This isn't an in-depth look at any particular culture, but it is a good overview of the ancient civilizations that wConcise trip into the past.
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This isn't an in-depth look at any particular culture, but it is a good overview of the ancient civilizations that we have been able to study. As I'm sure someone will point out, there are probably ancient civilizations that could have been bigger/stronger/faster/cooler, but we just don't know about them yet, and/or they haven't been as unearthed and studied as the ones Harl mentions here.
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This isn't my first lecture with Harl, and it's also not my favorite. That one is still Fall of the Pagans and the Origins of Medieval Christianity. And I feel it's fair to mention that, for whatever reason, my mind wandered off a lot during this lecture. I don't know why, but I just couldn't really engage with this material, which is weird because I was really looking forward to listening to it. Point is, I'm not sure if this was a me thing, or if this lecture was boring.
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Anyway. This does what it sets out to do and gives the listener a broad look at some of the major ancient civilizations' religions, politics, and way of life, showing how they influenced each other and the civilizations that came after them.
Mid-level black humor with an unlikable main character.
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Now, I know what you're thinking. Look, lady. The main character is a serial killer. Of cMid-level black humor with an unlikable main character.
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Now, I know what you're thinking. Look, lady. The main character is a serial killer. Of course, she's going to be unlikable. That's the whole point of her, right? Well. Yes and no. You have to walk a fine line when your main character is morally vacant. I don't have to want to be like them, but I have to be able to comfortably crawl in their skin for a while and understand their motivations. As in, I'm not advocating killing off people that piss me off, but I can still nod along with the urge to do them in. I wasn't nodding along with the vast majority of the people she killed.
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As far as dark humor went, I didn't find this funny. Not in a I'm insulted way, but it just didn't make me laugh. I also got a bit tired of her referencing ordinary people. You're not an alien, dear. You've just got a really bad temper, no empathy, and are narcissistic enough to think that gives you the right to skin annoying people alive. I guess it wasn't funny enough to be funny or touching enough to feel touching. For me, at least.
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But it also wasn't a chore to read (or listen to, in my case), so I think this could definitely have an audience. It was off-kilter and a bit crazy, and not always in a bad way. The concept of this was definitely solid and interesting. Like I said, this would be a hard character and hard subject matter to get perfect, so I'm not knocking it into the garbage. I would be up for trying another of this author's stories.
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The very skinny gist is that a serial killer loses her beloved father after a long battle with dementia and ends up in a support group for other people working through their grief. Hijinks ensue when one of the people in the group finds out what she does on the side and tries to blackmail her. The title comes from her thinking she can "see people as ghosts", which just translates into her wanting to kill someone who annoys her and then being able to "look through them" and think they are insubstantial.
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It's not a bad premise at all, but it just didn't quite work for me. But I don't think you should let that put you off trying this book out if it looks like something you would enjoy. Recommended. Ish....more
Ok, so I wasn't expecting the story to take this turn. I wasn't expecting the time jump into the crew's older years. I wasn'What just happened?!
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Ok, so I wasn't expecting the story to take this turn. I wasn't expecting the time jump into the crew's older years. I wasn't expecting to see the Belters and Martians and Earthers getting along. I wasn't expecting to see Earth rejuvenated, for that matter. I certainly wasn't expecting Holden and Naomi to decide to retire! Don't worry, this is all in the first few pages. What comes next? That might be a spoiler.
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But not really. Because this story is about what happens when those crazy Martians who had been fucking around with the protomolecule come back from the other side of the gate, and bring their hybrid technology with them to conquer the universe.
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I really enjoyed this one! So the last book felt like a proper ending to the series. This one? Complete cliffhanger. (view spoiler)[James is a captive on Laconia, kept alive only because he's the only person with firsthand knowledge of some wonky things the protomolecule is doing. Naomi and Alex are separated from Bobbie and Amos, all fugitives from the Laconian Empire after a massive jailbreakesque run they made from Medina Station. And the rest of the resistance is spread thin throughout the worlds, in the hopes of finding a way to hit back at some point. Clarissa went down fighting for Naomi, which was the only thing I sort of clocked happening at the beginning of this one. Everything else was a nice surprise story-wise. Also, it was good to see Chrisjen Avasarala still kicking around. (hide spoiler)]
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I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book. Recommended....more
I was afraid that after the emotional roller coaster of The Last Devil to Die, the humor and charm oOur Oldsters are back! And better than ever.
