a real issue. Most of the time someone else has already done the hard work, completed the research and compiled a ready-made reading list. All that's usually necessary is to review and eventually source the books in question. Not on this occasion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Initial searches on the web yielded almost no results and didn't provide much further insight or suggestions on how best to tackle the question. Amongst the names that came up repeatedly were authors Wolfgang and Heike Hohlbein, who, particularly when considering their commercial success, have earned their place in any list on German fantasy fiction. Beyond that, there was a heap of suggestions, including contemporary German fantasy authors such as Bernhard Hennen or Cornelia Funke, whose works were published from the late 1990s onwards and therefore did not meet my selection criteria. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.gnooks.com/">Gnooks</a>, which I love consulting for book recommendations (</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">if you are not familiar you should pay the site a visit, as it can be an invaluable resource when looking for author suggestions) also didn't come up with viable options for my list.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By sheer chance, I came across Robert Corvus's discussion of Georg Zauner's 1981 science fiction novel <i>Die Enkel der Raketenbauer</i>, which led me to further investigate the author. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It turns out that Zauner is not only a </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Kurd-Laßwitz award winner (the most prestigious award for science fiction literature in Germany) and the</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> father of Stefan Zauner (ex lead singer of epic pop formation </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Münchener Freiheit) but also </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">wrote fantasy fiction. Zauner's <i>Marana oder die Hochzeit der Elfe </i>met all the selection criteria for my reading project and therefore made its way on to my list.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Whilst Zauner's </span><i style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Enkel der Raketenbauer</i><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> appears to be somewhat of a rarity and currently commands a high(ish) price amongst collectors, a hardback copy of </span><i style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Marana oder die Hochzeit der Elfe </i><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">(Benziger, 1984) </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">can be purchased with relative ease and for a comparatively modest amount.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Robert Corvus discussing Georg Zauner's Die Enkel der Raketenbauer</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Following this initial breakthrough, I was soon running out of suggestions again until, once more by sheer coincidence, I discovered an anthology of modern German Fantasy short stories, which I was able to source without problems. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="text-align: justify;">J</span><span style="text-align: left;">örg Weigand (editor) Vergiss nicht den Wind - Neue deutsche Fantasy-Geschichten, Bastei L</span><span style="text-align: left;">übbe, 1983, Cover Art: Tim White</span></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Edited by J<span style="text-align: left;">örg Weigand and originally published by Bastei L</span><span style="text-align: left;">übbe in 1983, <i>Vergiss nicht den Wind</i>, features</span> fantasy short stories by twelve German authors, including Wolfgang Hohlbein, Lothar Streblow, Dietrich Wachler, Bernhard Kreimeier, Iny Klocke, Ulrich Harbecke and Ulrich Weise. This selection of short stories aims to showcase, as stated by Weigand in the preface to my edition, that '[...] German fantasy literature can be equally as entertaining and fascinating as its Anglo-american counterpart [...]'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If nothing else, as an anthology <i>Vergiss nicht den Wind</i> might offer a few possible starting points for further research. For now, I'm pleased that I was able to populate my preliminary reading list, albeit sparsely and with difficulty, and managed to get my reading project off the ground. Who would have thought that information on popular German fantasy fiction and genre authors of the period in question is so scarce and difficult to come by? Especially considering Ende's monumental publishing success with <i>Die unendliche Geschichte</i>, I would have expected a fair number of authors riding the fantasy wave at the time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Suggestions for suitable reading material that fits the criteria for my selection are gratefully received. </span></div>
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Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-42325664229982694172018-12-25T15:03:00.002+00:002019-01-01T10:16:12.908+00:00Book Review: Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's 1963, it's Halloween and in a secluded backwater somewhere in the US teenage boys are being starved by their parents and locked away in their bedrooms, whilst waiting for the town's yearly hunting ritual to begin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Somewhere in a cornfield outside town the October Boy, a pumpkin vine dressed as a scarecrow featuring a carved head and candy stuffing, awakes and returns to be hunted down by the community's teenage boys. Any number of perks and a chance for a fresh start await the winners of the race and their families. It's therefore no surprise that all the 'lucky' winners of previous hunts have escaped this small-town setting, never to be seen again by those they left behind.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pete, whose mother passed away and whose jobless father has taken to drinking, is eager to leave this godforsaken town, too. He has his eyes firmly on the prize and is determined to leave his hometown behind that very night. Yet, as events unfold, it becomes apparent that nothing is what it seems. On the hunt for the October Boy, Pete is joined by Kelly. Together they uncover the town's darkest secrets, revealing the true identity of the October Boy and the fate of all the previous winners...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At under 170 pages, <i>Dark Harvest</i>, a Bram Stoker Award winner, appears to be the ideal length for a Halloween-themed novella that can easily be read in one sitting, preferably on a dark and stormy autumn night. Over the years (this book has lingered unread on my shelf for just over eight years now) it took me several attempts until I eventually managed to get beyond page 10 and finish it. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can't quite put my finger on it, but there are several aspects of Partridge's writing style and the story itself that simply put me off again and again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Perhaps it's the rather annoying way, in which he addresses his readers directly. (Norman, just for the record, I don't know what it's like growing up in a place like this.) Perhaps, it was his attempts both at emulating Stephen King's style and copying elements from King's short stories (Children of the Corn comes to mind). Perhaps it's the fact that the characters are scarcely developed and I found it difficult to relate to any of them, with the exception of the October Boy...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yet, after completing the book my biggest gripe results from the fact that Partridge has chosen to omit the most important bit of information: the explanation as to why the ritual was started in the first place. What's the deal between the town's bigwigs and the October Boy hunt? What's prompted the community to go along with the blood sacrifice and why is no one allowed to leave this godforsaken place? All these questions remain unanswered.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Given that there is a rather obvious link between the practice of child sacrifice and the celebration of Samhain, which often fails to be taken into account in the context of our contemporary, mainstream understanding of Halloween, Partridge was so close to delivering a convincing, deep and meaningful story. Without filling in the back story, however, Dark Harvest merely amounts to run-of-the-mill, all-American horror. Cheap thrills. It's like picking up a bland candy in a shiny wrapper. You immediately regret eating it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That reminds me, the illustration by Jon Foster on the cover of my paperback copy of <i>Dark Harvest</i> is absolutely awesome and the only reason the book is allowed to keep its place in the horror section of my shelf. </span><br />
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Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-34461394716629334762018-09-02T11:03:00.005+01:002020-11-29T08:40:38.275+00:00Book Review - Lady Of Light (Westria Book No 1) by Diana L Paxson<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">As can be expected from the first book of a series, <i>Lady of Light</i> sets the scene and introduces the reader to the main protagonists of Paxson's Westria Series. The plot takes place after the so called 'Cataclysm', a divine intervention which destroyed the previous civilisation and its technical advancements. As a result, Westrians inhabit a medieval-type, feudal setting and believe in a pagan-style religion, in which the Gods and Goddesses are worshipped in elaborate rituals. Access to the divine powers can be established with the help of a set of crystals, representing the elements of fire, water, earth and wind.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Since the mid-2000s Paxson (born: 1943) has primarily written non-fiction on spiritual as well as mythological topics, establishing herself as a well-respected voice within the fields of Asatru (the worship of Norse Gods and Goddesses) and Runes. She has also carried on writing books in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon series, on which she has collaborated for a number of years (partially uncredited) whilst Bradley was still alive. Following her passing, Paxson has authored a number of instalments in the series on her own, the last one being <i>Sword of Avalon.</i></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Though not as widely discussed amongst readers, Diana Paxson is also known for her Westria novels, the Chronicles of Westria: a series of 8 books set in the fictional kingdom of the same name, a post-industrialist state with feudal structures. The first book in the series, <i>Lady of Light</i>, was originally published in 1982. It was followed by the release of <i>Lady of Darkness</i> in 1983. Initially published as individual instalments, TOR released a volume titled <i>Mistress of the Jewels</i>, which combined both books into one edition in 1991. On the cover of <i>Mistress of the Jewels</i> it is wrongly stated that this edition contained the first book of the series. To avoid any doubt and confusion, the author's website provides the definitive chronology and further information on the various editions. It can be found <a href="http://westria.org/books/mistress/">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Travelling through his Kingdom to attend the Festival of Flowers, which marks the onset of spring, King Jehan sets eyes on Lady Faris and falls in love at first sight. Beautiful, yet disfigured Faris is both encouraged to believe and initially convinces herself that she is an unlikely choice. But when Jehan consults the Gods, Faris is revealed to him as Queen. This divine revelation is confirmed during a Beltane festival. And even though Jehan's involvement with Faris is not greeted with great enthusiasm by many quarters, least of all by Jehan's Seneschal, Caolin, and Faris's own family, she eventually becomes Queen and, by implication, Mistress of the Jewels. