Two Favourites.

I reread two novels by two of my favorite fantasy writers.

The Shadow of The Torturer by Gene Wolfe is the first in the Book of the New Sun series. I originally read it about 16 years ago. I enjoyed it and appreciated it far more this time around.

Set in a future so distant that the sun is dying. Wolfe uses the conceit of a found manuscript and a future history. He reinforces the feeling of strangeness by using archaic words and describes strange alien vistas.

Severian is expelled from the guild of Torturers for an act of compassion, he aids a prisoner in taking her own life. Dispatched to some distant regional town we follow his travels though a sprawling metropolis peopled with individuals strange and dangerous.

Severian is a unreliable narrator, albeit one with a perfect memory so we cannot always be sure of the veracity of what is reported. Underlying this is the author's own metaphysical, often neoplatonic musings informed by his own deep seated Catholic faith

Lyonesse III: Madouc by Jack Vance's is the last in the trilogy and the weakest. Far more whimsical than Wolfe, Vance's strength is his dialog. All his characters engage in rich and witty dialogue. The only downside being that since a 10 year old princess and an aging con artist use a similar turn of phrase character can al time blend in to one.

The series is brought to a climatic if somewhat rushed conclusion. Loose ends are ties up and each charater is given their own happy ending My problem is mostly with the pacing of the first half of the book and particularly of the episode involing Madouc herself.

While her escapades are often humorous they lack both the originality and verve of the adventures from the earlier novels.

Overall a fun read and not a bad conclusion to the series but weaker than the first two novels.

The King of Ireland's Son by Padraic Colum

A beautiful children's book. I'm really looking forward to reading this to my children when they are a little older.

The oak and the ram by Michael Moorkcock

The second book in the second of The Corum series. Corum was my first introduction to the writing ofMichael Moorcock and these stories remain some of my favourites. Moorcock play fast and loose with Irish myth and legend but the result is a fun and fast paced read.

I read the first book The Bull and the Spear during the summer. This sequel take up a few month after the last one finishes. Corum meets old friends and encounters old enemies, goes on perilous journeys, survives arduous sieges and retrieves mythical items. More of the same really but Moorcock's style and pace makes up for any shortcomings in the plot.

Winter in Madrid by C. J. Sansom

I has read Sansom's first Novel Dissolution a few years back. I'd enjoyed the historical details and the story. It was a fine detective novel with an interesting protagonist and a since of time and place.
Winter in Madrid is equally well researched. I've long been fascinated by the Spanish Civil War. Homage to Catalonia is one of my favourite book by one of my favourite authors, Orwell. This is the first work of fiction I have read about the period.

The story is set in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War in 1940. Madrid is devastated and Sansom's describes the desolation well. It is the other elements of the novel that let is down. I found the characters difficult to empathize with. The pacing seemed off. The beginning was slow and laborious while the ending seemed rushed with a twist which was unexpected but primarily because it was unbelievable. It's not a bad tale of espionage just not a great one.

Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective by Peter L. Berger

Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective was an optional text book for a course I'm currently studying. It is absolutely fantastic. Humorous and erudite, it is a wonderful introduction to the field of sociology as well as providing a lot of food for thought. I will definitely be seeking out some of Berger's other works.

Tank Books: tales to take your breath away

A few years ago my friend Chris gave me a give of a collection of miniature books as a birtday gift. The set is entitled Tank Books: tales to take your breath away. They are beautifully presented in 50's style cigareete packets and include works by some of the great. I started with Rudyard Kipling “The Man who would be King”, “The Phantom ’Rickshaw” and “Black Jack”

I had never read any Kipling and in fact had a certain bias against the author. I vaguely remeber his being described as anti Irish independence in history class. That said “The Man who would be King” was a fantastic film and much to my delight a equally fantastic novella. The two other short stories are equally enjoyable. "...Rickshaw" is an old fashioned ghost story and “Black Jack” a tale of plot and counter plot in a military barracks. All three stories are very evocative of The Raj with which Kipling was so familiar.

BTW I did some research and Kipling became virulently anti-Irish after the 1916 Easter rising, which is somewhat paradoxically as many of his protagonists are Irish or half Irish.

Berlin Game by Len Deighton