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I was afraid that after the emotional roller coaster of The Last Devil to Die, the humor and charm of our little gang of senior citizen sleuths might be forever dimmed. But honestly, this might be my favorite book in the series.
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While Joyce's daughter has always been an adjacent character in these books, popping in and out of the narrative to shake her head at Joyce or to step in and save a retirement village, she's never been front and center in the way Donna, Chris, or Bogdan have. Well, this is Joanna's time to shine.
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It opens with Joyce telling us about the argument she and Joanna had over the size of her wedding. Joyce wants the grand wedding of her dreams, while Joanna wants something more "intimate". Of course, the conclusions they are both drawing about what the other thinks is big versus small, and the ultimate resolution to the mother-daughter stand-off, are part of why Obsorn shines as a writer. I really loved being able to finally see what was going on behind the scenes with these two and their sticky but lovable relationship. Again, I could feel that tug for Joyce as she continually managed to say the eversoslightly wrong thing to her daughter. I hear myself doing that with my girls now that they are grown. And internally, I'm screaming at myself to shutupshutupshutup, Anne! as I listen to myself spiral further and further down the unwanted advice hole. There are just all of these little things about them that I want to "fix" or "save them" from, and if they'd just let me... I know how it sounds, but it's so hard to stop running someone's life for them. And maybe even harder is to stop self-inserting and making their choices into a reflection of yours. Letting go of your children, really letting go and remembering that while you raised them, they are not yours to define, is... Well, it sucks. And that's my long way around to say that I just feel Joyce in my bones.
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Another breakout character that I loved in this book was Connie Johnson. Our drug Queenpin is out of jail on a technicality and yet still voluntarily attending therapy sessions with Ibrahim, while mentoring a little queenpin in the making. <--not sure this is what Ibrahim meant about helping out troubled teens, but it all works out.
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So the very skinny gist is that Joyce's son-in-law's best man has disappeared under suspicious circumstances. And by suspicious circumstances, I mean that he asked Elizabeth for help after telling her that someone had planted a bomb under his car. Then disappeared. Well, the gang certainly isn't going to stand for that, are they?
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Like every other Thursday Murder Club book, this one has multiple storylines running through it. And while Osborn has you looking one way to find a killer, the real plot of the book is quietly unfolding on the sidelines. Lots of suspects, lots of secrets, and lots of moments that made me laugh or tear up. Mostly, at the same time. Also, loved that Ron was willing to die on the hill that Pierce Brosnan was the best Bond.
Granted, it doesn't take much to boggle me, but theoretical physicist Sean Carroll is working with ideas that made my head spin. InI'm boggled.
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Granted, it doesn't take much to boggle me, but theoretical physicist Sean Carroll is working with ideas that made my head spin. In a good way. <--don't want you getting the wrong idea. 95% of this went so far beyond anything that I understood, that I spent the vast majority of the book with a perpetual look of huh? on my face. Checkerboards, disembodied brains, and black holes. What? <--I'm assuming you asked. I don't know. But it was educational in that broad-level crazypants way that made me feel smarter AND dumber at the same time.
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But that's ok. Because 5% of what he was saying sank into my brain and just filled it up with incredible information and theories that it's fair to say I'll probably not retain, but were cool while they lasted. On the flip side, the more I read about this stuff, the more I recognize ideas when I read the next book. There's that. So while the title is catchy, the reality is that I understood very little of what was coming out of Carroll's mouth because I am old and have zero background in any of this. Don't think you're going to step into this book and really take anything solid away from it if you're not a science or math major. Carroll is talking to peers in this. Or if not peers, then not middle-aged folks who, like me, still count on their fingers and sing the alphabet song to put the letters in order.
But hey, if you got Nobel prizes for reading things outside of your comfort zone, I'd be collecting mine right now. Recommendedish....more
Good, depending on what you're looking for in the lecture.
