A florentine diary from 1450 to 1516 By Luca Landucci

About 

This is what it sounds like a diary written in late 15th to the early 16th century written by a regular citizen. Landucci was an apothecary in Florence. This isn't a day to day account and was clearly collected at a later point there are notes that reference details that wouldn't be known until later. 

My impression was that he was middle to upper middle class. Its a bit hard to tell since there isn't that much personal. For example there are no notes about his children being born though some of them are mentioned later but not until they are adults. Most of the notes are news the fluctuation price of grain or goods, the politics of the city, or other countries. Crimes that happened and wars between various Italian countries and with France. Along with several plots involving the Medicis.

Also way more people getting hanged from windows. Like this seems to be something that happened at least every few years. 

My thoughts

How this has been preserved is interesting when so many other books has been lost to time.  I can see this being very useful for historians. Not so much for mentioning events. But about taxes and the price of various food stuffs. The reason the events might be less useful is how little information there is about anything that happened. The book is quite short considering how much time it covers. Some years are described in as little as half a page though some some others have 30 pages. There are so many times when I wanted more information about things mentioned. A revolt against the Medicis but Landucci says that he doesn't know why. I might have to find some history book about the renaissance Italy and read that.

Landucci was a contemporary of Machiavelli and I read this looking for any mentioned of him. Alas there were none but there was plenty about the Borgias. Interesting he expressed no opinion about the pope having children. even though he had much opinions about other sins committed by the people he talked about. 

He was very religious and quite naive in a way that I found tiring. Of course the French aren't going to conquer Pisa for you there is no benefit for them to do so. Then the 11 January 1495 he writes about a preacher who refutes accusations against himself, claiming letters showing his support for the Medici was a forgery. Landucci ends this with saying he has always stood by the community's unity. Has he because this is the same person that has categorically forbidden women from being present at his sermons.

All in all it is an interesting read if you are interested in history but don't necessarily need a narrative.

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here:

Amazon

Bokus

Adlibris

God Emperor of Didcot by Toby Frost

 This is the sequel to Space Captain Smith. It's not really necessary to read it to understand this book but there are several recurring characters from that book.

Plot

Since Smith and his crew succeeded in their mission in the last book someone considers them competent enough to be given a new mission. Meeting the spymaster W (yes it's a James Bond reference) they are told about the vital importance of tea to the war effort. When combined with milk it's apparently the source of moral fiber. 

Now it's threatened by a religious zealot, the grand Hyrax. He is gaining a following on Didcot 4 (also known as Urn) the empires main tea producer. With backing from the Republic of New Eden, the religious fanatics that tried to kill Smith in the last book, this could be a real problem. Clearly they are going, it doesn't hurt that Didcot 4 is the planet Rhianna is on, receiving training to use her Vorl heritage. Getting there they meet up with Ws agent on Urn to start their investigation.

I But Rhianna isn't the only person on Urn. Gilead is not as dead as they thought and neither is 462. They are once again plotting planing to invade urn and breaking the morals fiber of the British.

My thoughts

Clear dune references, with tea instead of spice, the order of saint Camilla the tactile instead of the Bene Geserit. And dragons instead of sandworns. And crusades instead of a jihad. That's mostly where it ends Hyrax is the Paul analog but the Teasmen are on the side of the empire. Which is good I have read Dune and a re-skinned copy would be boring.

Like the first book there are still plenty of references but they are more considered for the plot. More woven in to serve it. The James Bond references at the beginning when they get their mission and are gathering information about the Hyrax. Of course it's still a bit of a everything and the kitchen sink but the plot is more straight forward. With less detours and the ones makes sense for the over arching plot. But I did enjoy the trip to see Suruks family even though they are a bit of a continuity error. Mostly Suruk is a predator (like the movie) and live for fighting and collecting skulls, the ones we meet in the first book were the same. Now we find out that Suruks family and supposedly all the other M'laks on Didcot 6 are living in middle-class suburbia. Of course the M'laks there aren't all there is but still it's a big change for just a few years. 

There are still blink and you miss them references like when they land on a planet for repairs and run into a mix of Lovecraft and Enid Blyton. I did like the Lovecraft one since it focused on the exact things that annoy me about his writing.  

The tea puns are a bit much though like Sam O'varr the tea priestess of the Teasmen. 

The smith Rhiannan ....romance? is something. Smith constantly thinks of having sex with her but also runs away when she tried to kiss him. I don't particularly think they would be good together but not to any point that it bothers me. Apart from sex I'm not sure what either sees in the other. 

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Didcot.

The Library a fragile history by Andrew Pettigree

 Why did I choose to read this? I didn't this is one of my textbooks. But since I have to read anyway it and it's mostly interesting I might as well write a post about it also writing notes about a book while I read it might help remember it. 

About

Despite the title this is about the history of books and book collections more than libraries. Libraries as we know them (free for all and supported by taxes) is a very recent thing, and only really appeared in the last hundred years or so. 

Libraries were mostly private collections of prestigious books as a show of wealth and culture. And so people bought the expensive ones. Book collecting as a status symbol didn't change only the measure used. From the medieval manuscript with pretty illuminations and gold foil, to 1500 when the newest editions of classic works was all the rage to 1700 when like to day the first editions has the higher price. Again and again libraries and collection were made, at great expense. Made as a show of power until the next generation decided there were other status symbols they wanted more leaving them to rot forgotten in a cellar or an invading force stole the choicest titles for their own collections.

