Review - Song of Ice and Fire 4

A Song of Ice and Fire: 4. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

AFfC is half of a great book. We know this because Martin tells us as much when we reach the apology at the end. Basically, what he's done is taken half of the characters still standing at the end of the last book (3. A Storm of Swords, part 2: Blood and Gold), and followed their stories through to various conclusions, leaving the other half for the forthcoming 5. A Dance of Dragons.

Ask most people and they'll tell you the ones featured in this novel are the secondary characters. And this is interesting, because the book is so engaging and the characters so appealing, that you find yourself forgetting about the other plot arcs. You find yourself not minding that so much has been left out. It's a reassuring thought; if the book about the secondary characters is this good, ADoD is going to be amazing.

Martin implies that ADoD is already written. I really hope so; after reading this book I don't think I could wait another five years for the next.

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50 book challenge 2006:

1 = The Soldier's Son Trilogy: 1. Shaman's Crossing by Robin Hobb [review]
2 = The Wheel of Time: 11. Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan [review]
3 = Conclave of the Shadows: 3. Exile's Return by Raymond E Fiest [review]
4 = The Sandman: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman [review]
5 = A Song of Ice and Fire: 4. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

Next = Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz

Review - Sandman 3

The Sandman: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman

A series of four individual tales from the world of the Sandman: Calliope, A Dream of a Thousand Cats, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Façade. It's slightly disappointing in that there's no connection between the stories -- which is, you might say, the reason we read graphic novel collections -- but that's redeemed by the fact that a couple of the stories are so damn strong (the first two, incidentally). The other stories were okay, but I wasn't blown away, and neither has left much of a lasting impression on me.

Worth a look, but check out 1. Preludes and Nocturnes or 2. The Doll's House first.

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See also:
My other mother (review of Coraline, December 2004)

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50 book challenge 2006:

1 = The Soldier's Son Trilogy: 1. Shaman's Crossing by Robin Hobb [review]
2 = The Wheel of Time: 11. Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan [review]
3 = Conclave of the Shadows: 3. Exile's Return by Raymond E Fiest [review]
4 = The Sandman: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman

Next = A Song of Ice and Fire: 4. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

Housemove - Selection

So, I decided to go with the house with the parking [entry]. Big surprise. Initial deposit is all payed up, and I've taken down my advert from the Internet and work noticeboard. I move in three weeks.

Can't wait.

Housemove - Viewings

One of the defining features of the centre of the Concrete Kingdom is the lack of resident parking. Apparently, it's about to be made worse, with reports that the council are going to reduce the number of permits available per household whilst raising the cost of them. It's frustrating that carparking is such a problem here considering that we have 24 pay-and-display carparks in the town centre, and a further six in Old Town.

Understandably, having somewhere to park the Silver (and Red) Machine is very high on my list of priorities when I'm looking for a room [entry]. I've looked at two so far, and after all other factors have been considered it looks like available parking is going to be the one that decides it. Both houses were quite nice, but one had designated parking and the other didn't. Shame really.

Hop-in clinic, part 4

Speaking to my dad the other night about my ankle, he said, 'Yeah, when I did mine I was out for six months.' He better be joking. If I have to go six months without doing any training, I fear blood might be spilled.

Keep on movin'

Andy and Jen have decided to set up a little love nest, so the time has come for me to move out of the flat. I'm quite looking forward to a change of scenery. Living in the flat has taught me a lot about how to appreciate a badly-designed living space, so I'm quite looking forward to a change of scenery. High on the list of priorities are: a double bedroom; a kitchen that is big enough for two people to comfortably stand side-by-side in; and a garden. There are other things, but I won't bore you.

Of course, I'll be sad to not be living with Andy and Jen any more. I mean, who's going to clean the bathroom now?

Okay, add to the list of priorities: someone who doesn't mind cleaning the bathroom ;-)

Hop-in clinic, part 3

Injury update:

The swelling and bruising have all but gone now. My ankle looks like it always did, but . . . it still hurts! What's with that? It's still stiff, and when I try to do anything more than a gentle walk it hurts. I'm slightly out of my depth here; I've never had any injury take me out of action for two weeks before, least of all a bloody sprained ankle. I don't know what to do with myself, and the inactivity is starting to drive me crazy.

