What I’m Currently Reading And Rereading!

 I’m doing a lot of reading and rereading right now. I never read only one book at a time. 

So here are some, to share with you.

I’m having a Poul Anderson binge right now. Time Patrol is a series of short stories, about a bunch of people employed to fix things in history. Mostly, they live and work in a particular era, maybe even their own, helping other agents, but the main character of most of these stories, Manse Everard, is an Unattached agent, which gives the author the excuse to have him travel in time and fix things in different eras. He learns languages and backgrounds under sleep tuition before he travels. I remember reading some of these stories when I was at university, but that was a very long time ago and I only remember two or three. 

I’m rereading his novel A Midsummer Tempest, in which the hero is Prince Rupert of the Rhine, nephew of Charles I, a real person, but living in a universe in which everything Shakespeare wrote was true, and he is known as the Great Historian. There were clocks in Ancient Rome, so technology is ahead of ours. There are trains in the time of Charles I, and an Industrial Revolution already. It’s all connected with the Puritans, who are winning the war. Rupert is given the job, by Oberon and Titania, of finding and bringing back Prospero’s book and staff, which he threw away at the end of The Tempest. There is an inn between universes, the Old Unicorn, where he meets characters from Poul Anderson’s other books. I’m tempted, when I have finished this reread, to pick up those books again. One is Operation Chaos, also set in a different universe, in which World War II is fought against the Saracen Caliphate - who fly on flying carpets. The other one is Three Hearts And Three Lions, in which the hero discovers he is one of Charlemagne’s paladins, left as a baby in our world, and the war he is fighting there becomes the war against the Nazis here. 

I am also reading, yet again, the books by L.Sprague De Camp and Fletcher Pratt, The Incomplete Enchanter, The Castle Of Iron and The Wall Of Serpents. They are classics, no doubt about it. The hero of the series is Harold Shea, a psychologist at an institute. He and his friend Reed Chalmers, an older staff member at the same university, work out a way to use mathematical formulae to travel between universes. They are all based on mythology or classic fiction, such as The Faerie Queen and The Kalevala. Harold tries to visit the world of Irish mythology on his first trip, but a mistake in the formula lands him instead in the world of Norse mythology, and, worse still, it’s just before Ragnarok. He can’t use any of the technology he brings with him, even matches, but finds he can do magic while there. After this, he is more careful and knows what is possible, when he and Reed visit the world of Spenser’s Faerie Queen, where he meets and falls in love with Belphebe, an archer girl who lives in the forest. I’m currently reading the third book in the series, The Wall Of Serpents, in which they go to the world of the poem Kalevala, the national epic of Finland. I think Tolkien was inspired by it and used some ideas from it. 

Just started a reread of People Of The Book, by Geraldine Brooks. In it, an Australian woman who is a restorer, is given the task of working on the Sarajevo Haggadah. This book is real, by the way, a mediaeval book created to be read on Passover. But it’s a novel. Each bit she works on is a story in itself, such as a picture in which the artist paints herself along with the family who owned the Haggadah. There is a wine stain - who put it there? And so on. There is a fictionalised version of a true story when a Muslim librarian saved it from the Nazis. 

It reminded me a bit of James A. Michener’s The Source, set at an archaeological dig at a fictional town in Israel, which had a story about each of the objects the archaeologists find. So I have started a reread of that too. 

Any book you are currently reading or rereading? And are you, like me, unable to read one book at a time?

Just Been To See…Rebecca!

Last night I went to see the Melbourne Theatre  Company production of Rebecca, based on the Daphne Du Maurier novel. It was the first MTC show I have seen since before COVID. My sister and I used to go to every season together, but we can’t do it any more, since we take turns looking after our mother. So these days I buy the occasional ticket to something and go on my own, during the week instead of Saturday. And I have been to two Bell Shakespeare shows this year - Henry V and Coriolanus. I’ll be seeing another Shakespeare play next month, Much Ado About Nothing, also by the MTC. It’s one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, I do love romcoms! 

Speaking of Much Ado, one of the cast of an earlier MTC production of it was in Rebecca last night. Pamela Rabe, an actress I love, was Mrs Danvers, the spooky housekeeper. She is older now, of course, so won’t be playing Beatrice or Katherina (Taming Of The Shrew) as she did all those years ago. But she played a plum role for an older woman. There really aren’t enough of those, so good to see her get one.

It’s a cracking Gothic piece. I admit that I hadn’t read the book or even seen the film. I got a download of the novel last night. I couldn’t resist seeing the show, though. It’s one of those stories that everyone knows something  about, even if they haven’t read it. I even remember a Rebecca skit on the Carol Burnett Show.

