Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Just reviewed the novelization of “The Settlers of Catan” at SBR
Folks, if you’ve ever played the board game THE SETTLERS OF CATAN, you know that Catan is a semi-mythical island out in the middle of nowhere in Northern Europe that can only be reached by waiting for the worst storm you’ve ever seen and riding it out.
Anyway, Klaus Teuber, who invented the board game THE SETTLERS OF CATAN, asked novelist Rebecca Gable to turn the game into a historical novel. She did so in 2003 in Germany; in 2011, Amazon Crossing picked up an English version that was originally translated by Lee Chadeayne, then was revised by Ingrid G. Lansford. This is the novel that I just reviewed at Shiny Book Review; here is the link to the review:
http://shinybookreview.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/the-settlers-of-catan-more-than-just-a-board-game/
A synopsis of my review is this: it’s a good book that illuminates the history of 850 AD including the religious outlook (the pagan beliefs based on the Nordic pantheon versus the newer religion, Christianity), the difficulties colonists had restarting their lives, and much more. But be warned; some parts of the novel are extremely graphic and there is a male-on-male rape scene that I found particularly distasteful. (I talked around this in my SBR review; I’m not doing so here.)
Former Penn State Football Coach Joe Paterno, 85, dies in PA
Most sports fans are probably aware that former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno has died at 85. He had lung cancer, but what probably hastened his demise was the furor that erupted over the sordid behavior of one of his former coaches, Jerry Sandusky (a man accused of having sex with several pre-teen boys). Paterno was fired from Penn State in November due to the fallout from this scandal.
Please see the following link for further details:
http://news.yahoo.com/joe-paterno-revered-coach-tainted-scandal-dies-010702826–nfl.html
All I know is, I feel saddened by Paterno’s passing. This was the guy who had the most wins in college history; he’d had a major trophy (the Big Ten’s conference championship trophy) named after him, then that honor was taken away due to Sandusky’s conduct and all the fallout at Penn State.
Now, me being sorry that Paterno is dead certainly does not mean that I condone anything that Sandusky has been accused of doing. All it means is that I feel sorry that an old man, a grandfather, had to face such a terrible ordeal in what amounted to the “overtime” of his life — something Paterno couldn’t change at that late date and certainly couldn’t help, either — and that I hope that, like any other man, Paterno’s life can be seen for what it was.
Right now, there’s a lot of sentiment that has said that Paterno wasn’t well-treated in his age. I share much of that. But one would hope that when Paterno “meets his Maker” that the sum total of Paterno’s life will be what’s important — whom Paterno loved, and why. What he actually did (including helping many of the young men on his college football teams graduate and become productive citizens), along with what he unfortunately failed to do — not merely the actions that came to light in October and November of 2011.
I don’t know what the whole story is regarding those actions. I suspect we’ll never know.
What I do know is that Joe Paterno’s life has ended. I wish his family, friends, and colleagues as well as possible, and I hope that somehow, they will find peace despite the complex issues that surrounded some of Paterno’s tenure at Penn State with regards to Sandusky in particular.
Sinus Infection Here
Folks, right now I’m mostly down for the count. The review I’d hoped to write for Shiny Book Review didn’t get done, and all I’ve managed to do thus far is get up and have something to eat (in order to take my antibiotic, as it can irritate the stomach).
I’m also re-reading one of my favorite “comfort books,” this one being A MAN RIDES THROUGH by Stephen R. Donaldson. (Hard to believe that Donaldson had problems writing this one; he’s said in speeches — one witnessed by my niece — that he agonized over the “Mordant’s Need” duology and that it did not come easily. Can’t tell that by the quality of the writing or plot, that’s for sure.)
Nothing else of consequence got done today, unless you count me watching the second quarter of the Big Ten Championship game (the Wisconsin Badgers won the game overall, but the second quarter, they lost — didn’t score any points at all — to their opponent, Michigan State. Good thing games are decided by the total score, not by the “quarter-by-quarter” score or the Badgers would’ve been in trouble.)
Tomorrow must be better . . . as is, right now I’m about to go and stare at the insides of my eyelids, again.
Migraine today . . . and Story Ideas
Folks, I suffer from migraines, as my late husband Michael also did . . . and what I’ve found over time is that out of my migraine-induced haze, I often get some really interesting story ideas out of it.