Damn my clumsiness!

Review - Conclave of Shadows 3

Conclave of Shadows: 3. Exile's Return by Raymond E Fiest

The conclusion to the Conclave of Shadows sees the exiled and disgraced Duke try to return home to get revenge on his enemies, but discovering on the way that there are more important things at stake.

It's an interesting tactic: Turn the antagonist, Duke Kaspar, from the first two books into an anti-hero antagonist. It does, for the most part, work. At times it feels slightly too easy, but on reflection I think that this is because the book is so fast paced that it just seems like a quick change. In reality it takes Kaspar months before he gains distance (both in time and emotionally) from the things he's done. I hope in later books that his character retains some of the ruthlessness and cunning that he's displayed here. In other words I hope Fiest doesn't turn him into another perfect good guy.

It actually feels like a stand-alone novel, a prologue to the forthcoming Darkwar series more than anything else, because the end of 2. King of Foxes wrapped up the story quite well (as far as I was concerned). This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it has left me keener to read Flight of the Nighthawks than I had expected.

It's well paced, and quite an easy read, which was welcome coming between Knife of Dreams and A Feast for Crows, which are both quite heavy reads. My only real complaint is that a couple of the more formulaic aspects of Fiest's work are beginning to get tiresome: The Evil = Madness discussion; Nakor saying there is no magic, only 'tricks'; and so on.

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50 book challenge 2006:

1 = The Soldier's Son Trilogy: 1. Shaman's Crossing by Robin Hobb [review]
2 = The Wheel of Time: 11. Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan [review]
3 = Conclave of Shadows: 3. Exile's Return by Raymond E Fiest

Next = The Sandman: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman

Increasingly amusing tales of car ownership - Chapter 6

The story so far:
Chapter 1: Astra vs. Bus (not detailed)
Chapter 2: His motor
Chapter 3: Only one calamity to go
Chapter 4: Only one wing mirror to go
Chapter 5: Linkage

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Chapter 6: M.O.T.

Friday morning: I submit the Silver (and Red) Machine for an M.O.T. It fails (unsurprisingly) at 1200 hours, but I am not notified of this until 1700 hours, when I 'phone them. They tell me they are unable to give me an estimate for the remedial work because they 'haven't looked at it yet'.

I start to wonder if they did the test with their eyes closed.

Monday morning: They ask for permission to proceed with the work. I point out that I still haven't had an estimate. After some debate, I get a figure of £150 from them. They warn me that I might not get the Machine back straight away, because they might not be able to book it in for a retest until the end of the week. They promise to call me back when they know.

Monday afternoon: The Machine passes the retest.

Wednesday evening: They tell me that the Machine has passed, again only when I 'phone them. I go to collect it, and am asked if I would mind hanging round for five minutes, because they haven't made up my bill yet.

Twenty minutes later, and with my bank account £180 lighter, I am driving my car back home. I'd be angry if I wasn't so amused by the whole thing. I haven't been able to drive because of my injury, so I haven't actually missed my car. Even so, I shall not be taking it back to that garage. Next time I need work doing I can't guarantee that I'll be injured. Next time I might actually need to use my car.

Review - Dodgeball

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

Okay, so it was funny, and certain aspects of this really appealed to my sense of humour, but this was not, as I had been led to believe, the funniest comedy ever written. It's good though, and I can sit and watch people getting hit in the head with wrenches all day long, so I was well pleased.

I was slightly disappointed to learn that the cinematic ending wasn't the original ending. The original had Average Joe's lose the final, but was changed because test audiences weren't reacting well to it. Damn test audiences. Okay, it's a comedy, so the Mega Happy Ending isn't as offensive as it could have been (if, say, it were a drama), but I still feel a little cheated. If I were the writer/director of this piece I'd be pretty pissed, but I guess that's just the way movies are made.

Review - Motorcycle diaries

Diarios de motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries)

An interesting, and well produced, film, but I couldn't escape the feeling that there was something missing. Some intensity or passion. It seems that there was nothing that's going to stand out in my memory. A shame, because it was an enjoyable film. Who'd have thought the birth of a revolutionary would have been so . . . tepid?

