tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56259387263695737562024-03-12T22:33:12.463-04:00Sci-Fi Fan LetterReviews of Science Fiction and Fantasy novels by Jessica Strider, a former bookseller and avid reader. You'll also find shout-outs to SFF books, medieval history reviews and tidbits and more.Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.comBlogger2914125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-3902736666761695102024-03-12T10:51:00.031-04:002024-03-12T10:59:09.835-04:00Travel Journal Ideas<p>I was speaking with a friend recently and we started trading journalling ideas and I realized I'd learned a bunch of things these past few months that she didn't know about, so I thought I'd share them with a larger audience.</p><p>For my past few trips I wanted to come back with pretty journals. For France I had this lovely idea of sitting in front of a cathedral sketching pieces of architecture. Well that never happened. These are research trips and they're packed FULL of sites, so there's little downtime. And my priority is photographs - hundreds of them per site, that all need to be double backed up (which for Italy took over an hour a night as my photo file sizes got larger and my phone was old).</p><p>Before I left for Italy I researched gifts for techies, looking for ideas for my husband, and stumbled across the Canon Ivy 2 (not sponsored). It's a mini printer that makes... 2x3 inch stickers! They're thin, so they don't bulk up my journal, you can customize them with text and other features (frames, shapes) and there are templates on the app so you can split the sheet into smaller photos (I generally printed all of mine as quarters, with 1/8s for things like food). I made my own mini template with the photo sizes so while I was writing my journal I could block out the space with a squiggled frame and then print and add the photo in later. The photos are on the darker side, a bit 'artistic' looking rather than true to life/vibrant. You can edit them in the app so I tended to brighten mine. There's also a blue sheet in each paper pack that you run through the printer first to calibrate it, and someone online suggested if you get a good one to keep it and use that one over and over again as some give brighter results. The printer comes with 10 pieces of paper. Replacement paper is not cheap though, and you have to use their stuff. (You can see three 1/4 pictures at the bottom of the picture below, the printer, a full page, the blue calibration paper and a full pack of 10 pages.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9vrMi2A9lqzfH-TZGf-8-8eciZ_djSMrlqIhS9fN2phOqbIAIvC9UyvlPO8M4wfnHOFF34SGYRbxT8KkMUWnn1ANeqJN_FwTw9nEkIxZ6PzJrV0pGI26Z1b95zLq_ykL3vviK-YFIlLrTaOKZ1n496ZGatfQ0ZlajYlS0osZ0fVA8lliNX7hnLpLty8/s4000/Ivy%202.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9vrMi2A9lqzfH-TZGf-8-8eciZ_djSMrlqIhS9fN2phOqbIAIvC9UyvlPO8M4wfnHOFF34SGYRbxT8KkMUWnn1ANeqJN_FwTw9nEkIxZ6PzJrV0pGI26Z1b95zLq_ykL3vviK-YFIlLrTaOKZ1n496ZGatfQ0ZlajYlS0osZ0fVA8lliNX7hnLpLty8/s320/Ivy%202.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>While the printer worked great, I still want my next journal to be even prettier. So I bought a bunch of stickers and then got the idea to make my own! I lucked out and found a package of half sheet shipping labels for $1. I started by printing background text in different languages, then stained the sheet with coffee, added some coloured stamps and die cut them out. I've got a lot of stamps and dies from card crafting and it feels good to use them again (I haven't been very crafty the past few years). I cut out various leaves, mushrooms, mini houses, butterflies, cats, etc. I made country labels this way too. </p><p>One of my favourite things about churches is their floor plans, which for research is so important. So I made mini stickers of them to add to my journal. I also started printing images of interesting things I'll be seeing at museums and whatnot (like the Jelling stones in Denmark).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZx9rGFym6us8olg_m1sFNfDK8uIRgKkGyr3cXgh27lhQfUmv5XcdqytbCSs3R_t89TOAjp9OHD-b9pNBSnQu01_Ay2AAlPk71sKHnfXP7gZwCR6cDf65aOXwciqjJB7gDSbOoEAolqFCEZT3SzE7Cy5vY1_p58hvIh9Dfdb8JctJUoYZ7xvzYNwndYY/s3314/homemade%20stickers.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2777" data-original-width="3314" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZx9rGFym6us8olg_m1sFNfDK8uIRgKkGyr3cXgh27lhQfUmv5XcdqytbCSs3R_t89TOAjp9OHD-b9pNBSnQu01_Ay2AAlPk71sKHnfXP7gZwCR6cDf65aOXwciqjJB7gDSbOoEAolqFCEZT3SzE7Cy5vY1_p58hvIh9Dfdb8JctJUoYZ7xvzYNwndYY/s320/homemade%20stickers.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>I don't have a colour printer so I set up a page and had a copy shop print it for me. They wouldn't use my sticker paper (unsurprisingly), so I used another supply I'd bought, double sided adhesive paper. That was my original plan for the stickers before I found the labels. I printed mini city crests, manuscript pages, manuscript marginal figures, a picture of the currency I'll be using on the trip, and more museum pieces. I also printed out and coloured mini tarot cards. I'm planning to assign a different tarot card to cities I visit (for example Stockholm = sun card, Nuremberg = justice). I'm also bringing postage stamps. I have tons from when I used to collect them. I didn't have any from Sweden though, so I printed one off to make a sticker of it.</p><p> I doubt I'll use of the supplies I've bought and made, but I guarantee I'll have a pretty journal when I get back!</p><p>As an addendum, my Eurail pass came with a premium code for a travel app called Find Penguins. I've looked into it a bit and it tracks your travel and allows you to post photos on their site. People can comment without needing their own account. You can make your trip public, for anyone to see, or private with only those who have the link being able to follow your trip. At the end of the trip you can buy a physical book from them that documents your trip, with a map, and daily information for where you went (city, temperature, altitude, photos, comments). The premium account lets you post more photos/videos per 'footprint' and gets you a free ebook of your trip at the end. If you sign up they give you a 3 month premium account trial - so if you want to use it, don't do what I did and sign up 4+ months early to test it out. Also, for the sake of security, people mention to start and stop your trip tracking at the airport so it doesn't add your house. This is especially important if you're doing the public setting. I haven't really tried the app out so this isn't an endorsement, just a heads up to check it out if you've not heard of it in case it interests you. I may post a review of it once I'm back.</p><p><br /></p>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-35506580984839883442024-03-05T10:06:00.003-05:002024-03-05T10:06:34.555-05:00Books Received in February 2024<p> Many thanks as always to the publishers who approved my requests for Netgalley advance reader copies.</p><p><b><i>Cascade Failure</i> by L. M. Sagas </b>- This book was so much fun to read. Fast paced with a hopeful ending. Look for my review on its release date of March 19.</p><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRk_3fZ1OMgNK9q0ouqc1I6MbI0vBi19KFEgkME-eXF5eyXw01o2r5fIkRD1bS4ZRYWc3iIr6kkBbne1DXEpHel2CQ_ZOl2_UW_QSAsfl8Xe8-qr_-dgXb4zJk6wqp-2VNXqJ4EHcULUn2jcasPSdChvwsdJFNnulPDi9rnplKCf_EehN-vDIBa3PLyks/s391/Cascade%20Failure.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRk_3fZ1OMgNK9q0ouqc1I6MbI0vBi19KFEgkME-eXF5eyXw01o2r5fIkRD1bS4ZRYWc3iIr6kkBbne1DXEpHel2CQ_ZOl2_UW_QSAsfl8Xe8-qr_-dgXb4zJk6wqp-2VNXqJ4EHcULUn2jcasPSdChvwsdJFNnulPDi9rnplKCf_EehN-vDIBa3PLyks/s320/Cascade%20Failure.png" width="209" /></a></div>There are only three real powers in the Spiral: the corporate power of the Trust versus the Union's labor's leverage. Between them the Guild tries to keep everyone's hands above the table. It ain't easy.