Take ELFY, for example. I had been reading an anthology the night before and someone had been describing the worst of the urban fantasy genre — the mincing Faeries that seemed like human courtiers rather than anything alien or Other, that humans always outwitted these lesser-minded sorts, and so on and so forth — and all of that mixed up in my mind while under the influence of my migraine.
The next day (or maybe evening), I realized I had a character in my head: Bruno the Elfy. He liked to wear black, unlike his compatriots who wore all sorts of wild colors; he didn’t like to rhyme, unlike the rest of the Elfys. And he was stuck in the Human Realm — our Earth — because he’d been told one thing but the truth was something else again. Unraveling what the truth was took me a good year’s worth of work and a whole lot of conversations and editing done by my late husband and co-conspirator, Michael, before we had a completed book.
So even though I really don’t enjoy migraines, I do sometimes receive ideas of worth and value . . . and I look at it like this: make lemonade from whatever lemons you might be handed, if at all possible. (Sometimes it’s not.)
At any rate, am I all alone in this phenomenon? Or has anyone else come up with a good story idea or two on the way back out of a migraine headache?
Just reviewed Three Pernese Novels for SBR
Folks, I reviewed Dragonheart, Dragongirl, and Dragon’s Time — the first two by Todd J. McCaffrey (né Johnson) and the third by Todd J. McCaffrey and Anne McCaffrey — just now at SBR.
Here’s the link:
As it says . . . I found these novels to be competent. The middle one, Dragongirl, had a few moments where I really liked it but others I just couldn’t stand. All three of these novels received relatively low marks from me, the last one (Dragon’s Time) getting a B-.
I’m aware of how difficult it is to write in someone else’s universe as I’m trying to finish my late husband Michael’s work and he doesn’t write much like me at all. Plus, I’ve read the Brandon Sanderson-finished “Wheel of Time” books — so far, there are two out, with one more due next year — and have them on the list at Shiny Book Review (SBR) to be reviewed in coming days.
So saying something is competent isn’t a slap at Todd McCaffrey in the slightest; what I’m mostly saying is that there’s not much life to the writing, and that I didn’t get engrossed in the stories. Someone else probably will feel differently than I do as reviewing is always a highly subjective art; also, even though I do feel sympathy and understanding to a degree with regards to Mr. McCaffrey (by the way, Anne McCaffrey and I are no relation whatsoever, not even through marriage; my late husband Michael used to say he wanted to have her career, though), I can only review the book that’s in front of me. Which is exactly what I did.
So, should you read these three books? If you enjoy the “Dragonriders of Pern” series (these being the twenty-second, twenty-third, and twenty-fourth novels in the series), you’ve probably already picked them up. But if you haven’t read any of them, I’d skip these and read the original trilogy instead — that’s Dragonflight, Dragonquest, and The White Dragon, all by Anne McCaffrey.
Just Reviewed Martin’s “A Dance with Dragons” at SBR
As the post says . . . I just reviewed George R.R. Martin’s A DANCE WITH DRAGONS at Shiny Book Review. My capsule review is as follows: nearly as good as the first three books in his SOIAF cycle, much better than the fourth book, A FEAST FOR CROWS.
Have at!
Just Reviewed Martin’s “A Feast for Crows” for SBR
Folks, I thought George R. R. Martin’s A FEAST FOR CROWS wasn’t up to the standard of his other novels in his Song of Ice and Fire series, and said so just now at Shiny Book Review.
Here’s the link:
Have at!
One thing Fixed, another Needs Fixing
Just a quick note . . . does anyone else ever feel like when they fix one thing, something else instantly pings for your attention? Or is this just me?
Hmm.
Fooling Around with Widgets
Folks, if you’ve read my blog before, you may have noticed that all of a sudden I have a whole bunch of stuff up I never had before. This is because I’ve finally figured out what the whole “Widget” feature is about; took me long enough, right? (I’ve only had this blog now for 13 months and change.)
That being said, I’m still not completely satisfied with my formatting as I have a number of things that made sense in my head but don’t seem to on the page; I’ll be fixing this as I go, no doubt.
Anyway, back to the salt mines I go.
Just Reviewed Chris McMahon’s “Flight of the Phoenix” for SBR
Folks, if you enjoy fantasy with some medieval or quasi-medieval elements, you will appreciate Chris McMahon’s novella Flight of the Phoenix, new from Naked Reader Press. It’s a quick read (once you get past all the unfamiliar terms) and features a good, strong plot with fine characterization and some excellent battle scenes.
Here’s a link to my review:
Enjoy!
Barb Caffrey's Blog 