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Before Faris can ascend to Westria's throne, she has to undergo spiritual initiation at the College of the Wise. There she is trained in all matters telepathy and prepared for her dual role as Queen of Westria and Mistress of the Jewels. Those entrusted with Westria's jewels not only wield great power through their ability to access a higher consciousness. As guardians of the jewels they are also given the ability to establish direct contact with their Goddesses and thus to manipulate the elements - powers which they must use wisely and only for the benefit of the greater good.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Meanwhile, Jehan is busy administering his kingdom and maintaining his position as King of all Westrians. With his authority challenged from within as well as without, he relies on the guidance of his trusted Seneschal, a close friend and confidant, scrupulous and power-hungry political player and the King's former lover. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">With Caolin's character Paxson has created a great villain, who is motivated by his own thirst for power and recognition as well as personal jealousy and frustration, resulting from his denied desire for intimacy with the King. Adding the ongoing power struggles amongst the King's men and the rivalry between the Crown and Westria's spiritual leaders to the mix, Paxson manages to serve up a beautifully written, dense and unpredictable tale. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I thoroughly enjoyed the first Westria instalment and will certainly be reading further books in the series. Despite some readers' misgivings in respect of Paxson's heroine, I got the impression that this character will undergo tremendous development in the sequels, which can be gleaned from the final scene of the first book. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Starting off as a shy personality and lacking self-confidence as a result of her abusive upbringing and her disfigured arm, Faris does not appear to have a great deal of influence on her own actions and even comes across as immature for part of the story. She is portrayed as unwilling to partake in her training at the College of the Wise and is often depicted seeking comfort, whilst fearfully clinging to Jehan's arms. Chosen by the Gods to become Mistress of the Jewels, she finds herself thrown into a web of intrigue and jealousy. And even though she is picking up on the vibes, she remains completely unaware of the reasons for Caolin's resentment throughout the first book. This leaves plenty of room for the development of her character in the upcoming novels.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The only two downsides worthwhile noting in respect of <i>Lady of Light </i>are related to the map of Westria in my volume of the book and the lack of background information on the 'Cataclysm'. Firstly, the map, which was drawn by Paxson herself, is incomplete and does not show all the locations of Westria or its neighbouring Kingdoms. As a reference and reader's aid it is therefore only of limited use. Due to the complex power relationships and amount of locations introduced in the story, there are times when it would be helpful to refer to a map depicting all of the settings mentioned in the story. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Secondly, <i>Lady of Light</i> only provides the reader with scant information on the reasons behind the cataclysm and why the Gods were required to intervene so radically. The rules governing the interaction between humans and their Gods, and indeed the divine hierarchy amongst the Gods / Goddesses themselves, are only vaguely explained. Nevertheless, I remain hopeful that more information on this and the divine laws governing life and the interaction between mortals and their Gods will be revealed in the sequels. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">A final note on the elaborate descriptions of religious ceremonies and ritual magic in the text. A practising pagan herself, Paxson has written ceremonial rituals for her own church gatherings, and this background has certainly found its way into her novels. She describes religious ceremonies in great detail, including prayers, chants, dances and ritual magic. With the inclusion of detailed passages on religious ritual etc., she might not cater to everyone's taste, but this will likely appeal to all readers of pagan / new age-inspired fantasy. If you have already encountered and enjoyed Paxson's contributions to the Avalon series, I would definitely recommend giving the Westria series a try. I will be moving on to Lady of Darkness this afternoon.</span></span></div>
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Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-20975594998100661712018-08-26T20:11:00.002+01:002019-01-01T09:28:19.851+00:00Summary and Review - The Planet Savers by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Darkover Series)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">An extremely short novella and initially released in 1958 in one of the pulp magazines, <i>The Planet Savers</i> is understood to be the first published short story / novella set on Zimmer Bradley's Darkover. </span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It's a fairly quick read, easy to source (available in various print editions and as a digital download) and most readers of the Darkover books probably have come across it at one point or another. It's not necessary to make it your starting point, if you wish to delve into the world of Darkover (the books do not have to be read in order of publication), but it's as good a starting point as any - or it might perhaps be an interesting add-on for readers already familiar with the setting.</span></div>
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In <i>The Planet Savers</i> Darkover's population (Terrans and Darkovans alike) are threatened by the outbreak of a deadly virus for which no cure or vaccination exists. Only the tree-dwelling Trailmen living in the hostile mountain ranges of the Hellers seem to be immune to the fever. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Dr Allison, a Terran surgeon specialising in parasitology, is both capable of finding and synthesising a cure, whilst Jason is a skilled mountaineer, who has lived amongst the aboriginal humanoids and is able to speak their tongue. Dr Allison and Jason have been chosen to go on a mission to seek out the Trailmen, to convince them to leave the Hellers and accompany them to one of the medical research facilities where a cure can be synthesised from the Trailmen antibodies. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Yet, before Dr Allison can go on this mission, he has to forget that he is in fact Jason Allison. Though being one and the same person, their traits and beliefs are fundamentally irreconcilable as the desires and beliefs of Jay's younger self are diametrically opposed to his present-day personality.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Following a plane crash over the Hellers in which Jason's father tragically died, the young toddler is initially taken in and fostered by the Trailmen. Eventually the Trailmen return him to the Darkovan civilisation when he reaches adolescence. Having managed to successfully repress Jason since his return, Jay has come to denounce his former self and rejects the socialisation he has received. But only Jason's unique knowledge and understanding of the Trailmen and their culture combined with Jay's medical expertise will ensure the survival of the planet’s civilisation. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Through hypnosis - a feat performed by Randall Forth - Jason is stripped of Jay and subsequently sent on the journey into Trailmen territory. He is accompanied by Regis Hastur, representative of Darkovan nobility, and Kyla Raineach, who turns into Allison's love interest and one of the main catalysts for the ensuing struggles between Jason and Jay throughout the remainder of the story. Suffice it to say that Allison's internal battle with all the suppressed elements of his other self not only threaten the mission but also compromise his sanity.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The Planet Savers benefits from a clearly structured plot for a story of this length and an easily accessible introduction to Darkover, its geography, inhabitants and some of the author's well-known character creations (Regis Hastur) as well the dynamics between Terrans, Trailman and Darkovans. The language comes across as stilted and the dialogue is sickly melodramatic at times. These negatives aside, this is an interesting venture into the beginnings of Zimmer Bradley's world building, which doesn't overwhelm the reader with details. Well worth a quick read, but by no means representative of Bradley's later Darkover novels.</span></div>
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Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-15963248628767307562018-08-25T14:59:00.001+01:002019-01-01T09:29:02.107+00:00Book Review: American Coven by Amy Cross<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My first venture into the literary world of Amy Cross. It was a bizarre ride. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cross appears to be an author with a prolific digital output and a minimal, almost non-existent personal presence on the web. A large number of her many titles are currently available as free downloads on Amazon. That's exactly where I came across <i>American Coven</i>, which was suggested to me as a recommendation - most likely as a result of having purchased quite a few dark horror novels with supernatural elements in my time. <i>American Cove</i>n fits that description rather well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The story, which is told from the perspective of multiple narrators, revolves around three women, all tortured and held hostage in the basement of a solitary farm house. The house itself is possessed by an evil spirit directing the actions of their captor. The three hostages manage to escape thanks to their ability to jointly harness their supernatural powers. Initially, they go their separate ways after the escape, but are reunited when having to face evil again in an attempt to eradicate it once and for all. This is American Coven in a nutshell.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Readers of horror written by Richard Laymon or James Herbert may particularly enjoy Cross. If American Coven is anything to go by, characterisation, motivation or psychological exploration play a secondary role in Cross's writing. Instead, dark imagery, atmosphere and the description of gory scenes take centre stage. If this type of horror literature appeals to you, this could be a candidate for the 'to read' pile. For me, the story fell short of the necessary depth. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What's more, the book contained a number of unnecessary sub-stories, which detracted from the main plot, whilst entirely omitting the back story of why the house was haunted in the first place and why the women were tortured and repeatedly mutilated in a very specific fashion. Potentially these details were left out deliberately, perhaps to save up enough material for another instalment. Cross has authored a number of series as well as standalone novels, and there may well be a sequel in the making.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This brings me to the description of the more gory scenes in the story. (I won't go into detail about what happens in the ice bath and the bone scraping.) Suffice it to say and as already mentioned, American Coven falls into the category of dark supernatural horror and books in this genre are written to make readers recoil and feel uncomfortable. That's exactly what Cross achieves. So, if detailed descriptions of surgical mutilations are out of your literary comfort zone, do not read this book. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Initially, I underestimated the time it would take me to finish the novel. Reading got off to a good start and I got drawn in quickly, not least as I was intrigued to find out why the three had been kidnapped or the motive behind the torture routine. The story is told from the perspective of multiple narrators in both present and past, covering the women's captivity and interactions in the basement from their perspectives. Whilst this structure worked well overall, the descriptions of the dynamics within the group in connection with the torture ritual got a bit repetitive when being recounted from three different perspectives multiple times. This was done at the expense of plot development. As a consequence, my interest waned and the last third of the book became a long, hard slog towards a somewhat bland ending. All in all, this was not a bad read, but it fell short of the high expectations I had at the start.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Will I be reading Amy Cross again? - Probably. She has written a lot of books and I will give her another try, as there were elements of her writing I enjoyed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Would I recommend this book? - Probably not.</span></div>
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Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-13611132614151387132018-08-19T13:43:00.005+01:002019-01-01T09:29:39.747+00:00Book Review: Disordered Minds by Minette Walters<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Diligently working my way through all the unread books on my shelf, I finished <i>Disordered Minds</i> by Minette Walters a couple of weeks ago. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Taking place in the early 2000s, the plot of the mystery unfolds against the backdrop of the British / American offensive in Iraq back in 2003. The main protagonists, Jonathan and George, set out to exonerate a convicted murderer, Howard Stamp, posthumously. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mentally disabled Stamp was convicted of his grandmother's murder some twenty years ago. With Stamp having committed suicide in prison, Jonathan and George form an initially uneasy alliance to investigate the circumstances of Grace Jeffries's murder based on circumstantial evidence and end up establishing a link to the disappearance of a teenage girl, Cill Trevelyan, who remains missing to the present day. Cill was both raped and subsequently vanished from her working class neighbourhood just days before the discovery of Grace's body. Jonathan and George proceed to examine a possible connection between the two seemingly unconnected events, unearthing a series of (at times far-fetched) twists and turns in the process.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As in most of her novels, Walters intersperses her narrative with factual - looking snippets of newspaper clippings, witness statements and file extracts. Even though I feel that these generally interrupt the flow of her story telling, I found them incredibly helpful on this occasion. As I was slightly overwhelmed by the huge cast of characters the author manages to introduce, the insertion of the factual material served well to summarise the plot for readers, who - like myself - might have stopped paying attention along the way. And I felt my attention drifting. A lot. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Alongside the main protagonists, who set out to investigate the murder of Grace Jeffries some twenty years ago, the book features a massive cast of characters, which in itself is not a problem. Yet, at the same time, Walters dedicates a substantial part of the novel to Jonathan's life story - an Oxford academic of mixed ethnic background, with a troubled childhood and more than one chip on his shoulder. The accounts of Jonathan's personal struggles thus permeate the book and, to be honest, constitute unnecessary baggage. As Jonathan's travails are largely unconnected to the remainder of the plot, the additional (and totally unnecessary) focus on his personal life detracts attention from the murder investigations. As if this wasn't enough, his character development is simply unconvincing and ends up being downright annoying in the end. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I wouldn't have minded an in-depth look into the psyche of the main protagonists, but sadly these characters remain remote and are ultimately not believable. As a result, I ended up not caring much, neither for them nor for the dynamics in their personal relationships. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the end I slogged my way through the book, wanting to find out who committed the murder(s). </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For all other readers who are tempted to do the same: Be warned! Walters leaves her readers to make up their own minds following the presentation of a number of competing scenarios. More likely than not, you will be feeling rather unsatisfied at the end of the novel. At least, that's how I felt.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Other than that, Disordered Minds is typical Walters fare, albeit definitely not one of her better books (especially when compared to The Sculptress or The Ice House). Whilst it is carefully crafted, the characters failed to draw me into the story, their actions and motives often appeared unbelievable and, all in all, I felt that Walters attempted to cram too many things into the book, from laughable pseudo-psychological analysis to her attempts at social and political commentary, thereby failing to produce a convincing mystery overall. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My verdict: I would only recommend Disordered Minds to die-hard Walters fans and completist collectors of her books. My paperback copy went into the charity shop donations pile. </span></div>
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Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-80060252318977069722018-06-24T16:38:00.000+01:002019-01-01T09:30:05.301+00:00Book Review : Anne McCaffrey - The Rowan (The Tower and the Hive, I)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I must admit I decided to read The Rowan for two reasons. Firstly, I had never read anything by McCaffrey and secondly, judging by the curious looking cat on the cover of my second-hand hardcopy, I figured that the story featured a feline character of sorts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well, there is a feline in the book - a precious barque cat, to be precise. True to their independent nature, however, it abandons its owner - Altair's most gifted telepathic inhabitant, the Rowan aka Angharad Gwyn - halfway through the story. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sadly, as soon as my main motivation for reading the novel was evicted from the story line, my interest in the rest of the book declined rapidly. In the end I decided to abandon it for a while and read something else instead. When I resumed reading this morning, I couldn't help wondering why this book ever got written, let alone published. To be fair, there are another five books in the Tower and Hive series and reading them might provide an answer. Yet, I simply was not drawn in enough, so it's unlikely I will pick any of the sequels any time soon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The Rowan</i> is the life story of McCaffrey's character of the same name, an orphaned and extremely gifted telepath from planet Altair. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Growing up in one of Altair's remote mining communities, the Rowan loses her entire family in a mudslide and is rescued thanks to her ability to project her excruciating cries for help telepathically. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As her wailing is picked up by the</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> authorities, the child is saved and eventually taken care of by a foster mother. Being extraordinarily gifted, she receives training in all things telepathy and telekinesis from Altair's prime telepath, Siglen, under the watchful eye of T-1 Earth Prime, Reidinger. The Rowan child is destined to become one of FT&T's T-1 primes, one day to be in charge of her very own tower on another planet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Altair is a mining planet and vital supplier of raw materials destined for Earth. All cargo leaving and arriving on the planet is transported with the help of telepaths with telekinetic abilities, also known as the T-1 Primes. Human space travel underlies the same telekinetic principles. With the entire logistics of all planetary existence hinging on the exchange of raw materials between Earth and its colonised planets, the most gifted telepaths are crucial for the continued operation of this supply chain and thus assume a somewhat privileged position in society.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Part one of the series sketches the Rowan's life from the early tragedy of losing her parents to becoming herself a T-1 Prime, and eventually wife to Jeff Raven, and mother of their son, Jeran. Oh yeah, and I forgot....! The Primes get to fight a telepathic space assault against an invasion of alien enemy beetles in defence of Deneb, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jeff's home planet. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm not sure which target audience this book is aimed at. Perhaps, McCaffrey wrote it with a teenage audience in mind, given that most of the positive reviews I have found come from readers with book nostalgia, revisiting a favourite teenage read. The </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">telepathic love story between the Rowan and Jeff may well appeal to a younger audience. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Though the plot is well paced, I simply couldn't relate to the characters in the book. They all remained more or less remote to me. The technical aspects of the story, i.e. mainly telekinetic transportation and telepathic communication, didn't overwhelm. This is a bonus for all those who enjoy a less technical sic-fi novel. Yet, the concept of super-talented telepaths shunting space ships around with the mere power of their minds appears a trifle far-fetched.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I didn't enjoy McCaffrey's writing style all too much in this one, but I haven't been put off completely. One day, I'm sure, I will give the Pern series a go. </span><br />
