On My Mind – Cruising – 1/3/2018

Posted on January 4, 2018 by admin

It’s been about a week since I’ve put up a post and here’s why.  We slipped off for a quick vacation – a Bahamas cruise – on the Norwegian Sky.  It was our first cruise and we were all both excited and a little curious about whether we’d enjoy it.  I know a fair number of people who do this over and over and over – they see it as the perfect vacation and have little interest in doing anything else.  I’ve also had people tell me it just isn’t for them – too sedentary, too confining, too crowded, a little boring.  We decided we finally had to give it a try.

Happy to say we all had a really good time.  The ship was impressive – it’s a floating resort open 24 hours a day.  The packages are all inclusive – food and drink – with some premium items and services offered for charge.  Plenty of entertainment options on the ship during the evenings, a fun casino, a good fitness center and some nice restaurants – from very casual to more formal.  You cruise through the night and enjoy port calls during the day with plenty of excursion options.  We started in Miami, cruised to Freeport, then to Nassau and then to a Norwegian Cruise Lines private island on the third day.

We had a really fun sail and snorkel excursion to Treasure Reef while in Freeport – plenty of live corals and an amazing variety of fish.  We chose not to sign up for an excursion for our day in Nassau – we relaxed on the ship for the first half of the day and walked through the city during the afternoon – shopping on Bay Street and the Straw Market.  On our third day – the private island – we rented a full service cabana – relaxed, ate, drank and played in the surf all day – highly recommended.  The ship also threw a great New Year’s Eve Party which we all enjoyed – just enough and not too much 🙂

One note – we reserved staterooms with balconies – something I would highly recommend.  It is true that things can get a little close on a ship that big with that many people and the opportunity to occasionally retreat to your balcony with a drink and look out over the water is a precious thing.  My wife and I really enjoyed watching both the sunrises and the sunsets from our balconies.  It’s also pretty fascinating to watch the whole process of leaving and coming into port from the balcony.  I was amazed at the way the crew was able to maneuver such a large vessel into and out of relatively small spaces.  It’s also great just to sit with a little privacy at night – enjoying the breeze and the stars.  Get the balcony – it makes everything feel more spacious and gives you a little privacy when you’re ready to get away from the crowd.

Another note – this was our first visit to Miami and we had the chance to get out for dinner and a walk about in South Beach.  My wife and I loved it – the shops, the restaurants, the bars, the music, the art deco environment – it just has an awesome vibe.  We thought it would be a great place – in those first few years after retirement – to rent a place for a few weeks – maybe a month or two – and just take it all in for awhile.  I’d recommend this as a destination to anyone who loves food and music and dancing and fun.  In some ways – it reminded me of New Orleans – just cleaner and healthier and safer.

Another note – each cruise line structures their packages differently and each has a slightly different personality.  One unique aspect of a cruise with Norwegian is that alcohol is included in the package.  This isn’t true with other lines – there’s usually an up-charge for an all inclusive liquor option or you’re required to pay by the drink.  We’re not big drinkers bu we did enjoy the fact that you could walk up to one of the many bars at any time and order anything you felt like drinking – particularly on a New Year’s Eve cruise.

A final note – it would have been all too easy to purchase an international data plan for the smart phones so that we could stay connected to everything happening off the ship.  We chose not to and just turned all the screens off for 4 days.  It made a huge difference.  We wound up focused only on what was happening around us and on each other, we weren’t texting or emailing and I wasn’t constantly reading the news.  If you try this, please just put the cell phones in the safe on the first day and don’t take them out until you’re ready to leave the ship and head home.  It really makes a huge difference.

Overall, a great vacation and something I’d definitely do again.  I can’t say it’s something I’d do repeatedly but for a chance to get out of the cold, be on the water (something I love), be catered to by ship’s crew (awesome service from an amazing staff) and just relax – it’s really a great choice.  I think my wife and I will try this again but in a slightly different way – maybe a small boat river cruise in Europe.  Those excursions look like they may be a bit more meaningful and it seems like there’s more of a chance to connect with the people you’re traveling with.

