A Brace of Books Read

One's low post count this year can be partly explained by the lack of book reading posts.

So you should all add the 15 reviews below to the total post count for the year and be suitably impressed (imagine more review for each title and many thought provoking insights).

Bad Things by Michael Marshall - 3.5 stars

This one was read a scant few months after reading his previous one and possibly suffered for it. A solid Michael Marshall effort but once again not to distant from his usual style and themes.

A 3.5 stars from me and read it if you haven't read anything of his in the past year.

Fate of the Kinunir by Robert E Vardeman - 3.5 stars

This one is a gaming related novel and had me interested in it's reasonably faithful adherence to one's beloved Traveller - until one of the characters pulled out his light sword to resolve a situation.

Caballistics Inc: Hell on Earth by Mike Wild - 3.5 stars

This one is a comics tie-in from 2000AD about a British occult investigation team. It is a reasonable read with the feel of the comics series.

Leviathan Wakes by James S A Corey - 4 stars

One had thought that one would have to crowd source my A to Z "C" but then I realised that this "should read some day" satisfied the criteria. Although thinking about it I guess it was technically recommended somewhere down the line by ArchEnemy or DragonMim or both, however one does prefer that neither gentleman be correct in their recommendations.
in any case it was a great read focusing on the beginnings of a space opera setting.
Looking ahead, one's "D" is looking like a prime candidate for crowd sourcing.

A Dance with Dragons by George R R Martin - 3.5 stars

The final step in one's getting up to date with the book series. I guess one shall have to wait 7 years for the next one like everybody else now.

Consider Phlebas by Iain M Banks - 3.5 stars

Speaking of getting up to date. This is the first of a batch donated to the library and joyfully scooped up by oneself when declared unwanted. Embarrassingly, for a fan of sci-fi, this is also the first of Banks's Culture novels that one has read. Not quite what I'd imagined from what I'd read about the setting however a fun read nonetheless.

Judge Dredd: Black Atlantic by Simon Jowett and Peter J Evans - 3.5 stars

Another comics tie-in purchased last year in a burst of completism when it was released as an ebook. An okay read with the feel of the characters.

The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M Auel - 3.5 stars

The third in the Ayla series. A bit too drawn out and first love angsty at times but mostly kept my interest.

The Third Law (Rico Dredd, The Titan Years) by Michael Carrol - 4 stars

An interesting one from the self justifying corrupt Judges perspective. Said Judge being Dredd's brother. Looking forward to any others that may come out.

The Butcher of Anderson Station by James S A Corey - 4 stars

A side tale of the Expanse series delving into the background of one of the side characters. As enjoyable as the main tale.

Grave Peril by Jim Butcher - 3.5 stars

The third in the Dresden Files, this tale of the Wizard PI and his latest case ticks along and unveils more of the wider supernatural world of the setting.

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King - 4 stars

A sequel to The Shining but more of a what happened to the character from the story. A great classic King romp of it's own.

The Fast Diet by Michael Mosley - 2.5 stars

Some investigative reading before giving this discipline structure a go oneself. Notable for having nigh half the book be recipes and testimonials. 

The Omega Solution by Peter J Evans - 3.5 stars

Another comics tie-in ebook. This one has quite an interesting far far future feel to it.

Sharpe's Triumph by Bernard Cornwell - 4 stars

Another delve into the Sharpe series. The colonial India setting was evoked quite well and the battle sequence was quite well done - perhaps for having very little of Sharpe himself saving the day.

**

Now to work on a Films Watched roundup post that can inflate one's imaginary post total even further...
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Man-Shed Madness

Oh dear, one seems to be stuck on a permanent one week delay.

In any case, on the weekend last ElfBoy cashed in a group promise signed certificate and had a bunch of us make the trek North to have the debut gaming session in his man-shed.

Dutifully I loaded Pirate Dave, Legion2, and Young Jim into my vehicle while Badger and Gavman made their own journeys.

So, in the comfort of of a beautifully done up shed and humid temperatures we played and sweated our way through several hours of one of ElfBoy's games that he had bee unable to get to the table in a decade of gaming get-togethers - it was something to do with fantasy Japanese empire building and side games of cards involving Samurai.
One was particularly pleased to see five hours of play rewarded with one's empire ending in exactly the same state it started the game, as it is usually a hallmark of these sort of games that one's empire is obliterated post-haste.