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Well, I thought this was a re-read for me, but apparently not. I had this confused wiGood, depending on what you're looking for in the lecture.
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Well, I thought this was a re-read for me, but apparently not. I had this confused with The Greatest Controversies of Early Christian History and was just listening to it as something to do in between other books. BUT. This was fine. Nothing I hadn't heard before, but if you're looking for a somewhat Biblical look at how the Christian Church was formed over the first 4 centuries, this is that. If you're looking for a more historical look at how the Christian Church formed and changed over the centuries, I would HIGHLY recommend Kenneth W. Harl's Fall of the Pagans and the Origins of Medieval Christianity.
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I am in no way saying that Ehrman doesn't separate church doctrine from history, but this lecture is targeted at how the doctrine came to be what is now known as orthodox. Harl's lecture gave (in my opinion) a more comprehensive look at the social and political goings-on, and Ehrman's gives more time to what was happening in the actual churches.
A slow burn novel about forced introspection that went on a tad too long. Which seems like a weird thing to say since this is a relatively short book, A slow burn novel about forced introspection that went on a tad too long. Which seems like a weird thing to say since this is a relatively short book, but there was a dragging quality to it. There was a point where both the character and I realized where this was going, but the plot itself kept spinning its wheels while Joan spun out in the desert with her thoughts.
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This was the age of duty above all else - or for most people it was. Joan had just finished visiting her daughter in Iraq and was on her way back to England when she ran into an old acquaintance. This woman did what she wanted, much to her detriment, and damn the cost to others. She popped from one man to another, abandoned her children, and never worried about doing the right or honorable thing. Naturally, Joan is scandalized by her old schoolmate's blasé behavior toward her past, and the unrepentant way she lives her life now.
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They soon part ways, but some of the things the woman said to her begin to fester in her mind, especially after problems with the train trap her in a small village with nothing to do but think. To the reader and to herself, Joan seems like a loving and much-loved wife and mother, at first. However, as she reflects back on different moments in her life, she starts to doubt not only the true feelings of those that she claims to love most, but her motivations, as well.
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Again, this was a different time, and Agatha Christie was a fairly traditional woman. So not all of Joan's ahah! moments are going to hit with a modern audience. Especially some of the conclusions Joan comes to about her duty as a Christian wife to acquiesce to all of her husband's wishes as to how they live their life.
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The ending was a bit of a wet blanket for me, but the more I think about it, the more realistic it seems. (view spoiler)[So, Joan realizes she's micromanaged her husband and children's lives to the point that they actively avoid her and keep her in the dark about pretty much everything in their lives, lest she interfere. She also realizes that her husband fell in love with another woman (who died), not because she was more beautiful or charming, but because she was an unconventional woman who followed her heart, and because they were genuine friends. They never had an affair, though, because they were both the kind of people who wouldn't have broken their marriage vows.
So, once she realizes all the mistakes and oversteps she's made in the past, she vows to make it right by asking forgiveness and starting things anew. However, once she gets home and gets back into her comfortable routine, she decides that everything she learned about herself and her family was just due to the heat and exhaustion. And she goes right back to doing things the same way as always. It's sad. And yet, how many of us have the courage to own up to our mistakes and try to change? (hide spoiler)]
Recommended for Agatha Christie completionists....more
Satanic Suicide Squad? I've seen it compared to DC's band of criminals-turned-operatives, and I'll admit that it has a certain likeness. And quite frankSatanic Suicide Squad? I've seen it compared to DC's band of criminals-turned-operatives, and I'll admit that it has a certain likeness. And quite frankly, I loved it.
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The skinny gist is that a group of misfits takes on the task of protecting the long-lost princess of a kingdom and seeing her safely home in order to be crowned queen. Except that most of the said misfits are being forced to do it because the Church has given them the option of using their evil powers for good...or death. And these guys decided that death didn't sound like much fun. Plus, who knows? Escape could be possible. Some little girl who they claim to be the next incarnation of the Savior, and who looks like a pouting baby Pope, can't be for real. They should be able to break that magic geas pretty easily. Right? Right?