Couple of really fun / humorous moments:

  • My son had his first casino experience and did quite well on the Blackjack tables – ended way ahead and padded his bank account a bit.  I think he’s ready for Vegas.
  • I introduced my step-daughter to tequila and shared her first tequila shot.  While I don’t know that she appreciated the taste, she did seem to enjoy the whole lick, salt, shoot, suck ritual.  I don’t think it’ll be her last.  I’m just glad I was there for her first.
  • The kids both had the chance to do a little bargaining at the Straw Market with varying degrees of success – fun to watch and hard not to jump in.  My wife was also able to buy the handwoven straw tote she wanted.
  • While I was aware that we weren’t supposed to smoke in our staterooms, I guess I missed the part of the safety briefing that let us know that the balcony was also a no-smoking zone.  I’d purchased several cigars in Miami with the intention of enjoying them in the evenings on our balcony.  The first – and last time – I did this, I was made painfully aware of the fact that the smoke didn’t just drift out over the Caribbean.  It actually becomes pretty noticeable in staterooms above, below and to either side.  The rest of my cigars were gifted to our Stewards.
  • Most of all – this was probably the best family vacation we’ve ever had together.  We’re a blended family anyone who’s ever worked to bring two sets of formerly separate lives together will know there’s no guarantee that you can make it work.  While we’ve experienced bumps in the road from time to time – we’ve always been lucky and everyone’s always approached the challenge with an openness and a willingness to accept each other.  As I think back about the trip, I really feel like we were closer and more connected as a family than we’ve ever been.  It’s not that we didn’t argue from time to time or have frustrating moments but those times were more than compensated for by the way we talked with each other, shared, played and just connected.  I’m so thankful for the beautiful attitude that my wife, my son and my step daughter brought into this trip and the way they were just willing to enjoy being together.

So – from my perspective – this was a big win and the icing on the cake – I finished 4 books on the trip:

  • “Kill City Blues” – the next book in the Sandman Slim series.
  • “The Collapsing Empire” – first book in a new series by John Scalzi
  • “Shadow Of The Scorpion” – second book in the Polity Universe by Neal Asher
  • “All Systems Red” – newest book by Martha Wells in a new series called The Murderbot Diaries

You may remember, right before I left, I finished Steven Erikson’s “House Of Chains” – a substantial book that took me about a week to get through – and “The Templars” by Dan Jones – a much quicker read.  I was a little torn about what to read next.  I could either move to the next Malazan novel – “Midnight Tides” – another substantial book that would take me a week – or go to something lighter and easier to get through.  I made the second choice – one factor being the knowledge that I’d be offline during the cruise and would not have access to the Wiki – and actually made it through all four of the titles listed above.

I’m now back to Malaz – reading “Midnight Tides” – AND I have 4 books to write about as I push my way through a week’s worth of Steven Erikson.  I’ll post on “Kill City Blues” tomorrow.

G’night for now – time to walk the dogs, slip into bed and do some reading.

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On The Nightstand – The Templars – Epilogue – 12/27/2017

Posted on December 27, 2017 by admin

I also found this book to be a very timely reminder of just how possible it is for one powerful, venal and completely unscrupulous man – Philip IV of France – to completely destroy, in fairly short order, an institution with a 200 year history that was perceived by most at the time to be guided by a noble mission and serving as a force for good in the world.

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On The Nightstand – The Templars – 12/26/2017

Posted on December 27, 2017 by admin

I finished this one today – about a day and a half after I started.  It’s a very easy read – a narrative history that focuses exclusively on Who, What, When and Where.  It actually uses the history of the Templars as a framework for delivering an overview of the Latin (Crusader) Kingdoms in the Middle East and the Crusades.  For me, that was a good thing, since I didn’t know much about any of these topics starting out.  It’s one of those periods in history that I just haven’t spent much time studying or reading about.