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Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-10233612652511545952018-02-28T19:35:00.000+00:002019-01-01T10:05:55.355+00:00Brother Cadfael Goes Knitting - Knitted Monk Exhibition at Tewkesbury Abbey <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I know, fictional Cadfael resided at Shrewsbury Abbey, but I couldn't resist the header.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These guys are currently on display in a Knitted Monk exhibition at Tewkesbury Abbey (Gloucester, UK). More information is available <a href="http://www.tewkesburyabbey.org.uk/">here.</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What's best, there is a free knitting pattern, which can be accessed <a href="http://www.tewkesburyabbey.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Tewkesbury-Abbey-Monks-Knitting-Pattern.pdf">here.</a>. <b>I'm sure donations are very welcome. :-). </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>So, now there are really no excuses not to knit your very own Cadfael...or even a whole monastery...</b></span></div>
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Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-20092777024337901162017-12-13T20:50:00.002+00:002019-01-01T10:06:48.409+00:00Happy 50th, Baby Satan! - Rosemary's Baby turns 50 in 2018: Summary and Review of Ira Levin's 1968 Novel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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First published in 1968, Ira Levin's Rosemary's Baby will celebrate its fiftieth birthday in 2018. A good reason to start celebrating and tick this book off the 'to-read' queue. </div>
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I expect that most readers of the genre are either familiar with Polanski's film adaptation, have read Levin's novel or, indeed, both. Not much needs to be said about the plot. A quick summary can be found below.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rosemary Woodhouse becomes the victim of a satanic conspiracy, perpetrated against her by both her neighbours and her husband, Guy. The book starts off with Guy and Rosemary house hunting for a rental property in the Bramford, a sought-after apartment complex in a well-to-do New York City neighbourhood. Having secured a flat in Rosemary's dream apartment, she and Guy, an up and coming television actor, make friends with their neighbours in the building, Minnie and Roman Castevet. Guy becomes ever more attached to the elderly couple, his acting career is taking off and Rosemary falls pregnant with their first baby. All in all, joyful times. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But all is not as it seems and cracks are apparent from the start. Rosemary feels controlled by the Castevets, her marriage to Guy becomes strained for similar reasons, she finds herself subjected to patronising behaviour and has to endure an extremely painful pregnancy. She eventually starts to take control and connects the dots thanks to a mysterious book on witchcraft and satanism bequeathed to Rosemary by her recently deceased friend and surrogate father, Hutch. Yet, the Bramford conspirators remain ahead of the game, usurping and preempting all her efforts to escape the situation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As Roemary’s friends and family are either cut off or killed off by the Bramford coven, she is completely isolated by the time she eventually goes into labour. Despite her newborn initially being removed from her, Rosemary goes on a hunt for her son and locates him in the midst of a gathering of satanists in the Castevet’s flat. Finally allowed to face her devilish offspring for the first time, Rosemary succumbs to her maternal instincts, accepting her role as mother of Baby Satan, who comes suitably equipped with tail, horns and claws.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Rosemary's Baby: Book vs Film </span><br />
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Polanski, who wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of Rosemary's Baby, is often credited with having created one of the most faithful adaptations in cinematic history. This is understandable, given that Levin's book reads like a screenplay. According to Polanski, it took merely one month to adapt Levin's novel.</div>
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When reading the descriptions of the apartment and its decor, I was immediately reminded of Polanski's film, of which I can only remember fragments. Not recollecting the film's entire plot I remained interested in Levin's novel throughout. Reading the book ended up fulfilling a purely utilitarian purpose for me in the end: Filling in the gaps I couldn’t remember from the film. I consequently visualised both Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes at all times, especially when the characters engaged in dialogue. I would say that both Levin's novel and Polanski's adaptation have to be viewed as distinctive, yet inseparable. When reviewing one, it's impossible to ignore the other.</div>
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Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-37105341182691445922017-12-08T21:20:00.002+00:002020-11-29T08:41:35.858+00:00A Book for Readers Interested in the Lost City of Rungholt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><u>'Die Letzten Tage von Rungholt' by Kari Köster-Lösche</u></span></h4><span style="font-family: arial;">
In the coastal communities of Northern Frisia, an area now located in the state of Schleswig Holstein (Germany), everyone is familiar with the myths surrounding the lost settlement of Rungholt. According to local lore, the destruction of the once fabulously wealthy community was the divine punishment for its residents' self-indulgence and greed.<br />
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Marcellus Day in January 1362 marks the beginning of Rungholt's end. A devastating storm flood sweeps across the area, substantially altering the coastline and killing an estimated 100,000 across 30 distinct settlements. After three days the water finally recedes. Previously inhabited land is to this day buried under water and mud. Rungholt, a significant coastal settlement and regional trading hub before the flood, is believed to have been swallowed up by the Sea wholesale and has since become the subject of many a myth. Most of these legends connect the residents' moral conduct with the community's destruction and are undoubtedly the product of superstition. Yet, all folklore contains at least a grain of truth and the local legends surrounding the demise of Rungholt are no exception.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Kari K<span style="text-align: justify;">öster-L</span><span style="text-align: justify;">ösche, Die Letzten Tage von Rungholt, Publisher: Heyne, 1999</span></b></span></td></tr>
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Researchers by and large agree that Rungholt once existed: It is recorded on maps dating back to the mid-16th Century; and a number of official deeds from the same period also make mention of the location. Its population is believed to have numbered around 3000 residents. Whether their lifestyle was indeed as extravagant as legends claim, remains questionable. Battered by both the Plague and a decline in trade in the decade preceding the catastrophe, Rungholt had seen better days by the arrival of the 'Groote Manndränke' (engl: Grote Mandrenke).<br />
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Archeological evidence suggests that Rungholt's wealth was in large parts attributable to one commodity: Salt. Used widely to preserve food, salt from Rungholt's shores was traded as far afield as Flanders. Archaeologists believe that 'salt farming', i.e. the extraction of salt from the sea, developed into the mainstay of Rungholt's economy - with devastating consequences for its population. The large-scale extraction significantly contributed to the erosion of the area's coastline. By the time the flood eventually arrived, existing sea defences did not sufficiently protect the settlement and its residents.<br />
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Drawing on insights from archeological and historical research, Kari Köster-Lösche's fictional account of Rungholt's demise, <i>Die Letzten Tage von Rungholt - </i>(an English translation is not available, title freely translated: <i>The Last Days of Rungholt</i>), chronicles the months leading up to the catastrophic flood.<br />
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The character at the centre of Köster-Lösche's novel is Arfast Ketelsen, a free Frisian, who, by virtue of his profession as a salter, finds himself at the centre of a net of intrigue and greed involving a number of the community's key players, who are all banking on the ruthless expansion of the area's trade in salt to further their own agendas. When Arfast attempts to warn local dignitaries of the dangers of further intensifying the extraction at the expense of the community's safety, he attracts the wrath of local traders, the King's 'Staller' (King's Representative) and the clergy alike.<br />
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Avoiding to overload her readers with historical detail, Köster-Lösche manages to provide a scientifically backed, albeit hypothetical, glimpse into the dependencies of Rungholt's medieval society and the dynamics contributing to the unprecedented destruction of this coastal community. Arfast adopts the role of the North Frisian Cassandra in his struggle against a well-connected posse of political and clerical decision-makers, who are all embroiled in an intricate web of corruption, greed and deceit. As can be expected, Arfast and his allies find themselves having to convince a complacent bunch of (mostly) ignorant residents, who are either unable to comprehend their concerns or do not dare to question the powers that be.<br />
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In an environment where unlawful executions, excommunication and witch trials are commonplace, readers accompany Arfast on a long and arduous journey to save as many lives as possible, avenge his father's murder and rescue his love interest from an arranged marriage. Köster-Lösche manages to squeeze a dense plot with a large cast of characters into a mere 429 pages. Whilst her story is crafted well in terms of pace, at times the characters' actions appeared a little forced. Nevertheless, for all those interested in the myths surrounding the rise and fall of Rungholt, the Atlantis of the North Sea, this might provide an interesting addition or an accessible starting point. </span></div>