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You've got a vampire, werewolf, elf, and magician, along with a knight that can't die and a cool pirate chick, all being led by an extremely green monk who has no idea what he's doing there. As you can imagine, the Church isn't always a force of good, and the monsters aren't always evil. And the newbie leader, Mr. Monk, will learn this lesson over the course of the plot.
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While I really enjoyed all the quirky characters, when asked (and yes I have been asked!) I have to say that I waffled back and forth between Baron Rickard (the recipe-repeating vampire) and Balthazar Sham Ivam Draxi (magician & necromancer extraordinaire). These two were the goods.
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Now. If you're not a fan of the way Abercrombie writes, I doubt this will change your mind. If you've struggled with the character-driven storyline, the at best morally ambiguous characters, or just whatever it was about his writing style that you didn't care for? Yeah, this is more of that. And while this is set in a different world, I'm not going to push this on readers who weren't in love with his other books.
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But for fans, I think this one will be a treat. Also, not as grimdarkdarkdark as his First Law series. I mean, it's not a light and fluffy read, but this is more humor and less...I don't know. Don't expect a Happily Ever After, but it's more hopeful, I guess.
How did I end up here? And by here, I mean this somewhat obscure fairy tale. Well, I'm reading Daughter of the Forest, which is a retelling of this, ThHow did I end up here? And by here, I mean this somewhat obscure fairy tale. Well, I'm reading Daughter of the Forest, which is a retelling of this, The Six Swans, and maybe a few other stories. So I thought it would be good to take a peek at the source material. Andersen's fairytale is longer and goes into a bit more depth than the version of The Six Swans I listened to, which was a bit of folklore collected by the famous Grimm brothers. Keep in mind, I believe there may be more than one version.
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In this one, you have a king with 12 children, who marries a witch. Obviously, unbeknownst to him. We don't set out to marry red flags, do we? Regardless, she's your typical evil stepmother, and starts her reign off by turning her 11 stepsons into swans. I mean...yeah. That's one way to go, right? Now, they can transform back into humans at night, but during the day? Birds.
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So what about her stepdaughter, Elisa? Well, for a while, things are ok. But as Elisa gets a bit older, the stepmother starts up her shenanigans again and tries to put her under an evil spell. However, the girl is so pious that the damn thing bounces right off of her. So the wicked queen resorts to putting dirt on her face and messing up the princess's dress, so that she becomes unrecognizable. Because that's a thing in fairy tales.
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Around this time, she and her brothers find each other, and they fly her to safety in another kingdom. And this is where she finds out that to turn her bros back to humans, she'll need to sew them all shirts made out of stinging nettles that are going to fuck up her hands, AND take a vow of silence until said shirts are all done and thrown over the heads of the swans. Thank goodness she's such a great sister because I can't see either one of my girls doing this for their older brothers. I think the best my boys could hope for would be to get tossed a bit of off-brand bread while they swam about at the pond.
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So here she is, picking these nettles and turning them into shirts in a cave somewhere by herself, silently weeping over this DIY project from Hell. Terrible. But it gets worse! Or maybe better? A hot king wanders through her neighborhood and spies her. And while her silence has him a bit flummoxed, her beauty is too much to resist, and he carts her off to his kingdom to continue her jacked-up craft project in a nice cozy room in his castle. And promptly falls in love with her. And then marries her.
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But the life of a young woman is fraught with danger, and the local religious leader thinks something is hinky about this chick who spends her days knitting these Frankenstein sweaters and her nights in the graveyard collecting the nettles to do it. She's probably in league with the Devil, amiright? Now her husband takes up for her at first, but after a while, the overwhelming "evidence" coupled with his wife's silence leads to only one conclusion - witchcraft! Welp. Gotta burn her.
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In their defense, her brothers do try to save her, but in their bird state, they can't do much. Lucky for them, little sis keeps on sewing right till the bitter end when they're loading her up on the burn pile. At the last possible moment, they come swooping down like a fairy tale version of Angry Birds, she tosses shirts over each of their heads, and they turn back into men. Mostly. She didn't have time to completely finish the last shirt, so one of the guys gets stuck with a wing in lieu of an arm.
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On the bright side, after witnessing this miracle, the angry villagers, the archbishop, and her lovely husband all decide that she's A-ok and welcome her back into the community with open arms.
