vivdunstan: Photo of some of my books (books)
Squeezing in another of these before my end of year final post.

Got through another 8 books since the last update.

    earlier books )
  1. Katabasis by RF Kuang
  2. Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
  3. Mr Villain's Day Off volume 1 (manga) by Yuu Morikawa
  4. Born With Teeth (play script) by Liz Duffy Adams
  5. A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
  6. A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
  7. Doctor Who Tales of Terror (short story anthology)
  8. Crossroads of Twilight (Wheel of Time book 10) by Robert Jordan


Of the newly finished books, Katabasis was a lot of fun, with a dark journey into the Underworld, but not as good as RF Kuang's superb Babel or even Yellowface for me. Carmilla was a book club read, and frankly disappointing, and a struggle to read. Though Hammer made a good stab at filming a better version in the early 1970s. Mr Villain's Day Off was a chance find in Angus libraries catalogue, so borrowed that way. Fun manga, but I wasn't inspired to read other volumes. Born With Teeth, the Marlowe/Shakespeare play performed recently on stage by Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel, was a brilliant read, though it would be better to see it performed in person. Yes, I did my usual Roger Zelazny pre-Halloween reread of A Night in the Lonesome October. Still love it. T. Kingfisher's A Wizard's Guide to Contemporary Baking was fun, but a bit unevenly paced, and younger than I'd usually read. It also took too long to get to dangerous fighting gingerbread men. Doctor Who Tales of Terror is a fun spooky anthology collection, with short stories by multiple authors for each of Doctors 1-12. A bit uneven, but overall fun. Wheel of Time book 10 was the slog that I expected, though still fun in many parts. But I needed a very specific approach to reading to get through it successfully. But things should be better again in the remaining books. Book 10 is generally regarded by readers of the whole series as the worst by a long way.
vivdunstan: A picture of a cinema projector (films)
Planning our Halloween viewing, possibly spread over a couple of nights. First up Hammer's movie The Vampire Lovers, based on Sheridan Le Fanu's novella Carmilla, which I recently read for my book club. Then bonkers supernatural comedy movie Hundreds of Beavers.
vivdunstan: Photo of some of my books (books)
Just finished reading this for my book club. Struggled hugely with the writing style - so many extremely convoluted sentences. I liked the core plot, but think Hammer's movie version The Vampire Lovers (1970) rearranges the core parts better. I need to rewatch that soon!
vivdunstan: Photo of some of my books (books)
Just finished this, which I was reading on my Kindle, but had also nabbed a signed copy from my local bookshop. I've previously read the author's books Babel (adored) and Yellowface (enjoyed), and was very much looking forward to this dark academia journey into the Underworld.

Katabasis follows two PhD students at Cambridge University who join forces to journey to Hell to bring back their supervisor. As such it draws on many past writings about journeys to the Underworld, and is chock full of nods to these, while still being accessible to the general reader.

The portrayal of the British PhD process, even for a fictional subject like Analytic Magick, felt somewhat off for me, which jarred. Kuang herself is pursuing a PhD at Yale University in America, and it felt often as though she was muddling the longer and different American PhD process with the shorter British one, as well as having a lack of detailed understanding of the British approach. She did study taught postgraduate degrees at Oxford and Cambridge, but that's not the same as undertaking a PhD there. I did, however, buy into the idea of a graduate degree as a potential hellscape! Even if my own two PhD experiences (Computer Science, St Andrews, full-time, had to drop out after my neurological disease struck; and History, Dundee, part-time, completed) were hardly anything like that. PhDs are also extremely dependent on how you luck out with your supervisor(s), and it's fair to say, without being too spoilery, that Alice and Peter didn't have the best luck in this area.

I think what impressed me the most about the book is how well it works given how tiny the core cast is. The focus is primarily on PhD students Alice and Peter, as they travel through Hell, and for it to sustain my interest with that remit is pretty impressive writing. There are some other especially interesting characters encountered along the way, but it's very much Alice and Peter's story. It did sag for me about half way to two thirds through, but picked up nearer the end. Much of the story is told through back stories which are gradually revealed, and it's very twisty and turny, as new information the reader learns upends previous perceptions.

As well as the journey through Hell itself, and the idea of academia and PhD study as a hellscape, there is literal horror in this book. Extremely gruesome in places. I found one section particularly disturbing, but there was a narrative reason for it. Ultimately I was satisfied with where the book ended up.