There were only four cast members, of whom I’ve only heard of Pamela Rabe, but they managed to convince me that they were different characters. In fact, two of them, Max De Winter and the young wife, played only one role each, so the other two carried the other roles between them. 

The sets and props were impressive too. 

If you are in Melbourne, or can get here, it’s on for several more days and is well worth a visit. 

In Which I Celebrate Kerry Greenwood With Sisters In Crime!

 Today I went to the Windsor Hotel in the Melbourne CBD for an event staged by Sisters In Crime, that organisation celebrating women crime writers. I’ve been a member for years, but rarely get to attend any of their events or meetings, which tend to be on Thursday or Friday, when I have to look after my mother. However, on Sundays my brother gives me a break, taking over looking after Mum, and the event, celebrating the life and times of Melbourne crime writer Kerry Greenwood, who passed away a few months ago, alas, was two hours long, right in the middle of my time off, so I went, giving myself the ticket as a birthday present. 

It was a high tea, for which the Windsor is famous. Kerry Greenwood wrote the place into her Phryne Fisher fiction, so it was the perfect place to celebrate her. I found myself wishing they had done it while she was alive to enjoy it. 

I wore a dress I bought for a wedding a few years ago, but found most people - the women, anyway - were in costume, 1920s style. A nice touch, I thought. 

The afternoon tea was nice, but there were also a couple of panels going on. One was especially interesting because it was about how they made the Phryne Fisher TV series, including the writing and the set design. The writer of the series, Elizabeth Coleman, told us that they were pressured to have a romance between Phryne and the policeman Jack Robinson who, in the novels, was happily married and plain(it was one of the things that made him a success as a policeman- the crooks never noticed him till it was too late!). Of the actor who played Jack in the show it is often said, “He can put his shoes under my bed any time!” A nice-looking man indeed.

Another thing I found fascinating was that we heard from Kerry’s first publisher, who told us the story from her viewpoint. Kerry often told us how she didn’t sell her original book, but they suggested she write a crime novel instead. The publisher said she wanted to buy the first novel, which was set in England in the 18th century, about a female highwayman, but was told that the theme was just not right for them. So, instead, she suggested taking the character and transferring her to Melbourne in the 1920s. 

Imagine if they had bought the original novel. It might have done well enough, but it just wouldn’t have made the first of a series. Maybe it’s a good thing! 

There was a raffle at the end. I didn’t win, but it’s fair enough, as I have read most of her books. The woman who won first prize in the books also won the big prize of having her name put into the last Phryne Fisher novel, which is coming out in November. I bought some raffle tickets for the books, but the winner of third prize was the person who bought the very next ticket after me!  

As usual, I ended up buying some e books mentioned by the panels. I just couldn’t resist. 

It was a great afternoon. I’m very glad I went.

Worldcon 2025

Fair usage

 I’ve just been to the Seattle Worldcon- virtually, anyway. I wish I could say I got to a lot of panels, but I didn’t. The virtual option has been around since ConZealand, which was entirely virtual due to COVID. I think that and the Glasgow Worldcon last year were the best. They ran smoothly and you could click on a link and be in the panel. Furthermore, if you missed something you wanted, they were mostly recorded and they were available as long as till the end of the year. 

Alas, though there were some wonderful looking panels, I couldn’t get in. I don’t know why, because others seemed to manage. The technical folk were kind and patient and very helpful. 

But every time I wanted to get in, I had to send for a link, which is fine, except that the link didn’t get me far. I clicked into the portal, and found myself back on the entry page. I tried to use the app with the panels listed, which also sent me back to the portal page. The lady doing the tech stuff set up a link that was supposed to get you out of a loop. It didn’t. Finally, she got me in via a session number link. I thought the problem was fixed when she sent me a full list of panels with session numbers, only to find that they no longer worked. Apparently they had remade the whole stream and nobody had told my lovely tech lady. So I missed the last two panels I was hoping to attend.

And the replay function didn’t work. They said they would get it going and announce when it’s fixed, but not so far. If/when they do get it up, it will only be available for about two weeks. I suspect it won’t be up at all. Everyone organising a convention has their own life, after all, and jobs to go back to. I remember how exhausted I was after Aussiecon 3, where I was working on the children’s program. And I had to go back to work the next day! 

I did manage to see a panel on African SF and another on fan fiction. I bought a book of African SF short stories, the only book I bought this weekend. 

