vivdunstan

Catching up with this, and another 6 titles finished since my last post:

( earlier books )
1. Winter's Heart (Wheel of Time book 9) by Robert Jordan
2. Insomniacs After School volume 6 (manga) by Makoto Ojiro
3. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
4. Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
5. The Wee Free Men (Discworld book 30) by Terry Pratchett
6. Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading by Lucy Mangan

Of the new ones, the Wheel of Time 9th book was not as bad as I feared. Still way too long, still over written. And I'm rather dreading book 10, which retells much of the same plot apparently as book 10. But not too bad, and overall enjoyable. I am determined to get to the end of the series!

Still loving the Insomniacs After School manga series, though trying to spread them out, because there are still some more due to be published in English translation.

Assassin's Apprentice is the first Robin Hobb book I have read. I enjoyed it a lot, though some bits made me so very angry as I was reading. Angry at the author for making me go through reading them! But it was well written. I expect to continue on to the sequel in the near future.

Belladonna is a Young Adult gothic/fantasy/historical/romance book. I'm honestly surprised how "spicy" it was, given the age it was targeted at. I also found it a slog to keep going through much of it, and it needed heftier editing. But I did enjoy it enough that I might read the sequel.

Continuing my reread of the Discworld "Witches" mini series of books saw me get to the first Tiffany Aching book. These Tiffany books late in Terry's writing life are so very good. I can understand why he was so fond of them and also so proud of them.

I enjoyed Lucy Mangan's book recalling her childhood reading, from her very earliest memories of being read to, through to her transition to adulthood. She's a couple of years younger than me, but we read many similar books in childhood. Though she didn't share my enthusiasm for fantasy, and was far more keen than me on contemporary fiction and also dystopian which I tend to avoid.

I am now reading the first in David Bishop's Renaissance Florence set series of mystery/thrillers. As well as continuing to read a non fiction book about a slow canal boat journey around England, another British Library Weird Tales short story collection, and more.

Finishing my 25th book means that I've reached my self-set Goodreads reading goal of the year. I was very modest in my 2025 reading goal, and wanted it to be something easily achievable, not least given how sedated and time limited I am now. And to be fair the last 6 months have included some whoppers, including another Wheel of Time book, and a reread of Charles Dickens's very lengthy Our Mutual Friend. I will keep reading, but it's nice to have 25 books under my belt.

This is a children's book, first published in 1992. Though I'd read most Terry Pratchett books - including all the Discworld ones - this series of three books is new to me. The main character is a young school boy, Johnny Maxwell. Who in this first book gets caught up in a computer video game crossing into the real world, and a desperate fight for survival. All set against the backdrop of the 1990/1991 Gulf War. Johnny has a gang of friends who help him to various degrees, and the book is a vivid insight into a school boy's life in the period, and computer gaming culture in Britain at this time. It's also a powerful anti war novel, and extremely contemporary to its time. There are also moments that struck me as familiar from now - one particular visual image is phenomenally reminiscent of the Covid era. Really good stuff, that I wish I had read long ago. And I will definitely read the sequels.

40 years ago today "The Colour of Magic" by Terry Pratchett was first published, starting a hugely popular and successful series of Discworld fantasy books, that are adored by many, including me and Martin. Endlessly inventive, wittily insightful, and laugh out loud funny, these books are an absolute joy. Thank you Terry.

Martin and I have just enjoyed watching last night’s recording (for paid ticket holders only - I had bought an online viewing ticket) of Neil Gaiman at the British Library chatting with Roz Kaveney about fantasy. It was lovely. Takeaways included:

• Neil has a half completed Neverwhere sequel novel that he hopes to get back to after writing Good Omens season 3 (yes 3!).
• As a youngster Neil thought he’d be a scifi writer later in life. Ditto for Terry Pratchett. Both of whom ended up pretty resolutely as fantasy writers.
• The only Discworld book Neil had a serious hand in was Pyramids, which he helped plan the plot for.
• So many insights into the origins of Sandman - even loads I hadn’t heard in Neil’s one hour detailed chat at the Edinburgh Book Festival just about Sandman.
• Neil thinks we are approaching the end of social media as we knew it. In particular he spoke of Twitter as “It’s a thing that we used to have in the olden days that was good.” Quite!
• I still have some Neil Gaiman graphic novels yet to read - must prioritise! His discussion of his family history links with Violent Cases and Mr Punch was eye opening.
• And yes, we need to watch the last part bonus episode for Sandman season 1 (“Calliope”) which was mentioned in the chat, and also Good Omens season 2 (also mentioned).

Tomorrow night we will be watching the recording from tonight of Neil Gaiman chatting with Rob Wilkins about Terry Pratchett and his worlds. Should be fab. Again I had pre bought an online ticket. These events are part of the wider Fantasy exhibition season at the British Library, and are going ahead despite the library’s ongoing cyber attack problems. I’m finding it astonishing that I’m able to watch and enjoy these talks viewing from northern Scotland.

We just finished watching this tonight - though it’s only about 90 minutes long it took us 2 nights to watch it all, almost a week apart.

I liked it a lot, though it makes a lot of changes to the original Terry Pratchett story. The animation is strong, with some really good visuals and dramatic set pieces. And some great voice acting.

I’m still not sure about an extremely well fed Maurice, whose character is also tweaked. And the film’s added meta layer of Malicia telling a framing story is a bit overwhelming, though Emilia Clarke performs it well.

However overall it’s good stuff. And I’m glad to see it retains the darker elements of this novel. It’s definitely one of Terry Pratchett’s most hard hitting books, even though it’s ostensibly a children’s novel.

And there is a wonderful after credits moment.

I’d definitely be interested in more Pratchett novels done in an animated form.

This weekend's movie viewing for us. Fortunately under 90 minutes total time, but given how ill I am now we will still probably need to spread it over 2 nights. Martin's never read the original Terry Pratchett book. I'm not sure about the look of Maurice in this - looks too well fed! But very pleased that David Tennant reprises his role as Dangerous Beans from the BBC radio version.

Was just checking my profile on Doctor Who fan forum Gallifrey Base. And thought it might be worth sharing some of my answers here too.

Favorite Doctor: David Tennant
Favorite Companion: Sarah Jane Smith
Favorite Master: Derek Jacobi
Favorite Classic Doctor Who Story: City of Death
Favorite New Doctor Who Episode: The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances
Favorite Television Shows: Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Danger Mouse, The Avengers, Babylon 5, Robin of Sherwood
Favorite Films: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Fellowship of the Ring, Back to the Future
Favorite Musicians/Bands: ABBA, Runrig
Favorite Books: Lord of the Rings, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Discworld series
Year You Became a Doctor Who Fan: 1978