I haven't read all of Kuang's books, but I really like how varied those I have read have been. Admittedly there are a lot of personal autobiographical elements in them. For example in this one Alice felt reminiscent of Kuang, and Peter (not least a back story that's uncovered for him) of Kuang's own husband Bennett. But each story is very different in tone, genre and setting, and I really appreciate that flexibility in approach.

I'm very glad that I read this book, and look forward to her next novel.
vivdunstan: Photo of some of my books (books)
Here's the screenshot from my Kindle, showing the main books I will be reading on there this month, with utterly gargantuan font etc. Some are already under way. Others like Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu are lined up for my book club later. My main novel read at the moment is Katabasis by RF Kuang, a dark academia book about a journey into Hell to rescue an academic advisor. Am really enjoying it. Last night I started my annual pre-Halloween reread of Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October, which is a gothic horror delight. And I am going to try to read just a chapter a day this time! Liza Picard's Restoration London is a reread. Though she wasn't a formally trained historian I am in awe of her approach to the historical sources and questions. The Complete Kobold Guide to Game Design was a birthday present from Martin. Just getting into it now. And I continue my reread of the original Sherlock Holmes short stories, now well into the Return collection.

Screenshot of a Kindle Paperwhite, black and white / greyscale colour, showing two rows of three books. On the top are "Katabasis" by R.F. Kuang, "A Night in the Lonesome October" by Roger Zelazny, and "Restoration London: Everyday Life in London 1660-1670" by Liza Picard. On the row below are "The Complete Kobold Guide to Game Design", "Carmilla" by Sheridan Le Fanu, and a "Complete Sherlock Holmes" collection.
vivdunstan: Photo of some of my books (books)
Looking forward to my annual October reread of A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny. A gothic delight. It's designed to be read a chapter a day throughout October, though I usually guzzle it up more quickly. May try to pace myself better this year. Here is a good article about it.
vivdunstan: Photo of some of my books (books)
Just finished my 40th book of 2025, with Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab. A vampire tale, told across many centuries. 4/5 stars for me - some concerns about pacing, balance of multiple POVs, and difficulties with some settings as depicted. But overall enjoyed it a lot.
vivdunstan: Part of own photo taken in local university botanic gardens. Tree trunks rise atmospherically, throwing shadows from the sun on the ground. (Default)
For 2 years I've used a Hobonichi Techo A5 journal for my planning. Now trying to decide what covers etc to get for 2026. Navigating my way thru what I like, vs what's Japan exclusive, or even Hobonichi Japan only. Expect to get all from Art From The Heart in Harrogate.

Was going to get a Junji Ito "Tomie" manga Hobonichi cover next year. Then having watched today's many hours preview I favoured something else. Which I now find is Hobonichi Japan store exclusive & ridiculously expensive! Now veering towards something else, very nice, that I can get from Yorkshire.

I'm very lucky to have a good friend in Japan who could help with this. But this time around it's easier for me to get the goodies from the Harrogate shop. Who will charge a bit more than Hobonichi direct and also Amazon Japan, but will save me masses on shipping costs and customs/tax, and I'll have the goodies fast.

Here's my blog post from 2024 about how I use a Hobonichi A5 journal for planning and journalling. My system is self-designed, and established itself really quickly on me first starting with Hobonichi in 2024. I'm still doing things the same way now.
vivdunstan: Photo of some of my books (books)
Getting near to the end of my catchup watch for the Cymera 2025 festival of scifi, fantasy and horror writing in Edinburgh. I had a digital weekend ticket, so had access until this coming weekend to the digital recordings. Didn't get through as many as in some years. But happy with what I've managed to see, considering. And found many new to me authors whose work I want to follow up.

vivdunstan: Test card (tv)
Been too sleepy to watch any more movies. And still haven't got to Rings of Power season 2. Our Babylon 5 rewatch is also currently on hold while we try to catch up with a mass of too much recorded telly in our Sky Q box.

I have been binge watching a lot of the early episodes of Glee. Which though cliched and corny is remarkably watchable. As a musical theatre fan I'm also happily there for all the songs shoehorned in. Martin hasn't strictly been watching it, mainly commenting as he potters around that "That sounds very weird!" But he did say tonight that having sat in for a bit more he can see how the format works, and is starting to appreciate it.