The book covers a period of approximately 200 years – from 1102 to 1314 – and focuses on two primary narratives:  1) the establishment of the Templar economic, political and legal foundation across Europe that allowed them to become such a wealthy, influential and autonomous organization and 2) the Templar military history in the two Crusader military theaters of the time – the Holy Land (defense of the Latin Kingdoms in the Holy Land and the Crusades meant either to expand or to defend them) and the Iberian Peninsula (the Reconquista).  If you know even a little of the history of the Crusader Kingdoms or if you take the time to read the book’s subtitle, you’ll be forewarned to the fact that this is not going to be a triumphant story.

Over the course of 200+ years, Dan Jones walks you through a downward spiral that inevitably results in the expulsion of the West from the Holy Land and the dismemberment of the Templars.  On that journey, you experience a fair bit of nobility and courage but you also have to wade through far too much bad judgement, bad luck, treachery and ugly human fallibility – a majority (but not all) of it imposed upon what Jones characterizes as a small and pious yet extremely wealthy militant order by the foolishness of their secular allies and church overlords.

That all makes the book a depressing read in some ways.  Particularly at a time when noble ideals seem to be either disregarded or actively degraded, it’s hard to read about the “Spectacular Fall” of what was – in most ways, a very noble organization.  Jones’ Templars are a group of men that do – by and large – retain their commitment over time to the vision set down in their initial Rule – even as they amass significant wealth, political influence and military capability.  Given what they were becoming towards the end of the organization’s lifespan, a reader might even feel the smallest sense of relief about the rapid, total and unscrupulous way in which they were destroyed by the political (primarily Philip IV of France) and religious establishment of the day.  They were crushed before the ideals which they espoused were compromised or snuffed out by the wealth they’d accumulated and political influence they’d established.  At least that was the case for me but I’ve always been a bit too idealistic and optimistic in what I hope to find in world around me.

One other set of considerations that kept popping up in the back of my mind was a juxtaposition between the conditions in the Holy Land during the period described in the book and the conditions in the Mideast today.  The Latin Kingdoms were an artificial and inevitably temporary construct surrounded by an overwhelmingly hostile religion and a demographically advantaged culture.  Their survival was ultimately dependent upon the persistence of the European / Christian Crusader movement and the support provided by the kingdoms of France, Spain, England and the Holy Roman Empire.  As that movement waned, as Europe turned in on itself and as the Church began to focus on the Inquisition, the decline and defeat of the Crusader Kingdoms in the Holy Land was inevitable.

I can’t help but see potential parallels in today’s world – both with respect to the American / European military presence in the Mideast and the continued survival of Israel.  The first of these was originally based on the importance of the Mideast as a source of oil and eventually on the need to confront state sponsors of terrorism.  I suspect that both of these drivers will wane over time, leading to disengagement and confirmation of the many, current damning criticisms of the decisions that brought us there in the first place.  With respect to Israel, while it’s easy to casually assume it’s continued existence, Western support is what ultimately guarantees it’s viability.  As that support is increasingly questioned in the West, I have to wonder about it’s longer term prospects for survival. It’s hard for us to imagine a world where the state of Israel no longer exists but the same could be said for most people in 1200 when it came to the Crusader Kingdoms in the Holy Land.

Overall, a very good read and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys history or isn’t already familiar with the period.  As for me, that’s a powerful enough dose of reality for the Holidays.  I’m going to move on to something a bit more escapist – either the next Malazan novel, the next Sandman Slim novel or the next book in the Prador universe.  I’ll let you know as soon as I decide.

Cheers

 

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On The Nightstand – House Of Chains – 12/25/2017

Posted on December 26, 2017 by admin

I did finally finish “House Of Chains” (HoC) yesterday and I did it right here in front of the fire – watching the snow fall.  It took me longer than I’d anticipated – partly because I worked through the week before Christmas – very little extended time to read until Saturday – but worth every minute.  All I could think as I turned the last page – was I even paying attention the first time I read this book?