We next powered through a lap of the car racing Formula D game of Pirate Dave's in which one lead masterfully for most of the game only to take the final turn too wide and wind up crossing in third - both the gear and the position.

Of course this being ElfBoy the event finished with some Magic the Gathering before we all tootled off home again, promising to return in the cooler months - but making sure not to sign anything this time.
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The Lazy Guest Post

 

Several weekends past one convinced Pirate Dave to partake in a gaming event that I was running along with Lord of the Small Fries at the library.

This is his story:

International Games Day @ your library, Brighton (Bayside) edition

One was pleased as punch to be recognised for one's "Mr. Boardgames" status and invited along - and chauffeured, no less - by Phill to Brighton Library's #IGD@yl 2014.

Bearing a cavalcade of new-player-friendly games gave us ample opportunity to accommodate the washed masses with fun and interesting boardgames they may not have seen before and enjoyed every minute of.

One was given the opportunity to personally introduce people to Articulate!, Castle Panic, and Love Letter before time was called. Thank goodness Castle Panic is cooperative!

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The LEGO Party

Last weekend Hulk and I gave Salsa Girl some respite by attending a brick-based soirée.

Our inimitable host was Zombie Monkey and the occasion was the launching of his escape vessel for the escaping from our morally sinking country.

To this end he had created the crew as striking likenesses of many of the attendees.

I'm sure you will all marvel at the artistry he used to capture one’s visage as the ship's superhero in one's guise as Testosterone Man.

Zombie Monkey was also most generous with his Lego spare parts tubs allowing many who had not yet signed on to the crew to create their own likeness - although the sheer number of options was quite daunting.
Hulk herself had the dilemma of her natural blonde hair or a stormtrooper helmet.
FridgePower and Judge Mingus were busy sculpting their likeness while BallBoy created a masterful Darth Vader with pie-shooting canon, on a skateboard, holding a banana.

All in all a great afternoon, even if one's Sunday was filled with Hulk’s playful cries of "What happened to Tosterone Man’s head!"
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Come in SPUNNER

So I'm back after a geologically short break.

Much has happened during this time with celebrations, convalescences, and conferences plural, all making demands on one’s time.

One’s biggest responsibility has been the undertaking of one’s Presidential duties for SPUN conference both organisationally and MC-ingly.
Of course one had most excellent helpers in the form of Sis, MoneyM, and SecretaryL. However much of the burden and danger of public speaking fell upon one’s shoulders including the dreaded nervous loss of appetite despite swathes of yummy conference food!

One looks forward to returning to the slightly less dangerous realm of Library IT support.
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Significant Things

So, a couple of significant things have occurred lately.

The first is Anniversary the Fourth betwixt Salsa Girl and oneself. This fell a week or so back and we celebrated with babysitting and an evening out at a local eating establishment.
There was much congratulations on having reached our Fruit and Flowers milestone (if you prefer the modern ones that would be diamonds - it's all diamonds in the modern list) and other mushy stuff that one's manly continence cannot bear to repeat.


The second is the birthday of the infamous The Tiger this weekend just passed. She has turned a sprightly twelve years of age. According to the one cat age calendar I bothered to consult that would place her at 65 human years - although I doubt many humans would still scamper after balls of paper across the floor at that age.
The day after her birthday was full of repeated pleas for daily doses of that special food that she received so eagerly on her birthday.

This was very unlike Salsa Girl who merely wanted more of that anniversarial dining out and massage stuff that she received so eagerly.
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Hulk: Year Two

So, yesterday was the second anniversary of Hulk's arrival. Or maybe it was the day before that by the time I publish this, or even further away by the time you read this. In fact let's just say recently. On a geological scale.

Anyway, One recently...etc. threw a splendid party for family and very close friends. And by one I mean Salsa Girl, who performed a mountain of preparation work making sure there was a bountiful feast, much fun and games, and suitable music.

The Pass the Parcel was a big hit and went of with nary a dispute between the youngsters and Hulk explaining the rules to me throughout.

Hulk spent much of the afternoon displaying her genetic heritage by snacking from the buffet table exclaiming "do you want something else to eat",  in between episodes of jumping around shouting "look at all the balloons".

All in all a most excellent party to cap off a hard year that has gone past way too fast.