The fan fiction panel was interesting, though I was shocked to hear that many people are monetising it. Fan fiction is using other people’s universes, after all. It can be fun to write, but you aren’t supposed to make money out of it. I know how I’d feel if it was my work being monetised. The people doing the panel didn’t seem bothered by it. After all, the argument went, if artists can make money out of it, why not writers?

I think they may have missed the point. One of them said, though, that she was being approached by professional artists asking for commissions! She said no. 

I remember the days of print fanzines. Okay, we sold them, but only because you had to print them out and postage wasn’t free, after all. You weren’t supposed to do that, but people did. I never made a profit out of it. Nobody was paid for their work; you gave them a free contributor’s copy. Mind you, I once was asked by a Star Trek club if they could publish one of my longer stories as a fanzine, but they wouldn’t give me a free copy, so I said no.

These days they can post it on line, and it’s hard to find out if money has been paid. 

The panel also talked about podcasts of fan stories. I’ve only listened to one, which was very well read. Podcasters were advised to ask for permission before doing that. Well, duh! 

Well, that was my Worldcon experience. At least I got the Hugo Awards shortlisted works as my souvenir. It was worth the membership fees paid. I haven’t checked for the winners yet, but will share with you when 

I do. 

It’s after 10 pm here, so good night! 

Just Been To See…Superman!

 

Film poster. Fair use.

My very first Superman was George Reeves. As a child, I was reading the Superman and Superboy comics with a friend, and loved them. In recent years, I re-viewed some of the old Adventures Of Superman episodes and was impressed with how well they held up, despite “Truth, justice and the American Way!” Each episode was a mini movie, twenty five minutes long. The budget can’t have been much, but the stories were good. This Clark Kent was respected by the police and often got information he needed to do his job as Superman. He didn’t have to pretend to be an idiot as later versions did. 

In later years, there were the Christopher Reeve films, which were very good, though I liked the first two films better than the third, and I never saw the final one. In fact, I think that Christopher Reeve was the definitive Superman. He was funny and charming and did a good job as the klutzy Clark Kent. It’s sad what happened to Christopher Reeve. 

I quite enjoyed the first season of Lois And Clark, though it got silly in Season 2. I did like the scene where Lois pulled off his glasses to make her point. 

I confess I have missed most of the later TV shows, just seeing a few episodes of such shows as Smallville. I just can’t watch everything, alas. 

But when the new Superman movie came out recently, I had to see it. And today was too cold to do my usual Sunday visit to the beach, so I went to the 1.20 pm session at the local cinema. I’m glad I did.

David Corenswet, who played Superman in this film, looked strangely like Christopher Reeve. They do choose some appropriate actors for the role. (Henry Cavill was a gorgeous Superman.) 

I was pleasantly surprised to see Bradley Cooper as Kal El’s Dad, Jor El. I only know him as Rocket Raccoon. I never knew how good looking he was. There was a message from Kal El’s biological parents, spoken in Kryptonian, at the Fortress of Solitude, which had robots to look after him and his cape-wearing dog, Krypto. 

But this story started in medias res. There were some flashbacks to tell us how he got to Earth - and why, of course, but we learned early on that he had just stopped a war between two countries, one of which was attacking the other, with weapons supplied by Lex Luthor. Lex wanted him dead, as Lex tends to do in these movies. 

The interesting thing is that Clark and Lois were already in a relationship at the start of the film, and she knew who he was. It was pretty clear that they had been sleeping together, which is fine, except… I’m not sure the writer had ever read Larry Niven’s article “Man Of Steel, Woman Of Kleenex,” in which it was pointed out that he would tear her apart! In Superman 2, someone clearly had read it, because Clark had to lose his superpowers before they could do it. 

Still, an enjoyable film and it had some fun references to earlier versions. In one scene, you could hear editor Perry White in the background yelling, “Don’t call me Chief!” which he did all the time in the George Reeves series. 

This is not a film to take your younger children to see; it’s more serious than the other films and there are some deaths. 

However, it’s well worth a viewing. 

What I’m Reading Now…

 I have been bingeing on my reading the last couple of weeks. I’ve read two books this weekend alone, so I thought I’d share with you. 

I’ve just finished reading Dead And Buried by Barbara Hambly. It’s the ninth book in the Benjamin January series. I thought I’d read the lot - and I’ve ordered the twenty-first novel, which I’m looking forward to reading. But for some reason, I can’t remember reading this one. 

Benjamin January, an African American former slave living in New Orleans where he teaches piano, plays with a dance band and occasionally gets to use his skills as a surgeon, also solves mysteries. Sometimes he’s even paid for it. 