Although the collection size were modest by today's standard, hand copied and jewel encrusted manuscripts were rather more expensive than paperbacks.

My thoughts

The more things change the more they stay the same. Today, libraries are often either architectural marvels or showed into a unused room somewhere, threatened by budget cuts. An interesting recurring theme is people donating there collections to people or institutions that never wanted them in the first place. A collector handing it over to an uninterested heir, moralizing Latin sermons given for the improvement of the masses, masses that neither read Latin or wants to be moralized to. Plenty where taken as booty after conquest then left to rot in a storeroom hoping someone would take the time to catalog them. And so on again and again through history.

There is an unfortunate egocentricity to the book Italy, German the Netherlands, England is predominantly the history that is told. The middle east is mentioned but only during the ancient Mesopotamia, and the rest of Asia only as it relates to colonialism which really doesn't count since they'd had literary and scientific golden ages of their own. 

It is interesting how it wasn't until the 17th century that collections were becoming, what we today would call large. 500 books was considered a large collection for most of history (for reference I have 270) 

Reading about a time when the university library was smaller than a single professors. Of course without a budget to buy any, only getting books through donations, I can imagine that it was not the books they wanted and there is a lot of work to suddenly have a pile of a thousands of books to catalog. but you can't feel too sorry for them considering the amount of books were thrown away simply because they didn't fit the current fashion. 

In a way its odd how it didn't get boring considering how repetitive most of history were. Collections built and destroyed book-markets moving with the economies. This might have been because it was a textbook I probably wouldn't have read it otherwise and certainly not at the pace I did.

A bit of a pet peeve for me is that while there are many mentions of the cost of books. But only a few explanations. I don't know how much 1000 ducats where or how they relate to an average income. 

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Library.

Quantum Physics and life by Ingemar Ehrnberg and others

About

This book is written for the general public so no math or too many technical terms.

As the title suggests this book is about quantum physics and explains it through how it intersects with biology. We only perceive a fraction of the world. The spectrum of visible light is only a fraction of the electromagnetic radiation that exist. The same is true for physics, the classical physics of gravitation and movement is only parts of the forces governing the world the rest is the weird mess that is quantum physics. 

But just because it's weird doesn't mean it doesn't affect us or that evolution cant use it. Like how geckos use nano-hairs under their feet to stick to walls and ceilings. How birds can see the earths magnetic field to find their way home. Or how chlorophyll catches light. 

My thoughts

It is a short book with only 150 pages. Actually less since each chapter has three pages just for the heading and a quote. A bit ridiculous especially for chapter 2 that's only 4 pages. It brings to mind the times I had to reach a specific page count but didn't have the text for it.

I've read books and watched documentaries about quantum physics before, so for me there were parts I already knew but also a lot of new information. Still I would have liked it to be slightly more advanced or maybe just have another 50 pages and try for a deeper explanation. A lot of the quantum physics parts are a bit glossed over, on the one hand I understand the decision these are difficult concepts that doesn't work the way anything else does. But I would like the opportunity to at least try to understand. 

But that's maybe just me in general it's a good first introduction for anyone who is interested. And relating it to familiar things is a nice addition rather than just using metaphors that never quite work.

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here quantum.

Villains vingettes by Drew Hayes

 In preparations for my Uppsala trip I restarted my Audible account. I didn't actually use it then but once I got home I have been listening on and off. The first book I got was this one. A collection of three short stories set in the same world as Forging Hephaestos. If you haven't read that or the second book then this is not for you. This ties quite heavily into the second book and does contain spoilers for it.

The Plot

The Meta...villain? Spooky Trudy has returned and she has turned a random small town into a Halloween experience. Within the town wearing any costume lets you have the abilities associated with that character. People flock from all over to experience the powers of superheroes and villains alike although in a weaker form. It's harmless fun... during the day at night the town turns dangerous. But staying the night will grant magical boons or even powers especially for whoever wins the nightly battle royal at the grave yard. 

Chloe is adamant that she wants the gifts offered. Tori and Beverly being good friends and roommates tag along to help her and keep her safe. As do their neighbors the superhero team The new science sentries though they have their own hopes for the night. 

However the meta Fashionistadore sees his opportunity to gather powers. He can assume another metas powers if he wears a part of their costume and in a place where all costumes are real this is prime hunting ground.

My thoughts

The Hallowville setting is a nice way to organically contain the story. Fashionistadore is not actually a threat that some of the more powerful characters couldn't deal with instantly. But with Spooky-trudies rules stopping Lode-star from using her power there and the rest unaware he and his grab bag of powers are enough to cause problems. Add to that Beverly, Tori and Cloe are all using borrowed powers and so can't access their own. The question becomes how they can solve this. I personally would have liked to see another solution. 

The problem of is Fashionistadore that bad is one I kept thinking about while listening. Granted we don't know of his final plans this is just to gather power, but still Tori and Beverly at least are villains and even if all the people he stole costumes from died that's still a low death count compared to several other characters. 

I do like how random the powers are. How some people just gets a shitty power and have to make the best of it. It's always a thought with most random powers universes of how useless most are in a non combat environment. This doesn't solve that but rather leans into it occupationally giving powers that are useless in every situation. 

The series has a very large set of characters and I would have liked if this took the chance to explore some of them. Actually that was what I had expected it to be or doing new team ups They are all the ones explored in previous stories. Tori and her roommates, the new science sentries in the first, Ivan in the second, Tori and Ivan in the third along with quick scenes from other familiar characters. Don't get me wrong I did enjoy it and I think anyone who has read the first two books will as well but I expected something more. 

