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7. Terry Pratchett "Sorcery"
Continuing the re-read of all the Discworld books. In "Sorcery" you can feel Pratchett getting the rhythm which he honed for many years. It's hard to put my finger on just how, but every now and then I'd hit a bit of very prime stuff. Bits of this felt repeated from the early books and I'm glad for the next book we get to move on to a different cast of characters. It seems by the way Pratchett ended it, he wanted a break from the characters as well.
8. Jennifer Worth "Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End"
This book, like the previous two has a mix of dark and light stories. There are some places where we cover ground which we'd gone over in previous books, sometimes from a different perspective, sometimes not. This book wraps up several of the main characters stories and is a natural ending point of the series. I don't think it was as strong as the first two books, but it was nice to see how some of the things turned out.
9. Asimov's Jan/Feb 2023
I have had a subscription to Asimov's since the '80's. We have boxes of back issues on shelves or in storage. It is hard to contemplate, but I'm debating letting my subscription lapse. Every now and then there will be an outstanding, wonderful story. But in general the number of stories that do nothing for me outweigh the ones which do anything for me. I feel like the quality of the stories has been steadily declining over the years. This makes me sad. It seems the longer form stories tend to lose the most and the short works are where we see the remaining gems.
What follows is what I wrote to a friend about Norman Spinrad's "Up and Out".
"Derien started to read it and gave up after a few paragraphs. I had to read the whole thing, because I always do. Spinrad is either a) senile, b) a really bad author, or c) a genius author who is able to write an entire long form story perfectly in character of a thoughtless tech bro. It's hard to tell which based on the evidence presented. As far as the qualities of the story, it's hard to know where to start. All complications and consequences are just glossed over. The writing made we want to poke my eyeballs out with a spork. The plot was wanking over (to quote the Australian "Honest Government Ads" group) shitfuckery. If it was a spoof of how Musk would think and write about himself, it was brilliant. If it was intended to be anything other than a farce, it was sad indeed."
The whole first part of this issue was either torture or did nothing for me. My favorite was Ramsey Shehadeh's "Cigarettes and Coffee" which did a good job of putting the reader into the shoes of a main character who is not in charge of everything and not infinitely wealthy, and who's world just doesn't turn out perfect no matter what they do. Quite the opposite in fact.
10. P. G. Wodehouse "Sam In The Suburbs"
After Asimov's I decided to read a random P.G. Wodehouse. I thought based on the title and the settings that this book was written later in his career, but it's was actually published in 1925. The prose was right on the mark with humor both overt and implied. The plot is a bit less clear. Maybe he tried to put too much in there. The start is a bit clunky because plot points involving the main character need to get established. I thought Wodehouse spent a bit too much time on the early scenes in London. He brings in a ton of different characters all working on different threads through the middle of the book. In the end he ties it all together, but the way he chose to do it seemed a bit off. While I was reading it I actually thought of a way it could have tied out better, but I can't remember it now and might never again.
Not the strongest Wodehouse book, but still a fun read.
11. Terry Pratchett "Wyrd Sisters"
I finished the re-read of "Wyrd Sisters" while on vacation. I had forgotten just how unresolved Pratchett left many of the story lines in this one. He really had fun bashing tropes in this one and the refusal to resolve everything feels like more of that. Granny is much more Granny in this one, but hasn't quite jelled into her final state. Nanny springs into action basically complete. After reading this one, I almost feel like I have to read one of Jasper Fforde's "Fool" series to get my full dose of Shakespeare pastiche.
Continuing the re-read of all the Discworld books. In "Sorcery" you can feel Pratchett getting the rhythm which he honed for many years. It's hard to put my finger on just how, but every now and then I'd hit a bit of very prime stuff. Bits of this felt repeated from the early books and I'm glad for the next book we get to move on to a different cast of characters. It seems by the way Pratchett ended it, he wanted a break from the characters as well.
8. Jennifer Worth "Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End"
This book, like the previous two has a mix of dark and light stories. There are some places where we cover ground which we'd gone over in previous books, sometimes from a different perspective, sometimes not. This book wraps up several of the main characters stories and is a natural ending point of the series. I don't think it was as strong as the first two books, but it was nice to see how some of the things turned out.
9. Asimov's Jan/Feb 2023
I have had a subscription to Asimov's since the '80's. We have boxes of back issues on shelves or in storage. It is hard to contemplate, but I'm debating letting my subscription lapse. Every now and then there will be an outstanding, wonderful story. But in general the number of stories that do nothing for me outweigh the ones which do anything for me. I feel like the quality of the stories has been steadily declining over the years. This makes me sad. It seems the longer form stories tend to lose the most and the short works are where we see the remaining gems.
What follows is what I wrote to a friend about Norman Spinrad's "Up and Out".
"Derien started to read it and gave up after a few paragraphs. I had to read the whole thing, because I always do. Spinrad is either a) senile, b) a really bad author, or c) a genius author who is able to write an entire long form story perfectly in character of a thoughtless tech bro. It's hard to tell which based on the evidence presented. As far as the qualities of the story, it's hard to know where to start. All complications and consequences are just glossed over. The writing made we want to poke my eyeballs out with a spork. The plot was wanking over (to quote the Australian "Honest Government Ads" group) shitfuckery. If it was a spoof of how Musk would think and write about himself, it was brilliant. If it was intended to be anything other than a farce, it was sad indeed."
The whole first part of this issue was either torture or did nothing for me. My favorite was Ramsey Shehadeh's "Cigarettes and Coffee" which did a good job of putting the reader into the shoes of a main character who is not in charge of everything and not infinitely wealthy, and who's world just doesn't turn out perfect no matter what they do. Quite the opposite in fact.
10. P. G. Wodehouse "Sam In The Suburbs"
After Asimov's I decided to read a random P.G. Wodehouse. I thought based on the title and the settings that this book was written later in his career, but it's was actually published in 1925. The prose was right on the mark with humor both overt and implied. The plot is a bit less clear. Maybe he tried to put too much in there. The start is a bit clunky because plot points involving the main character need to get established. I thought Wodehouse spent a bit too much time on the early scenes in London. He brings in a ton of different characters all working on different threads through the middle of the book. In the end he ties it all together, but the way he chose to do it seemed a bit off. While I was reading it I actually thought of a way it could have tied out better, but I can't remember it now and might never again.
Not the strongest Wodehouse book, but still a fun read.
11. Terry Pratchett "Wyrd Sisters"
I finished the re-read of "Wyrd Sisters" while on vacation. I had forgotten just how unresolved Pratchett left many of the story lines in this one. He really had fun bashing tropes in this one and the refusal to resolve everything feels like more of that. Granny is much more Granny in this one, but hasn't quite jelled into her final state. Nanny springs into action basically complete. After reading this one, I almost feel like I have to read one of Jasper Fforde's "Fool" series to get my full dose of Shakespeare pastiche.