In this novel, he is attending a funeral when the wrong body falls out of the coffin and it turns out to be an old friend of January’s best friend and fellow musician, Irishman Hannibal Sefton. He has been murdered. If the killer isn’t found, someone innocent will be executed. We learn about Hannibal’s back story, and it’s a doozy. A lot of other sub stories are connected. I enjoyed it as always. If you haven’t read this series, give it a go. 

The other book I read this weekend is part of the Rivers Of London series by Ben Aaronovitch, Masquerades Of Spring. In it, we meet Augustus(Gussie), a former schoolmate of Thomas Nightingale, later to become Peter Grant’s mentor at the Folly, the magical section of the police department. It’s in New York in the 1920s, where there is a lot of jazz music. Gussie moves there from England and Nightingale comes to him for help with finding out about a magical saxophone, and where it comes from. It is great fun and reads a lot like the Bertie Wooster/Jeeves stories. I have a strong feeling that was done on purpose. 

I still have some books in the series to read, but this one was a novella and I read it easily in a day. 

Recently, I discovered a trilogy by Rick Riordan. Rick is, of course, best known for the delightful Percy Jackson novels, with Greek mythology. I’ve read several and also his Magnus Chase trilogy, which is set in the same universe and is Norse mythology themed. 

The Kane Chronicles, my latest discovery, is Egyptian mythology themed. I’ve read the first one, The Red Pyramid, and bought a download of the whole trilogy. Siblings Sadie and Carter Kane discover that they are descended from the Pharaohs and have magical abilities due to Egyptian gods they are hosting. It starts off with their archaeologist father blowing up the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum, where he is locked into a coffin by the god Set, and continues with their having to stop Set from destroying America and possibly the world. They do have help from their uncle Amos and various Egyptian gods. Sadie’s cat Muffin, who comes with them on the adventure, is more than she seems.

I really like that Rick Riordan creates entertaining adventures, but gets his child readers interested in learning more about mythology.

I have just started reading Isabelle Carmody’s new novel Comes The Night, which is on this year’s CBCA short list, in the Older Readers category. It’s set in a future Canberra. I really need to finish it quickly and read the rest of the short list, at least in the Older Readers, but it’s a thick as a brick book. It looks good so far. 

I’ve begun reading All The King’s Bastards by G. Lawrence. Gemma Lawrence writes historical fiction, but this is alternative universe, in which she asks “What if Henry VIII actually died in that tournament in which in our world, he nearly died?” I love alternative universe books. This is a fascinating idea.

Speaking of AU, I have just read Harry Turtledove’s Joe Steele, which I had to buy in print from Amazon. I do try to get everything in ebook these days, but this one wasn’t available in ebook, so I ordered it. The premise: what if Joseph Stalin was born in the US, of Russian immigrants, and became President? He is just as dreadful as the one in our world, as you might guess. It’s seen from the viewpoint of two brothers, journalists, one of whom gets a job as a speechwriter at the White House, the other of whom gets into trouble for being rude about the President. 

There are a lot of books in my pile, but these are the most recent. 

The Rick Riordan book I’ve just read was published some years ago, but is still in print, so easy to get. 

If you’re interested in any of them, you should be able to get them all easily in your favourite bookshop or web site, except maybe Joe Steele, which I was lucky to get. 

A To Z Blogging Challenge 2025: Some Afterthoughts!

And here is my last A to Z post for the year, on some afterthoughts. 

I’ve been doing this since 2017 and I never know till just beforehand what my theme is going to be. Every year I have wondered if I even will come up with a theme and then… I come up with something. I always learn something too.

In this case I realised suddenly just how much mystery fiction I have read over the years, even if I’ve only read one book or even one story by each author. I probably even left out a fair few. I confess I looked up lists of mystery writers each day to see if I could find someone with that letter, whom I have read at some stage. 

The lists were long, but most of those authors I hadn’t heard of, let alone read. And sometimes it was someone I was familiar with, but hadn’t read in years, or had read, but hadn’t realised wrote mysteries. Yes, I’ve learned again. 

It has been nice to rediscover some authors I hadn’t read in a long time, such as Nury Vittachi. I don’t regret choosing this topic.

I really appreciate your comments and enjoyed wandering over to your blogs to see what you’d been writing about. Thank you! You will be  having visits from me over the next few days. 

I’m glad, too, that some of you had the chance to remember books you’ve read yourselves, or found the ones I mentioned interesting enough to add to your TBR piles. 

Thanks again, and happy reading. I’m now heading for bed, to catch up with my own reading.

Cheers and see you soon.