I'm also watching a lot of recorded panels/talks from the recent Cymera 2025 festival in Edinburgh of science fiction, fantasy and horror writing. Have already enjoyed panels including authors John Gwynne and Cymera regular T.L. Huchu. With many more to watch in the next 3 weeks or so while I still have access to them using my purchased digital festival pass.
vivdunstan: Test card (tv)
Excavating deep into our DVD collection - it feels like a combination of vertical and horizontal archaeological stratigraphy! - clearing out 30-ish year old VHS tapes (yes really!) and in the process rediscovering some DVD things I forgot we had. Like American Gothic, the short-lived 1995 gothic/horror/fantasy series, that aired in the UK on Channel 4. Well that will be fun to rewatch!

vivdunstan: Part of own photo taken in local university botanic gardens. Tree trunks rise atmospherically, throwing shadows from the sun on the ground. (Default)
My next short story collection read is The Haunted Trail: Classic Tales of the Rambling Weird. Another in the British Library "Tales of the Weird" series. This one is edited by Weird Walk.

An eerie yellow on black background drawing of a path winding through spooky looking plants and trees into the distance. The atmosphere is very foreboding.
vivdunstan: Photo of some of my books (books)
Still struggling not to type 2024 at the top of these posts!

    earlier books )
  1. Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots by Jade Scott
  2. A Middle-earth Album: Paintings by Joan Wyatt Inspired by Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings by Joan Wyatt
  3. Could You Survive Midsomer? – A Winter's Murder: An Official Midsomer Murders Interactive Novel by Simon Brew
  4. Eerie East Anglia: Fearful Tales of Field and Fen by Edward Parnell
  5. Introducing Shakespeare: A Graphic Guide by Nick Groom
  6. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
  7. The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson


I've written reviews of Captive Queen, the Midsomer Murders gamebook and Eerie East Anglia.

Of the others, the Tolkien paintings book was nice, though there were some curious choices, especially re the hobbits. The Shakespeare book was great in parts, but had an almost total blind spot on detailed coverage of the many plays, which felt like a huge omission. Our Mutual Friend was a delight for me, as always. And The Principle of Moments, the first in a planned trilogy, was a heady mix of fantasy, space opera and time travelling shenanigans. Probably more ambitious in its goals than it ultimately achieved. But still a riveting read, and I will read the other books.
vivdunstan: Photo of some of my books (books)
Just finished this today, another in the British Library's "Tales of the Weird" series of short story collections, gathering together generally older tales, as well as sometimes more recent ones. This collection was edited by Edward Parnell, and focuses on East Anglia, such a rich setting for spooky and weird fiction.

There are 17 short stories in this collection, including a couple by MR James (such as "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come To You, My Lad"). But also stories by many others, including E.F. Benson, Marjorie Bowen, and even Robert Aickman.

Stories range from medieval through to the present day, though many are in the Victorian or early twentieth century era. Many are written in the MR Jamesian style, of old manuscripts and strange places. Others take a different approach.

Overall most of the stories are strong, but three were absolute standouts for me. Firstly "The Dust-Cloud" by E.F. Benson, the atmospheric tale of a ghostly car crash. This left me unnerved for some time after, as did "The Seventeenth Hole at Duncaster" by H.R. Wakefield, the story of a haunted golf hole. Which started almost PG Wodehouse like, but soon became something darker. The third story that wowed me was John Gordon's "If She Bends, She Breaks", a tale of winter in the fens, that I very much regretted reading just as I was about to go to sleep, because it spooked me so extremely much! But in a good way.

A couple of the stories felt workmanlike. There was only one story that I disliked, indeed viscerally so: "Possum" by Matthew Holness. This was one of a few more modern stories in the book, and felt tonally completely out of place, and phenomenally unpleasant to read. But otherwise it was a strong collection.

Recommended. 4/5 stars.

vivdunstan: Photo of some of my books (books)
Crikey I so wanted to type 2024 there haha!

I've got off to a flying start this year, partly with 2 books that were hang overs from before, but also a quick read for my book club. But then I also quickly read 3 other books that had been hanging around for too long, and I wanted to pass on to charity shops. I'd previously started reading a couple of them.
  1. An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson
  2. Don't Touch My Hair by Emma Dabiri
  3. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
  4. Egyptian Myths: Meet the Gods, Goddesses, and Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt by Jean Menzies
  5. Tutankhamun: The Treasures of the Tomb by Zahi Hawass
  6. ABBA: The Treasures by Ingmarie Halling and Carl Magnus Palm
An Academy for Liars is a dark academia book, with rather a lot of violence and gore added to the mix. It was ok, but I had to push to keep reading it to the end. 3/5 stars.

Don't Touch My Hair by Emma Dabiri was an incredible insight into the experience and history of black hair. A strong 4/5 stars.

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop was another 3/5 star read for me. Ok, mostly, but a rather odd writing style, and an unexpected and lengthy shift away from the cosy bookshop setting mid way through. 3/5 stars.