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The moral of the story? Pray you're an only child.
I listened to the audiobook from Dreamscape Media narrated by Emma Fenney...more
Once upon a time... In the days before GPS, a king gets lost in a forest and agrees to marry a witch's daughter if she helps him find his way home. He sOnce upon a time... In the days before GPS, a king gets lost in a forest and agrees to marry a witch's daughter if she helps him find his way home. He suspects that his new bride might not make the best stepmother to his 7 beloved children, because...well, like mother like daughter, I suppose. So he hides his 6 sons and 1 daughter away in the woods and visits them there on the regular.
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Now, it turns out that his instincts about his new bride were spot on, as she gets jealous of his absences, tracks down his kids, and tries her dead level best to get rid of them. How, you ask? She sews seven magical shirts, goes into the woods, and throws them over the princes who mistake her for their father. These shirts turn them into swans. The princess, being a bit more cautious, probably due to women just having to be more cautious in general, doesn't run to the front door like a Labrador with her brothers and manages to escape. She later finds her brothers, who can turn human for a few minutes each evening, and learns that she can lift the curse. As long as she stays silent for 6 years, until she manages to sew 6 shirts out of starflowers. Sounds doable. Let's get started!
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Now, in the meantime, another king happens upon her and falls in love with her charming and witty personality. <--just kidding. Her beauty. And maybe the fact that she isn't much of a yapper? Naturally, he carts her off to his castle to get married. But it turns out that her stepmother's curse isn't the only thing she's got to deal with. Enter the dreaded mother-in-law!
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Shockingly, she thinks this mute bitch isn't good enough for her son. So every time her daughter-in-law gives birth to one of her grandchildren, this old cunt steals them away and tells everyone that their mother ate them! Ate them! And while the king defends his wife for the first few kids she supposedly eats, after a while, it gets to the point that it's time to burn her at the stake. What else could he do, I ask?
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But the princess (now queen) is still steadily sewing those shirts right up till they get ready to light the pyre. She's got 5 completely done and 1 just missing a sleeve when they start to light her up. And this is when her brothers, in swan form, come swooping down to save her. She tosses the shirts over their heads, and they all turn back into humans. Except one of them still has a swan wing. <--better than nothing, I say!
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At this point, she can speak. And boy oh boy does she blab about what her child theiving mother-in-law in law has been up to. Which leads to not only the discovery of all of her children alive and well, but also to the delicious smell of the king's crispy-fried mother as they slow-roast her instead of his wife. All's well that ends well, right?
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So, they all lived happily ever after. Even the brother with the weird wing arm, as he found a woman who had a feather fetish to hook up with. <--I may have added that part, but you'll never know unless you read it for yourself.
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There are tons of these swan stories, and they're all fun. I started looking into them because I read Daughter of the Forest. This one, plus Children of Lir and The Wild Swans were the basis for Juliet Marillier's retelling, in case anyone is interested.
Recommended for fans of fairytales. And birds.
For whatever reason, they are not merged, but I listened to the audiobook version read by Katie Haigh....more
Once upon a time... In the days before GPS, a king gets lost in a forest and agrees to marry a witch's daughter if she helps him find his way home. He sOnce upon a time... In the days before GPS, a king gets lost in a forest and agrees to marry a witch's daughter if she helps him find his way home. He suspects that his new bride might not make the best stepmother to his 7 beloved children, because...well, like mother like daughter, I suppose. So he hides his 6 sons and 1 daughter away in the woods and visits them there on the regular.
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Now, it turns out that his instincts about his new bride were spot on, as she gets jealous of his absences, tracks down his kids, and tries her dead level best to get rid of them. How, you ask? She sews seven magical shirts, goes into the woods, and throws them over the princes who mistake her for their father. These shirts turn them into swans. The princess, being a bit more cautious, probably due to women just having to be more cautious in general, doesn't run to the front door like a Labrador with her brothers and manages to escape. She later finds her brothers, who can turn human for a few minutes each evening, and learns that she can lift the curse. As long as she stays silent for 6 years, until she manages to sew 6 shirts out of starflowers. Sounds doable. Let's get started!
