Karsa Orlong

It didn't come across that way

It was . . . different.

Arrow 2x03. Good start to this season so far Dracula 1x01. Oh dear . . . Homeland 3x04

Book #64: The Bloody Crown of Conan by Robert E. Howard From Amazon: In his hugely influential and tempestuous career, Robert E. Howard created the genre that came to be known as sword and sorcery–and brought to life one of fantasy’s boldest and most enduring figures: Conan the Cimmerian–reaver, slayer, barbarian, king. This lavishly illustrated volume gathers together three of Howard’s longest and most famous Conan stories–two of them printed for the first time directly from Howard’s typescript–along with a collection of the author’s previously unpublished and rarely seen outlines, notes, and drafts. Longtime fans and new readers alike will agree that The Bloody Crown of Conan merits a place of honor on every fantasy lover’s bookshelf. Thoughts: This is the second of three volumes from Del Rey collecting all of Robert E. Howard's original Conan stories. This one gathers three longer tales, including Howard's one and only full-length Conan novel. THE PEOPLE OF THE BLACK CIRCLE Amid the towering crags of Vendhya, in the shadowy citadel of the Black Circle, Yasmina of the golden throne seeks vengeance against the Black Seers. Her only ally is also her most formidable enemy–Conan, the outlaw chief. THE HOUR OF THE DRAGON Toppled from the throne of Aquilonia by the evil machinations of an undead wizard, Conan must find the fabled jewel known as the Heart of Ahriman to reclaim his crown . . . and save his life. A WITCH SHALL BE BORN A malevolent witch of evil beauty. An enslaved queen. A kingdom in the iron grip of ruthless mercenaries. And Conan, who plots deadly vengeance against the human wolf who left him in the desert to die. I thought all three of these stories matched the best of those in the first volume, The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian, and it was interesting and exciting to see how Howard was able to deal with the character in the longer form. I think it's safe to say that the characters other than Conan are largely stereotypes. There's no mistaking who's good and who's bad, there's usually a beautiful woman in trouble who ends up falling into Conan's arms, demons usually take the shape of snakes or apes. But Howard somehow makes it work. I guess you have to bear in mind that these stories were first published in 1934 and 1935, and basically created building blocks for an entire genre. His writing is vivid and verbose yet the pace he sets, even in these longer stories, is breathless. The novel, The Hour of the Dragon, covers a huge amount of ground without anything that resembles padding, sweeping you along as Conan, then King of Aquilonia, loses his throne and is then cast into exile, beginning his long path to vengeance. The People of the Black Circle sees him as the leader of outlaws, drawn unwittingly into another's quest for revenge against the sorcerers who killed her brother. A Witch Shall Be Born sees Conan as largely a background character, a captain of the queen's guard, nailed to a cross and left to die whilst the monarch's evil twin sister comes to claim what she believes is rightly hers. I found this one particularly interesting, as Howard played around with the narrative, keeping Conan largely in the background. These Del Rey collections are beautifully illustrated throughout and, after the stories are done, contain a wealth of additional material, from first drafts to fragments of ideas to different treatments of the stories, plus essays on Howard and his work. These are great books to dip in and out of. By Crom! Highly recommended! 8/10

Ooh, I'm quite curious about that one. Please let us know what you think!

That's cos they are! In Vinge's books, probably about 70 (fiction) to 30 (science). What I find with him is that he stacks all the difficult science bits at the start, and it can be quite mind-boggling, but once I get it clear in my head the rest of it is a joy to read. The science in his books is more about providing a backdrop, or some problems, for the characters and the stories. He's one of the best - if not the best - writers of characters I've come across so far in SF I'd completely disagree with the impression that all SF is very similar. I think that's an accusation that could more readily be levelled at fantasy in the past, although that has started to change, thankfully, in more recent times. I think, so far, there's been far more scope in SF to tell different kinds of stories. Thanks Tim Make it get up the TBR pile faster

They've all been very different. A Deepness in the Sky was about two warring factions exploiting a newly discovered culture that wasn't as advanced as them. A Fire Upon the Deep was about a family fleeing from a murderous AI with information that could destroy it, and crash landing on a planet where they meet the wonderful Tines (my favourite alien race in any book I've read, I think). And The Witling is as per the comments above. So yeah, all very different, not samey at all

Not just me then A couple of Christmases ago I ordered the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion pack from Amazon, and then all that snow came in and it didn't turn up, so I got a refund and went and bought a copy in the shops. Then after New Year the Amazon one arrived I never told them . . .