<br /><br />Branded a Guild deserter, Jal "accidentally" lands a ride on a Guild ship. Helmed by an AI, with a ship's engineer/medic who doesn't see much of a difference between the two jobs, and a "don't make me shoot you" XO, the Guild crew of the Ambit is a little . . . different.<br /><br />They're also in over their heads. Responding to a distress call from an abandoned planet, they find a mass grave, and a live programmer who knows how it happened. The Trust has plans. This isn't the first dead planet, and it's not going to be the last.<br /><br />Unless the crew of the Ambit can stop it.</blockquote><p> </p><p><b><i>Anxiety Workbook for Women</i> by Bianca L. Rodriguez</b> - I'm slowly working my way through this. While I've made good progress in the past a dealing with my anxiety, there's always more to learn and I'm hoping this book will give me new tools to help quiet my mind so I can concentrate better again. Out March 19.</p><blockquote><b>Manage your anxiety</b> and take control of your life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11CcYpZH2m92sLHA84IOBRCZf9Tr5dLSDIc0zwWqfD7gvRo1ayo4vUKzToirMbZ_6CMifOuX4klJ4UHeIx4MxM2HlHcFLtrIBn81igl4JBThGnv8-InyIchTvn2f8BHWcWgyeFOwyscgPpVZWRT6yFiOE53-WeZSAsX7r9gqXC7Gi_11Uom6RD66g4hM/s422/Anxiety%20Workbook%20for%20Women.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="342" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11CcYpZH2m92sLHA84IOBRCZf9Tr5dLSDIc0zwWqfD7gvRo1ayo4vUKzToirMbZ_6CMifOuX4klJ4UHeIx4MxM2HlHcFLtrIBn81igl4JBThGnv8-InyIchTvn2f8BHWcWgyeFOwyscgPpVZWRT6yFiOE53-WeZSAsX7r9gqXC7Gi_11Uom6RD66g4hM/s320/Anxiety%20Workbook%20for%20Women.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><br />Learn how to quiet your mind and ease fearful feelings with this simple, practical anxiety workbook for women. Each page offers insight into the underlying causes of anxiety and teaches you how to identify your triggers and develop effective coping methods so you can live with greater confidence and contentment.<br /><br /><b>The truth about anxiety</b>—Explore what anxiety really is, how it manifests in different ways, and the reasons it is especially common among women.<br /><br /><b>Proven tools and techniques</b>—Discover exercises from a licensed therapist for soothing anxiety with mindfulness, meditation, acceptance and commitment therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy.<br /><br /><b>You're not alone</b>—Find hope and support in stories of other women using the strategies in this workbook to overcome their anxiety.<br /><br />Build the skills to reduce stress and cultivate calm with this supportive anxiety book for women.</blockquote>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-68747944231611089012024-02-27T09:00:00.001-05:002024-02-27T09:00:00.556-05:00Book Review: Strange Religion by Nijay K. Gupta<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRRC5kgpFslH0IrvAJ_mn1YFFL91kT6XrZda-1bxbiv48XCcT_uErUmb_RC5v3k1FFDMIIxMn3MZtyjlJ4jlE-diiLObTvk5UvFFzrOh-ic1XRyXqd-zHk1eb5ROI_nIBSOKikZBV2NozjiTehyphenhyphenYuet16yJgfH5-WeQ8QLzwPOrONeUHTgx-L3eaY7N38/s828/Strange%20Religion.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRRC5kgpFslH0IrvAJ_mn1YFFL91kT6XrZda-1bxbiv48XCcT_uErUmb_RC5v3k1FFDMIIxMn3MZtyjlJ4jlE-diiLObTvk5UvFFzrOh-ic1XRyXqd-zHk1eb5ROI_nIBSOKikZBV2NozjiTehyphenhyphenYuet16yJgfH5-WeQ8QLzwPOrONeUHTgx-L3eaY7N38/s320/Strange%20Religion.png" width="207" /></a></div>The book is split into 4 sections, with 12 chapters, an introduction, and a short conclusion. There are end notes at the back. The 4 sections are: Becoming Christian, What the First Christians Believed, How the First Christians Worshipped, and How the First Christians Lived. <br /><br />I reviewed an advance reader copy, meaning it wasn’t in its final form. My copy had no illustrations, just captions where the illustrations should go. So I cannot comment on their quality, though there were a good number of them and they’re placed to illustrate interesting aspects of the text.<br /><br />The author used a decent number of quotes from ancient texts in addition to numerous Old and New Testament quotes. He often tied things together with modern examples which I found a bit jarring but might help a general audience better understand the thought process of ancient peoples.<br /><br />The book has some great aims and asks some excellent questions. These are questions that cannot be fully answered, as sources are limited, but it was frustrating at times how short the discussion was. The author might give a few possible answers but little or sometimes no reasoning on why these answers should be considered.<br /><br />For example, in the 3rd chapter he questions why Romans would join the new Christian church when it was so radically different from what they were used to. He mentions 4 possibilities: the intriguing idea of monotheism, the promise of eternal life, that the new faith blended religion, philosophy and morality in a way others didn’t, and the concept of loving everyone. He mentions these but has no follow-up discussion about them and simply ends the chapter. Also strange is the absence of Christianity’s idea of equality as one of those possibilities. Many early adopters of Christianity were rich upper class women (women whose houses were gifted to the church to become buildings of worship upon their deaths). While upper class women had more agency than many in ancient Rome, the Christian faith gave them power over belief in ways other religions denied them. The author does cover the stratification of Roman society and how Christians tried to upend that with their idea of everyone being treated equally within the church in a later chapter, but he never posits this as a reason why lower class individuals might have joined the church in the first place. Even in his conclusion, when he again considers the question of what made Christianity so compelling, he neglects to mention it in favour of purely spiritual answers. <br /><br />Despite my desire to see more discussion, the book is excellent at giving a good idea of how differently ancient peoples thought about concepts like religion. It was very useful learning how Greeks and Romans worshipped. I also appreciated learning more about how early Christian practice was different from the Jewish faith it sprang from. I highlighted numerous passages in the book that I thought were worth reflecting on. Christianity has changed a lot from those early years, so it was interesting seeing what the first Christians believed and how they followed Christ. <br /><br />Consider this a great introduction to the topic of how early Christians practiced and how their worship and thought patterns differed from those of the people around them. It’s a fairly short, easy to read book that will give you a lot to think about.Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-20496417803513910402024-02-20T10:53:00.006-05:002024-02-20T10:53:54.869-05:00Movie Review: Nine DaysDirected by Edson Oda, 2020<br /><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10451852/">IMDb listing</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCvPtn0pckTHYoODXTcLfAG0kLFX8y68vK63hPzUjfM5zBors1X5WW1nFAAIJuyCQsePRbt77fbXkz76S2POXntpxPoRWiJB4giTjapnt1KQRfCX5ZCUnWbMGcRk4NNhM2DlBGKMwIthli1udWH4lNTpBiWwEIROXdYia10PV75Rp14I4dMzwSuAhB3w/s1778/Nine%20Days.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1778" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCvPtn0pckTHYoODXTcLfAG0kLFX8y68vK63hPzUjfM5zBors1X5WW1nFAAIJuyCQsePRbt77fbXkz76S2POXntpxPoRWiJB4giTjapnt1KQRfCX5ZCUnWbMGcRk4NNhM2DlBGKMwIthli1udWH4lNTpBiWwEIROXdYia10PV75Rp14I4dMzwSuAhB3w/s320/Nine%20Days.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>Set in a realm that monitors people on earth and chooses souls to be sent there, one of the interviewers who had a bad experience on earth sorts through new candidates. But as he deals with the death of his favourite subject and a candidate with ideas different from the others’, he starts to question the criteria upon which he makes his judgement.<br /><br />This is a strange but thoughtful movie about life and death and what we got out of those experiences. It’s a reminder to be in the moment, to appreciate what you have.