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Vingettes.

A review of Catilina an anthologi by Alexander Andreé

This book is a collection of all... most of the the antique sources that talk about Catilinarian conspiracy. If you don't know what this is I suggest looking it up it is quite a fascinating time. But basically Catiline was a roman living in the last decades of the roman republic. A time of turmoil and civil wars. He was from a wealthy family that had fallen on hard times and his early career was plagued by scandals. Among others things he was accused for murdering his wife and son and for corruption during his time as governor for the roman province in Africa. This might have been the reason why he twice failed to become elected as consul (the highest public office during the roman republic). Rather than try a third time he instead attempted a coup.

He gained support among the poor and as well as impoverished nobles like himself, gathered them into an army under his friend Manlius' command. He also planned arson and assassinations of various senators and the then consul Cicero. The plot was discovered, speeches was had in the senate. Catiline fled the city and joined the army while his supporters were imprisoned and executed. Catiline was killed in battle against the army Rome sent against them. 

The book starts with a description of what happened who Catiline and the writers was. Most of the texts are historical accounts, chapters of books describing the history of Rome. A large part is also the speeches Cicero made in the senate and to the people.

My thoughts

While anthologies are normal I haven't actually seen one like this before. With all the historical sources on a subject combined. I would like to read more books like this about other historical events, though this one has the advantage of having a good amount of sources about it. 

I would like to have heard from his supporter or Catiline himself. With Cicero being his enemy (understandably) and the rest being various historical texts seeking some kind of neutrality in the matter. They are still clearly on the side of the establishment and unsympathetic for the plight of the common man. Sallustius claims that Catiline surrounded himself and won the approval of people in debt. S attributes this debt to them being yo lazy to work and decadent living. I cant help drawing comparisons with the current boomer vs millenials and gen x conversation. This is not really a critique of the book, sources from so long ago are few, but it would still have been interesting. 

A thing I noticed when reading all the accounts back to back was the differences between them. The accounts are all slightly varied. There are details in one that aren't in others, especially when it comes to peoples motivation. One example the description of Fulvia and Curius, they were the ones to inform Cicero of the assassination plot.

In Appianus account Cicero found out about the plot because one of the conspirators Curius bragged about it to his lover Fulvia who then told Cicero. 

In Sallustius account they had also been lovers but the noble woman Fulvia had lost interest since he had money issues. He then brags about the money and power he will get. But also says that Curius threatened her. Here she just told people in general what she knew. Later she is described more like a go between for Cicero and Curius in a way that makes it sounds like Curious was helping Cicero. 

Plutharcos also describes her as a noble woman and says she told Cicero of the murder plot. It does not mention Curius or how she found out about it.

Diodorus has the most details but doesn't mention either Fulvia of Curius by name. In his account one of the conspirators is in love with a girl who doesn't care for him. Same a Salustius he brags about the power he will gain and also threatens her. She then pretends to be interested to get him to tell her more. She then met with Ciceros wife and told her about what she knew. This is the only version that mentions Ciceros wife having any part in this.

Cassius Dio just says Cicero found out about the plot but not how.

This is just one example most parts are like this the broad strokes are the same but the details are different. I didn't even notice this until I had read a couple or accounts and going back and looking for it I found others. 

Just a comment but what is Cicero's deal with sex. I can understand that he would have an extremely negative opinion on the person who tried to murder him, but in the second speech he spend a lot of time calling him and his supporters perverts and whores.

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Catiline. As far as I can tell this book only exists in Swedish so far but the original texts and translations of them are easy to find. 

Cicero, Sallustius, Appianus, Plutarchos

A review of Undeath and taxes by Drew Hayes

 Disclaimer Undeath and taxes is the second book in the series about Fred the vampire accountant and his friends and this review will contain spoilers. I wrote a review about the first book, so read that and maybe the book first. 

Plot

In the last book mild mannered accountant Fred got turned into a vampire. This opens the door to a whole new world of different creatures and people but also friends. 

Having learned that the Parahuman (supernatural) community is rather more organized than he had anticipated. Fred has spent the time between the books learning about the parahuman tax code. Getting his diploma his first job is for Richard Alderson head of the local therians (werecreatures). 

While trying to make sense of the mess that is Richards receipts he is interrupted by kidnappers. They are there for Richards daughter Sally and thinking Fred is her bodyguard they take him as well. Taking advantage of both Richard being in a meeting and Gideon (Sally's ancient dragon playmate) being away Fred is feeling very much out of his depth.

My thoughts

Again this is a collection of short stories the plot section only talks about the first of them. If the first book was about Fred getting friends this one focuses more on world-building. Specifically we learn about the agents. We meet some of Krystal's coworkers and learn some of how it operates. 

Fred acclimatizes to violence and adventure very fast. This is a bit of a double edged sword, the book telling us he avoids confrontation but never shoving it. But I have a preference for active characters so if he had taken the outs he is given and left others to die it would have made for a worse story. 

Though considering this is all written as a memoir by Fred there is the possibilities that this is just him having a negative self image. An image that doesn't necessarily reflect the person he has become but rather the one he was in the beginning of the first book (when he did try to run away and leave people to die). 

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Undeath.

Review of A Master of Djinn by P. Djéli Clark

Plot

In an alternate 1912, Egypt has risen to prominence in the fifty or so years since the mystic Al-Jahiz opened the world to magic. Having embraced magic and the Djinn that came with it has allowed them to not become a colony and instead become a major player on the world stage. Al-Jahzi meanwhile disappeared shortly after this. 

