Author: HCNewton Page 342 of 613

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Auxiliary: London 2039 by Jon Richter

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On May 5, 2020

In Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Today I’m pleased to welcome the Book Tour for the cyberpunk thriller Auxiliary: London 2039 by Jon Richter. Following this spotlight post, I’ll be giving my take on the novel here in a bit. But let’s start by learning a little about this here book, okay?


Book Details:

Book Title: Auxiliary: London 2039 by Jon Richter
Release date: May 1, 2020
Format: Ebook/Paperback
Publisher: TCK Publishing
Length: 224 Pages

Book Blurb:

The silicon revolution left Carl Dremmler behind. Now the machines are god … but even He needs a good detective.

Maybe Dremmler isn’t obsolete after all. Yet.

Through the glittering urban jungle of the future prowls Carl Dremmler, police detective—one of the few jobs better suited to meat than machine in 2039. His latest case: a murder suspect caught literally red-handed. The investigation seems open-and-shut, but the tech-wary detective can’t help but believe the accused’s bizarre story: that his robotic arm committed the grisly crime, not him. An advanced prosthetic, controlled by a chip in his skull.

A chip controlled by TIM.

TIM—The Imagination Machine. The silicon god of the UK. The omnipresent AI that drives every car, cooks every meal, and plans every second of human life in London. But if the accused murderer’s story is true, then TIM has been compromised … and Dremmler is in horrible danger.

TIM’s systems were supposed to be impregnable. Un-hackable. Perfect. Only somebody very powerful could bend the AI to their will. Somebody with ambitions. Somebody willing to kill to keep their secrets. If Dremmler’s going to crack this case, he’ll need to question everything he thinks he knows—and face down every terror 2039 has to offer.

 

About the Author:

Jon RichterJon Richter writes dark fiction, including his two gripping crime thrillers, Deadly Burial and Never Rest, and his two collections of short horror fiction, volumes one and two of Jon Richter’s Disturbing Works.  His latest novel, cyberpunk noir thriller London 2039: Auxiliary, was released in May 2020.

Jon lives in London and is a self-confessed nerd who loves books, films and video games – basically any way to tell a great story.  He writes whenever he can, and hopes to bring you more macabre tales in the very near future.  He also co-hosts the Dark Natter podcast, a fortnightly dissection of the greatest works of dark fiction, available wherever you get your podcast fix.

If you want to chat to him about any of this, you can find him on Twitter @RichterWrites or Instagram @jonrichterwrites.  His website haunts the internet at www.jon-richter.com, and you can find his books available at Amazon here: https://amzn.to/2OXXRVP.

Purchase Links

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US

My thanks to Overview Media for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including a copy of the novel) they provided.

Audiobook Catch-Up Quick Takes on Caliban’s War by James S.A. Corey, Jefferson Mays (Narrator); Heartless by Gail Carriger, Emily Gray (Narrator); Demon Born Magic by Jayne Faith, Amy Landon (Narrator); Stardust by Neil Gaiman; Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy, Eileen Stevens (Narrator); Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic by Michael McCreary; Paradise Valley by C.J. Box, Christina Delaine (Narrator)

By

On May 4, 2020

In (Auto)Biography, A-B, Audiobook, C. J. Box, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Neil Gaiman, Non-Fiction, Steampunk, YA/MG/Children's Books

The point of these quick takes post to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness. This is a little longer than most of these that I do, I just wanted to get caught up on my Library Book Audiobooks (I’m so thankful that I can get audio downloads from my library right now—I’d be lost without them!)

Caliban's War

Caliban’s War

by James S.A. Corey, Jefferson Mays (Narrator)
Series: The Expanse, #2
Unabridged Audiobook, 21 hrs.
Hachette Audio, 2017
Read: April 6-14, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
90% of the reason I’m doing this in a Quick Take post is because if I don’t cover it in a paragraph or two, I’ll take 15 pages (or the equivalent). I’m kicking myself so hard for not jumping on each installment of this series as soon as it was published (although, if I did, I would be missing out on the audiobooks). I read the first book shortly after publication, but missed the release of this book—so before I realized it I was two novels and over a thousand pages behind, and I just couldn’t find the time to catch up.