<br /><br />The interviewer, Will, played by Winston Duke, is an interesting character. He’s clearly upset that he has to replace one of his subjects and his experience on earth was apparently negative. It’s unclear what he’s looking for in his new subject, so there’s an interesting mix of souls trying to cater to what they think he wants and being true to themselves.<br /><br />Emma, played by Zazie Beetz, does a brilliant job of showing how every moment is precious - even minor, otherwise forgettable ones. That if you really LOOK around you, you’ll see the good in the world. She questions the process and gets the most out of the time allotted.<br /><br />It’s a thought-provoking film that had me crying in a few scenes.<br /><br />There are a lot of unexplained aspects of the film, where this takes place for example. Expect to be moved by several scenes and left unsettled by the ending.<div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A73FnWETvr8?si=aCumxPcrJ51T2lKm" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-45069586866770270692024-02-13T15:54:00.002-05:002024-02-13T15:54:20.916-05:00Reduced Attention SpanI know from posts I’ve seen online that a lot of people came out of the pandemic with a reduced attention span. I used to read for hours at a time, lost in the story. Now it sees like anytime I open a book it’s a real struggle to finish a chapter, a page, a paragraph. No matter how interesting the characters or plot, I have a hard time keeping my mind focused on what I’m doing. So many other things try to intrude. I’m reading more history books, which means I often pause to look up new information or other books being referenced to check out later. I’ve started forcing myself to sit still and read, but even then, chores, shopping lists, random thoughts intrude, making it hard to concentrate. And there’s always social media, that time sink that makes it feel like you’re connecting with the world when you’re really just becoming more and more isolated in your own private echo chamber.<br /><br />I’m planning another research trip which is eating up the majority of my time. I haven’t been taking on many review requests as a result. Haven’t been reading much fiction at all. Last year I only read 28 books, 18 of which were fiction. Two of those were graphic novels, three more were Dante’s Divine Comedy (are those fiction? poetry? religious philosophy? not really sure). I keep thinking I can read on my trips, but the stress involved means I REALLY do not have the concentration required. So I’ve gravitated to watching more movies and TV shows. <br /><br />I read an article recently by a professor lamenting that kids these days haven’t learned the skill of reading. That the instant gratification of social media has lowered attention spans and that schools haven’t focused on the skill that is sitting still and concentrating on a single task. I’m realizing that sitting still is a skill to be cultivated. And I think a lot of us have lost it.<br /><br />I also think I need to prioritize pleasure reading more. Accomplishing tasks is great and research is wonderful, but all stress and no down time make for people who don’t handle the challenges of life very well. The world keeps telling us that we need to earn money from everything we do, that all our hobbies should be second or third jobs. I have found that when I review all the movies I watch I don’t enjoy them as much. There is real work involved in thinking critically about media. This blog started out as a way to market myself and my writing. I know how hard it is to find good media, and how hard it is to be seen, so for years this blog’s been about pointing out books and movies I thought were interesting and worth checking out. <br /><br />So this blog’s been declining in terms of content. I post book reviews when I have them. I’ve got a religious book review coming soon, and a few science fiction books I’ve received advance reading copies of. This year will probably be another lean year. Hopefully I’ll have more time for leisure reading come autumn, after my trip.<br /><br />I’m currently reading <i>Cascade Failure</i> by L. M. Sagas, and it’s very tense. I’m enjoying it a lot. And managing to read a couple of chapters before my brain tells me to get back to research. Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-13160785948987259012024-02-06T10:16:00.002-05:002024-02-06T10:16:33.097-05:00Shout-Out: Phoenix Rising by Ephie and Celia Risho<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhexhHPPblrr9Aq3ClgRsmQaAk5C-AtQQwzBQWghRMNJF4giLoMWJtYFpetUXkNT9qOuQhqAHayEJOoMJX-mo-XPnQXsnh_z_F0hIhkEDUjND18Yujqhi1KI9OVa3_JM7FWMLtroROZ6qJAjrjuV77HZzT0taGz0s-pstR5IfoKgVNLN3_3czPzkklGZn8/s1000/Phoenix%20Rising.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="607" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhexhHPPblrr9Aq3ClgRsmQaAk5C-AtQQwzBQWghRMNJF4giLoMWJtYFpetUXkNT9qOuQhqAHayEJOoMJX-mo-XPnQXsnh_z_F0hIhkEDUjND18Yujqhi1KI9OVa3_JM7FWMLtroROZ6qJAjrjuV77HZzT0taGz0s-pstR5IfoKgVNLN3_3czPzkklGZn8/s320/Phoenix%20Rising.jpg" width="194" /></a></div>When a flying creature sets fire to their home, the people of
Seabrook scramble. But for Amber, a twelve-year old daydreamer, it’s
just the beginning. At the urging of mischievous pixies, she sets out in
search for answers, only to find there’s far more going on than her
sleepy village can handle. Evil wizards and their sinister plot begin to
unfold before her the further she travels. What started out as a
seemingly simple task quickly reveals a far greater challenge facing the
entire kingdom. And time is running short. If she can’t figure it out
soon enough, the entire coast will burn.<p></p><p>An epic coming-of-age fantasy adventure for young and old readers alike!</p><p>In
“The Elementalists” fantasy books set, you will embark on an
adventurous journey into a universe where ordinary teenagers discover
incredible powers. Across four epic fantasy books, readers are taken
into a world where magic is full of possibility, friendship is
unbreakable, and courage glows in the face of challenges.</p>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-15513309680131297192024-01-23T16:42:00.003-05:002024-01-23T16:42:30.616-05:00Movie Review: Outland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp40eikdZC1JVkX_36ZUJoAQKlR-UiDPAunx9Y7MNcuROke-0bgkhOueeKPeX_JNjdPnmPgypvngzH-eoSIDSLbHt-dqjwT53nXV43VwRhMx6lXFkrkazNYgKJl36DiykEaOXz_b5o0vnsv9kzS_YvdXJczzJ1e7vTA3O9WZNhDX8aLWt6EzflkzgFD6U/s260/Outland.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="194" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp40eikdZC1JVkX_36ZUJoAQKlR-UiDPAunx9Y7MNcuROke-0bgkhOueeKPeX_JNjdPnmPgypvngzH-eoSIDSLbHt-dqjwT53nXV43VwRhMx6lXFkrkazNYgKJl36DiykEaOXz_b5o0vnsv9kzS_YvdXJczzJ1e7vTA3O9WZNhDX8aLWt6EzflkzgFD6U/s1600/Outland.jpeg" width="194" /></a></div>Directed by Peter Hyams, 1981<br /><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082869/">IMDb listing</a><br /><br />After being transferred to be the new head of security on a mining colony on Io, Marshal William O’Niel must decide if he wants to toe the line or bust the drug ring he uncovers.<br /><br />The special effects are really good. The station looks dirty and lived in, with a claustrophobic mix of large spaces broken down into small cubicles and living quarters. It’s very much a realistic - and rather horrifying - guess at what a company town would look like. Little private space, little regard for the workers, lots of emphasis on productivity and profit for the company.<br /><br />There’s a realistic 3 day transfer time from the orbiting space station and the planet, which the story uses to good effect. The tech is all so outdated watching them write emails and watch video messages is kind of painful, though it was futuristic stuff for the early 80s.<br /><br />The extended final fight was entertaining. I question some of the structural integrity of the complex and the mine’s ability to continue operating after some important sections of the base were destroyed though. Oddly the massive damage to the base isn’t commented on by anyone in the film.