Egyptian Myths by classical historian and YouTuber Jean Menzies was an entertaining and informative text, full of striking large format illustrations from Katie Ponder. I did find the order and structure a little confusing in places, but I learned a lot. 4/5 stars.

Tutankhamun: The Treasures of the Tomb is a large format coffee table book, filled with huge photographs and details of many hundreds of items from Tutankhamun's tomb. The items chosen are a selection carefully curated by Zahi Hawass, and it's not exhaustive. But for what you did get it was jaw dropping, including multi-page folding out large photographs. Both Martin and I were stunned by parts. 5/5 stars.

ABBA: The Treasures is a large format squidgy book telling much of the story of ABBA in photographs, reminiscences, and reproductions of paper ephemera connected with them, tucked into folders inside that you open up and work through the contents of. It's a nice book, but a rather narrow perspective on their life, focusing mainly on some of their 1970s international tours, which one of the authors accompanied them on. I did feel that I was missing out on the wider story. But the folders of paper ephemera were a delight. I was particularly amused by the customs list, for the Australian tour I think, including a "piano accordion". 4/5 stars.
vivdunstan: Photo of some of my books (books)
Just finished my first book of 2025. An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson. Dark academia. 3/5 stars. Now for my next novel started Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, my book club read this month. Initial impressions: writing style a bit brisk for my taste but sticking with it.
vivdunstan: Test card (tv)
Just binge watched - at a bit of speed in places! - the last 3 episodes of Wednesday season 1. Martin is also now watching it, though a bit behind me. It's been odd for him seeing snippets that he'd already seen me watching, and learning where they fit into the story! Anyway yes, I'm all watched up. He should be soon. A second season has already been filmed.

It's very much a teen drama, but I liked an awful lot about it. Especially the gothic feel. Jenna Ortega did a great job. I was also surprised just how dark the last few episodes were in terms of content. But yes, very much enjoyed, and looking forward to the second season.
vivdunstan: Photo of some of my books (books)
Nearing the end of my annual October reread of "A Night in the Lonesome October" by Roger Zelazny. And enjoying it as much as always. It is a fantastically creative piece of gothic storytelling, richly imaginative, and so much fun. Perfect for the run up to Halloween each year.

vivdunstan: Part of own photo taken in local university botanic gardens. Tree trunks rise atmospherically, throwing shadows from the sun on the ground. (Default)
I've just finished my marathon viewing of a large bunch of videos on catchup from the Glasgow Worldcon this summer. Watching on catchup I missed out the chance to take part in the live Q&As. And I also found the user interface rather cumbersome, that I had to watch on my laptop, which limited how frequently I could do so. But I still managed to get through quite a large number of talks.

Here are the events I watched, each one about an hour long, typically with 45 main minutes of discussion, followed by 15 minutes of audience Q&A:
  • AI and Work - Do Androids Dream of Taking Your Job?
  • ENIAC and the Post-War Dawn of the Computer age
  • The Horror Out Of Space
  • *Scot-ish: The Influence of Scotland on Fantasy Worldbuilding
  • It's Life, Jim, but Not as We Know It
  • *Iain Banks: Between Genre and the Mainstream
  • All the Shakespeare: the Bard's Influence on SFF
  • The Untold History of Worldcons
  • Inadvisable Rocket Science
  • A Fireside Chat with Samantha Béart
  • Guest of Honour Interview: Ken MacLeod
  • *The Many Legs of SF: Creepy Crawlies in Space
  • 50 Years of TTRPGs
  • Comics Can Save Your Life
  • Faeries in Fantasy Literature
I've marked out above those with asterisks that I especially enjoyed. To pull those out specifically these were:
  • Scot-ish: The Influence of Scotland on Fantasy Worldbuilding
  • Iain Banks: Between Genre and the Mainstream
  • The Many Legs of SF: Creepy Crawlies in Space
The first two of these had obvious Scottish connections, which I unsurprisingly appreciated. But I also found them particularly rewarding in other respects. But I enjoyed something in everything I watched, not just these particular highlight talks.

Martin and I had originally hoped to be at the Glasgow 2024 Worldcon in person. We had low cost attending memberships in place. But things didn't work out that way. However I was able to watch on catchup, and have very much enjoyed that. I was also active in the Discord during the convention, and treated myself to some purchases inspired by the Dealers' Hall.

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vivdunstan: Part of own photo taken in local university botanic gardens. Tree trunks rise atmospherically, throwing shadows from the sun on the ground. (Default)
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