Fatma, is one of the few female agents of the Ministry of alchemy, enchantments and supernatural entities, gets called to help the police when the murder of the members of a secret brotherhood shows clear signs of being made with magic. The victims being various rich and well respected Englishmen dedicated to the memory of Al-Jahzi does not make it easier.

Fatma however is distracted by first getting assigned a partner in the young and enthusiastic Hadia and then by the return of Siti. Her girlfriend/informant who has a tendency to show up and disappear as the mood takes her. She is also one of a rising number of people devoted to the old pharaonic gods.  

Then just days before a world peace summit is about to start in Cairo someone claiming to be al-jahiz is starting demonstrations. Showing the inequalities that despite the prosperity still exist causing riots and vandalism. 

My thoughts

So I feel I should warn that this is not the first book in this series, there is both a novella and a novelette that take place before this. I, when reading this book, did not know this and hadn't looked since this is described as the authors debut. This means that I was terribly annoyed by the frequent references to the things that had happened before and the general sequel feel of it. 

It's rare to see fantasy that's not western. At just a glance id say that at least a third of my books takes place in Britain or USA. This is an impressive bit of world-building both the alternate history bit of an rich and powerful Egypt, but also the humans and djinn living side by side. It also takes the time to show many sides of the society. The poor flocking to "Al-Jahzi", the kings at the piece summit, regular people and regular djinn. As well as the religious differences shown a bit in the contrast between the devoutly Muslim Hadia though she is still part of a feminist group, the secular Muslim Fatma, and Siti following Sekhmet which apparently gives one powers or something.  

The summit is a nice touch giving a sense of urgency in calming down the public and capturing the impostor. The insinuation is that all it's a lead up to the first world war and a lot suggests that while the magic might change things it wont stop it. 

My main complaint is mostly, does Siti need to be there all the time. Because she is. She shows up everywhere and I don't like her nearly as much as the author does. It's not even that she is a bad character it's just routinely showing up in the middle of police investigations will make you be considered a suspect not a welcome addition.

There is of course a mystery about who the Al-Jahzi impostor is and I can happily announce that I was wrong. However it wasn't contrived. I have a weird thing about being able to predict things in books, while I like figuring things out before the characters I don't like things to feel predictable this one straddles that nicely. 

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Djinn.

Beter wordt het niet By Caroline de Gruyter

 This is a book that as far as I can find only exists written in Dutch, a Swedish translation and maybe German. Though I'm uncertain about the last. 

About

The author is a journalist who after living in Brussels for awhile she moved to Austria and Wienna. There she realized how strong the Habsbourg influence still is and how different the narrative her is compared to what she was taught about it. 

A theme of the book is this changing narrative. The modern day nostalgia over things they then complained about. Similar to how people today complains about the EU. Though that nostalgia might partially be because the time after was so much worse with the rise and fall of soviet. Stability is underrated until you loose it.

The book contains many interviews with different people, descendants of the former royal family, other nobles and politicians. It is the journalist influence.

More about the Habsburgs and today's Austria than it does about EU. But whole sections are about the Hungary whose position in opposition to the Habsburg definitely mirrors their complicated position in EU today.

It's mostly about the last parts of the empire and the time after. The slow decline that was in the end obvious and parallels to today where every crisis is talked about as if it will be the one to break the union. The most obvious parallel is the problems of keeping diverse people united and the need to continuously adapt to new pressures.

The Habsburgs led was a multicultural empire held together by bureaucracy and compromises. It's collapse was a messy time. People who had previously been able to move freely about the empire now found themselves living on the wrong side of a border. 

My thoughts

That it's written by a journalist and not scientist is obvious from the very start. This isn't really a problem it just means it has more of a narrative, less statistics and a lot of personal anecdotes. And it is a more pleasant read.

It's interesting but lacks something in structure. Not really clear what differentiate the theme if one chapter from the next. Mostly it's the same anecdotes, interviews with descendants of various people, histories about the family interviewed or about life in the empire. And how that relates to EU. I cant help but think Maybe simply naming the chapters would have helped.

A lot of the people interviewed were descendants of nobles. People whose family lost land and influence when the empire collapses and the area was conquered. While it is interesting to hear about the modern day Habsburgs and their thoughts. They might have a bias to the empire in a way that ordinary people might not have. 

It is positive about the EU points out that it probably wont collapse despite what headlines might say. Because at the end of the day being a part of it is better than not.

All in all its an interesting read about a place and time I know little about. 

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Habsburg for the Dutch version and here Habsburg for the Swedish version.

A review of Ember knight By Hwandaeng

In my late teens I used to watch a lot of anime and read a lot of manga. Then I stopped. There wasn't really any reason for it it but the manga got replaced with fanfiction and anime with other videos.

But one was recommended on Drawfee a youtube channel I follow. The person recommending it was the same that recommended Gideon the Ninth so I'm inclined to trust it. Also you can read it for free on webtoons so why not.

Plot

Nagyunn is weak. Well he's a normal person surrounded by people with anime powers. The kind where someone gets thrown into a stone wall the wall will take most of the damage. His identical twin brother Najin is a prodigy and training to be a knight. Until one day Najin is killed by a group of masked people.

Nagyunn seeking revenge decides to take his brothers place in knight training hoping that once the masked people hears that Najin is still alive they will show themselves. Except he's still weaker than everyone else and can't actually win against them. He solves this by outsmarting them. Predict their movement and creating strategies to win. All while keeping his secrets, and finding out more about this group their tragic backstory and why they targeted Najin (so far all I know is they have a history but it's unclear). 