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Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-42283189064434751192017-11-04T18:21:00.000+00:002018-03-29T19:04:55.703+01:00Book Review: Darcy's Utopia by Fay Weldon <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A 90s book. So nineties, it's unbelievable...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Darcy's Utopia ended up on my '2017 clear-out pile' but was one of the more entertaining reads over the past six months. (This says a lot about my rather constrained, clear out-focussed reading list.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A full review will be coming up at some point, when I can be bothered to think of something to say about the book ... or find the time to write it down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the mean time, my initial verdict: Fay Weldon was actually not quite as annoying as some of the other authors, I had the misfortune of making acquaintances with recently. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm looking at you: Milton Hartoum, and you, Elizabeth Kostova! (Kostova's epically long and equally disappointing 'The Historian' proved to be a tedious, hard slog and Milton Hartoum's 'Orphans of Eldorado' is taking way too long to finish, considering its length of a mere 164 pages.) That says a lot about Weldon's competition in my current reading pile.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Darcy's Utopia charts the ascent and decline of Weldon's heroine, Eleanor Darcy. For the most part, Darcy's story is relaid through a series of interviews she gives to two journalists, Hugo Vansitart and Valerie Jones, who in turn hook up with one another for the duration of their research of Eleanor's life story, leaving children and partners behind to pursue a short-lived fling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The book was released in 1991 and whilst I was not particularly smitten by the actual plot, I found this to be quite an entertaining glimpse into the United Kingdom's not so distant past. Darcy's Utopia aspires to be a lot of things, part societal satire, part comedy, but it failed to impress me in the end. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Weldon's heroine starts life as Apricot, a child born out of wedlock on a council housing estate in post-War London with a slightly bewildering family background. Through a series of relationships, Apricot climbs the social ladder, finally becoming Mrs Eleanor Darcy, wife of a high profile economist and adviser to the prime minister.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As briefly mentioned already, I enjoyed this book mainly because of its accounts of society in post-War Britain from the 1950s onwards. I also enjoyed Weldon's writing style. Did I care about the characters or the story? Not really.</span></div>
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Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-60534860958784403802017-05-17T18:32:00.002+01:002017-11-09T17:06:07.545+00:00Book Review: Deadly Decisions (Temperance Brennan #3) by Kathy Reichs <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I picked this one up cheap from a second hand bookshop over ten years ago. Having made the decision to embark on a reading challenge that involves reading all the books on my shelves, which </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a) have been there for too long (i.e. more than five years) and </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">b) have been earmarked for a clear-out after reading, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>'Deadly Decisions' </b>by <b>Kathy Reichs</b> fulfilled both criteria.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Deadly Decisions, Temperance Brennan<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></b></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">#3</span></span><span style="font-family: "\22 arial\22 " , "\22 helvetica\22 " , sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "\22 arial\22 " , "\22 helvetica\22 " , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>by Kathy Reichs</b></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Despite never having read any of the books in Reich's Temperance Brennan series, I somehow knew that I wouldn't enjoy it. Previous attempts to get into the story never worked out and I gave up about two pages into the book.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I simply wasn't interested in the subject matter (biker gangs and revenge killings). In the end, I finally persevered and completed reading it two days ago.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In Deadly Decisions, Tempe's professional involvement as a forensic anthropologist is required when a series of shootings claim the lives of rival bikers and lead investigators to discover further casualties, whose skeletons are unearthed within the perimeter of one of the bikers' clubhouses. Privately, Tempe is going through a rough time with her love interest, Andrew Ryan, and her nephew Kit, who conveniently happens to have a strong interest in all things Harley Davidson, decides to temporarily move in with her.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Forensic science buffs might enjoy Reichs's books. If detailed accounts of human anatomy or blood splatter analysis float your boat, then this book series won't disappoint. A forensic anthropologist herself, Reichs provides her readers with a great deal of insight into the field of forensics. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All those who look for well-rounded plot lines, realistic characters or psychological suspense will be left disappointed. By and large, Deadly Decisions feels formulaic, contrived and is full of badly engineered coincidences, including Kit's profound interest in motorcycles and Ryan's presence in a biker bar just at the right time to 'save' Tempe from harm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All in all, it wasn't as bad as expected and turned out to be a quick read, but I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to read another book in the series based on this experience. Having said that, I have Cross Bones (Temperance Brennan #8) on my shelf, which is also on my list of books to read and subsequently clear-out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Judging by most of the reviews I have come across, Deadly Decisions is generally not considered the best book in the series, even amongst Reichs fans. I'm hoping that Cross Bones will be more enjoyable. </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-4867172752978006322017-05-17T13:24:00.002+01:002017-05-17T13:59:29.887+01:00Book Review: The Children's Hour by Marcia Willett <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before I begin, I should point out that I have read the 2007 German paperback edition of Willett's <i>'The Children's Hour'</i>, titled <i>'Das Spiel der Wellen'</i>. The book turned up in my kitchen after it was cleared out by one of my neighbours. He left it with me, since I am the only German speaker in the neighbourhood.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Marcia Willett - The Children's Hour, 2007 German paperback edition titled 'Das Spiel der Wellen'</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was not overly keen to start reading <i>The Children's Hour</i>, and so the book lingered on my kitchen shelf together with the other titles he dropped off that day. I picked it up six months ago, finished other books in-between and eventually completed it last Thursday. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The time it's taken me to get through this novel (333 pages), suggests that this was a less than gripping read for me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The story takes place in the British countryside in the late 1990s / early 2000s but covers a period of roughly 65 years from the late 1930s onwards. At the centre of the novel are sisters Mina and Nest, who share their family home in Ottercombe. A visit by their older sister Georgia, who suffers from dementia, not only prompts Mina and Nest to reminisce about the past, but also to confront deeply buried family secrets and to deal with a host of issues affecting them and their niece Lyddie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Considering the overall length of the book, the vast number of characters and the time span covered, Willett attempts to cram an awful lot into a rather tight space. The characters and issues she explores (dementia, disability, infidelity and adoption) remain by and large on the surface. As a result of the constant flashbacks the story lacks an overarching plot line, which would have provided Willett's narrative with a sense of direction. The incorporation of surprising twists and turns right at the end felt - like other parts of the book - contrived, rushed and engineered.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Willett is often compared to author Rosamunde Pilcher. Not having read anything by Pilcher, <i>The Children's Hour</i> nevertheless reminded me of the ubiquotous Pilcher adaptations on German TV. Set against the backdrop of picturesque English countryside and populated with bland, middle class characters, Willett's book appears to be as formulaic as the Pilcher adaptations. My copy will be handed in at the nearest charity shop. One to be missed. </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-56052972758849492262015-05-10T18:05:00.005+01:002019-01-01T10:17:04.219+00:00Review: Dark Satanic by Marion Zimmer Bradley <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Originally published in 1972 <i>Dark Satanic </i>is the first book in Marion Zimmer Bradley's <i>Occult Tales</i> series and the prequel to <i>The Inheritor</i>. Throughout her life Bradley was an incredibly prolific writer and is, of course, better known for both the Darkover and Avalon series. Given the sheer quantity of Bradley's written output, it should come as no surprise that some of her books lack in the quality department.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyone familiar with her wider work will be aware, Bradley published a great number of books and short stories that can best be described as 'fragments' or literary experiments, in which she was trialling new plot lines, developing characters and experimenting with new themes. Rather than retaining these fragments in a drawer, Bradley was happy to see them published - in later years most often inside one of her short story collections and anthologies. Yet, at times her ventures into new territory were published as stand-alone books or republished and marketed as sequels and / or </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">prequels to other novels. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dark Satanic </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">belongs into the latter category.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dark Satanic, Marion Zimmer Bradley </span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The story unfolds in Manhatten where James Melford, a publisher, and his wife Barbara share an apartment with James's ageing mother (Mother Melford) and her friend, Dana, who temporarily stays with the Melfords while house hunting. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shortly before his untimely death, one of James's authors, Jock Cannon, visits James in his office at Blackcock Publishing in order to deter James from publishing Jock's recently completed expose on New York City's satanic subculture. As a result of researching satanist circles, Jock is now subjected to intimidation and harassment by as yet unidentified forces, wishing to prevent the information in his book from becoming public. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When Jock suddenly dies of a heart attack</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, James, still determined to publish his book, decides to investigate further. He </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">remains unconvinced by Jock's warnings until James himself starts receiving threatening calls and unexpected late-night deliveries. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meanwhile, Barbara, who not only has a rather strained relationship with her mother-in-law but is also deeply uncomfortable with Dana's presence in the apartment, experiences strange goings-on, too. At first, she doubts her own sanity, but as the story unfolds, she becomes increasingly suspicious of Mother Melford, her confidante and their behaviour towards her. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Admittedly, in <i>Dark Satanic</i> Bradley is not giving us her best. Quite the opposite. The spelling mistakes in my copy alone indicate the absence of any serious editing and suggest a turbo turnaround from initial manuscript to publication. The characters remain flat and abstract and the story seems to plot along, giving the impression that Bradley, whilst writing, forgot where she wanted to take the story. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Following the introduction of Claire Moffat's and Colin MacLaren's characters, which assume the roles of dei ex machinae, Bradley moves on to plant the seed of the sequel, thereby not so subtly preparing her readers for further literary ventures into the worlds of good and evil, the forces of black and white magic, religious ceremonies and satanic rites. This is somewhat reminiscient of <i>The Fall of Atlantis, </i></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57126170@N06/5970335847/in/album-72157651644013918/"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Fall of Atlantis, Marion Zimmer Bradley, photo courtesy of Clarice Asquith</span></b></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Atmospherically and thematically, the setting and subject matter of <i>Dark Satanic</i> evoke associations with Ira Levin's <i>Rosemary's Baby</i>, which was published in 1967</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. <i>Rosemary's Baby</i> became the best-selling horror novel of the 1960s and thanks to Polanski's adaptation of the book, which was released in 1968, it remained a trendsetter in the genre for years to come.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a literary product, <i>Dark Satanic</i> can best be described as a gothic pulp, tapping superficially into Levin's market by ripping various elements off <i>Rosemary's Baby</i>. Considering the poor quality editing, I would not be surprised to find out that Bradley was under a very tight deadline when writing Dark Satanic and she made use of this to explore a rough idea for a new series. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In later editions the book is marketed as the prequel to </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Inheritor, </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">which was published in 1984 and received overwhelmingly positive reviews. The success of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Inheritor</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> undoubtedly boosted sales of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dark Satanic</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, resulting in its republication in 1988. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All in all, Dark Satanic certainly deserves a place in any MZB fan collection, especially to satisfy the needs of the completist collector. All others are best advised to skip the book<i> </i>and read <i>The Inheritor </i>instead. </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-50388014263462337212015-05-02T21:07:00.000+01:002019-01-01T10:20:04.284+00:00Cover Art by George Barr, Maren,Tim White, Darrell K. Sweet et al.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An eclectic selection of sci-fi and fantasy artists have created the covers for Marion Zimmer Bradley's books and anthologies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The below is a selection of cover art for MZB's publications. The photos are taken from the paperback hardcovers. The entire pictures are available <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/clariceasquith/marion-zimmer-bradley-cover-art/">here</a>, featuring works by George Barr, Tim White, David A. Cherry, Richard Hescox and Maren, whose actual name is Mariano Pérez Clemente. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Whereever possible information on the cover artist and edition has been included. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sadly, the cover art the for </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Forest House (MZB's Avalon Series) remains uncredited in the edition by Michael Joseph.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Marion Zimmer Bradley: Darkover Landfall - 1972</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: DAW Books, Inc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This edition: 15th printing (first printing, December 1972)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cover Art by George Barr</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For a review of Darkover Landfall, please click <a href="http://readaroundtheclock.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/review-darkover-landfall-marion-zimmer.html">here.</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Snows of Darkover</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cover Art: <a href="http://www.tim-white.co.uk/">Tim White</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Daw, 1994</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57126170@N06/17071504407/in/photostream/">David A. Cherry, Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover (Anthology)</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anthology edited by MZB</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cover Art by: David A. Cherry</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57126170@N06/5970889256/in/set-72157651644013918">The Forest House by Marion Zimmer Bradley, publisher: Michael Joseph </a></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dark Satanic by Marion Zimmer Bradley</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A TOR Book</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Published by Tom Doherty Associates, Inc., New York</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cover Art by Maren (real name: Mariano Pérez Clemente.) More here: <a href="http://www.marenart.com/">www.marenart.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First edition: September 1988</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57126170@N06/17086125727/">The Fall of Atlantis, Darrell K Sweet</a></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Marion Zimmer Bradley - The Fall of Atlantis - (1983)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Bean</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First Printing: 1987</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tenth Printing 2007</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Originally published (in parts) as "Web of Light" and "Web of Darkness"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cover Artist: Darrell K. Sweet</span></div>
Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-25021463651209270062015-05-02T19:19:00.001+01:002019-01-01T10:20:37.046+00:00Summary and Review: Mind to Mind by Betty Shine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i style="font-family: Arial; letter-spacing: 0px;">Mind to Mind </i><span style="font-family: "arial"; letter-spacing: 0px;">is the first of several Betty Shine publications to be reviewed on this blog over the coming months. Originally released in 1989, with </span><i style="font-family: Arial; letter-spacing: 0px;">Mind to Mind, </i><span style="font-family: "arial"; letter-spacing: 0px;">Betty aims to provide a broad overview of her work as a spiritual healer, medium and clairvoyant.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mind to Mind by Betty Shine</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Starting with a brief account of her childhood and family background - Shine claims that her grandmother and daughter also have psychic abilities - the first part of the book is almost exclusively dedicated to her personal biography and professional career, from becoming an opera singer to her venture into mineral therapy until taking up healing full-time. Shine's various psychic experiences throughout her childhood and the recollections of her time as an evacuee in rural Berkshire during the Second World War are particularly intriguing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">In this part of the book she also discusses her numerous physical ailments, which in the end prompt her to seek the assistance of a medium by the name of Horrey. Horrey diagnoses that her ill health is the result of pent-up energy, which is trapped in her body, thereby causing a physical imbalance. To relieve herself of this imbalance, she has to release the surplus energy by healing others, thus curing herself and her patients in the process.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">This biographical overview is followed by an insight into Shines work, the methods she employs, her guiding principles and a wide selection of case histories. Considering the number of arthritic cases featuring in the book, it is fair to say that Shine seems to have developed a certain specialism when it comes to curing arthritis. The vast majority of ailments she claims to have cured in Mind to Mind are somehow connected to arthritis. She not only claims to be able to remove calcium deposits from arthritic joints through hands-on healing. She also relays instances, during which calcium deposits were audibly removed ('popped'), whilst treating clients suffering from arthritic conditions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No doubt, this track record must have attracted the attention of David Icke. Not least because Shine discusses the case of one of her patients, a footballer by the name of 'David'. Meanwhile, Icke, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, describes his first encounter with Betty Shine's </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mind to Mind </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">time and again in both his current and historic output. Icke first came across </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the book</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> when he was 'guided' towards it hiding in a pile of romantic novels, whilst trying to locate his son inside a bookshop on the Isle of Wight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Himself seeking alternative ways to cure his rheumatoid arthritis, he consults Shine as a result of reading Mind to Mind. During one of these consultations, Shine channels messages, which are discussed in detail in <a href="http://readaroundtheclock.blogspot.com/2015/04/book-review-of-truth-vibrations-by.html">Icke's </a></span><i style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://readaroundtheclock.blogspot.com/2015/04/book-review-of-truth-vibrations-by.html">Truth Vibrations</a></i><span style="line-height: 18px;">. In fact, it is fair to say that on the basis of Icke's own account, his interpretation of Shine's messages can be considered the starting point of his very own spiritual journey.