I took so much more out of it this time around and with every book in the series that I reread, I’m that much more thankful that I’ve decided to do a reboot on the entire body of work.  I’m completely convinced that anyone who enjoyed these books – as rich and dense as they are – will find them even more worthwhile the second time through.

Here’s a series of random takeaways for me as I’m working through the series a second time:

  • None of the books in this series are quick or casual reads.  Another reason it took me longer than expected to finish HoC was due to the fact that I never left a page without first making sure that I’d digested all the content and understood the significance of everything S.E. had written.  That often required me to reference the Wiki.  It occasionally required me to backtrack and reread earlier sections.  At times, it forced me to return to earlier books, run a word search to find critical content so that I had proper context.  For this reason alone, I strongly recommend reading all these books off an e-reader.  On more than a few occasions, I went back to “Deadhouse Gates” or “Memories Of Ice” to reread a scene and being able to access content via search was really helpful.  Long to short – so much is going on in this book – it’s easy to move through quickly and assume that unanswered questions won’t matter – don’t.  With these books – almost everything matters.  Go slow – understand everything – it makes a huge difference.
  • I didn’t find or read “Night Of Knives” or “Gardens Of The Moon” until I’d finished “Deadhouse Gates”, “Memories Of Ice” and “House Of Chains”.  I appreciated all three of those books but too much of their content refers back to events in both NoK or GotM.  This shouldn’t be startling to anyone but starting at the beginning really helps.
  • Reading the first two books of the Forge Of Darkness prequel – and the third as soon as it arrives – is really helpful.  They’re not as entertaining as the entries in the main series – there’s nothing but sorrow, betrayal and inevitable tragedy in these books – but it’s important to experience it.  You really need to know something about the history of the Tiste races and the Warrens before you get into the main series.    A lot of that content was confusing to me the first time through and I struggled with it – questions and uncertainties kept piling up as I worked through the books.
  • Same thing is true with respect to the Path To Ascendancy prequel – understanding the early history of the Malazan Empire and the Old Guard makes for a smoother entry into the main series.  In some ways, they’re also the lightest, funniest, most entertaining books in the entire body of work.  They give you the chance to meet Kellenvad, Dancer, Dassem, Surly and all the other members of the Old Guard at a young age – when victories can be won with little sacrifice – before their choices lock them all into hard, bloody and all too often fatal futures.  These aren’t the most meaningful or impactful books that Steven Erikson and Ian C. Esslemont have written but they are – in many ways – the most fun.  You’ll actually find yourself chuckling from time to time as you read these.
  • I think it’s fair to say that there’s more going on in “House Of Chains” than in any of the books that precede it.  I was really amazed as I read through it a second time just how many pieces slipped into place and how many of my questions were answered.  It also amazed me just how either the content hadn’t stayed with me or how much I’d missed the first time through.  This is a pivotal book in the series – things either end or they’re resolved in such a way as to prepare you for the bigger events about to come.  Get this one right and you’ll be really ready to move forward.  I just didn’t give it the time or attention it deserved the first time around.
  • Use the Wiki – just use it – you’ll be thankful you did.

Finishing a book like this is really satisfying – you feel like you’ve accomplished something.  It also leaves me a little conflicted.  I’m ready for the next book in the series – “Midnight Tides” – but I know that locks me into another solid week of reading.  Given the limited time I have and the big stack of books I want to get through over the Holiday, I’ve decided to take a brief detour – mix things up a bit.  I started “The Templars” by Dan Jones.  Won’t hurt to transition from the imagined to the real for a few days.

Hope everyone had a truly wonderful Christmas Day.  Ours was a blessing and I feel like the Holiday is only just beginning.  I’m about to start a new fire and spend the better part of the evening reading about the Catholic Church and its warrior priests.