Anyway, this might not have been the right time to listen to a novel about an unexpected, largely unknown, biological enemy of all humanity and the inexplicable reactions of several governments to it—through the eyes of people living in fairly enclosed spaces. Still, it’s gripping, imaginative, wonderfully told and very compelling. I can’t wait to see what’s next (although, I’m pretty apprehensive of it, too). I loved the new characters and hope they stick around.
4 Stars

Heartless

Heartless

by Gail Carriger, Emily Gray (Narrator)
Series: The Parasol Protectorate, #4
Unabridged Audiobook, 11 hrs., 19 mins
Hachette Audio, 2011
Read: April 1-3, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
I think I’m about over this series, but maybe it was just this novel. Alexia seemed to run around oblivious to what was going on for almost the entire book—sure, it’s kind of explained by the effect “the infant inconvenience” is having on her mind, but I don’t totally buy that. (maybe that’s my maleness talking). The first couple of chapters and the little bit at the end with the newborn were the highlights for me—the climactic battle sequence was fun, I just didn’t like how we got there. Still, it was a fun listen and I enjoy the characters. I hope the series finale is better.

That said, Emily Gray is a delight. I seriously cannot listen to her enough.
3 Stars

Demon Born Magics

Demon Born Magic

by Jayne Faith, Amy Landon (Narrator)
Series: Ella Grey, #4
Unabridged Audiobook, 8 hrs., and 52 mins.
Tantor Audio, 2017
Read: April 24-27, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
Ella now knows where her brother is, but she’s been cut off from her power, so she can’t move on it. Due to her lack of power (and some other stuff—including a total and inexplicable lack of due process), she loses her job. She and Damien start a private consulting business, make a Faustian deal and will deal with the consequences over most of this book and the next. Along the way, Ella learns why her brother is off the grid.

The luster has really worn off this series for me. I think it’s possible that Faith will stick the landing and I’ll be happy with the set as a whole, but I think she’s squandered a good start. If there was more than one book left, I’m not sure I’d bother.
3 Stars

Stardust

Stardust

by Neil Gaiman
Unabridged Audiobook, 6 hrs., 23 mins
HarperAudio, 2006
Read: April 28-29, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
I remember being disappointed when I read the book a few years ago, because the movie version (that I love) was such a lousy adaptation. The text eventually won me over, but it took a long time. This is backward, I realize, but what are you going to do?

Anyway, I came into this audiobook with low expectations, but I wasn’t in the mood to spend money on an audiobook and everything I wanted from the library was checked out. Listening to Gaiman’s always fun, so I gave this a whirl. Between Gaiman, low expectations, knowing it’s not the movie, and a story that’s really good when you give it a chance, I had a great time.

It’s a fairy tale that isn’t. Gaiman draws on every convention, every trope and uses them the way a child uses a play-doh set.
4 Stars

Dumplin’

by Julie Murphy, Eileen Stevens (Narrator)
Series: Dumplin’, #1
Unabridged Audiobook, 9 hrs., 45 mins.
HarperAudio, 2015
Read: April 29-30, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
This was just cute. Another “don’t make me spend money on audiobooks while I wait for holds to become available” listen. A YA story about a fat girl (her words, not mine) who joins her small-town beauty pagent, and the scandal that ensues. It’s almost entirely predictable, but Murphy’s style makes it feel fresh, and you just don’t care about the predictability. Steven’s narration is spot-on, too. I had a lot of fun with this.
3 Stars

Funny, You Don't Look Autistic

Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic: A Comedian’s Guide to Life on the Spectrum

by Michael McCreary
Unabridged Audiobook, 3 hrs., 37 mins
Annick Press, 2019
Read: March 31, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
McCreary was five when he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, but it had challenged him and his parents far before then. In this short memoir, he talks about growing up with ASD and finding his place in performing and comedy. This wasn’t as funny as you might hope from a comedian’s memoir, but given that the focus of it was on the way he got through life and learning his craft while learning how to live in a neurotypical world, it’d be hard to be funny. Still, there was a light-heartedness to the entire book that made it pretty appealing.

