I’m Currently Reading…

 

Mostly, I’m re reading books that I have on my “comfort reading” list, but have found my way back to unfinished works and bought more in ebook. 

I’ve also started reading Alchemised by SenLinYu, which was recommended to me by my great niece Dezzy. Goodness, it’s gruesome so far! But Dezzy likes gruesome. It’s a first novel, which is also in audiobook, and has sold a lot more copies than anything I have ever written. I see it’s based on a Harry Potter fanfic the author wrote, but I don’t see the connection so far. Not remotely Harry Potter, and the original story is no longer up on AO3, so no way to compare. Still, it’s 1000 pages long, and I have a lot of other stuff to read. I asked Dezzy to recommend something I could nominate for a Hugo Award if I liked it. If I do, it’s eligible for two Awards - one for best novel, the other for first novel.

I’m back on Rick Riordan - currently finishing The Lost Hero(Heroes Of Olympus Book 1) and the last book in the Kane Chronicles trilogy. In The Lost Hero Jason, a demigod, son of Zeus, wakes up on a bus next to Piper, a girl who thinks he is her boyfriend, and Leo, who thinks Jason is his best friend, and can’t remember either of them. As it happens, they are also demigods, children of Aphrodite and Hephaestus, and the three of them are taken to Camp Halfbood by Annabeth Chase, who is looking for her missing boyfriend Percy Jackson, and the three of them have to go on a quest. Jason is connected with the Roman gods. In some ways, it’s not very different from the Percy Jackson novels - three teens have to go on a quest before it’s too late, in only a few days, and meet characters from Greek mythology along the way. But I haven’t finished the book yet and it’s only Volume 1. We’ll see.

The Kane Chronicles is a trilogy, centred around Egyptian mythology, so is different from Percy Jackson tales. No Camp Halfblood for the Young heroes of these books. It’s seen from the viewpoint of siblings Carter and Sadie, whose father is Osiris, living as a mortal archeologist before he blows up the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum, and is locked into a coffin. The children have powers, of course, and spend the trilogy encountering Egyptian gods, some helpful, some trying to kill them. I’m enjoying it so far, into the final volume.

My main re read over the last few weeks is Harry Harrison’s hilarious The Technicolor Time Machine. I haven’t finished this in ebook and print book and have also discovered it as a radio play. It’s not in audiobook, alas. 

The story: a film company is about to be audited and closed down. All they need is one spectacularly successful film, but they have only a week to do it. The company’s producer/director, Barney Hendrickson, has met a scientist, Dr Hewett, who has built a time machine prototype and needs financial support to get it going. The time machine is built and used as a prop in a horror movie and is actually cheaper than the prop would be, so the company can now use it to travel into the past to make their historical film cheaply - and on time for the bank auditors to see on Monday. Barney decides to film a story about the Vikings settling in America. He finds out some things that hadn’t occurred to him. 

The radio play, if you are interested, is free to hear on YouTube. It was written by  Chris  Boucher, who was story editor on British SF series Blake’s 7, and wrote some of the best episodes, as well as some Doctor Who scripts, and creating another series, Star Cops. I knew about the play when I sent him a fan letter and he replied. I only discovered it was on YouTube last year. 

I’m awaiting a delivery of the graphic novel, The Life Eaters by David Brin. It’s based on the author’s novella Thor Meets Captain America which, despite the humorous title, is not funny or intended to be. The Nazis brought back the Norse gods. As they are fighting for the Nazis, Loki fights for the Allies. I’m re reading the novella before the graphic novel arrives. My copy will be second hand as it’s not in print any more, and there doesn’t seem to be an ebook, alas! 

There is more, but these books will do for now. I really need to stop buying till I have read some more!