<br /><br />While it’s not the best film set in space, it was entertaining and embodies a lot of the themes later 80s films would focus on.<div><br /></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mYc2GQyrAlw?si=blxYs5k8xZbnuW7Y" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-27655186000665596362024-01-16T15:21:00.000-05:002024-01-16T15:21:07.388-05:00TV Show Review: Severance Season 1Created by Dan Erikson (2022)<div><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11280740/">IMDb Listing</a><br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3TZ2PNENVBiu8Lw_YTzKNP5jZz-x6Mkm2R75G0lyV8nT7Px541kc7Oje_f6GuZANN5DQckgvVZlx2HOU0lq3gttypKX9z_jn2aEterO_rfCTDBf0YCPfzKqYzvwYJUY26atfn29u2Tz_owZLifESffGvJzR6MLFijdcBIwkgX1y5RYzuhqSLlU7SbnY/s275/Severance.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="183" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3TZ2PNENVBiu8Lw_YTzKNP5jZz-x6Mkm2R75G0lyV8nT7Px541kc7Oje_f6GuZANN5DQckgvVZlx2HOU0lq3gttypKX9z_jn2aEterO_rfCTDBf0YCPfzKqYzvwYJUY26atfn29u2Tz_owZLifESffGvJzR6MLFijdcBIwkgX1y5RYzuhqSLlU7SbnY/s1600/Severance.jpeg" width="183" /></a></div>Lumen Industries has discovered how to surgically separate the brain. Their workers have no memories of what they do on the job, and their ‘innies’ have no life outside of work. <br /><br />After a co-worker suddenly leaves, Mark S. is promoted to team lead of data refinement. His first task is to help the team’s replacement, Helly, with her adjustment to severed life.<br /><br />But Helly doesn’t want to work at Lumen and it’s truly bizarre office culture. And she will do whatever it takes to get out.<br /><br />This is an absolutely brilliant show on Apple TV. It’s slow moving and takes its time letting you get to know the core characters and their issues. It asks some great questions about memory, work, and work-life balance. Having seen it twice now, it’s also a show that gets better upon rewatch as you can pay attention to smaller details you missed the first time around.<br /><br />The story is bizarre in all the best ways. There’s so much that’s simply ODD about Lumen and the office. The show has a lot of bright lights and long white corridors. It’s also got some creative photography choices, making good use of reflections and cramped spaces. There’s a sweet office romance between 2 older men (one of whom is played by Christopher Walken). A lot of 60s inspired sets and parties. A new age guru, and more.<br /><br />The season has an electrifying finale that poses a lot of new questions and deepens the mysteries around the company.<br /><br />I hope the series gets all the seasons it needs to tell its story as planned.<div><br /></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xEQP4VVuyrY?si=05vcv8V-M9-daxM3" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-11657583634023249802024-01-09T08:30:00.005-05:002024-01-11T14:48:24.702-05:00Book Review: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAcWLyFmJsOR6f7OYUmWIEHfJfJTjXGjrlRHqWh-skVy07JahfJczPRvnw2U1E-rCpEOlZZgwFavw2Irml9nYZ-WVE7GO6WOW-y9wlshJJOavm4iNlNfY_eK0Fu9-pt1P68uvEqhlxnlL8xGj5Flu-eL0ZUmxk41OnL1OXlrb32r4-AE61FTwI4COSKe8/s1381/Mislaid%20in%20Parts%20Half-Known.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1381" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAcWLyFmJsOR6f7OYUmWIEHfJfJTjXGjrlRHqWh-skVy07JahfJczPRvnw2U1E-rCpEOlZZgwFavw2Irml9nYZ-WVE7GO6WOW-y9wlshJJOavm4iNlNfY_eK0Fu9-pt1P68uvEqhlxnlL8xGj5Flu-eL0ZUmxk41OnL1OXlrb32r4-AE61FTwI4COSKe8/s320/Mislaid%20in%20Parts%20Half-Known.jpeg" width="209" /></a></div>After losing years of her life in the Land Where the Lost Things Go, Antsy Ricci has found her way to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. But a school filled with kids trying to find their Doors back to magical lands might not be the best place for a girl that can find anything, <br /><br />This is the 9th book in the <i>Wayward Children</i> series and is best read in sequence. It takes place a bit before and directly after the events of <i>Where the Drowned Girls Go</i> and <i>Lost in the Moment and Found</i>. It’s worth rereading those if you don’t remember what happened.<br /><br />Antsy’s an interesting character. She’s 9 years old in the body of a 16 year old, with no idea of how to act around kids her visible age. Seeing her face her past and giving real resolution to her story in <i>Lost in the Moment and Found</i>, was wonderful.<br /><br />I loved Sumi in this story. She can be a bit much but acts like a real mother hen crossed with a real no nonsense attitude. She has some of the most insightful lines in the book.<br /><br />Despite the rules of the school, a quest is at hand. As a novella it only takes a few hours to read, but has a very satisfying story arc.<br /><br />If you’ve read the prior novellas in the series, this is a strong follow-up. If you haven’t, I can’t recommend the series enough.<div><br /></div><div> - a review copy of the book was provided by NetGalley -</div>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-39777762370814991222023-12-26T09:30:00.003-05:002023-12-26T09:30:00.324-05:00Books Received in December 2023<p>Many thanks to Kensington Books for an eARC of Escape Velocity.</p><p><b><i>Escape Velocity</i> by Victor Manibo</b> - I love murder mysteries in space, and this one adds in the class disparity that makes it topical. Out May 21st, 2024.</p><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ym-5Iuj-nnoT552ggkVYT4NJf8khpeSZZ7scvTAgzNPLuv-Ddx6k_HRc8e26g7bikJsRFUxIb9MZsrjIIWBajFiVLUn1fZNgwsNRDsP9XqnfxPts3ovCsHFtblbJl0zDaYL_1btEUJKuNf0WD8YEqibdU-kJGrPZByKCLxQ2Ap8mZxlL9-WASHCyh_g/s383/Escape%20Velocity.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ym-5Iuj-nnoT552ggkVYT4NJf8khpeSZZ7scvTAgzNPLuv-Ddx6k_HRc8e26g7bikJsRFUxIb9MZsrjIIWBajFiVLUn1fZNgwsNRDsP9XqnfxPts3ovCsHFtblbJl0zDaYL_1btEUJKuNf0WD8YEqibdU-kJGrPZByKCLxQ2Ap8mZxlL9-WASHCyh_g/s320/Escape%20Velocity.png" width="213" /></a></div>A decades-old murder looms over the glamorous clientele of a high-end space hotel . . . while an unforeseen threat percolates in the service corridors. The guests are about to experience the hospitality they deserve.<br /><br />Space Habitat Altaire is the premier luxury resort in low Earth orbit, playground of the privileged and the perfect location to host reunions for the Rochford Institute. Rochford boasts only the best: the wealthiest, most promising students with the most impressive pedigrees. Complete with space walks, these lavish reunions are a prime opportunity for alumni to jockey for power with old friends and rivals—and crucially, to advance their applications to live in an exclusive Mars settlement. Earth is dying, and only the best deserve to save themselves.<br /><br />Aboard the Altaire for their 25th reunion, finance magnate Ava pursues the truth about her brother’s murder during their senior year, which cast a dark shadow over their time at Rochford. Laz, ambassador and political scion, hopes to finally win Ava’s heart. Sloane, collecting secrets to conceal his family’s decline, angles for a key client. And Henry, heir to a healthcare empire, creates an unorthodox opportunity to get to Mars in a last-ditch effort to outrun a childhood secret.<br /><br />While these erstwhile friends settle scores and rack up points, they fail to notice that other agendas are afoot at the Space Habitat Altaire, and their own futures aren’t the only ones at stake—“the best” will soon regret underestimating those they would leave behind on Earth.</blockquote><p> </p>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-55546940792867524382023-12-21T12:10:00.000-05:002023-12-21T12:10:04.886-05:00Happy Holidays!<p>Wishing a very merry Christmas to those who celebrate it!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm14gApEkiPsGjEzN-cD0SNi-nsg1KR8Gc_tEeExtNOLOGWzziYkVnkv6WiFhH1BxPI7IZFUHeG7qStpZ73572nIZzEjAplW_CExqbY5jiTsHpse3LDJyn06tj-1L-qS0J29mlOa2VnCoEa1or7lnqMMSCcMNirtxEIIaST5-BO1Iwdxgw3jlfcHcDmnE/s4000/PC020005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm14gApEkiPsGjEzN-cD0SNi-nsg1KR8Gc_tEeExtNOLOGWzziYkVnkv6WiFhH1BxPI7IZFUHeG7qStpZ73572nIZzEjAplW_CExqbY5jiTsHpse3LDJyn06tj-1L-qS0J29mlOa2VnCoEa1or7lnqMMSCcMNirtxEIIaST5-BO1Iwdxgw3jlfcHcDmnE/s320/PC020005.