 

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On My Mind – The Weather Outside – 12/24/2017

Posted on December 25, 2017 by admin

Is pretty much perfect for Christmas Eve.  Looks like we’ll be having a White Christmas after all.  Great, fun dinner with the family tonight – followed by a Christmas Eve Service that went a bit long but was lovely nonetheless.  My wife and I are about to start putting presents under the tree and will be calling it a night soon.  Overall, a very good day.

Oh yeah – I also finally finished “House Of Chains” – a very good day indeed.

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On My Mind – Last Day Of The Work Year – 12/22/2017

Posted on December 23, 2017 by admin

 

I normally try to finish the work year well before Christmas eve – at least a week – so that I can relax and enjoy that slow build up to the big day.  That was certainly my intent this year.  I had planned to take this week off – spend time at home – relax with my wife and the dogs – enjoy having the kids home – all the things that make the week before Christmas such a treasure.  Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way – for a couple of reasons.

The first involves my “round to it” problem.  I’ve been telling myself for more than a month that I really needed to block this week off on my calendar but I just never got ’round to it.  I let other things at work take precedence, I kept telling myself that no one would be around to make demands on my time during the week, that the week would just stay clear and be open for me once I finally got to it.  Well – guess what – it didn’t happen that way.  Not blocking the week just gave too many people the opportunity to schedule meetings and I kept making one off exceptions – accepting a meeting here and there – until by the time it got here – the week was just full.  Thank goodness my EA had the presence of mind to block off the second half of the day on Friday.

The second thing that kept me in the office was the people who work for me.  This has been a pretty overwhelming year for my Organization and I’ve asked a great deal from everyone.  Over the course of two years, I’ve changed almost every process and practice they’ve ever known.  I’ve watched the vast majority of them accept change and adopt new ways of doing things, stay flexible and focused and work really, really hard to perform.

I’ve watched each one of my Sales Leaders start to focus on becoming good coaches and teach their people how to manage a territory, build a sales pipeline, nurture leads, transition them to opportunities and – finally – move them to the closed / won category.

I’ve watched my Marketing team completely change the way they work – shift their focus from product to customer, build value propositions, generate quality sales enablement packages, redesign our website, automate a big piece of our early lead generation process and launch a new Corporate brand.

I’ve watched my Commercial Analytics group build out our customer databases, develop relevant market definitions, construct robust forecast models, design and implement a rational approach to sales territory alignment, establish universally accepted performance metrics and design and launch an incentive based compensation system.

I’ve watched my State and Payer Relations group dig really hard to develop new relationships and secure the third party drivers that were so critical to our sales people.

Here’s the kicker – while I’ve asked them to do all that – I’ve also also pushed them harder this year for results than they’ve ever been pushed.  So…with all that going on, I just didn’t feel right walking away and taking time off.  Most of my folks worked through the better part of the week and I don’t think I could have left them to finish it out alone.  When all was said and done, even with the family time I lost and the quiet days that I passed on, I’m really glad I worked through the week.  On Thursday at 9:10 AM, we booked just enough to exceed 2017 business plan targets and we got to celebrate the milestone together.  That was a big day for an Organization dealing with major changes.

Now I’m home – with my family, writing a little, reading a lot, enjoying the tree and the Christmas carols, finishing up a little last minute shopping (very little), enjoying a scotch or three and falling asleep in front of the fire.  Still plenty of Christmas to celebrate with the people I love the most.

Cheers

 

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On My Mind – Glen Cook – Update – 12/18/2017

Posted on December 20, 2017 by admin

I had to write a follow up to my Glen Cook post from last night.  After what was, in retrospect, kind of a peevish post, I got to thinking about the fact that I hadn’t searched online for hard cover editions of The Black Company novels in awhile.  After a quick check, I found this:

And this:

They’re both Fantasy & Science Fiction Book Club editions – not what I was looking for – and I still can’t find a hard cover edition of “The Silver Spike” – but they’re nevertheless on their way and they’ll have to do until someone puts out a commemorative edition of these books.