Review - Wheel of Time 11

The Wheel of Time: 11. Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan

The following review is only going to be of use to those who have already started to read The Wheel of Time. I'm certainly not going to recommend the series to anyone new until it's completed (I just don't have the faith any more), so those who don't have a passing acquaintance with Robert Jordan's work might want to skip this.

I view a new Wheel of Time book with a lot of trepidation these days. Since book 7 (A Crown of Swords) the books have, frankly, been rubbish, the only standout moment being the climax of book 9 (Winter's Heart) because after 2000-odd pages of describing red-slashed riding dresses or neatly trimmed and oiled beards something actually happened. I hadn't planned on buying book 11 until it was out in paperback. Book 10 (Crossroads of Twilight) damaged my faith to the point that I wasn't willing to shell out £20.

That said, I received the book in hardcover for Christmas, so I couldn't really complain. Before I got around to reading it, a really weird thing happened: I read a good review.

Truth is, this book is everything that the previous 4 should have been. The pace is reminiscent of the earlier novels -- the ones that got us all hooked in the first place -- when the story was driven by things happening rather than women sniffing and feelings being transmitted through warder bonds. Things happen in this book. There is action, and in the second half of the book that action is relentless.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about this book is that, after so much stalling, several of the minor plot lines are resolved. I can think of four or five off the top of my head. And that is something that should encourage those disenchanted fans to keep reading.

For the first time in a long time, there's a glimmer of hope that a). this will end well, and b). this will end some time before we all die of old age.

There are a couple of complaints, of course. Firstly being that after a good (if stupidly long) prologue, Jordan does slip back into his old habits for a while, and some of the chapters written through minor viewpoints (I'm thinking the aes sedai, mainly) are a real struggle.

Secondly, there are so many characters now that it's difficult keeping track of them. Jordan must have identified and described a hundred aes sedai by now, not to mention dozens of nobels, asha'man, etc. Without the help of an appendix -- such as provided by George RR Martin in his Song of Ice and Fire series -- remembering everyone is impossible.

Thirdly, and this is a personal gripe, one of the plot arcs that is hinted at isn't resolved, and I really want to know what happens in that one. It's for this reason that I think that there are another couple of books to come, if not more.

So, to the fans my advice is: stick with it. To new readers: avoid like the plague, at least until the end is written.

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50 book challenge 2006:

1 = The Soldier's Son Trilogy: 1. Shaman's Crossing by Robin Hobb [review]
2 = The Wheel of Time: 11. Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan

Next = Conclave of the Shadows: 3. Exile's Return by Raymond E Fiest

Friday the 13th, Part 4

It's my brother's birthday today. Happy birthday, Bro!

It's the fourth Friday the 13th of his life. Now, if we're following the movies, this should involve some really terrible acting and a rehashed plot :)

Hop-in clinic, part 2

Following my previous entry about my injury, the swelling around my ankle increased -- despite the fact that I was on anti-inflammatories -- accompanied by bruising. I felt, as I took the photos that now rest on Flickr, that I was taking pictures for a fetish magazine, albeit one that catered to gay guys with an interest in sports injuries. We can call it Chubby Man-Ankle, I thought. It'll be huge. Just like my freaking ankle.

Day 1
Day 2

The swelling has decreased somewhat on this, Day 3. I can walk around with little pain now, thanks to the drugs. Hopefully it will be all well and mended by next week, and I will be able to go running and play rugby again.

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Update, Saturday, 1300 hours: - Fixed the link to Day 2 above.

Now, on Day 5, it hurts like hell again. I went to Wrongs last night and whilst I managed to spend the night sat down the walk home beat the crap out of me. Gah. Slightly less swollen, but the bruises don't seem to have faded any.

Review - Soldier Son 1

I have decided to do a 50 book challenge this year. That is, basically, to read 50 books between now and 31 12 2006. It should be easy; I read relatively quickly and that's a little under one book a week. So with that in mind, I present to you book number 1:

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The Soldier's Son Trilogy: 1. Shaman's Crossing by Robin Hobb.

Good things:
All in all this a tighter, much more tightly plotted book than her recent novels.
The depiction of the military training school, often a fantasy cliché, is one of the best I have read.
Characterisation is strong, and the relationships between Nevare (the narrator/protagonist) and his fellow cadets are well written.