I had plenty of fun listening to this, and gained some insight (much needed, I expect) into ASD. I think the hard copy might be a bit better because there are charts, graphs, etc. he mentions throughout (yes, there are pdf versions available on the publisher’s site, but who listens to an audiobook when they can stop and look at a pdf?).
3.5 Stars

Paradise Valley

Paradise Valley

by C. J. Box, Christina Delaine (Narrator)
Series: The Highway Quartet, #4
Unabridged Audiobook, 10 hrs., 6 mins
Recorded Books, 2017
Read: March 26-30, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
Here we go. Cassie Dewell vs. The Lizard King: The Final Battle. Kyle Westergaard comes along for the ride, too—because we can’t have a Highway novel without a young person’s perspective. A lot of other characters from the entire series make appearances (important ones), too.

This was a solid—horrifying, but solid—conclusion to this arc. And it does set up a way for things to continue beyond this point.

I’m really glad that I started this series (it, too, started with a “don’t make me spend money on audiobooks while I wait for holds to become available” listen)
3.5 Stars

2020 Library Love Challenge
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from any of them, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

A Few Quick Questions With…Ronald Hera

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On May 3, 2020

In A Few Quick Questions With..., Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Theology/Christian Living

A little bit ago, I posted about the novel Bethlehem’s Brothers, and now it’s time for a few questions with the author, Ronald Hera, who was gracious enough to give me a little of his time.

Tell us about your road to publication—was your plan/dream always to become a novelist and your education/other jobs were just to get you to this point, or was this a later-in-life desire?
I wrote technical papers occasionally for the SAE and enjoyed it, but the idea of writing for publication came when I was about to retire and wondered what I would do to pass the time. Writing has been good for me.
Most authors have dozens of ideas bouncing around their craniums at once—what was it about this idea that made you say, “Yup—this is the one for me.”? What kind of research did you do to prepare for it?
I have three books started now. One is a bad idea and I’ll probably not write that one. But two are promising ideas and are going smoothly. They are more like mystery/action novels. Bethlehem’s Brothers came to my head for two reasons. I see people moving away from their Christian roots and that bothers me. I wanted to show the struggles that went into deciding to be a Christian during the first century. In Jerusalem’s Brothers, I wanted to show how difficult it was during the early persecution and finally in Brothers Forever, the fall of Jerusalem and who the Essenes were.

My research comes from The Complete Works of Josephus, Studies in the Life of Christ by R.C. Foster, The Bible, and the internet. I enjoy the research because it teaches me a lot about a subject dear to my heart.
While writing the book itself, what was the biggest surprise about the process? Either, “I can’t believe X is so easy!” or “If I had known Y was going to be so hard, I’d have skipped this and watched more TV”?
My imagination ran WILD! I found it hard to make the book flow and my sentences were awkward a lot of the time. Editing was lengthy for me. Even naming the characters was a challenge sometimes. I wanted them to be real and meaningful names, so I researched meanings on the internet.
As I’ll discuss in my post about the book, I really appreciated how you merged the Biblical events with your material—it seemed like you exercised great care in that. How did you decide which parts of the life of Christ to have your characters directly interact with?
Thank you for the compliment. I think a fiction writer should make the scenes and surrounding events as real and accurate as possible while making the characters and some events purely fictional. That is a delicate balance. An example is when I had Enoch with Cleopas on the road to Emmaus. The Bible mentions Cleopas and “another”, so I interjected Enoch. One must be careful not to add to the Bible. I thought this might be okay.
As soon as I saw a Cleopas hanging around, I figured this is where you were going to go, and you pulled that part off particularly well.