Cheers

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On My Mind – Glen Cook – 12/18/2017

Posted on December 19, 2017 by admin

First things first – I really enjoy Glen Cook.  I’ve read all his Black Company novels as well as his Instrumentalities Of The Night series.  These are all good books but The Black Company has a very special place in my heart.  I think I found these books in the early 90’s and they were like nothing I’d ever read before – dark and heartless and completely captivating.  It was one of the first fantasy series I’d read that broke hard from the Tolkeinesque High Fantasies that had been my mainstay – along with the Thomas Covenant books.  I’ve always considered these to be very important books for the genre and anyone who hasn’t read them needs to do so.

What I’m struggling with is a collection issue similar to that I have with Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos series.  I’ve found hard cover editions of the last 4 Black Company novels:  “Bleak Seasons”, “She Is The Darkness”, “Water Sleeps” and “Soldiers Live”.  I also have hard cover editions of the four Instrumentalities Of The Night books:  “The Tyranny Of The Night”, “Lord Of The Silent Kingdom”, “Surrender To The Will Of The Night” and “Working God’s Mischief”.  Nightshade Books is even releasing hard cover omnibus editions of all his Dread Empire stories:  “A Cruel Wind”, “A Fortress In Shadow”, “An Empire Unacquainted With Defeat” and a final volume – “Wrath Of Kings” – release date pending.  What a collector can’t get in hard cover – which I find to be completely bizarre – maybe it’s out there and I just haven’t found it – are the first five novels in the series: “The Black Company”, “Shadows Linger”, “The White Rose”, “Shadow Games” and “Dreams Of Steel” or the spin-off novel “The Silver Spike”.

How does this make any sense?  These are some fairly important additions to the genre and publishers have managed to get the rest of his work out in hard cover – but we’re still waiting for hard cover editions of his best known and most meaningful work.  These are the kinds of things that just kill me as a collector.  If anyone can explain this to me or if I’m just missing something, please let me know.  I really need these books in my library.

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On The Shelf – Coming In 2018 – 12/16/2017

Posted on December 16, 2017 by admin

Very happy to have this arrive on my doorstep yesterday.  I think that’s actually the last thing I have on order for 2017 and it’s going directly to the Holiday Reading List pile.  I haven’t included these Bauchelain & Korbal Broach novellas in my post on reading order for the Malazan series because they don’t really impact S.E. and I.E.’s overall story arc(s) – the main characters appear from time to time in the Malazan novels but the novellas stand alone.  They’re a bit dark at times but humorous and fun and very much worth the time.

It also lets me shift my acquisition focus to 2018 and I thought I’d preview what’s in the que for the 1st half of the year.  These are all the books I have in my cart on Amazon with a publication date sometime during 2018.