Thankfully Hulk's twos should be much easier...
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Down on the Farm

On the weekend last, Salsa Girl, Hulk, and One made a long-planned expedition to the Collingwood Children’s Farm.

For a start, one was disappointed to see no evidence of the cultivating of young supporters of the mighty black and white.

It was Hulk’s first chance to sight many of the farm animals that had heretofore only existed for her in the plethora of picture books scattered across our living room floor.

This was all evidenced by her wonder at sighting them and her joyous exclamation upon being asked what animals she had seen at the farm today, of:

“tractor!”

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Pavlov's Hulk

One's ongoing experimental regime has begun to bear fruit.

One is having ongoing success in recognition of "die" fighters and members of the Skywalker family and cries of "Magpies!" are regularly heard coming from householders other than oneself.

Most recently, whenever the kitchen timer of myself and Salsa Girl has finished it's ticking countdown, the final ringing of the bell has been accompanied by Hulk's little voice excitedly exclaiming:

"Dinner!"

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The New Blog Filter

For today's post on the tales I am trying out a new text filter.

The way it works us that I put all my thoughts through it and it reformats them according to its theme.

So I have gathered all this mornings witticisms, scintillating incites, turns of phrase that will make even the staunchest of you weep with emotion, and humorous stylings.

Now I simply run them through the "Multi-Hour-Overnight-Hulk-Settle-sans" filter and wallah:

Bleurgle

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The Sad Tales of Neglect

So - without doing any fact checking as one is too lazy for that - it has been one's longest break from the tales.

What started out as a short break for Easter gradually accumulated extra breaks for illnesses long and short, a patch of settling struggles with Hulk, long work project nights, late footy nights with The Great Sandro and Legion2, new bed buying, finally starting to late night watch Groovy Spirits's Spartacus TV Series DVDs, applying oneself to application writing for a promising opportunity, Handy Dad's seventy fifth milestone, and finally one becoming well-deserved Rummy night champion over Salsa Girl - ending her run of every night we've played up until now.

But don't worry, content has begun again now.

At least information of import has.

Well, okay then, information of self-import?
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Back in the Game

So yesterday one made one's first attendance for the year at the footy.

Of course it was with The Great Sandro and this time Legion2 came along - after his great dereliction of duty with zero attendance last year.

We were ale to watch the mighty Magpies smash the Kangaroos from the luxury of the top deck. This would be the level were they only deign to open every second food retrieval location and hence one faces a 30 minute queue to attain lunch in the 20 minute lunch break.
sigh.
One is thinking about writing in and demanding a refund for the missed minutes of gameplay.

Having attained a fresh set of prescription glasses since last season one was surprised to see that, with clearer and sharper viewing, the umpires were hardly against us at all.
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Settling In

So it's been a bit over a year in the new demesne and we have mostly settled in.
And by we I mean Salsa Girl and oneself as young Hulk has taken it upon herself to be quite unsettled these past couple of months.
However, thanks to the miracle of 'Daddy’s Arms’ we seem to be settling into a much more acceptable routine.

While this has been going on we've also had a parade of relatives short-staying with Doctor David, Grannie A, and Grandma J all passing through, much to everyone’s delight.

One has also polished off several books of whose true quality I shall enlighten you in a future reading roundup post.
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Die Fighter

So the other night our little Hulk showed just how gifted she is when, in the throes of a really hearty sleep resistance session, she demonstrated that she had spontaneously learned German.




Wait a minute, she was reaching out to the bookshelf and my Star Wars Tie Fighter spaceship model at the time - which she loves to operate the Explodey action button on, as everyone knows Tie Fighters are so fragile even a baby can destroy them.

This is even better! Her first steps down the grand path of Geekdom!
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On the March

So, Salsa Girl and I took Hulk out for the stroll yesterday that was a show of no confidence in the current government and their tendency to be puppets of big business.

It was an enjoyable little family friendly perambulation although Hulk did require hefting to a higher position for half of it in order to better count the number of interesting flags.

One does wish that one had been informed of the huge distance we would be covering though as one’s body was a decrepit wreck at the end - although Salsa Girl does like to point out that one’s pedometer only clicked over 2,000 odd steps so her theory is that perhaps one is just a tad on the lazy side.
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No Job Too Small

So, Salsa Girl and I are having Handy Dad construct a palatial deck in our rear courtyard.