What’s been the response to this in the years since the original publication?
Critics like it. Bethlehem’s Brothers has recommendations from Pacific Book Review and Kirkus. It was also a finalist in the prestigious Montaigne Medal awarded by the Eric Hoffman Award Committee. Of course, I would like more people to read it. Now with e-books, cost isn’t really an issue. Maybe a different cover would help.
There’ve been two sequels to this (and I imagine there aren’t more coming based on the synopses for them), are there other books to come from you?
Certainly. I have a fourth book to add to the series called The Rock of Michael. Michael is an angel who helps the Christians displaced by the destruction of Jerusalem settle in what is now Tel Aviv-Yafo. The other possible novel is another historical fiction piece set on a college campus during protests of the Vietnam war. It has promise.
So much for my imagination 🙂

Thanks for your time and willingness to let me badger you with these questions—again, I really enjoyed Bethlehem’s Brothers and truly hope that it finds the audience it deserves.?
I am confident it will. Perhaps a TV series or a Movie might get the word out to the audience.

Bethlehem’s Brothers by Ronald Hera: First Century Historical Fiction about a Couple of Others Born in Bethlehem

By

On May 3, 2020

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Theology/Christian Living

Bethlehem's Brothers

Bethlehem’s Brothers

by Ronald Hera
Series: The Brothers Trilogy, #1

Kindle Edition, 308 pg.
AuthorHouse, 2011

Read: April 12-19, 2020


This historical fiction starts off with a bang—in a small home during the Massacre of the Innocents. One father (probably others, but we’re focused on one family here) tries to prevent the soldier from killing his young son and loses his life, too. Devastated, his widow does the best she can for her two remaining sons—sending one to Jerusalem with a friend of a friend as an apprentice, she takes the other to live with family near the sea of Galilee where the boy will learn to be a fisherman.

After a few chapters where we see them grow up and begin their adult lives, we begin to hear about things like John the Baptizer, and an itinerant preacher surrounded by outlandish rumors. Both boys have been raised quite differently—Simeon, in Jerusalem, was apprenticed to a former rabbi (discharged by the Sadducees for his orthodoxy); Enoch becomes involved with Zealots and was convinced the soon-to-come Messiah would lead a revolt. A few striking events lead them to realize who this Messiah is (although, they’re both pretty shaky about the details).

As the brother’s stories intersect at various points with the Gospel accounts we see John’s arrest, some healings by Christ, the Triumphal Entry, the Crucifixion, and some of those who were raised, the encounter at the Road to Emmaus and more. As they intersect, they, their friends, Simeon’s wife, and others struggle to understand what they’re hearing and seeing.

I was particularly impressed with the way that Hera treated the Biblical material. One of the best ways to evaluate Historical Fiction is based on how it treats actual history and merges the fictional with the fact. I found Hera’s use to be very sympathetic and respectful—it’s a dangerous path in general, but when you’re dealing with Sacred material, it’s even more dangerous.

It is a smooth and easy read, with a pretty engaging text. It’s not perfect, and maybe relies a bit too much on coincidence, but that doesn’t detract from it being a pleasant time. I wanted a bit more out of the dialogue but it wasn’t bad. The focus on this novel is to give an idea—with an eye to historical reality, but not bogged down in the details—what it was like for the faithful Jew to encounter the Messiah. It’s a worthwhile and ambitious goal and it delivers on it. I’d recommend this and will very likely be picking up the next two installments in the trilogy soon.

Note: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for this post and my honest opinion.

3 Stars

Top 5 Saturday: Retellings That Have Stuck With Me

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On May 2, 2020

In Books, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Jim Butcher, News/Misc.

Top 5 Saturday Retellings

The Top 5 Saturday weekly meme was created by Amanda at Devouring Books.

Rules!