  • The Labyrinth Index by Charles Stross:  Next book in the Laundry Files series with a publication date of July 3, 2018.  Check out my In The Cart post on “The Fuller Memorandum” for comments on this series.  Short to long – these are really enjoyable books, making up a consistently enjoyable series.  Stross just finished a major story arc in his last Laundry Files novel – “The Delerium Brief” – and he’s set to move into a new phase involving – I hope – what’s referred to in the books as “Case Nightmare Green”.  If you haven’t read these books, I strongly suggest you give them a try.  Start with “The Atrocity Archives” and see how they sit with you.  I was immediately hooked.
  • Emergence by C.J. Cherryh:  Next book in the Foreigner series with a publication date of January 2, 2018.  I’ve read almost all of the books in this series – I think I’m 3 books behind right now – and find them consistently enjoyable.  This is the 19th book in the series so I’ve been with it for a loooong time.  This is not a book that you’re going to enjoy unless you’ve read all that comes before so you’ve got a pretty long row to how if you decide to take the plunge.  Having said that, I buy them all as they’re released, they vary from good to great but they’ve never left me feeling like I’ve wasted my time.
  • Black Chamber by S.M. Stirling:  First book in a new series by the author of the Change novels with a publication date of July 3, 2018.  I just finished his most recent installment in the Change series – “The Sea Peoples” – and enjoyed it every bit as much as I have the previous 13 books (17 if you include the 3 Island In The Sea Of Time novels).  I’ve read most of S.M. Stirling’s stuff (the Draka novels, The Peshawar Lancers, Conquistador, etc.) and – with the exception of the Shadowspawn novels (I found both the characters and the stories uncharacteristically weak and one dimensional), I’ve really enjoyed it all.  He’s launching a new alternate universe with this book – set in the time of the First World War – and I’m excited to see what he’s come up with.
  • In Enemy Hands Limited Leatherbound Edition by David Weber:  Limited edition reprint of the seventh book in the Honorverse series with a publication date of January 2, 2018.  I’ve read every Honorverse novel that David Weber has written.  He’s still adding to the series but I buy and read them these days mainly as a labor of love – and each new release seems to get just a little more laborious.  “On Basilisk Station” is, to this day, one of the most enjoyable military SF novels I’ve ever read and so many of the subsequent books were almost as good.  Somewhere along the way in this massive narrative, Weber just seems to have run out of steam or become lazy.  The characters have become too cliche and the non-combat portions have become waaaay too preachy and simplistic.  This is purely a collection purchase – I have all the previously released, hard cover releases of all the Honorverse novels and I’ve been buying these Leatherbound Editions to complete my set.
  • A Call To Vengeance by David Weber:  Third novel in the Honorverse prequel series called Manticore Ascendant with a publication date of March 6, 2018.  My comments above on the decline in the quality of the Honorverse novels applies here as well.  The first two books have been entertaining but nothing special.  They’re a little clunky, the characters are cliche and the story is just too simplistic.  Having said that, very few authors can describe a small to large space fleet action like Weber and for this reason alone, I’ll continue to buy the books and wade through all the tiresome bits just to have him take me into combat.
  • Good Guys by Steven Brust:  New series by the author of the Vlad Taltos novels with a publication date of March 6, 2018.  If you haven’t read the Vlad Taltos novels – BUY THEM AND READ THEM NOW – every new title in this series is a gem, the main character and his familiar are wonderful and the world they live in is just fascinating.  I feel the same way about these books as I do about Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden stories – pure gold.  I just finished Brust’s most recent installment, “Vallista”, and was not disappointed.  My only frustration here is that hardcover editions are only available for about half the titles in this series and it’s killing me as a collector.  I need some publisher to buy the rights and release a consistent and comprehensive hard cover edition of this series.  Brust has also written a couple of prequels – one consisting of two books and one trilogy – to his Taltos series and those books are just as good.  The first of these – “The Phoenix Guards” – is a retelling of Dumas’ “The Three Musketeers” in the Taltos universe and it continues to be one of the most enjoyable reads I’ve ever had.  This new series is actually set in our world and involves a magic, secret society – all I really know at this point.  Given how much I’ve always enjoyed Brust’s books, I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do with this new story.
  • The Night Dahlia by R.S. Belcher:  Second book in the Nightwise series with a publication date of April 3, 2018.  Belcher is a relatively new author for me.  I discovered him when I picked up what I think was his first book – “The Six-Gun Tarot”.  It’s an alternative universe set in the Old West – crazy weird and very fun.  The second and third books in what has come to be called the Golgotha series – “The Shotgun Arcana” and “The Queen Of Swords” were just as good.  Try them if you haven’t – I don’t think you’ll regret it.  As he’s been writing the Golgotha books, he’s also released two other singleton titles that felt like test novels for new series’.  The first – “Brotherhood Of The Wheel” – was a failure on all levels – one of those books that you look back on as a waste of time and I suspect one that Belcher regrets.  I did finish it simply because I enjoyed the Golgotha books so much and never gave up hope.  Still, I wouldn’t waste your time with this one.  The second – “Nightwise” – was very good.  It was very dark and uncomfortable in places but it was compelling.  This is one I would recommend.  “The Night Dahlia” is the second in the Nightwise series and I’m hoping it’s every bit as good as the inaugural novel.  I do have one frustration – all of Belcher’s other books have been available in hard cover.  As of now, this one looks like it’s only available in soft cover.  If that doesn’t change, I may just buy an e-copy and wait for release of a hard cover.  Having said that, this one will be read as soon as it’s available.
  • The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman:  Fourth book in The Invisible Library Series with a publication date of January 9, 2018.  I’ve read the first book in this series – “The Invisible Library” – found it really fun and entertaining.  I have the second and third books but haven’t been able to get to them yet.  This is the fourth in the series and I’m going on faith with an On The Shelf purchase.  Similar frustration here to the situation with Belcher’s new book – the first three titles in the series have been available in hard cover.  As of now, this one looks like it’s only available in soft cover.  If that doesn’t change, I’ll probably hold off – at least until I’ve made it through the first three.