There's also a war brewing with the eastern continent, mages doing... something and a variety of groups who wants to destroy the knights as an organization. All of various intelligence and with different levels of intricate plans.

My thoughts

This was everything I expected. It has fights, auras of murderous intent, weird weapons (spears, swords, oversize swords, an umbrella and more). There are people wearing bandages for no apparent reason and named fighting moves. It's every manga cliche ever and I can't stop reading. I wan't to to figure out the evermore complex wed of secrets, lies and people trying to outsmart each other. 

As downsides it has a very large cast of characters and several of them are introduced at once. This makes it hard to keep track of who is who and to get any feel for them. Most of the apprentices are a bit of a blur for me. Which is a shame because they clearly aren't meant to be. They all have unique looks, abilities and slowly revealed backstories same as everyone else. I just have a difficult time connecting faces to names.

The bigger problem is that I've now reached the end of the uploaded episodes and will have top wait a whole week for the next.

Review of A marvellous light by Freya Marske

Only days after I decided to buy less new books I went out and bought this one. The rule would be not buy anything by an author that I haven't read before. Unless I couldn't get it through a library. This decision mostly came after cleaning out my bookshelf and seeing how many bad purchases I have made made.

Anyway less than a week after this decision I brought this one, mostly because it was recommended in the bookstore. But I can't say I regret it, quite the opposite. 

Plot

Turn of the century London and the young baronet Robin Blyth starts his new job in an unknown office of the government. Taking over after his predecessor Reggie Gattling disappeared (he dies in the prologue but they don't know that) he only accepts to help his family's financial situation. At least until he, on the first day meets Edwin Courcey and finds out what the job is actually about. Acting as liaison between the the British government and the magical society in their midst. Edwin being the Liaison for the magical assembly.

But Reggie took his secrets to the grave and his killers aren't giving up. Assuming Robin knows anything about this they curse him to make him find what Reggie had hid. Instead Robin enlists Edwin for help and the two of them leave London for Edwin ancestral home and the magical library there. Leaving Robins work in the hands of his Secretary the excellent Miss Morrissey who unlike Robin actually knows what shes doing.

It doesn't take long for feelings to develop between the outgoing and athletic Robin and the bookish and closed of Edwin. As they working together to break the increasingly painful curse and find out what Reggie had gotten himself involved with it becomes clear that the assailants are not far behind. 

My thought

 I like the characters a lot Edwin hiding in the library using precision and knowledge to make up for his comparative lack of magic. But mostly just hiding to avoid his thoughtlessly mean sister and his deliberately cruel brother. being standoffish and pushing people away to protect himself from hurt. And yes this does cause trouble with his budding relationship with Robin. 

There is a bit of a theme in the book about low-or non magical people in a magical world and how they handle it and the pitying scorn form the rest. How having a non magical person in the family is seen as a source of embarrassment. Even when Reggie is found to be dead his family doesn't seem to care that much. It is also heavily implied that Edwins father did nothing to stop Walter (his brother) from bullying him because Walter had so much more magic.  

There is also Flora Sutton who for being a woman was also denied formal magical education and responded by creating a whole other system of magic in secret. All these and many other characters all responds in different but all very believable ways.

Robin too but as a newcomer is mostly...not indifferent but doesn't see it as a lack in himself. To him its more like a nice parlor trick they can do but feels no need to emulate them. He's generally secure in his identity. Athletic, social and good at being the person others want to see. Something he developed as a response to his narcissistic parents. 

The plot is quite good even if more focus is given to the characters and slowly revealing the magic system. That being said it's not obvious who the antagonists are before they are revealed, expect from a meta perspective there are only so many named characters. Then again they were more focused on solving the curse rather than figure out who put it there. There are magical police in this world and it's assumed that they are solving the murder though we never hear from them. Why they didn't bring the cures to them on the other hand is never clear.

The book takes place at the very beginning of the suffragette movement, and has a number of excellent female characters. Many but not all chafing under the lack of opportunities but doing things anyway. Along with the insistence that women really shouldn't be taught magic. Most of this weight is carried by Robins younger sister Maud who are running a persuasion campaign on Robin to be allowed to go to university. 

That people with little or no magic gets looked down on and yet women supposed to be taught any more than the most basic of magic, does sound like a contradiction. But it's not in a way that feels unbelievable. 

As for Robins and Edwins relationship, it's good they complement each other well and bring some emotional support that they both clearly need. Edwin more than Robin but I feel he made the most character growth in the story. The inevitable end of second act argument is convincing. It stems from something that Edwin actually planned to do and was made worse by their respective insecurities. They also even in the argument doesn't try to hurt one another and does attempt to work through the issues. It doesn't work but an attempt was made. I have realized that as a reader for me to like a book the characters needs to try to solve things, they don't have to succeed but they have to make the effort.

There are sex scenes in the book but only three. They are a bit long for my taste but they had enough character development or exposition woven in that I didn't feel the need to skip them. Also not so spicy that I was uncomfortable reading the book in public.

All told I'm definitely going to read the next in the series even if, from what I understand, Edwin and Robin wont be the main characters. Also I'll probably reread this one someday. 

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Marvellous on Amazon.