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-9422027133345566582023-12-12T13:27:00.001-05:002023-12-12T13:27:20.812-05:00Movie Review: Soldier<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWL8k5HY26NCBVVUsUeH3eSUpHJoHOokqmT0rgf0uxjqIq-sT0MDvv31b-KpUwGAzYmDzefHK25wt2N_qxQRJjNtj4pr6V8oDb2hDTri3-RLsIFisQ55gZe3plLV9kquvap71lIZ7NMdOymau2J1eWOpTrbv4UC-hjaaAp0fre8Ir0f52I21WpK3M_a08/s1000/Soldier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="680" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWL8k5HY26NCBVVUsUeH3eSUpHJoHOokqmT0rgf0uxjqIq-sT0MDvv31b-KpUwGAzYmDzefHK25wt2N_qxQRJjNtj4pr6V8oDb2hDTri3-RLsIFisQ55gZe3plLV9kquvap71lIZ7NMdOymau2J1eWOpTrbv4UC-hjaaAp0fre8Ir0f52I21WpK3M_a08/s320/Soldier.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>Directed by: Paul W. S. Anderson, 1998<br /><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120157/">IMDb listing</a><br /><br />Todd 3456 is a soldier, trained from birth. When a squad of upgraded solders come of age, the older generation are retired. After a test between the squads ends badly, Todd is presumed dead and dumped on a waste planet. There he finds survivors from a crashed colony ship and discovers what a family is.<br /><br />This was a surprisingly good film. The story of Todd trying to fit into regular society while he clearly has massive PTSD was unexpectedly sad and touching.<br /><br />The special effects looked rather cheesy and their grasp of space travel is pure science fiction but those are very minor elements of the film and easily overlooked.<br /><br />The last third of the film is one massive fight scene with lots of death and explosions.<br /><br />I really enjoyed this film.<div><br /></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4oeW9sflsdg?si=dIHNBfGeRT4YL12Q" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-7384112218166128492023-12-05T11:57:00.001-05:002023-12-05T11:57:19.894-05:00Movie Review: Oxygen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lYrRxX5Vynh839H3y1V_w3kIF0S4MipkqnJUf7hFMkDMcN5nQY5mQk2tPck_C4sUMhmjX0KNitjyB521W6aJmPhXlI0XaajwIdPCsFH1qJ7N_a-lB3qCwCx6u9WOi043AvYuNlL7uLMHnd3ZiTO5DfT9wYG9hczYwIfLFtEcdTprQ1c1NFyVo7KAN2s/s273/Oxygen.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="184" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lYrRxX5Vynh839H3y1V_w3kIF0S4MipkqnJUf7hFMkDMcN5nQY5mQk2tPck_C4sUMhmjX0KNitjyB521W6aJmPhXlI0XaajwIdPCsFH1qJ7N_a-lB3qCwCx6u9WOi043AvYuNlL7uLMHnd3ZiTO5DfT9wYG9hczYwIfLFtEcdTprQ1c1NFyVo7KAN2s/s1600/Oxygen.jpeg" width="184" /></a></div>Directed by: Alexandre Aja, 2021<br /><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6341832/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_oxygen">IMDb listing</a><br /><br />A woman wakes up in a medical cryogenic unit with no memory of how she got there and her oxygen supply quickly running out.<br /><br />This is a pretty good French science fiction movie centered around a single actor. Watching the woman try various ways to get out of the medical unit, get help, and regain her memories, alternates between horrifying and inspiring. She’s clever and comes up with numerous ideas. The actress, Melanie Laurent, does an amazing job in a challenging role.<br /><br />As an outside observer, there is a twist that’s easy for us to guess but understandably hard for her to consider. She did annoy/frustrate me a few times, but given the circumstances, her panic was deserved.<br /><br />The special effects were decent. The main set had lots of detail and really felt claustrophobic and highly scientific.<br /><br />There are a few gory bits and one very successful jump scare but on the whole the horror is more due to being trapped in a box with a timer counting down.<br /><br />If you like psychological horror and don't mind subtitles, this is a good film.<div><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqCw0xbVuQiek8vB15ifLkpmXok_OYo7bdQ5SuEJ3n_0gsUzXQ4DL_F75l4rrBVR28cndJpoaW9pdThn2tQb2EFewFzU7UQp-J2w8DYbeb242T0XF-Y5dgieYxRtgFTblqChG8y2FxaOBE5Q7EK5PI4jCAj3o2liWR0AAiG8leX6-rAJGcdyvBHkRd5do/s273/Oxygen.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8IqXgZd-P98?si=iJyO13RKXQADhxSy" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></a></div></div></div>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-1692794614831136032023-11-28T08:30:00.000-05:002023-11-28T08:30:00.168-05:00Italy trip photos<p>My recent trip to Italy was done to research as many medieval (and older) sites as I could hit. I saw a number of baptistries, cathedrals, churches, museums, and old cities. It was amazing.</p><p>I've made an album with some of the more interesting photos from my trip to Italy. If you want information on the photos, check out the <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/199524255@N03/albums/72177720312767056">album at Flickr</a>. </p>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/199524255@N03/albums/72177720312767056" title="Italy Research Trip"><img alt="Italy Research Trip" height="480" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53340212695_2428480dfb_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-74586462253287294292023-11-19T11:08:00.002-05:002023-11-19T11:08:41.515-05:00The Escapist video team starts Second Wind <p>I'm not sure what my audience here is interested in, so I'm basically posting the kinds of things that interest me. I've been watching the video game youtube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@theescapist">The Escapist</a> for years. I remember when Yahtzee Croshaw and Jim Sterling did poetry jams. The last few years the channel grew and added a lot of new shows and personnel. One of my favourite shows there is the D&D campaign Adventure is Nigh (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INR4hMl97HY&list=PLAbMhAYRuCUjrGAZb4NutoFvY8nnN5oJo">season 1</a>).</p><p>A few weeks ago, The Escapist's parent company fired the editor-in-chief, and the entire video team quit in protest. They've created a new company: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@SecondWindGroup/featured">Second Wind</a>. So far their youtube channel's uploaded a few videos either wholesale from The Escapist (if the creator was an independent) or a modified version (if the creator was a full employee, whose IP videos belong to The Escapist). </p><p>So, Yahtzee's <i>Zero Punctuation</i>, a sarcastic video game review show, has been reborn as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyGhI_JVOZI&list=PLUBKwq0XD0ueR3CXGUhGpsD1puLcYJPUp">Fully Ramblomatic</a>. It's a fun show so long as you're ok with adult content and swearing. I also enjoy <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBvvOSc4_S8&list=PLUBKwq0XD0uc3-bC1m0IYvbdu8dEX4rd2">Design Delve</a> (if you're interested in what makes video games work behind the scenes), and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ia3wn5YM_s&list=PLUBKwq0XD0uczLFCWbS55UqBdYB724Zr_">Cold Take</a> (if you like to consider the philosophical side of games). I'm hoping they start a new D&D campaign too.</p><p>The Second Wind crew's great and it's really impressive how quickly they've bounced back with this channel and content. I'm looking forward to see what new shows they come up with and watching them for years to come.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3cvCQd6y-fmzb1IxxWoB_dboVR585vApBpdfIyTq4_rZ_0SE3kldnJMVcgKsz6S5Z3KsB9Rif1NOay9rXOUTaGgJ9a0JJWT1mYGXIxA6jGFvIK8QXuo4yTWwKJUicnKDEGaxIHlIqb_o2d-ftfvXgNDaKGkm94GjaUiZcGR-SDCdrkhlbHIv1_7x-dwE/s1920/Second%20Wind.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3cvCQd6y-fmzb1IxxWoB_dboVR585vApBpdfIyTq4_rZ_0SE3kldnJMVcgKsz6S5Z3KsB9Rif1NOay9rXOUTaGgJ9a0JJWT1mYGXIxA6jGFvIK8QXuo4yTWwKJUicnKDEGaxIHlIqb_o2d-ftfvXgNDaKGkm94GjaUiZcGR-SDCdrkhlbHIv1_7x-dwE/s320/Second%20Wind.