Some of you may realise this after coming to haul wooden planks from the front of house to the back this morning. It's amazing what the mirage of a gaming session can inspire isn't it ElfBoy and Pirate Dave?

Anyway, as part of the process we have excavated a pile of dirt and need it removed.

To this end Salsa Girl was collecting quotes last week which allowed one to hear this heartwarming telephonic exchange.

Salsa Girl (on Phone): Hello, I'm calling to get a quote for the removal of one to two cubic metres of soil and gravel.

[listens]

Salsa Girl: Oh, too small a job. I'm sorry I must have misread your add that said no job too small.

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A Feast For Crows by George R. R. Martin

One had to pause in one's reading of this weighty tome due to it being a library copy with a multitude of reservations. However Pirate Dave came to the rescue with his pristine personal copy allowing me to resume after only a short break.

Of course the big downside of Pirate Dave's loan was the inherent feeling that one had to curb one's tendency to leave a book "well read" lest one incur the wrath of the owner. And apparently with care and attention I am able to keep a book in a relatively good condition rather than "dragged through the streets by wild oxen" condition and shall be able to continue one's friendship with Pirate Dave post haste.


I plodded my way through this - mostly due to work commitments that kept my reading time to a minimum rather than the apparent plodding-ocity of the book as given by many other reviewers. Although infrequent bite-size digestion of the story may have shaded one's view.

I give it a 3 and a half. A touch below the others but not a huge drop.
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Toilet Tribulations

So, the other day one was scrambling from branch to branch gathering items for return to Headquarters.
Unaware of the danger I was in I decided to avail myself of the facilities at Mr Prada's branch and not suspecting any trouble I paid no heed to the crunching sound as I dialed my way from vacant to engaged.

Once one's ablutions were complete, however, I rapidly became aware of the dire predicament I was in as the handle spun and spun beneath my grasp with no sign of egress being obtained.

Calmly thinking my way through the situation as I frantically continued to turn the handle I decided to call the Mr Prada rescue hotline. After I recovered from the minor panic of my phone being pocketed rather than holstered I soon had his attention and Operation Rescue the IT Guy was underway.

Several minutes of screwdriver work - on both sides of the door - later and I was free to walk the Earth again free from random entrapment. One does suspect, however, that the incident may have been a ploy to retain my services at the Sandringham branch.



In other news here is a Caution concerning the situation an anonymous fellow - whom I shall once again refer to as Freewheeling Bill the IS Guy in the Biblioitech Sphere - found himself in yesterday.

It seems that Bill had come to rely on the low fuel light in his vehicle to inform him that despite the needle sitting on the bottom there was still a good 10 kilometres of travel left in his tank.

Yesterday he discovered that said light was no longer working and hence had to sit at the side of a minor-major road for nigh an hour awaiting the attendance of the RACV with their top of of enough fuel to make it to the nearest pump.

I, for one, am glad that such a thing will never happen to me or you.

On the bright side I think Bill may have stumbled upon a scheme to receive 5 litre of free fuel from the RACV.
Step one: Buy annual membership for around $90
Step two: Feign an out of fuel incident, call for roadside care, and wait one hour.
Step three: Profit! 5 litres free petrol!
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Beating a Good Birthday

So yesterday was one’s birthday. A not particularly significant one - although one does like the neatness of the double fours - and also one not destined to reach the heights of one’s phabulous fortieth. Or so I thought.

It started out with finding several sweet little paper notes from Salsa Girl secreted in one’s wallet (I'm not sure if they took the place of some plastic notes though).

The next birthday treat was a regular meeting finishing an hour early - and only ten minutes past the scheduled finish time.

After that we transported the library to a local for some celebratory feasting wherein one was chuffed to have Alltogether Heather offer to pay for one’s complimentary lunch deal drink.

Upon returning to work the afternoon then stretched on and on until cake time. But finally that half hour had passed and we had the obligatory song and one’s hand picked cake was consumed with gusto.

Arriving home one found that Salsa Girl was hand carving New York Hamburgers to go along with the Baked New York Cheesecake she had prepared earlier.

And then she unveiled her masterstroke to make this the best birthday ever.


It seems she had been scheming and researching for weeks to arrange the gifting of an electronic drum kit to bring one back to being a drummer.

