Still in WotW. The curate is dead. Then again, so is Generalissimo Franisco Franco. And I just finished it last night. Along with Asimov's afterword. This morning, I began the "Lensman" version of Doc Smith's Triplanetary. Seems like the cheap editions are coming from people who only think they can set type. Give them a public domain text, and they're dangerous.
Fan fiction By Brent Spiner . I'm so glad I got this book on sale. Interesting story.I'm enjoying it so far.
The "non-Lensman" edition was full of typos. And the "Lensman" edition has rather smallish type, and the margins are so narrow that if the binding edge margin were any narrower, there would be a real danger of the type getting cut off by the binding. One gets what one pays for, I suppose. My advice to any would-be graphic designer, or would-be reviver of out-of-print PD books, for that matter, has always been this: pick up a stick. Experience type as physical objects, that have mass and bulk. Then all the rules that seem so arbitrary start to make perfect sense.
I'm not kidding about the type, column-width, and narrow margins. triplanetary by James Lampert, on Flickr
Having finished the "Fall of Atlantis" chapter, and one sub-chapter into the fall of Rome, I'm beginning to wonder if Trump and Putin are Eddorian agents. The 2020 no-name edition, with ISBN 979-8669108137. I think the "non-Lensman" edition I bought earlier, with all the typos, is the 2008 CruGuru edition, ISBN 978-1920265236. Oh, well, you get what you pay for.
Not to mention MTG being an Eddorian agent (she does seem to delight in killing things). And maybe Dr. Oz, too. At any rate, Rome has fallen. Nero survived to fiddle again (I can't avoid picturing Dom Deluise, and I will note that the violin had not been invented yet). I didn't see anybody named Kinnison in Ancient Rome, but I did notice the "red-bronze-auburn hair and gold-flecked, tawny eyes." Apparently now it's on to WWI. I can see that Doc Smith's writing chops had developed a bit, between the "pre-Lensman" and "Lensman" versions of Triplanetary.
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth Blackly comic horror novel about mysterious deaths at an exclusive girls school in 1902 -- and about the mysterious events occurring to a film crew making a new movie about the original incidents more than a century ago. The plot jumps back in forth between 1902 and the present day. So far I'm finding the 1902 chapters more compelling, but the whole thing is very witty and well-written.
1) Tropic of Capricorn (on Kindle) - So far it's interesting. Just started it though shop not much to say on it yet. 2) Macbeth by Jo Nesbo (Paperback)- My first Hogarth Shakespeare novel. Started a bit slow, but now that I'm about 50 pages in it's picking up well. 3. Read Me by Leo Benedictus (hardcover) - seems so far to owe a LOT to John Fowles's The Collector. But, since I loved that book I'm willing to go along for the ride here. 4. Let The Right One In (audiobook) - Loved the movie and unsurprisingly love the book even more. Almost finished with, and find myself driving very slowly sometimes just to hear more, lol.
Just finished reading Adora and the Distance, a graphic novel written by Marc Bernardin, with art by Ariela Kristantina, colors by Bryan Valenza, and letters by Bernardo Brice. Originally released digitally by ComiXology (a “ComiXology Original”) in 2021. Softcover print trade paperback published by Dark Horse Books in March 2022. A beautifully drawn graphic novel about a nine-year-old girl living as a princess in a fantasy kingdom who has frightening dreams. The dreams are said to foreshadow the coming of “the Darkness”, a mysterious malevolent force coming for her that will destroy all around her. Once she discovers this, she elects to go on the hero’s journey (with her best friend and a small group of protectors) to confront the Darkness. I won’t go into the ending (which anyone who has heard or read of Marc Bernardin’s comments on why he wrote this story in the first place), other than to say that it comes from a very personal place for the author. I enjoy Bernardin’s writing (having listened to him as co-host of the Kevin Smith “Fatman on Batman”/“Fatman Beyond” podcast). But I even more enjoyed the beautiful art of Ariela Kristantina’s art and Bryan Valenza’s colors. It is a very slim graphic novel, one I intentionally read slowly to prolong enjoying it. I read a few reviews that passionately did *not* like it (in particular it’s ending). I can’t argue with those whose personal experiences feel like Bernardin treated a serious issue in a trivial or inaccurate way if that’s their genuine reactions. However, I very much enjoyed Adora and the Distance, and gave it five out of five stars on GoodReads. —David Young
Just finished the WWII chapter in Triplanetary. There's something I don't get: is there some higher-up in the arms manufacturer (perhaps an Eddorian agent?) who is actively trying to sabotage the product? Or just cutting corners?
I picked that up last weekend myself, at the Green Valley Book Fair in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Right now I'm in the middle of A Man Called Ove, so I probably won't get to Fan Fiction for a few days.