  • Share your top 5 books of the current topic—these can be books that you want to read, have read and loved, have read and hated, you can do it any way you want.
  • Tag the original post (This one!)
  • Tag 5 people (I probably won’t do this bit, play along if you want)

The Upcoming Schedule Is:

5/9/20 — Books with a Number in the Title
5/16/20 — Books by Debut Authors
5/23/20 — Books about Plants/Flowers (Can be on cover, in title or plot)
5/30/20 — Books from a Male POV

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

A Retelling of: Hamlet by some obscure playwright

The reason I didn’t call this list “My Favorite Retellings” or something like that is this novel. I didn’t really enjoy much of this one. But man, it was gorgeously written. Before I started this blogged, I wrote a little about it on Goodreads: “Meticulously crafted, wonderfully and intricately written, fantastic characters, a world you’d love to live in, imaginative, creative, a concept so great, so well executed…aaaaaand I had to force myself to read it. I took 3 breaks from this novel, and had to drag myself back to it each time. I feel like I owe this book 5 stars because it deserves them, but I really want to give it 1.75 or so. There is no reason at all that I shouldn’t like it—people should love this work, actually. But I just didn’t.” Still, nine years later, this is the first novel that lept to mind when I started this list and I have vivid memories of a lot of the book. Can’t beat that.

Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi

A Retelling of: Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper

An Avatar-esque story, that’s nowhere near as self-important and a whole lot more entertaining than the Cameron movie. Jack Holloway is a prospector on the planet Zarathustra who discovers a potentially sentient and language using species (that coincendentally are about the cutest things ever). Holloway has to figure out a way to keep the species from being wiped out by an uncaring corporation. This might actually be my favorite Scalzi novel.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

A Retelling of: Cinderella

A YA SF re-imagining of the Cinderella story featuring a young woman with a cybernetic leg who attracts the attention of a Prince trying to help his people survive a plauge. It launches an epic series (also featuing re-tellings I could have filled this list with). I don’t know that the entire Lunar Chronicles series really delivered on the promise of this book, but I had a lot of fun with it. If you’re going to do a re-imagining, this is the way to do it.

* Jim C. Hines’ Princesses series also comes to mind at this point…maybe I should have included one of them…

Re Jane by Patricia Park

A Retelling of: Jayne Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Brontë’s novel is one of my All-Time Desert Island Top 5 novels, and I’m a sucker for a retelling of it. This one is set in NYC in the late 1990’s. Jane Re, is a half-Korean, half-American orphan who is hired to be the au pair for a Chinese adoptee. It’s Jane Eyre and more. As I said when I posted about it, it’s a clever re-imagining, and/or a satisfying read.

The Graveyard Book

A Retelling of: The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

I remember reading this to my kids years ago, and being very affected by it myself. It’s haunting, playful, creepy and heartwarming. A brilliant way to retell the story of an lone man-child in a very foreign atmosphere by beings not fit to raise one—and their efforts to help him fit in his native society.

Saturday Miscellany—5/2/20

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On May 2, 2020

In Books, News/Misc.

Hey, it’s Saturday. Which looks a lot like every other day lately, but I’m sitting at a different computer than I was yesterday at this time. And I’m not typing nearly as quickly. How’re you all doing?

Odds n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
          bullet Independent Bookstores Get Creative to Survive the Long Lockdown: A business that relied on walk-ins and impulse buys has to find new ways to connect with customers.
          bullet Coronavirus: Library books rearranged in size order by cleaner—The strangest COVID-19 symptom yet. (Hat Tip: Mike Finn)
          bullet Fiction, fact and crows: How I wrote a zombie pandemic heist novel—Russell Day talks about the writing of his new novel, King of the Crows, and its strange publication context.
          bullet One Man Audiobook Drops in a Few Weeks—Harry Connolly comes to audio! One Man soon, and the Twenty Palaces novels soon after. Hopefully this helps a lot more people discover the work (and helps me decide how to use Libro.fm credits for the next few months)
          bullet SFF World Tour—Spells and Spaceships launched a series this week promoting “Science Fiction and Fantasy inspired by, set in and written by authors from every continent.” Cool series.
          bullet Welcome to Wyrd and Wonder—a month-long celebration of Fantasy fiction kicked off yesterday. I’d hoped to come up with a few things to contribute, but…Reality has set in and that’s just not going to happen. Check out this great-looking set of posts instead.
          bullet Why Read Fiction? 4 Common Reasons (and a New Rating System)—Blacksail Books wades into the choppy waters around rating/evaluating books with an interesting angle.
          bullet Does My Mood Affect My Ratings?—Obviously, the answer is a yes—but how many of us take the time to reflect on it?
          bullet How to Listen to Audiobooks!—a handy guide to diving into the medium (something I could’ve used a few years ago, turns out that I stumbled my way into a lot of these ideas on my own, would’ve been nice to avoid the stumbling though.)
          bullet Pacing: What’s Good, Bad, and in Between—I didn’t mean to grab 2 Blacksail posts in one list, but I had to share this one, too. Good thoughts on pacing—and citing Sepinwall on Breaking Bad‘s “Fly” is a nice bit of icing on the cake.