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Now, in the meantime, another king happens upon her and falls in love with her charming and witty personality. <--just kidding. Her beauty. And maybe the fact that she isn't much of a yapper? Naturally, he carts her off to his castle to get married. But it turns out that her stepmother's curse isn't the only thing she's got to deal with. Enter the dreaded mother-in-law!
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Shockingly, she thinks this mute bitch isn't good enough for her son. So every time her daughter-in-law gives birth to one of her grandchildren, this old cunt steals them away and tells everyone that their mother ate them! Ate them! And while the king defends his wife for the first few kids she supposedly eats, after a while, it gets to the point that it's time to burn her at the stake. What else could he do, I ask?
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But the princess (now queen) is still steadily sewing those shirts right up till they get ready to light the pyre. She's got 5 completely done and 1 just missing a sleeve when they start to light her up. And this is when her brothers, in swan form, come swooping down to save her. She tosses the shirts over their heads, and they all turn back into humans. Except one of them still has a swan wing. <--better than nothing, I say!
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At this point, she can speak. And boy oh boy does she blab about what her child theiving mother-in-law in law has been up to. Which leads to not only the discovery of all of her children alive and well, but also to the delicious smell of the king's crispy-fried mother as they slow-roast her instead of his wife. All's well that ends well, right?
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So, they all lived happily ever after. Even the brother with the weird wing arm, as he found a woman who had a feather fetish to hook up with. <--I may have added that part, but you'll never know unless you read it for yourself.
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There are tons of these swan stories, and they're all fun. I started looking into them because I read Daughter of the Forest. This one, plus Children of Lir and The Wild Swans were the basis for Juliet Marillier's retelling, in case anyone is interested.
Recommended for fans of fairytales. And birds....more
Revenge is a dish best served cold. - Old Klingon Proverb
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So this was fun. Shivers (who wanted to kill Logan Nine fingers), Nicomo Cosca (mercenaRevenge is a dish best served cold. - Old Klingon Proverb
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So this was fun. Shivers (who wanted to kill Logan Nine fingers), Nicomo Cosca (mercenary extraordinaire), & Shylo Vitari (the Inquisitor who worked with Glokta) reprise their roles in the country of Styria. <---due to events at the end of Last Argument of Kings. If you've already read that trilogy, you'll recognize that these are minor (but important!) characters who all played roles in what happened with the Union and the Gurkish in Adua. And now we've fast-forwarded a bit. They aren't the only repeat faces you'll find, but they do make up some of the motley band hired by Monza Murcatto in her attempt to avenge herself and her brother on Grand Duke Orso of Talins and anyone else in the room who participated in the stabbing. And even the one guy who ran away.
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I feel like this was telegraphed very heavily in the first chapter, but I know how crazy people get about spoilers, so I'll go ahead and mark this just because I want to talk about it. (view spoiler)[I really wanted to understand more about Monza & Benna Murcatto's incestuous relationship. Like, you're a brother-fucker! How the hell did that happen? It wasn't like there weren't other guys around. But then again, part of me was impressed that this was such a big part of who Monza was, and Abercrombie just let that sit there like it was normal or something. (hide spoiler)]
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One of the fascinating things about the way Joe Abercrombie writes a story is the insane way the character arcs swing. The best of intentions go down the darkest paths, and the completely vile somehow find a glimmer of redemption. I'm here for that.
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The skinny gist is that this is a jaunty little murder brigade that has the feel of a heist story. Except bloody and gross, and you'll feel really dirty when it's all over with. Which is a bonus in my book, but that really depends on the reader.
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This is a standalone novel in this world, and you don't strictly have to have prior knowledge of the first 3 books. I think you'll miss a lot of the inside jokes and cameo pop-ups that make it fun, and I would suggest that it would behoove you to check them out first. Off subject a bit, but I feel we can pull behoove back into the everyday lexicon if we try.
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This was cool. I loved the way all of these characters were woven in and out of each other's lives, and I love the way he brought back some of the smaller players in the original cast and gave them starring roles. I really don't think I need to sell fans on this series. If you've loved the first three books, you'll love this one.
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