The utterly uninteresting and unadventurous tales of Fred the vampire accountant by Drew Hayes

 Plot

 Recently turned vampire Fred Fletcher is disappointed to realize how little how little this changes things. He can no longer go out into the sun or touch silver he is also still socially awkward and scared of any kind of conflict. 
For lack of anything better to do he also keeps his job as a accountant though now freelance since nine to five isn't an option. 
Dismayed by how mundane his unlife is he decides to take a risk and go to his high school reunion.   
The reunion goes bad his former bullies are there and he didn't actually have any friends back then to reconnect with, even fellow former social outcasts Krystal disappears on him after a few minutes of conversation. It's not looking great and then it gets worse as the light cuts out, the doors are looked and the party is attacked by werewolves. 

But this is the start of a whole new unlife for Fred filled with wereponies, LARPing mages and jovial zombies but most importantly friends.

My thoughts.

Written as a memoir by the titular Fred the book contains five chronological stories. The plot part above mostly just describes the first of them the rest is mostly him getting dragged into trouble by mostly Krystal. Forcing him to get out of his shell and be a bit more social.
Sounds harsh but its good for him. 

Although I described him as as scared of conflict he also doesn't back down even when faced with opponents a lot stronger than himself as long as its to help someone. I was going to say to help his friends but its more friends of friends or strangers he just meet. This does help to make him more likable at least for me.

It's a clever book most of the solution to the trouble facing Fred gets solved not by force but by thinking outside the box and being clever, which I like. It's also an interesting mix of the fantastical and the mundane. In a way that's very refreshing, there aren't many uncool vampires in fiction which clearly is a shame. 

The book is a very quick read. This is partially down to it being several short stories. I like stopping at the next chapter and even more so at the end of a story. Also you are never more than 50 pages from a climax so that too helps. 

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Utterly.

Review of The Housemaid by Freida Mcfadden

 I'm a librarian and despite what many people might think this does not involve much reading. 

This summer however me and some coworkers are presenting three new books each for an audience of predominantly older women. Since I have to go through the work of finding, getting, reading and forming an opinion on these books I might as well post it here as well. With the added bonus that I can be brutally honest here. 

The plot

After ten years in prison Millie is finally free. Unfortunately she's unemployed and living in her car. And with her criminal record getting a job is hard. But she at long last does manage to get work as a housekeeper for the wealthy Winchester family. Even better it provides both a salary and room, so says yes despite it being slightly unnerving. 

It doesn't get less worrying when on the first day the Gardner Enzo warns her about danger but he doesn't speak English so she isn't sure what exactly he means. 

Inside the pristine house from the interview has, in just a week, turned into a pigsty and when she gets to her cramped attic room she realize that the door only locks from the outside. 

And that sets the tone for her employment. Nina Winchester is inconsistent, acting like they are the best of friends on moment and the threaten to fire her the next. Berating her for not completing jobs she hasn't been asked to do. Calls in a panic and asks to pick up kid from school even if other parent takes kid to karate lessons acts as if never asked. And being jealous if Millie so much as talks with her husband Andrew.

For Millie it's a nightmare as she slowly realize that Nina is not just "a bit temperamental" like her husband says but that something is seriously wrong. But she can't leave because leaving means being homeless and worse her probation is dependent on her having a job and home. So even when she comes down to Nina throwing dishes on the floor, lying about her daughters allergies or when Millie suspects she is violent. She still has to stay.

My thoughts

I want to preface this by saying that it's not a bad book (at least not in the first 100 pages which is all I read). Millie is sympathetic and her being stuck in a bad situation where she is powerless with an inconsistent, gas-lighting boss. The slowly dread and uncertainty is well written. 

Mostly I just don't like it, I don't particularly like this kind of thrillers. I don't like People being stuck in bad situations and not doing anything they can to get out of it. Don't get me wrong I understand Millie's choices there literally isn't any better option for her. That's most of the reason I'm not throwing the book away in annoyance. But with every chapter I know something bad is going to happen I just don't know what or how bad and that feeling of uncertainty and helplessness isn't something I'm looking for (I have plenty of that already).

That being said there are some less subjective critiques as well. I don't like the way it villainizes mental illness if I was to attempt to diagnose her I'd say less evil more narcissist and depressed. Even so Millie looking trough her medicine kind of crosses a line. 

Also one of the "weird" things Nina does is being jealous of her husband. She don't want them to talk or even be in the same room. This is considered weird because Andrew is so obviously in love with her.

 But at the same time Millie constantly thinks about how hot he is and clearly wouldn't mind becoming the new Mrs Winchester. Similar thought is expressed by side characters so it's not like Nina doesn't have any reason for it.

As for Millie a part from knowing that she spent several years in prison we don't really know anything about her. Not what she was in prison for or where she is from and though its possible that this is revealed later in the book in the parts I read there's nothing. This feels like a missed opportunity. The slow reveal of her past, what she did and why could have been an interesting second plot point.

I said that Millie is stuck and forced to work there but that doesn't mean that she can't do anything. While the threat of homelessness is real the problem of her parole could be lessened. In a meeting with her parole officer she lies and say that it's fine. This serves no purpose the rules of the parole states that she has to have a place to live and a job. Side thought: is this accurate to real life because thinking about it it seams unreasonable. Anyway she has to have a job, no one said she has to like it and explaining the situation might give her some leniency if she has to leave.   

All in all for someone who likes thrillers this would probably be a good fit but its not for me.

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Housemaid.

Review of The three lives of Alix st Pierre by Natasha Lester

I'm a librarian and despite what many people might think this does not involve much reading. 

This summer however me and some coworkers are presenting three new books each for an audience of predominantly older women. Since I have to go through the work of finding, getting, reading and forming an opinion on these books I might as well post it here as well. With the added bonus that I can be brutally honest here. 