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-85856320443002138262023-11-14T09:30:00.004-05:002023-11-14T09:30:00.134-05:00I'm back from Vacation<p>I spent a month in Italy on a research trip, taking photos of lots of churches, baptistries, hill towns and more. Jetlag's been hard to kick, so it's taking me longer to get back up to speed than I'd like.</p><p>Last year I promised to post some photos of France and apparently I forgot to do so. One reason is that I had a lot of blurry shots and got a photo sharpening ai program. Fixing those photos took up a lot of time. But I will try to get some photos of both France and Italy up on my blog on the sooner side. I got an <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/199524255@N03/">account on flickr</a> so I can share photos here more easily (I hope).</p><p>I didn't get any reading done on the trip. The stress of going from place to place, plus the amount of time it took for me to back-up my photos every night in case something went wrong/was lost/stolen meant I didn't have much free time. I saw a lot of great stuff and took a LOT of photos.</p><p>I have another research trip I'm planning for so I'm not sure how much fiction I'll be reading in the next few months. Probably not much. I have a long list of history and religion books I want to get through as well as general city research for each place on my itinerary. I prepare detailed floor plans for churches, with diagrams or layouts of the more interesting sculptural programs (generally on portals and the west facade). All of this takes a lot of time.</p><p>So while I'm hoping to keep up posting here, it may be bi-weekly for the next few months. I'll have to see.</p><p><br /></p>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-17063271562260005232023-11-02T10:29:00.001-04:002023-11-02T10:29:00.153-04:00Books Received in October 2023<p>I'm back from vacation and have requested 2 books that come out next year for review. Many thanks to the publishers who approved my requests.</p><div><b><i>Mislaid in Parts Half-Known</i> by Seanan McGuire</b> - The next book in the Wayward Children series. It takes place after <i>Lost in the Moment and Found</i>, so isn't a good starting point if you've not read the other books.</div><br /><blockquote>Antsy is the latest student to pass through the doors at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children.<br /><br />When the school’s (literally irresistible) mean girl realizes that Antsy's talent for finding absolutely anything may extend to doors, Antsy is forced to flee in the company of a small group of friends, looking for a way back to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go to be sure that Vineta and Hudson are keeping their promise.<br /><br />Along the way, they will travel from a world which hides painful memories that cut as sharply as its beauty, to a land that time wasn’t yet old enough to forget—and more than one student's life will change forever.<br /><br /><u>Mislaid in Parts Half-Known</u> is a story that reminds us that getting what you want doesn't always mean finding what you need.</blockquote><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Strange Religion</i> by Nijay K. Gupta</b> - I've been looking for a book that explains how ancient Romans practiced their religion and how that differed from early Christian practice. I'm hoping this is that book.</div><div><br /></div><blockquote>The first Christians were weird. Just how weird is often lost on today's believers.<br /><br />Within Roman society, the earliest Christians stood out for the oddness of their beliefs and practices. They believed unusual things, worshiped God in strange ways, and lived a unique lifestyle. They practiced a whole new way of thinking about and doing religion that would have been seen as bizarre and dangerous when compared to Roman religion and most other religions of the ancient world.<br /><br />Award-winning author, blogger, speaker, and New Testament teacher Nijay Gupta traces the emerging Christian faith in its Roman context in this accessible and engaging book. Christianity would have been seen as radical in the Roman world, but some found this new religion attractive and compelling. The first Christians dared to be different, pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable, transformed how people thought about religion, and started a movement that grew like wildfire.<br /><br />Brought to life with numerous images, this book shows how the example of the earliest Christians can offer today's believers encouragement and hope.</blockquote>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-37348835622425287112023-10-10T10:06:00.000-04:002023-10-10T10:06:00.166-04:00Blog Vacation<p>As I'm taking a research trip to Italy, I'll be away from my home computer and therefore won't be blogging for a month or so. </p><p>It's a fairly comprehensive trip, with a lot of stops and a lot of medieval and ancient sites to visit. I've done a year's worth of research to prepare for this - and that still didn't feel like enough. Italy has such a deep and complicated history.</p><p>I've made information pages for the various churches and monuments I plan to visit. I hope to put some of those up online at the Internet Archive. I need to rework them for public use first (my current ones are designed to fit on as few pages as possible & so can be hard to read). I also need to fill in gaps where I was unable to find out the information/subject, and make corrections since some of the information I found will turn out to be out of date or wrong. Given the other research trips I still want to take (which need new information pages), reworking older pages isn't a high priority. In other words, it may be a few years before I post some of these. We'll see.</p><p>When I return I'll share some of my trip photos. </p>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-37794759418631568522023-10-03T09:12:00.000-04:002023-10-03T09:12:00.140-04:00Shout-Out: Charming by Jade Linwood<b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSkM_BEIUOUM-Lnc6FmIQ4mE0H6HL61SinSAKKVhxRG6MVNCyeks6w0pYI8nmnWVBKupvn-VqsDDcZiQ2zLhHBwXCctYUsaRS3DrUj8bWN_k_5gCdYHvMxloAx0w5r8W-lZ77r697uj2CKHaTJCe5XUZUBI0Gzoya-5yXNWB6HrSHsvvZOAxGC1SEyPJQ/s499/Charming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="323" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSkM_BEIUOUM-Lnc6FmIQ4mE0H6HL61SinSAKKVhxRG6MVNCyeks6w0pYI8nmnWVBKupvn-VqsDDcZiQ2zLhHBwXCctYUsaRS3DrUj8bWN_k_5gCdYHvMxloAx0w5r8W-lZ77r697uj2CKHaTJCe5XUZUBI0Gzoya-5yXNWB6HrSHsvvZOAxGC1SEyPJQ/s320/Charming.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>Brave, Resourceful, Deceitful, Double-Crossing... Charming.</b><div><br />Prince Jean-Marc Charming Arundel, known to friends and enemies alike as "Prince Charming," is handsome, well-mannered, brave, a peerless swordsman, a cunning tactician – and a liar, a con man and a fraud. For years he has been travelling from one kingdom to the next, rescuing endangered princesses and maidens, securing their troths and his place in their fathers' palaces, then looting their treasuries and having it away before dawn.<br /><br />Until a chance meeting of three of his victims – raven-haired Marie Blanche de Neige, the sorceress Doctor Emilia Rapunzel and the long-slumbering Bella Lucia dei’ Sogni – suggests a course of revenge...</div>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-38166444606756268272023-09-26T09:30:00.000-04:002023-09-26T09:30:00.155-04:00History Book Review: Magic in the Roman World: Pagans, Jews and Christians by Naomi Janowitz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBqLdRyXqfjt8htkh5xuG-jUNLL6qVzJonEG5QxhGRoQsFNz3VPyFwjKfzHr8wbJEO9EzaYNpNSa6848IjK-F679938KidkL4Niihcsh2QPSIgkthh7P-_a1FMKY1psQz6FIK8xQx74D3EgYKY5otNxvJRInlz1BFumTutuYb1WS_pd6dO9jZ5Avz60C0/s282/Magic%20in%20the%20Roman%20World.