Brought nigh to speechlessness I spent the remainder of the evening putting bits together in assembly mode.

Alas the project was not complete - only getting to the rubbery thwack stage - and taking a sick day was not an option so the real beat goes on this evening.
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New Year, Same Old Tales

So, you would think that being on holidays would provide plenty of time for crafting The Tales. However a plethora of emphatically good reasons that this is not, in fact, so can be provided - amongst them are home improvements and heat waves.

You might also then think that a return to work would herald forth a return to regular postings.

Alas it appears that neither situation has any bearing on one’s ability to find time for crafting Tales to the high standards expected by one's discerning audience.

Therefore it appears that in order to steer this great ship back onto the rails and fly high once more I shall have to scrap any grand plans for holiday updates and look only forwards.


As compensation, in the spirit of the Internet done right, here is a pictorial depiction of what happens when a chronically under-brushed The Tiger meets an impending heat wave.






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New Year, Old Books

Well after a rather uneventful Xmas and New Years - no family hijinks and even Hulk awakened by fireworks turned into a rather sweet and delightful session of watching bang-bang-pop-pops from the upstairs window - it behoves one to begin the new year with a roundup of one's recent (i.e. past 6 months) reading.

We kick off with the first of several corpulent volumes:

Under the Dome by Stephen King
Observant readers will have noted that one has a soft spot for Mr King's oeuvre - particularly the Dark Tower series.
This one has naught to do with any other of his books and was read as a sort of experiment alongside watching the eponymous television series, with an interest to how much and how soon they would drift apart from each other.
A bit and quite soon was the answer as a major character from the TV series is removed from the story at the bottom of about page 3 if I recall correctly.
All in all a good King story with no great surprises and earning 3 and a half stars.


To Die in Italbar (and A Dark Travelling) by Roger Zelazny
One decided to tackle a much slimmer volume next and chose this duel title from the teetering pile of ex-library books in the study.
It dates from the early 70's but only dates a little. The title story concerns a galactic Typhoid Mary character and various factions tracking him, interesting even if more science fantasy than sci-fi.
The second story is more of a teen multi dimensional tale with nothing great or terrible about it.
Three and a half stars overall.


Liberator by Richard Harland
This one is a sequel to Richard's teen book Worldshaker. It was an enjoyable romp through the steampunk setting and seeing what happened to the characters. Not quite up to the first book but a solid three and a half stars anyway.


A Storm of Swords: 1 Steel & Snow, and 2 Blood and Gold by George R R Martin
These two are the split in half book 3 of the Song of Ice and Fire aka Game of Thrones series.
As for Under the Dome one was attempting to read alongside the televisual series, however the weighty tomes took much longer to consume than Salsa Girl's voracious appetite for just one more episode would allow.
Together, and individually, I found them to be a four star reading experience and not just to end my run of three and a half ratings - they do add a lot more depth to the world and character motivations from the TV series.


The Intruders by Michael Marshall
This one is from an old favourite author whom one has let slip from my regular reading and, with Nurse Janet's encouragement, decided to catch up a tad on when it crossed the returns desk one day.
A solid four star read as I slipped back into his comfortable prose and the rather uncomfortable and unsettling worldview of his contemporary settings.


Among the Missing. Strontium Dog: The Alpha/Sternhammer Years #1 by Matthew Smith
An ebook novella release featuring one's equal favourite 2000AD character next to Judge Dredd. So of course it was a nigh-instant sale to me when it was released in December.
Mr Smith captures the classic Strontium Dog "western" feel in a story that doesn't outstay it's welcome. Back to three and a half star ratings.


Judge Dredd. Year One: City Fathers by Matthew Smith
Also an ebook novella release this time featuring one's equal favourite 2000AD character next to Johnny Alpha the Strontium Dog. It also was a nigh-instant sale to me when it was released in December - luckily Salsa Girl is none the wiser of my dropping a few dollars here and there on these..
Mr Smith does reasonably well at a Dredd story although the setting at the start of Dredd's career is missing any trace of the gonzo wacky stuff that was eventually written out of the comic as it settled down. Methinks Badger may be disappointed at the lack of Dredd telling any perps "baby your doing time for this!".
Still it was a reasonable romp and also doesn't outstay it's welcome. Another three and a half star rating (although Goodreads doesn't do half stars so it's a 4 over there).
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