This Week's New Releases That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
          bullet King Of The Crows by Russell Day—I’m only 1/4 through with this, but I’m already stressing about how I’m going to possibly talk about it (thankfully, I’m not alone). But the essence will be: BUY THIS NOW. Don’t care how long your TBR is, make it your next read…click the link there, read the Day piece above. I’m really excited about this thing, and will probably talk about it a lot this year.
          bullet Critical Point by S. L. Huang—Cas Russell deals with the fallout from Null Set‘s revelations and tries to save a friend. This should be a blast.
          bullet Of Honey and Wildfires by Sarah Chorn—a fantasy set in a Wild West-esque world, about family, love, loss and a magic that’s mined. I talked about it a bit earlier this week.
          bullet Firefly – The Ghost Machine by James Lovegrove—hard to believe, but a run for Badger goes very, very wrong. River plays a significant role in this one, so it has to be good.

Lastly I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome tojyvurentropy and Om Prakash Khare for following the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK VI., v.-viii.

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On May 1, 2020

In Fiction, Fridays with The Foundling, General Fiction/Literature

Fridays with the Foundling
Tom Jones Original CoverWhile the Westerns wait for Blifil to come to call on Sophia, her aunt comes in and the two talk a bit more about Sophia’s affections, each of them (still) talking about a different man. And just when I’m starting to think we’re in for 20+ pages of this misunderstanding, Sophia asks who her aunt is referring to:

…the Aunt cried, “Mr. Blifil—ay, Mr. Blifil, of whom else have we been talking?” “Good Heavens,” answered Sophia, ready to sink, “of Mr Jones, I thought; I am sure I know no other who deserves—” “I protest,” cries the Aunt, “you frighten me in your Turn. Is it Mr. Jones, and not Mr. Blifil, who is the Object of your Affection?” “Mr. Blifil!” repeated Sophia. “Sure it is impossible you can be in earnest; if you are, I am the most miserable Woman alive.”

There’s some nasty back and forth about how horrible the idea of Blifil is to Sophia and how horrible the idea of Jones is to all that is right and just with the world, and Sophia will do what she’s told, etc. In the end, they agree that Sophia will visit with Blifil that afternoon and get be nice about it, and they’ll see what happens.

They go their separate ways, Sophia unburdens her soul to her maid (who is good enough at eavesdropping not to need it, but plays along). Mrs. Honour tells her to speak her mind to her father, who’s a good man and won’t force her to do anything. In the meantime, she saw Jones down by the river not that long ago. Sophia rushes to go meet him, but misses him because she took too long choosing the right ribbons to wear. Fielding amusingly (at least to me) comments,

—a most unfortunate Accident, from which my fair Readers will not fail to draw a very wholesome Lesson. And here I strictly forbid all Male Critics to intermeddle with a Circumstance which I have recounted only for the Sake of the Ladies, and upon which they only are at Liberty to comment.

Blifil calls upon Sophia, and it does not go well. She’s nice enough, but she’s horrified at the thought of spending time with him, so she doesn’t say a lot and leaves early. Blifil is clueless enough (and enamored of himself enough) to interpret this as shyness—she’s so overcome by being alone with a guy as awesome as he is.