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="180" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBqLdRyXqfjt8htkh5xuG-jUNLL6qVzJonEG5QxhGRoQsFNz3VPyFwjKfzHr8wbJEO9EzaYNpNSa6848IjK-F679938KidkL4Niihcsh2QPSIgkthh7P-_a1FMKY1psQz6FIK8xQx74D3EgYKY5otNxvJRInlz1BFumTutuYb1WS_pd6dO9jZ5Avz60C0/s1600/Magic%20in%20the%20Roman%20World.webp" width="180" /></a></div>The book focuses on how magic was viewed in the first Christian centuries. It has 6 chapters in addition to an introduction and conclusion. They are: 1) Greco-Roman, Christian and Jewish concepts of “magic”, w) Daimons and angels and the world of exorcism, 3) Ancient rites for gaining livers, 4) Using natural forces for divine goals: Maria the Jewess and early alchemy, 5) Divine power, human hands: becoming gods in the first century, 6) “Even the decent women practice witchcraft”: magic and gender in late antiquity.<br /><br />It’s a relatively short book that gives a good introduction to the topic. The author emphasizes several times how modern definitions of the word ‘magic’ don’t match those of the past, and that we therefore have to be careful both with how we approach the topic and - if reading works in translation - how the translators may have taken innocuous words and forced a negative view on them (for example some Greek words in themselves have no magical connotations, but some translators have added the word ‘magic’ to them). Similarly, sometimes later writers objected to earlier forms of practicing their own religion, as with some people who edited the Hebrew Bible, and wrote in condemnations of what had been normal Jewish religious practices.<br /><br />There are some interesting ideas here. The religious rituals of those who practiced differently were often termed magic. This could have political and therefore propagandistic purposes. The term magic comes from the Persian word ‘magos’, meaning priest. The Persians were the military enemies of the Greeks. Magic was considered bad because it worked, and worked via evil spirits rather than through the correct ‘god’ (that is, the deity the author of each specific source text followed). Thus, Romans and Greeks called Moses and Jesus “magicians” [this isn’t in the book but there are some fabulous Christian sarcophagi in the archaeological museum in Arles that show Jesus performing miracles using a magic wand, so it seems early Christians weren’t as horrified by that idea as modern Christians would be].<br /><br />The book covers a decent range of topics including alchemy and deification of humans. It was interesting seeing some of the rationale behind the belief that Roman Emperors became gods after death and how some religious practitioners of other faiths tried to ascend and become like gods themselves.<br /><br />The author does a good job of exploring the subject of each chapter from the Greco-Roman, Jewish and Christian viewpoints. Sometimes spending more time on one group than the others, but showing how complex the notions of magic and religion were in the ancient world. <br /><br />There are no photos in the book which seems a shame.<br /><br />If you’re interested in ancient religions and magic, this is a quick but useful jumping off point for more in depth studies.<br />Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-37239641969534106962023-09-19T09:03:00.001-04:002023-09-19T09:03:00.156-04:00Video: The Warp Zone's A.I. Written sketch<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLnh1I8aSpE">The Warp Zone</a> have done a great sketch, partially written by A.I. (Chat GPT) that really gets to the heart of our fears about artificial intelligence.</p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XLnh1I8aSpE?si=gslVbN2qY11E8Ftd" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-16533951801140513402023-09-12T09:36:00.001-04:002023-09-12T09:36:00.163-04:00Shout-Out: How to Be Remembered by Michael Thompson<b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwNuCEtO8e9QpU6ZPIXg0KIeqJ3KDRxEL4rM_hgedRzXut9DbJKADgyEHym_dmsvy-8cDdEa3bO6cPjNNc0ppWOwyZKMew0GITC1KozykIaJg9S9ayV2_F4q_LDa59ARe_rrK3yIKAflcjvw3cZb_Nq20n246C4hoIajAx6W-uSAJl__GKq_yDZM6mVuA/s500/How%20to%20Be%20Remembered.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwNuCEtO8e9QpU6ZPIXg0KIeqJ3KDRxEL4rM_hgedRzXut9DbJKADgyEHym_dmsvy-8cDdEa3bO6cPjNNc0ppWOwyZKMew0GITC1KozykIaJg9S9ayV2_F4q_LDa59ARe_rrK3yIKAflcjvw3cZb_Nq20n246C4hoIajAx6W-uSAJl__GKq_yDZM6mVuA/s320/How%20to%20Be%20Remembered.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div>A man who can never be remembered.<br /><br />A journey he'll never forget. </b><br /><br />On an ordinary night in an ordinary year, Tommy Llewellyn's doting parents wake in a home without toys and diapers, without photos of their baby scattered about, and without any idea that the small child asleep in his crib is theirs.<br /><br />That's because Tommy is a boy destined to never be remembered.<br /><br />On the same day every year, everyone around him forgets he exists, and he grows up enduring his own universal Reset. That is until something extraordinary happens: Tommy Llewellyn falls in love.<br /><br />Determined to finally carve out a life for himself and land the girl of his dreams, Tommy sets out on a mission to finally trick the Reset and be remembered. But legacies aren't so easily won, and Tommy must figure out what's more important—the things we leave behind or the people we bring along with us.Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-84977780107874434622023-09-05T09:59:00.009-04:002023-09-05T09:59:59.160-04:00Medieval History Research WebsitesMy apologies for the lack of posts recently. I’ve been neck deep in putting together my next research trip and it’s taking all of my time. I’ve been reading (or skimming depending on time & interest) a bunch of history books. I’ve also been combing through all sorts of websites to find detailed information about the tourist sites I’ll be visiting.<br /><br />Towards that end, it strikes me that some of the sites I’ve found might be of interest to others researching the middle ages or art history.<br /><br />So, here are some of the sites I’ve used for putting together the information pages I make for my trips.<br /><br /><b>General information / Sites of a Singular Interest:</b><br /><br /><a href="https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/sbook.asp">Internet Medieval Sourcebook</a> by Fordham University<br />This site has a lot of internet based translations for primary sources. There's a remarkable amount of information here on a vast array of topics.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.jstor.org/">JSTOR</a><br />A free account gets you access too 100 free academic articles a month. I’ve found some really interesting articles on specific churches/chapels/architectural features (like Romanesque facades for specific churches). I've found that historical/religious sites are a lot more interesting when you have a deeper understanding of what you’re seeing.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dodedans.com/Eindex.htm">The Dance of Death</a><br />I find dance of death murals fascinating, so this website was an interesting find. It has information and photographs of major dance of death murals in Europe.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/trajan-column/index.html">National Geographic: Trajan’s Column</a><br />The site allows for an interactive, scrolling, examination of Trajan’s Column, a pillar that details the victory of the Romans over the Dacians (from the area now known as Romania).<br /><br /><b>Art History in France</b><br /><br /><a href="https://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/index.htm">The Rose Window</a><br />The amount of stained glass photos on this site is incredible. It’s got a lot of French and English churches, then a scattering of other European sites. The site provides location charts to locate the stained glass (not my favourite style, to be honest, I’d have preferred they use actual floor plans. I sometimes had trouble figuring out where a particular window was supposed to be, once compared with the floor plan). It generally has photos of full windows, and individual panes. Not all the churches have the full spectrum (it depends on whether the website owner’s been there & able to do the detailed photos). It’s still an incredible resource. They also explain what stories the glass represents, when it was made, what order to read the glass in (usually bottom to top but there are some exceptions), and whether the glass has been moved from a prior location.