Bad things:
Far too many unnecessary spelling errors and typos for a published piece of work. They tend to really distract from the prose, and that's a shame because it's otherwise good. The regular reader might not spot them, but to my writer's eye they quickly became an irritant.

Generally:
It's too soon to tell whether Hobb has repeated the success of her previous series (The Farseer, The Liveship Traders, and The Tawny Man). As is often the case with modern fantasy, trilogies need to be judged as a whole. You need to read the last words before you can decide if all that pointless exposition in book 1 or the dragging out of plotlines in book 2 were actually worth the effort. I feel now that the effort will probably be rewarded, because that was a thoroughly enjoyable and absorbing read.

It's funny, when I compare this with the other trilogy I tried to start recently -- Cecelia Dart Thornton's Crowthistle Chronicles -- I realise just what a great book Shaman's Crossing is. The gulf between these books is immense. One dragged you along with engaging characters and a refreshing set-up, the other buried you under flowery language and a romanticised attempt at fantasy that was so corny I thought, at one point, that it was parody. I'll leave you to decide which of these is which.

When is all said, I remain hopeful that series -- unlike the Crowthistle Chronicles -- will live up to all of my expectations, and look forward expectantly to Forest Mage

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See also:
Do you like playing the fool? (Tawny Man 3, August 2005)
Review - The Iron Tree (Crowthistle Chronicles 1, November 2005)

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50 book challenge 2006:

1 = The Soldier's Son Trilogy: 1. Shaman's Crossing by Robin Hobb

Next = The Wheel of Time: 11. Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan

Hop-in clinic

Last night I landed clumsily after doing a jump-kick in taekwondo, and sprained my ankle. It didn't hurt too much at the time, and I walked home with only the odd self-emasculating gasp or wheeze of pain. This morning, however, I couldn't put any weight on it, couldn't move it. According to Andy, I screamed like a woman whilst I was in the shower. I can't remember that myself, only a manly silence as I stoicly bore the pain.

So I went to the Concrete Kingdom's walk-in clinic[1] to have it looked at. They prodded my ankle and prescribed me ibuprofen and paracetemol. They don't think I broke any of the bones, but the only way to really tell is to go up to the GWH to have it X-rayed. Which, I've been told, I'm to do if the drugs don't work[2].

So, I've won an unplanned day off work. Unforunately because of the fact I have to elevate the ankle, it's involved little more than sitting on the sofa and reading Shaman's Crossing.

I can think of worse ways to spend a day.

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[1] And isn't that a cheery little place? I'm just thankful that it wasn't busy. When I was teasing Jen about her visits to the clinic, she stated that it was always rammed full of ill and old people.
[2] I was also told to register with a doctor. 'You've been here for three and a quarter years now, you really should get around to it.' Strange how the nurse echoed my Stepmother's recent direction of nagging.

Resolution time

In the year 2006 I resolve to: Invade a small county. Get your resolution here

Christmas break 2005

Christmas Day: My uncle and his gf have a baby. Cousin Mia is born at about 0630hrs. She isn't the first Christmas Day baby, but was close.

Boxing Day: Traditional local rugby derby; traditional hammering. Traditional post rugby drinks with Coops, Drewsy, Hels, Tom and Wes; traditionally hammered.

Tuesday: Sleep. Watch Nick the Fish at the Fort. Distinctly average.

Friday: Pub lunch with Coops and Drewsy. Big roast, although disappointing lack of 'bacon thingies'.

New Year's Eve: Stay home for the first time in 12 or so years. Act as taxi for my parents so they can drink whilst they're out.

Rest of the time was spent: tormenting the animals at the cottage; reading; writing; doing the puzzles in the WMN; and watching Fight Club on British Eurosport.

Writing - 2005 summary

Wrote 87169 words on all projects. Only wrote one short story -- Harbourmancer -- primarily because most of the year was spent working on the novel (see below). But, of the four stories that I sent out in the last 12 months, I sold one, which I think is a pretty good strike rate. Curiosity will be published in the Harrow in the spring. The Well and Tymmy are still at markets.

Also, during NaNoWriMo, I finished my first novel. Home is now currently sitting on the shelf (albeit a metaphorical shelf on my computer), awaiting NaNoEdMo in March.