Book #63: The Witling by Vernor Vinge From Amazon: This second novel by multiple award-winner Vernor Vinge is a fast-paced adventure where galactic policies collide and different cultures clash as two scientists and their faith in technology are pitted against an elusive race of telekinetic beings. Marooned on a distant world and slowly dying of food poisoning, two anthropologists are caught between warring alien factions engaged in a battle that will affect the future of the world's inhabitants and their deadly powers. If the anthropologists can't help resolve the conflict between the feuding alien factions, no one will survive. Thoughts: Some very early Vinge here. First published in 1976, The Witling is a comparatively short tale compared to his other work that I've read, clocking in at just 220 pages. As an early work, you can tell that his writing was still developing at this stage but, interestingly, it does still explore many of the themes that his later works also bring to the table in more complex style. For example, much like A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky, The Witling is a 'first contact' story. Ajao, an archaeologist, and Yoninne, his pilot, are surveying the planet Giri without realising that its inhabitants possess a 'talent' far beyond their imagining. When their presence is discovered they try to make an escape, only for their rescue ship to be brought down and destroyed. Marooned on Giri, captives, and having to eat food which contains trace elements that will eventually kill them, they come to realise that they cannot give in without at least attempting to let their people on Novamerika know about the incredible power the inhabitants of Giri can call upon. Whilst I don't think The Witling is anywhere near the same level as A Fire Upon the Deep or A Deepness in the Sky, I still found it very entertaining. It is extremely fast paced and shows an early example of Vinge's skill with characters. Again, the likes of Ajao and Yoninne have nothing like the depth and warmth of later characters, but they still come across with a degree of charm that I found brought them to life. He also handled their sense of peril pretty well, and the race against time in the latter stages of the book works very well. He also manages to cram a fair amount of science in with his fiction. In his usual fashion (although much more briefly here) he manages to make it quite impenetrable at first, and then he steadily reveals the mystery and conveys it in such a way that it's easily understandable. Whereas I'd say A Fire Upon the Deep is essential, The Witling probably fits into the category of 'interesting and fun'. It's a very simple, straightforward adventure story in comparison to his later brilliance. It might be a good place to start for anyone who might find AFUtD a bit intimidating, but it might not be the best place - I still have a few more of his earlier novels to read 7/10

Or . . . . . . Maybe the Weeks book is that good Just sayin'

Bunch of snobs they are They wouldn't have voted for Mark Lawrence or Joe, either

Bloodsong is so Gemmell-like it could almost have been written by the great man himself, that's why I suspect it'll get a lot of votes, providing it's nominated

Awesome! Sleepy Hollow 1x04

Oh yeah, I love the original version. The Kurt Russell one is one of my favourite films, though

Is there no bread?

That was one of those bits where the whole thing kicked into another gear, for me Of course, the man was obsessed with dolphins

He probably won't win it for Emperor either, cos I'm guessing Bloodsong will be nominated next year

That's just wrong! Not that I've read any of Weeks's books to know any better

Maybe, but I doubt it - they were refusing to look into it until first the 30th and then the 31st. I sent them an email telling them it had arrived and got one back saying they were glad they could help

Marooned in Realtime just arrived. Oops!

I'd only accept that if I was told in a Kiefer Sutherland growly voice, with the clock ticking down like in 24 I don't think they'll be impressed with my reply. There was lots of underlining and capitalisation in it Note to self: from now on, place a separate order for each book

Book Depository are driving me mad I placed an order with them on 19th October for Marooned in Realtime and The Peace War, both by Vernor Vinge. They dispatched the former on the 23rd and the latter on the 24th. The Peace War, which was sent out second, arrived on Saturday. Marooned in Realtime still hadn't arrived yesterday, the 29th, which I reckoned at 5 working days, so I contacted them. They came back and said if it hadn't arrived by the 30th, today (fair enough, they take the '5 working days' thing to be from the day after dispatch), to contact them again. So I did. And I've had an email back saying it was dispatched on the 24th and to wait until tomorrow. No no no!! Bloody great, that people working for an online bookshop can't actually read They've got a rather snippy reply from me waiting for them in the morning And what's all this rubbish about 'check with your local sorting office'. I've done that before and been told, politely, that they will always leave a card at the house if there's something to be collected. Go away Book Depository

Must be a cheap book by today's prices Eh?

Well at least it will save me some money: no more presents for frankie