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.patrimoine-histoire.fr/PatrimoineListe.htm">Patrimoine</a><br />This site has a lot of good, detailed information on French churches. It goes over some history, major works of art, architectural features, etc.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.abelard.org/france/cathedral_plans_facts.php">Abelard</a><br />This was a nice starting page for researching French churches. It has floor plans, west facade images, and dimensions for a decent number of buildings.<br /><br /><b>Catholicism</b><br /><br /><a href="https://www.arlima.net/the-orb/encyclop/culture/music/orbdyer.htm">The ORB</a>: On-line Reference Book for Medieval Studies<br />One thing my university experience lacked, was practical experience in medieval liturgy. A lot of things became clear when I attended Mass for the first time (even though it wasn’t how mass was celebrated in the middle ages). Coming from a Protestant background, Catholic liturgy has been hard for me to figure out. Sites like this one have helped a lot with that.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://www.christianiconography.info/">Christian Iconography</a><br />This “guide to Christian iconography: images, symbols, and texts” is quite useful when trying to learn who various saints are and what their artistic attributes are. The imagery in specific churches is more understandable when you know the saint whose life is depicted and what the stories surrounding them are.<br /><br /><a href="https://romanchurches.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page">The Churches of Rome Wiki</a><br />The site has an astonishing amount of detailed information about churches in the city. Not just medieval ones. The opening hour info at the bottom is dated (several of the pages I used were last updated in 2017), so definitely get more current information if you want to visit. You can even look the churches up <a href="https://romanchurches.fandom.com/wiki/Chronological_list_of_churches">chronologically</a>.<br /><br /></div>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-74813402967983894492023-08-22T10:16:00.003-04:002023-08-22T10:16:36.102-04:00Popin' Cook'n Tea Party Cakes<p>This is probably the last Kracie Popin' Cook'n kit I'm going to do. While they can be fun to put together, they're pretty expensive, and some of them - like this kit - don't end up tasting that great.</p><p>In this kit you get several fruit and cake moulds, the cut off measuring cup, a mixing spoon, and all of the gelatin packets. It also comes with 2 small cookies to decorate.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAn-2F_W5Rd5Yj-e-THFdtr7ewPxiYZf89h_-02kp1oBlioez8JxXru3-dtFJK5_vzYgYaSqCbyi70g2t0BDsx1SdekY9fMsJ_TjOKXiKd8_H43UA10zYLTIHyAajOK7-Kl3PCAmEz1JdMFcYwmH93qVCXhBbpkV8TygT-cndlrKARKlhqyUZMYJpmowE/s4000/cakes%201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAn-2F_W5Rd5Yj-e-THFdtr7ewPxiYZf89h_-02kp1oBlioez8JxXru3-dtFJK5_vzYgYaSqCbyi70g2t0BDsx1SdekY9fMsJ_TjOKXiKd8_H43UA10zYLTIHyAajOK7-Kl3PCAmEz1JdMFcYwmH93qVCXhBbpkV8TygT-cndlrKARKlhqyUZMYJpmowE/s320/cakes%201.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I liked making the little moulded fruit. They looked good and tasted alright. The mix sets fast so you can only do one set of fruit even though there's enough gelatin for 2.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjULFq-m5OvzEixZ0qncyWpTfeaftM7M6aDL8cXRMd5gtMQDfg61847b-mMRIW1kHFdLLjyD59j4MM9D3D4nt-W6ecE0akRYdsp5rm26ntmKrX8UjVZWkxyOdunvpFi0UdHiG9mhFNQlYu2al2Vh417G_WC1EyBoidzQjv3MbQEI8a5q72vLX8SCOH6wi0/s4000/cakes%202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjULFq-m5OvzEixZ0qncyWpTfeaftM7M6aDL8cXRMd5gtMQDfg61847b-mMRIW1kHFdLLjyD59j4MM9D3D4nt-W6ecE0akRYdsp5rm26ntmKrX8UjVZWkxyOdunvpFi0UdHiG9mhFNQlYu2al2Vh417G_WC1EyBoidzQjv3MbQEI8a5q72vLX8SCOH6wi0/s320/cakes%202.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There was enough cake batter for me to make 2 of one style and one of the second. Which was nice, as otherwise the kit doesn't make that many cakes. They give a lot of suggestions for how to decorate the mini cakes, but there aren't that many, so you can only try a few designs. The mini icing bag was fun but the icing itself wasn't very good.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The cakes are cute, but weren't ones I'd want to eat again.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUimSei07CSGj_VV1REQFCn6e9ykusEA9_ICTk8kum9Pes7-fXh6H1um1rCvvza27OjJvVj0meVdIep9tlHc6bHaszU4QMSLhyHsT5l2Dk_Y4YMFWTQGZcmCdKnG3jRP5GSFhOeTHY_in_u6c2pGJYVF0-C820NGZWqLcSZQxSUxP6q45u4Kkx9RlhyMg/s4000/cakes%203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUimSei07CSGj_VV1REQFCn6e9ykusEA9_ICTk8kum9Pes7-fXh6H1um1rCvvza27OjJvVj0meVdIep9tlHc6bHaszU4QMSLhyHsT5l2Dk_Y4YMFWTQGZcmCdKnG3jRP5GSFhOeTHY_in_u6c2pGJYVF0-C820NGZWqLcSZQxSUxP6q45u4Kkx9RlhyMg/s320/cakes%203.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Of the kits I did, the Japanese food kit (with Ramune & mini bento/lunch foods) tasted the best.<br /><br /><p></p>Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625938726369573756.post-65714563507339192172023-08-08T10:01:00.001-04:002023-08-08T10:01:07.301-04:00Book Review: Provenance by Ann Leckie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZAHhs0lNutML_qXOO7BcCg614rxouVhqpQo6hIp5maqOMpl4NLTbwLbXJL_yoHJYvfMw0gCsbdGNzzANQx36iPWaUZnrLIx98emb5n3UZfMkkPXnq2mpw2hWTc3nUxnd72PpjTTyWsfcSAItJa_fWMXUUCJ_-FyC4ski0Kny7D44wbf98xoLLsTElThc/s273/Provenance.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="184" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZAHhs0lNutML_qXOO7BcCg614rxouVhqpQo6hIp5maqOMpl4NLTbwLbXJL_yoHJYvfMw0gCsbdGNzzANQx36iPWaUZnrLIx98emb5n3UZfMkkPXnq2mpw2hWTc3nUxnd72PpjTTyWsfcSAItJa_fWMXUUCJ_-FyC4ski0Kny7D44wbf98xoLLsTElThc/s1600/Provenance.jpeg" width="184" /></a></div>Pros: tons of politics!, several interesting alien species, excellent world-building <br /><br />Cons: heavily character driven, so if you don’t like Ingray the book may be a slog<br /><br />Ingray Aughskold has hatched a cunning plan to beat her foster brother and gain their mother’s notice - and perhaps be named her heir. Unfortunately for Ingray, that plan starts to unravel immediately as she discovers she’s broken the wrong man out of prison and it turns out her transport ship was stolen from aliens. Her life is about to change in many unexpected ways.<br /><br />This is a heavily character driven story. I found Ingray intriguing, and wanted to know why she was making so many bad decisions. Seeing her owning up to her mistakes and try to make things right was satisfying. The side characters are also fascinating, with goals that often conflict with hers.<br /><br />The world-building is excellent. Tyr Siilas station, the planet Hwae, the very alien Geck, and more recognizable but still alien Omkem. Each group has their own very different culture and language. One of my favourite parts of the book was towards the end where Ingray needs to use a translation software to help with a language she doesn’t know and it translates profanity as ‘fiddlesticks’ and complex phrases as near gibberish. Very realistic. <br /><br />There’s a lot of politics in the book, which I loved. I find it fascinating seeing why people make certain decisions and how those decisions affect their world. It was especially interesting here as the politics crossed so many boundaries. Deeper purposes were constantly being revealed as Ingray learned more about what was happening and how the plans of others intersected with her own.<br /><br />There are 3 (at least 3) genders, so be prepared for e/eir pronouns.<br /><br />The book did feel a bit slow at times, I often have trouble maintaining interest in character driven books, wanting more plot to pick up the slack, but it was very enjoyable. Jessica Striderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.com0