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Arthritic conditions and Icke aside, Shine also provides detailed case histories on animal healing, healing small children and teenagers as well as cancer patients of all ages. Whilst she dedicates a rather large part of the book to case histories, she also offers practical advice to her readers. This ranges from a variety of meditation and visualisation techniques to recommendations on integrating spirituality into everyday life and how best to harness what she terms 'mind energy'. All this is rounded up with a selection of practical exercises and a bibliography for further reading at the very end of the book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mind to Mind is a somewhat bizarre book. It is unbelievable and plausible at the same time. Shine's claims, including accounts of varicose veins being removed with the help of hands on healing and calcium deposits being audibly 'popped' through the forces of mind energy, are, to say the least, rather bold. A case of seeing (or rather, hearing) is believing, I would suggest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Compared to contemporary mediums of the day, Shine was never really all too popular in the New Age movement of the 1980s. Considering the sheer number of publications following Mind to Mind, she was nevertheless successful at establishing her very own niche and circle of clients, most of which were somehow connected to the media and/or publishing industry in Britain at the time. David Icke, no doubt, complemented this group.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nonetheless, Mind to Mind is worth reading. Despite focussing on her own case studies, Shine repeatedly tries to provide a realistic assessment of spiritual healing, its remit and limitations. The methods she personally advocates most prominently are surprisingly simple. These include positive visualisation techniques and meditation as well as suggestions on how best to integrate activities of this sort into daily routine. No matter whether one believes that Shine can heal her patients remotely utilising a laser beam made of 'mind energy' or not, her advice to limit negativity to no more than a maximum of five minutes per day, certainly does not cause any harm.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-8755529720769747042015-04-25T17:10:00.005+01:002015-05-10T18:19:34.734+01:00Cover Art for Marion Zimmer Bradley <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ShFWuXayofs/VTun_yE_v7I/AAAAAAAABIc/sMjsrvTGg-A/s1600/Darkover%2BLandfall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ShFWuXayofs/VTun_yE_v7I/AAAAAAAABIc/sMjsrvTGg-A/s1600/Darkover%2BLandfall.jpg" width="382" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57126170@N06/5970331267">Darkover Landfall Marion Zimmer Bradley, photo courtesy of Clarice Asquith</a></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marion Zimmer Bradley: Darkover Landfall - 1972</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Publisher: DAW Books, Inc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This edition: 15th printing (first printing, December 1972)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cover Art by George Barr</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Border Art by Richard Hescox</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For a review of Darkover Landfall, please click <a href="http://readaroundtheclock.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/review-darkover-landfall-marion-zimmer.html">here.</a></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57126170@N06/16643531273/"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mDloed0vhFk/VTuln-amRsI/AAAAAAAABIQ/jlQJ4COR4rM/s1600/DSC_0182.jpg" width="373" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57126170@N06/16643531273/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Snows of Darkover, Edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley, photo courtesy of Clarice Asquith</b></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Snows of Darkover</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cover Art: <a href="http://www.tim-white.co.uk/">Tim White</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Publisher: Daw, 1994</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57126170@N06/5970368343/in/album-72157651644013918/"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8mgFrc-U3RY/VTuxert68AI/AAAAAAAABJA/z3fb3ZnRQro/s1600/Stormqueen%2BHawkmistress.jpg" width="396" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57126170@N06/5970368343/in/album-72157651644013918/">The Ages of Chaos, Darkover Omnibus (Stormqueen and Hawkmistress) by Marion Zimmer Bradley photo courtesy of Clarice Asquith</a></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stormqueen & Hawkmistress </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Darkover Omnibus)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marion Zimmer Bradley</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cover Art: <a href="http://www.romasbk.com/">Romas Brandt Kukalis</a></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57126170@N06/5970893268/in/album-72157651644013918/">Heritage and Exile, Darkover Omnibus (The Heritage of Hastur and Sharra's Exile) by Marion Zimmer Bradley photo courtesy of Clarice Asquith</a></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57126170@N06/5970335847/"><img alt="The Fall of Atlantis by Marion Zimmer Bradley, photo courtesy of Clarice Asquith " border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rsF5qYzMCoc/VTuo5gZIcRI/AAAAAAAABIk/L5jWO-p-NjI/s1600/Fall%2Bof%2BAtlantis.jpg" width="384" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57126170@N06/5970335847/">The Fall of Atlantis by Marion Zimmer Bradley, photo courtesy of Clarice Asquith</a></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marion Zimmer Bradley - The Fall of Atlantis - (1983)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Publisher: Baen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First Printing: 1987</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tenth Printing 2007</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Originally published (in parts) as "Web of Light" and "Web of Darkness"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cover Art: <a href="http://darrellksweet.wix.com/">Darrell K. Sweet</a></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e0NS_PGy1CQ/VTupc_KEHEI/AAAAAAAABIw/IhOfeDyfrBA/s1600/DSC_0071.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="398" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57126170@N06/16612972203/">Dark Satanic by Marion Zimmer Bradley, photo courtesy of Clarice Asquith</a></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A TOR Book</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published by Tom Doherty Associates, Inc., New York</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cover Art by Maren <a href="http://www.marenart.com/">(Mariano Pérez Clemente)</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First edition: September 1988</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57126170@N06/5970889256/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pGrH0jEpMVw/VTuzq6WzEmI/AAAAAAAABJQ/fqkP130nz2Q/s1600/The%2BForest%2BHouse.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57126170@N06/5970889256/in/photostream/">The Forest House by Marion Zimmer Bradley, photo courtesy of Clarice Asquith</a></b></span></td></tr>
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Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-73385717051794662292015-04-19T16:15:00.000+01:002015-04-19T17:07:12.864+01:00Crime and Punishment<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">....or a Zero Tolerance Policy towards late returners:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Library Fines in Warren County, Vicksburg (Mississippi) Public Library</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />This was stuck to the inside cover of one of my latest paperback finds. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I just love vintage paperbacks. You simply don't get the same amusement with a kindle.</span></div>
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Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-72641097857996026152015-04-12T10:23:00.003+01:002019-01-01T10:25:56.228+00:00From one opinionated knitter to another: Revisiting Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Almost three years ago, I had Elizabeth Zimmermann's <i>Knitter's Almanac</i> on loan from my local library. Had I written my review of the book at the time, it would probably have sounded very different from my assessment today. Frau Zimmermann - at least as far her Almanac is concerned - is certainly not aiming her designs at beginner knitters; and I would have described myself as one at the time. Consequently, when I first laid hands on Zimmermann's Almanac, I didn't find it too appealing. The patterns appeared somewhat tired and outdated; and her occasional digressions into anecdotes, though intriguing, distracted from the instructions. When it was time to return my borrowed copy to the library, I did so without attempting to retain any of the instructions for future projects. It seemed as if the Almanac had nothing on offer for me. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Elizabeth Zimmermann</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Revisiting Zimmermann's Almanac three years on, my opinion today differs greatly from my initial assessment. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I now consider it a very special publication indeed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First of all, a few words on the low-cost nature of the paperback edition: The Knitter's Almanac features instructions to over 15 patterns, including 4 sweaters, on approximately 150 pages, making this a densely packed little book. With the exception of the book cover, the photographs of the projects are all in black and white, thus lacking the visual detail of contemporary knitwear design publications, which we have all become accustomed to. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Almanac is written diary-style, featuring instructions and the rationale for knitting a particular project at a given time during the year. This is interwoven with the author's anecdotes and personal observations, providing glimpses into her life and her unconventional approach to the craft (and life). The Almanac may lack visual appeal (I have to admit, I like the vintage feel of her publications), but this is compensated by the wisdoms of a seasoned knitter and plenty of practical advice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the time of her death in 1999 Zimmerman was very much a fixture in the knitting world, at a time when the craft became once again appealing to a mainstream audience in the United States. I suggest that there aren't many knitters today, who are not at least familiar with a few of her timeless classics, such as the <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/clariceasquith/elizabeth-zimmermanns-baby-surprise-jacket/" target="_blank">Baby Surprise Jacket </a> (which is not featured in the Almanac) or the <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/clariceasquith/pi-shawl-finds/" target="_blank">Pi Shawl</a> (which is contained in the Almanac). To this day, her patterns enjoy an unwavering popularity and have inspired the creativity of countless knitters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By Zimmermann's own admission, her instructions in the Almanac are 'pithy' and can come across as confusing to the less experienced knitter. If you are looking for a Zimmermann book geared towards the skill level of the beginner knitter, I recommend <i>Knitting Without Tears - </i>one of Zimmermann's publications, which is specifically written with this audience in mind. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In order to successfully complete the projects featured in the Almanac, you will have to be familiar with and confident in the basics of knitting. In the absence of a solid grounding in the basics of knitting and knitwear construction, Zimmermann's instructions and unconventional approach to writing patterns can come across as confusing to less experienced knitters. Zimmermann's style is unpretentious and her quaint tone of voice accompanied by her unique vernacular, an obsession with applied maths and an amusing hostility towards crochet, either appeal to the reader or they do not. (She occasionally likes to' uninvent' a few things and not a lot happens in Brussels...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By attempting to integrate the projects into a seasonal cycle, the Almanac conveys a practical, no-frills approach to knitting for the requirements of 'real-life', as it were. Though coming across as lacking in style or slightly old-fashioned at times, all of the projects are by now considered timeless classics, enabling the knitter to engage with the design process and the more advanced fundamentals of knitwear construction. Zimmermann writes freely and assumes her readers are familiar with the basics, allowing her to concentrate on the intricate elements of the design process, whilst simultaneously demystifying more advanced techniques. This demystification is accompanied by a sense of total confidence in her readers' technical abilities. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And lastly, the biggest argument in favour of Frau Zimmermann is, of course, that she allows us to participate in the design process and actively encourages modifications to the patterns she supplies. This leaves room for creativity and enables knitters to become their very own designers. Zimmermannians like to 'own' and be in charge of their projects, and Zimmermann is not in the business of providing regimented instructions. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Instead, her patterns can be described as the foundations for adaptations. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the past, I have loosely described such designs as </span><a href="http://makedoandmendnovice.blogspot.com/2015/03/another-brain-cleanser-baktus-in.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">'go-to-knitting patterns'</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, leaving the knitter free to experiment with yarns and to incorporate design elements of one's choosing. Zimmermann's instructions aim to enable, allow and actively encourage creativity and let us embark on new challenges. All in all, Elizabeth Zimmermann and her Almanac exemplify the emancipatory approach to knitwear design, which is liberating rather than restrictive. Many thanks, Elizabeth. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac</b></span></td></tr>
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Clarice Asquithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12819154078599618021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-81079192031154069282011-10-30T11:28:00.000+00:002015-04-06T12:04:38.687+01:00A Rare Find - Stephen King Lecture at the University of Dayton (Ohio)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aimless browsing on the web can sometimes uncover hidden treasures. The other day I came across a real gem for all Stephen King fans: A lecture by Stephen King at the University of Dayton (Ohio) from the deepest, darkest 1980s.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The complete talk is broken up into eight parts, includes a Q and A session at the end and, as a special treat, King reads his short story <i>The Reach</i>, which was later published in the short story collection <i>Skeleton Crew (</i>1985). </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Being a Stephen King <strike>fan</strike> nerd, I enjoyed this immensely. Even though the quality of the video seems pretty poor at first sight, don't be put off. Picture and sound are surprisingly clear, once you have hit the play button.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a "historical document", this is a must for every King fan - not just because of Mr King's caveman beard and the mid - lecture cigarette (those were the days...). As usual, uncle Stevie is hilariously funny and provides a considerable amount of insight into his writing process, especially when talking about the background and development of his novel <em>Pet Sematary</em> at the very end of the lecture.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This relic certainly deserves more than six thousand views on Youtube:</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209467837006083840.post-82892798833709963452011-07-27T11:16:00.000+01:002011-07-27T13:11:51.566+01:00To Kindle...or Not to Kindle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div closure_uid_47hgor="135" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A pressing question...I know. With advertising for the Kindle as well as other e-Readers virtually everywhere, I have found myself thinking about the pros and cons, and, I am afraid, the answer is "No!" - I shan't be kindling, at least for the time being.</span></div><div closure_uid_47hgor="135"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_47hgor="135" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having considered all of the advantages e - Readers have to offer, such as saving precious storage space, portability as well as access to rare and out - of - print books, I am still not convinced that e-Readers are the right route for me.</span></div><div closure_uid_47hgor="135"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_47hgor="135" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thinking back to my time at university, my course required me to consult a wide variety of online publications. Confonted with the choice of reading them from the screen of my computer or printing them off, I always favoured the latter. I am aware that e - Readers should not be compared to simple PDF files and that the general reading experience is said to be akin to reading a printed text, but the similarities between the text display of an e-Reader and the text on a computer screen are all too obvious, at least for me. I feel that the screen separates the reader from the text and the text, stored in and displayed on an electronic device, somehow loses its physical presence. Perhaps it's just me, but apart from enjoying a good book, I also enjoy handling the book itself and, if applicable, being mesmerized by its cover art. </span></div><div closure_uid_47hgor="135"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_47hgor="135" style="text-align: justify;"><span closure_uid_qjtnym="133" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Deriving enjoyment from the handling of books comes in many different forms. Firstly, there is the aspect of having the physical books sitting on your shelf. Easily accessible and within reach whenever I want to pick them up. In my case they are grouped either by author or by genre. From time to time, it's necessary to clean the shelves and dust the books. When doing this, I often come across things I left behind amongst the pages. This could be as mundane as old bookmarks (or any type of flat object that could have served as a bookmark) or things that were tidied away as they were cluttering a space somewhere else, such as photos or greeting cards. I always feel that items stored in my books build a connection between myself and the book. This could be a photo or a train ticket, thus reminding me of a trip or the time in general when I read a certain book. Then there are second - hand books or charity shop books. Most of these have unique signs of wear or at least an indication of previous ownership, making the object all the more interesting. Compare this to the clinical sterility of an e-Reader.</span></div><div closure_uid_47hgor="135"><br />
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</div><div closure_uid_47hgor="135" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Secondly, there is the aspect of cost. E - readers command a relatively high price tag. At this point, I usually calculate how many second - hand books I could purchase for the price of a Kindle, making an e-Reader a rather bad choice from a purely monetary point of view. The charity shops and second - hand book shops are full of cheap paperback copies. To "consume" these you are not required to purchase a specialist device. Just go in, choose a few books that interest you, part with a pittance and read for hours ever after. It really is as simple as that. Tying in with being stingy in general, I enjoy using my local library, especially for nonfiction, classics and foreign language novels. Even though it's only a small library, it's full of interesting titles, which are available for free, provided you do not let the fines mount up.</span></div><div closure_uid_47hgor="135" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_47hgor="135" style="text-align: justify;"><span closure_uid_dtd6h5="133" closure_uid_qjtnym="135" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, the proponents of e-Readers always highlight their portability. Portable they may be, especially when compared to a hardback, but I am not so sure whether an e - Reader would be suitable for the kind of journey I have in mind. I tend to read a lot of my books during my commute to and from work. Selected paperbacks are crammed in my handbag and get squashed by my lunchbox, umbrella and keys simultaneously. Now would I risk exposing my e-Reader to the carnage that goes on in my bag? I don't think so. Another downside is that e - Readers require charging. Now, I forget to charge my mobile phone on a regular basis and I am sure I would be faced with the same dilemma when owning an e - Reader. Tough. No charge - no reading time.</span></div><div closure_uid_47hgor="135" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_47hgor="135" style="text-align: justify;"><span closure_uid_dtd6h5="135" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These are the main arguments that prevent me from making the jump into e-Reader ownership. Perhaps one more is worth mentioning. As already discussed in other blog posts, I am a great fan of book cover art and illustration; and I fear that both will be threatened by the expansion of e-Readers. As an art form, both are generally under - valued and the craftsmanship of illustrators has traditionally not been sufficiently recognised. Removing the reader one step further from the physical experience of the book is likely to exacerbate the existing predicament of illustrators in particular and book illustration in general.</span></div><div closure_uid_47hgor="186"></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com