He leaves feeling really good about things and makes Mr. Western feel the same way about the way things are progressing. Sophia takes her maid’s advice and tells her father what she thinks of Blifil. He does not follow the script Mrs. Honourable predicts and flies into a rage, commanding Sophia to marry Blifil or he’ll cut her off.

She’s inconsolable, he’s in a fit and the two separate. Western runs into Jones and tells him about it all, and then asks Jones to go convince Sophia to go along. That’s not at all what Jones wants to do, but he agrees, because he’ll gets the green light to go off and talk to Sophia.

Neither of them come out and declare their love for each other, but the ensuing conversation allows them both to state their interest and their mutual despising of Blifil as a mate. It’s a sweet scene, interrupted by Fielding telling us that it may have gone on too long and is about to be interrupted by something of a very different flavor and so it’ll have to be taken up in another chapter.

Obviously, whatever that is (we’ll see next week) isn’t going to go in the couple’s favor—there’s almost another 700 pages to go, they’re not going to get too many sweet moments anytime soon.

I really like the pace of these last 8 chapters, and look forward to what comes next. I just wish people could have a straightforward conversation without flying off the handle so everyone could act in a reasonable manner.

Eh, where’d be the fun in that? Bring on the talking past each other!

April 2020 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

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On May 1, 2020

In Books, Calendar Items, Currently Reading, News/Misc.

Well, this is more like it: 25 titles, 7290+ pages (there was one e-short story that I didn’t get a page count on)—three thousand more than March. My average rating for the month was 3.56, which isn’t exactly my goal—but it still means I enjoyed just about everything I consumed. I’ve made a more concerted effort to make time to read over the last couple of weeks—and it seems to be paying off.

As with just about every person on the planet, I have no idea what the next month is really going to look like for me day-to-day (and I’m not sure I could tell you what it was like the last month…), so I’m not going to pretend to have an idea what I’ll be reading/writing about. We’ll see, right?

So, here’s what happened here in April.
Books Read

Heartless A Bad Day for Sunshine The Time Traveler's Guide to Dating
3 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 3 Stars
Ice We Begin at the End Cheater's Game
2 1/2 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
The Poop Diaries Alive Caliban's War
3 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
The Identity Thief Fake Truth The Oracle Code
3.5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars
Bethlehem's Brothers An Unwelcome Quest Apex Predator
3 Stars 3.5 Stars 4 Stars
TITLE Grudge Match The Sword-Edged Blonde
4 Stars 3.5 Stars 4 Stars
Song of Songs The Misadventures of Nero Wolfe Of Honey and Wildfires
3.5 Stars 3.5 Stars 3.5 Stars
Demon Born Magics Stardust
3 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars
Promised Land
5 Stars

Still Reading

Tom Jones Original Cover Institutes of Christian Religion vol 1 King of the Crows
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness

Ratings

5 Stars 1 2 1/2 Stars 1
4 1/2 Stars 1 2 Stars 0
4 Stars 8 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 6 1 Star 0
3 Stars 8
Average = 3.56

TBR Pile
Mt TBR January 20

Breakdowns
“Traditionally” Published: 14
Self-/Independent Published: 11

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 0 (0%) 1 (1%)
Fantasy 4 (16%) 11 (14%)
General Fiction/ Literature 2 (8%) 5 (6%)
Horror 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Humor 0 (0%) 1 (1%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 10 (40%) 30 (38%)
Non-Fiction 1 (4%) 4 (5%)
Science Fiction 3 (12%) 8 (10%)
Steampunk 1 (4%) 1 (1%)
Theology/ Christian Living 2 (8%) 6 (8%)
Urban Fantasy 4 (21%) 13 (16%)
Western 0 (0%) 0 (0%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Other Things I Wroteotherwriting
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th)

How was your month?

The Misadventures of Nero Wolfe: Parodies and Pastiches Featuring the Great Detective of West 35th Street by Josh Pachter, ed.: A Collection of Short Pieces Celebrating Nero Wolfe

By

On May 1, 2020

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin, Rex Stout

The Misadventures of Nero Wolfe

The Misadventures of Nero Wolfe: Parodies and Pastiches Featuring the Great Detective of West 35th Street

by Josh Pachter, ed.