The plot

It's 1947 in Paris and Alix is back to start her new job for the then relatively unknown Christian Dior. She got her start writing for fashion magazines in Paris but had to shift focus during the war when move to USA where she grew up. Back in Paris and again working with fashion she ruminates about the differences, Paris bears the scars of war and rationing and she herself has changed by the part she played in the war working for the secret service.

Her first job for Dior is to make sure journalists actually show up for the fashion show. This is Made harder by it being held a week after everyone else and after all the international reporters has left. But by reviving old contacts and using knowledge and tricks she learned as a spy she manages to make some headway. This does mean repeatably running into one Antony March. He's a reporter for the New York journal and son of the newspapers owner. He is also antagonistic and seemingly knows more than says, asking question about not only her but also Bobby, her fiance who died during the war. His death weighs heavy on her conciseness because it her plans, her lying informant that lured them into a trap.

Reminded of the deaths she decides to find the informant and get revenge for Bobby and the other eight that died that day. Until a note is left on her desk in telling her to leave Paris. There is only one explanation the informant who's name she doesn't know knows her. And she must figure out who he is and who to trust in a city where everyone has secrets.

My thoughts

I don't really care about fashion but there are little hints about the thing that happened. Something that she did during the war. Something she still feels guilty about. The hints that there might be spies does carry me through the early part. Until it becomes clear that it will probably be the majority of the plot. 

So plot-wise it's fine, at least for the first hundred pages that I read, but the dialog is clunky. Actually all the text... none of it flows like I want. This makes it hard to get to know her and it's the same with location descriptions. Though all of this might just be because I read a bad translation. 

Alix also repeatably makes some pretty wild leaps of logic that always seems to pan out, but really shouldn't. case in point: someone has stolen and released some fashion drawings Anthony remarks that people one has helped are more likely to betray you (are they though?) and Alix just immediately knows who it is. That's not how you do detective work. 

If you have read it, What did you think? If not the it can be bought here Three lives.

Review of Nobody's fool by Daniel Simons & Christopher Chabris

 I'm a librarian and despite what many people might think this does not involve much reading. 

This summer however me and some coworkers are presenting three new books each for an audience of predominantly older women. Since I have to go through the work of finding, getting, reading and forming an opinion on these books I might as well post it here as well. With the added bonus that I can be brutally honest here. 

First up

Nobody's fool

It's a nonfiction book written by two psychology professors about the aspects of human psychology that makes us vulnerable to con artists, misinformation and other influences. With each chapter taking up different vulnerabilities.

Like how peoples first instinct when given a piece of information is to assume it is true. (I find myself doing this even when I know the person isn't trustworthy.) Doubly so when it agrees with our worldview. Or comes from a trusted source.

We tend to focus on the information we have and draw conclusions from that, most never considers questioning what information was left out. It made me think of clickbait headlines like "10 habits of successful people" without comparing them to the habits of the people who aren't successful.

We tend to focus on the information we have and draw conclusions from that, most never considers questioning what information was left out. Why? Because they save us time and energy and most of the time they work. It's the times they don't that's the problem. We all make predictions of the future. Using models allows us to act faster and we based these on our experiences. Problem arise when we stop questioning information just because it agrees with our prediction. 

It also contains how tips for how to avoid these traps. Questions to ask yourself when encountering new information.

My thoughts

The tone is quite considerate and non judgmental, pointing out that people who are deceived are not necessarily stupid. Clever people are instead much better at coming up with reasons and justifications for why they are right. Even when confronted by evidence. I didn't have time to read more than hundred pages since its for work and I have other things I need to do but I quite like it and wouldn't mind finish it in my free time.

If you have read it, What did you think? If not the it can be bought here Nobody's fool

Review of The Scum Villain's Self-saving System by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu part two

Readers be warned this review contains spoilers for the first book and also doesn't make much sense without it so go read my review of part one and maybe the book before reading this. 

 Plot

The scum villain is back in this part two of the series.

It starts about a year after the end of the first book Shen Quingqui has spent the last three years mourning his student Lou Binghe (who Shen stabbed before pushing him into the demon realm during a competition) but also enjoying his freedom from the system. 

Shen and others sect leaders are having a meeting (this is truly the most thrilling of settings) when a  messenger arrives. They are told about a city being completely isolated except one man managed to escape explained that there is a plague in the city before dying. Since then various sects has sent in healers to try and help but no one has come out again. Shen, Liu Quigge and Mu Quingfang decides to go to a city in order to investigate the plague and hopefully curing it. However once they have snuck in Shen discovered that it is in fact not a plague but rather caused by demons. While chasing a demon he instead runs into Lou who is back from the demon realm. Except he is two years earlier than in the original novel and his proximity is turning the system back online (it makes sense if you've read the first one). He has in fact been back for some time and has become the premiere apprentice to Huan Hua Palace and rumors abound about what really happened at the competition. Many are quick to point fingers at Shen (not undeserved) since clearly Lou is not dead like Shen said. As accusations pile up from demons and Huan hua palace apprentices alike and an old flame of Shens show up and things are looking dark. 

My thoughts

Unsurprisingly my thoughts are mostly the same as the last one. Shens frustration with the system are still funny and the plot is interesting and exiting. There is a thing though the Chinese original was a web series when they divided them into books it got odd. I noticed this in the first novel too after the climax of the competition the story should have ended instead there is another chapter of Shen finding mushrooms and a snake person. the same happens in this where Shen dies (he gets better) which should have been a cliffhanger ending but instead happens in the middle of the book.