That’s what I have lined up for 2018 so far.  I’m most excited about “The Labyrinth Index”, “Good Guys” and “The Night Dahlia”.  I’ll supplement the post as new titles pop up.

Cheers

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On The Nightstand – House Of Chains – 12/14/2017

Posted on December 15, 2017 by admin

I had a little aha moment reading last night that I completely missed the first time around with this book.  There’s a brief episode, right after Karsa and Torvald manage to escape The Nascent, where they come ashore on the continent of Seven Cities.  They run across an enigmatic character who identifies himself only as Keeper.  Erikson provides no backstory on the character in the book but you know he’s “somebody” because he responds to one of Karsa’s insults by punching him in the chest so hard that he knocks Karsa out and breaks his ribs.  By this point in the book, you know this is no small feat.  Over the course of the chapter, they mend their relationship and “Keeper” sends them on their way to Ehrlitan.

The first time I read through the book, I had no idea who “Keeper” really was.  He appears later in both “The Bonehunters” and “Return Of The Crimson Guard” (which I still have yet to read) but even after reading “The Bonehunters”, I still hadn’t made the connection.  Even if I had, I don’t know that it would have meant much at the time.  It was only after reading “DeadHouse Landing” that I made the connection.  “Keeper” is actually Urko Crust – a member of Kellanved’s Old Guard.  FINALLY!!  I know.  I know.  I’m slow – but I am steady – I eventually get there.

It never ceases to amaze me how these guys keep their story straight and how everything eventually ticks and ties – it really is cool.  If you’re a casual reader, the first time you run across this character – he is no one to you.  At this point, you know very little about the Old Guard and the early history of the Malazan Empire.  S.E. just drops him into the story – gives him a few pages – never tells you who he is – and then walks away from him.  As you move through the books, you’re likely to forget him.

The next time you meet the character is in S.E.’s “The Bonehunters”.  Not fully understanding why at the time, Apsalar travels through Shadow to visit Urko in the same location where Karsa had found him in “House Of Chains”.  They have a brief conversation where he’s finally identified as Urko and he provides just the slightest peek into the past and his relationship with Kellanved, Dancer and Surly.  There’s also an intimation that Dancer is sending a warning or a message to Urko but nothing more.  Then Apsalar walks out and Urko disappears again from the narrative until he appears with a major role in I.E.’s “Return Of The Crimson Guard”.

Now – in the last few months, I.E releases “Deadhouse Landing” and tells the story of Kellanved and Dancer’s arrival in Malaz as young men and their assembly of most of the Old Guard.  For the first time, you get to know Urko and his history – five years after he appears as Keeper in “House Of Chains”.

I don’t know what to think – except that this really is a pretty amazing collaboration.  It would be hard enough for one writer to weave all these strands into whole cloth.  I don’t know how the two of them have managed.  I’m just very thankful that they have.

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