Mom left the 27th. By the 28th, I was immersed in re-reading the fourth of the Star Kingdom books, written by me in collaboration with David Weber. He’d just addressed the editor’s notes, and my job was to see how smoothly it went. Since I hadn’t read the book since late 2020, I had a good, fresh point of view.
Oh, when will it be out? June 2022, now titled A New Clan.
For those of you unfamiliar with this column, the Friday Fragments lists what I’ve read over the past week. Most of the time I don’t include details of either short fiction (unless part of a book-length collection) or magazines. The Fragments are not meant to be a recommendation list. If you’re interested in a not-at-all-inclusive recommendation list, you can look on my website under Neat Stuff.
Once again, this is not a book review column. It’s just a list with, maybe, a bit of description or a few opinions tossed in. And it’s also a great place to tell me what you’re reading. Two of the series I’m trying right now are due to FF reader mentions.
Completed:
Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch. Audiobook. Book three in the series. Much enjoyed.
In Progress:
The Liar’s Knot by M.A. Carrick. Sequel to The Mask of Mirrors. Almost done. I’m enjoying very much. The “knot” in the title has at least a double meaning, probably triple. I approve.
Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch. Audiobook. Book five in the series. I skipped right into a major spoiler, but Aaronovitch is a skilled enough writer that I now want to read book four, as well as one and two. This is not always the case for me, so praise is due.
Also:
Archeology Magazine with the summary of 2021 discoveries.
Jane Lindskold: Wednesday Wanderings 
January 7, 2022 at 5:29 am |
I finally found pre-order info for A New Clan and JUNE! – not sure I can wait that long, but I know I will.
Also, yes, you should totally real ALL of the Rivers of London series – they are great fun. My local con was planning to have Ben as our Author GOH when Covid hit and there were no cons in 2020. I always try to read at least one book from our Author GOH and got sucked in and read all of them in a couple of weeks.
January 7, 2022 at 5:30 am |
P.S. I finished the Thirteen Orphans series – loved it!
January 7, 2022 at 8:29 am |
Thank you! Good reading to you, and thanks for the recc.
January 7, 2022 at 7:28 am |
This year, I finished four books. Of course, the year is only 7 days old.
First, I read Paladin’s Strength (The Saint of Steel #2) by T. Kingfisher.. This was an exciting story with good characters. I especially enjoyed the secondary characters. I am looking forward to Paladin’s Hope.
Then I read The Desolations of Devil’s Acre (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #6) by Ransom Riggs. This is the last book in the series. These books are kind of dark and remind me a bit of Harry Potter – evil, talented guy wants to rule all the other talented people and the world and it’s up to teens to stop him. I’m glad I read it, but not sure I would recommend it.
Third, I read The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher. I was given this book when my nephew ordered a book from Scholastic and they send him the wrong one. This is listed as a young adult mystery. I am not the target audience!
The story disturbed me! A group of 15-16 year old kids running around in the woods all night engaging in risky behavior, (drinking, drugs, etc) and a girl ends up dead. The police, who are basically inept, charge an Afghanistan War veteran with the crime because he has PTSD episodes. No other adults, parents or teachers appear in the book, unless they are drunk. The kids solve the mystery and there is a PSA type message written in at the end. Thank goodness, this was short! BRRR!
And, last, I read The Dark Hours (Harry Bosch #23, Renee Ballard #4) by Michael Connelly. This is a police procedural starring Renee Ballard, a young woman detective with the LAPD. She solves two cases while fighting the chauvinism and apathy within the Department. Retired Harry Bosch helps her. Fast paced story with an intriguing plot.
January 7, 2022 at 8:31 am |
Your comments about The Killing Woods are on-point for the problem of writing good YA. No adults, what you mentioned. Horrible. Too many adults, YA characters become assistants. It’s a balance Weber and I walk in the Star Kingdom books, and its FAR from easy.
January 7, 2022 at 6:21 pm |
Finished The Nature of Middle Earth. Great fun, to me, as all these tidbits of Tolkieniana are – but then, I’m often of the opinion that the best bits of a Weber book are the infodumps. The editor winds up with an appendix outlining various bits of Catholic doctrine that form the underpinnings of Tolien’s mythos, some of which I’d already spotted, some that were new to me. That was of particular interest, since, a couple of days ago, there was an editorial in the Toronto Star contrasting Tolkien’s “Christian European racism” with Rowling’s inclusiveness in the Harry Potter series [suggesting that either the writer doesn’t buy into the current controversy floating around Rowling, or thinks she’s quite right] and telling people to go with the Potter for their kids’ edification. Kind of missing the point that what Tolkien is really doing is contrasting unfallen Elves and their fallen-but-redeemed allies with the fallen masses of men. A direct parallel to the view of the redeemed followers of the True Faith in contest with the fallen, unredeemed mass of humanity that has either abandoned or never accepted the Faith. Given that division, it’s fairly obvious that Tolkien envisaged as many whites as blacks in Sauron’s armies, even if he didn’t make a point of mentioning their complexions – probably didn’t think he needed to. So the editorialist’s contention that Rowling’s bad guys chose to be while Tolkien’s were inherently so founders on the fact that for Tolkien _everyone_ is inherently bad and failure to seek redemption is very much an individual choice.
The unfortunate thing about it all is that that way of splitting humankind into clumps is, fundamentally, even more flawed than using race or nationality. But that’s a rant for another day. Suffice to say that as is often the case a Dead White Male is being lambasted for the wrong sin.
January 11, 2022 at 9:30 am |
Oh, dear…
January 7, 2022 at 6:31 pm |
Hmmm… and in all that, I forgot to say that I just got Worlds of Light and Darkness from the library. Only a few pages in, so can’t say any more than ‘I’m not sure many people know what victory looks like’
And what do you think of this year’s Top 10. IMHO the choices offered suggest that 2021 was rather a rum year for archaeology
January 8, 2022 at 9:18 am |
Victory? I’m puzzled. I don’t think that’s what the anthology is about.
I haven’t read far enough to comment about the Top 10, but I absolutely agree that two years of Covid restrictions have hit the ability to do field work, just as they have hit most communal ventures that aren’t electronic.
January 8, 2022 at 9:54 pm |
I’m re-reading some of the stories about Miles Vorkosigan’s ‘life’. As always, interesting stories with many ways to think about life. I have another Douglas Reeman book to read but I haven’t started it yet.
I’m starting to harvest my pecans but the shaker is late this year. The rain we had a few weeks back has set everything back. Oh well, I just need to actually accept the fact I need to start earlier in the morning to actually work.
Enjoy your weekend everyone. Find a good story and pick out some salient points you find and let us know what they are (good, bad, indifferent)
January 10, 2022 at 11:18 am |
I finished Foxglove Summer. Overall enjoyed, but I felt as if it was really Part Two of maybe a three part story. Ending more abrupt. That said, I still liked.