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eorIt has been a long time since i updated on books, but I haven't actually finished much in the intervening months.
17. Asimov's Sep/Oct 2022
Of note in this issue of Asimov's was "Grandmother Troll" which reminded me of the Tiffany Aching series for some reason. Maybe it is the combination of troll and gruff old farmer. There was a good selection of short stories. "The Rules of Unbinding" by Geoffrey A. Landis is a short fresh and fun take on a very old trope. Where "The Extraterrestrials are Coming! The Extraterrestrials are Coming!" is light, "The Rise of Alpha Gal" is dark, or maybe grey depending on your leanings.
18. "An Introduction to Fiction" edited by X. J. Kennedy
Picked this one up at a book sale somewhere and it has been in the "to read" pile for some time. As you would expect from the title, it's a Lit 101 textbook. The first part of it introduces terms and uses classic stories to illustrate them. The selections are varied, work well, and almost all out of copyright saving the publishing company money. The second half of the book features a collection of "modern" fiction, which makes it obvious that this book was published in the 1970's. It seems like the editors tried to be progressive and liberal, but that's like choosing the most environmentally friendly 747. There were some of the stories which were painfully racist.
So is short, read the first part, leave the 2nd part for the awkward dustbin of history.
19. Seth Grahame-Smith "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies"
I can't remember where we got this book, but it was picked up on a lark. However I was pleasantly surprised how well the bits fit together. The feel of the Austin characters stays pretty much intact despite the inclusion of the zombie matter. I do think he overdid it a bit on how many servants end up dead, I mean at that rate the wouldn't have anybody left in two years, but you can't expect realism in a zombie story. It was fun and reminded me that I really should go back and read Jane Austen again, mission accomplished.
17. Asimov's Sep/Oct 2022
Of note in this issue of Asimov's was "Grandmother Troll" which reminded me of the Tiffany Aching series for some reason. Maybe it is the combination of troll and gruff old farmer. There was a good selection of short stories. "The Rules of Unbinding" by Geoffrey A. Landis is a short fresh and fun take on a very old trope. Where "The Extraterrestrials are Coming! The Extraterrestrials are Coming!" is light, "The Rise of Alpha Gal" is dark, or maybe grey depending on your leanings.
18. "An Introduction to Fiction" edited by X. J. Kennedy
Picked this one up at a book sale somewhere and it has been in the "to read" pile for some time. As you would expect from the title, it's a Lit 101 textbook. The first part of it introduces terms and uses classic stories to illustrate them. The selections are varied, work well, and almost all out of copyright saving the publishing company money. The second half of the book features a collection of "modern" fiction, which makes it obvious that this book was published in the 1970's. It seems like the editors tried to be progressive and liberal, but that's like choosing the most environmentally friendly 747. There were some of the stories which were painfully racist.
So is short, read the first part, leave the 2nd part for the awkward dustbin of history.
19. Seth Grahame-Smith "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies"
I can't remember where we got this book, but it was picked up on a lark. However I was pleasantly surprised how well the bits fit together. The feel of the Austin characters stays pretty much intact despite the inclusion of the zombie matter. I do think he overdid it a bit on how many servants end up dead, I mean at that rate the wouldn't have anybody left in two years, but you can't expect realism in a zombie story. It was fun and reminded me that I really should go back and read Jane Austen again, mission accomplished.