Kindle Edition, 364 pg.
Mysterious Press, 2020

Read: April 15-27, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!


Wow—2 chances to talk about Nero Wolfe in less than a month? Say what you will about 2020, there are some really nice things going on, too.

In the same vein as the 2018 compilation that he co-edited, The Misadventures of Ellery Queen, Pachter (with the blessing of Stout’s daughter), Pachter presents just what the title promises: a collection of short pieces featuring takes on Nero Wolfe (and, generally, Archie Goodwin).

There are three introductory essays—one by Otto Penzler; one by Stout’s daughter, Rebecca Stout Bradbury; and then one from Pachter (which served as a typical introduction). All three of these pieces were a pleasure to read, but obviously, Bradbury’s is the standout for sentimental reasons.

Then we move into pastiches, although some felt more like parodies to me—but why quibble? The first entry just didn’t work for me, and almost put me off the project as a whole. But, it’s Wolfe, so as much as I say “almost”—there’s no chance that’d stick. Thankfully, the second entry more than made up for it, as did the rest. A personal highlight came from Pachter reprinting the first chapter of Murder in E Minor, Robert Goldsborough’s first Wolfe novel—I appreciated the reminder that I did really like his work at one point. (I wish something from William L. DeAndrea’s Lobo Blacke/Quinn Booker books had made it in here)

The next section featured a handful of parodies. By and large, I enjoyed this part, but I would’ve appreciated a bit more subtlety with many of the works. The story “Julius Katz and the Case of Exploding Wine” was simply fantastic—I will be tracking down more of these stories by Dave Zeltserman as soon as I can (I have a browser tab open at the moment for an e-store with the collections).

The final section, “Potpourri,” was my favorite. It included things like a story about a circus’ Fat Woman doing a fine Nero Wolfe impression (and was a pretty clever story even without that); Pachter’s short story about a young man named for Wolfe, “Sam Buried Caesar,” which was utterly charming; and a scene from Joseph Goodrich’s stage adaptation of Might as Well Be Dead. The highlight of this section (and possibly the entire book) was a little story called “The Damned Doorbell Rang,” about a couple who used to live next to Wolfe’s Brownstone on West 35th (obviously on the opposite side from Doc Vollmer), who didn’t realize who they lived next to, nor appreciate the goings-on in the brownstone. An inspired idea that was executed wonderfully.

As with almost every compilation ever assembled, there were a lot of high highs and very low lows in this one—and most readers will likely disagree with what I’d put in either category. But I can’t imagine any Wolfe reader not finding more than enough in this book to consider any time spent with it a win. The writers all clearly had fun with the subject matter, and it’s infectious. Pachter has speculated about doing another collection of Wolfean tidbits. If he does, I know I’ll be more than ready to grab it.

For a lot more about the book—the background, more information about some of the entries/authors/whatnot—check out Episode 10 of Like the Wolfe podcast. It’s a fun episode.

3.5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

WWW Wednesday, April 29, 2020

By

On April 29, 2020

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

It’s already the last Wednesday of April?? I’m not prepared for May…so while I go off to learn to read a calendar, why don’t you read this WWW Wednesday?

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Easy enough, right?
What are you currently reading?
I’m reading King of the Crows by Russell Day (which is amazing and mind-blowing) and am listening to Stardust by Neil Gaiman on audiobook .

King of the Crows Stardust

What did you recently finish reading?
I just finished Sarah Chorn’s Of Honey and Wildfires and Demon Born Magic by Jayne Faith, Amy Landon (Narrator) on audio.

Of Honey and Wildfires Demon Born Magics

What do you think you’ll read next?
My next book should be Auxiliary: London 2039 by Jon Richter (because I was reminded Monday that I have a Book Tour Stop next week) and Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy, Eileen Stevens (Narrator) on audiobook.

Auxiliary: London 2039 Dumplin'

Hit me with your Three W’s in the comments! (no, really, do it!)

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