Last book it was clear that while Shen saw Lou through the lens of what he would one day do and was unaware of Lous affection for him which were obvious to the reader, now it's different. I honestly don't know what Lou is thinking. Shen is convinced Lou hates him and is angry and is going to do all the horrible things he did in the original work, specifically the things Lou did to him. The system on the other hand claims Lou is merely annoyed And I honestly don't know what he's thinking does he love him, hate him? Lou is obsessed though sometimes he feels more hurt and confused. If it's not clear this is a good thing I prefer my books to not be predictable.

And finally after much ado he has realize what we have all known. That the longer it goes the less help  he'll have of his knowledge of the original work. Shen's not the sharpest when it comes to interpersonal relationships and is of course horrified to realize Lou is no longer a peak masculine stereotype. Wondering what the fans will think about the harem of 300 ladies not happening and Lou having feelings for his teacher, obsessive and necrophilic though they may be.

All in all I'm definitely going to continue reading the series but I might not post about the rest. 

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Scum villain.

Review of Vox Machina origins by Matthew Mercer

For the last year or so I have had an interest in dungeons and dragons. Not with playing it but watching other people play.

Going from Dimension 20 to critical role and since I'm a bit of a completionist I decided to start at the beginning. Which brought me to the legend of vox machina which started airing on twitch 2017.

114 three hour episodes later and I'm still not ready to leave these characters and in considering getting an amazon prime account to watch the animated series version. But I managed to restrain myself and didn't immediately re-watch the same adventure but turned instead to the prequel comic book. 

I tend to get very excited about a single topic at the time and try to read everything about it.

Plot

Twins Vax (Rogue) and Vex (ranger) are in the swamp town of Stillben investigating a curse that is killing the people. Getting attacked by fishpeople but are helped by Keyleth (druid) who is also investigating the deaths but reveals that the cause is poison and not a curse. They thank her and leaves to continue their investigation. Asking the local alchemist about poisons are immediately attacked again this time by shadowy assassins. 

Meanwhile Scanlan (bard) and Grog (barbarian) is also in Stillben along with their party investigating a temple cult thing belonging to a frog god. After a fight and while looting the temple they find a mysterious potion. Taking it to the alchemist to be identified they find his shop filled with shadowy assassins. Killing them they head to a bar to discuss their plans their companions are all for leaving but Scanlan is approached by Tiberius (sorcerer) who is investigating the curse/poison along with Keyleth on behalf of a criminal syndicate. Revealing that the potion found is the poison he has been looking for and buys the potion. Scanlan convinces grog to look into what's happening in the town thinking it would make a better story then if they just left.

The six of them then continues investigating getting in the way of the others until they reluctantly agrees to team up.

My thoughts

It suffers a bit from being just the story and somewhat condensed. In the stream they tend to get side tracked a lot. I also missed the ridiculous banter between players and seeing the other players reaction to what the others are doing. Also my favorite character (Percy) doesn't appear until the next installment and yes I have read that one to.

Apart from that it was what I expected and hoped. It had the characters I like, the random plans and shenanigans all with some very pretty artwork. And I think most fans of the show would like it.

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Vox machina or if you haven't seen the videos then this is the first episode. 

The Mad Lancers by Brian McClellan

It's a prequel to the Gods of blood and powder series and... well I don't really know where in the timeline it is with the powder mage trilogy. I could probably look it up but I don't want to and it doesn't really matter anyway. It's also short, it's just a novella and only 90 pages long so the plot is rather straightforward.

Ben Sykes who is big, strong and seemingly immune to all injuries. to the point where I thought the twist of GOBAP would be that he was secretly some kind of god. if you have read either series then you understand that this isn't as far fetched as it sounds. 

It takes place before the Fatrastan rebellion or rather during the events leading up to it. Where tension are rising between the paolo, the settlers and the distant Kez government. Sykes is at this point an officer in the Fatrastan militia (I have already forgotten the specifics) garrisoned at a small town. A Kez regiment is passing through and staying for the night. In the morning Sykes stops their drunk colonel from beating the local innkeeper (he was asking them to pay for the drinks they'd had the night before) breaking both his arms in the process. A few hours later the colonel returns, along with his brother (who is the governor). And then things escalate from there. 

This and the rest of he series are for people who likes military things. If reading about cavalry charges and infantry flanking maneuvers doesn't interest you then this isn't the book for you. I personally quite like the battle strategy parts but did in general like powder mage trilogy better. Mainly because I find Sykes and his anger management issues slightly annoying. Not so much in this one but in GOBAP he could avoid a lot of trouble if he just showed some patience. 

All in all it's a nice and short little book mainly for fans of the other series. 

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Mad Lancers

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

So this is what I had been hoping for when I read Assistant to the villain. Vulcano lairs, secret meetings, lasers and also cats. 

But I get ahead of myself. The story follows charlie. He had taken time off/been laid off from being a journalist to care for his sick father until his death. He is now living in his father's old house which his half siblings want to sell. Working as a substitute teacher while looking for any journalism or even writing job. It's not going well. 

At the start of the story he's attempting to buy a local pub to break the stalemate (except he can't get approved for a loan). When he is informed that his uncle Jake has died. His uncle was a billionaire but they haven't had any contact since Charlie was a child so he is surprised when he is asked to help with the funeral. He is even more surprised when he finds out he has inherited his uncle's estate and that his uncle was not only the owner of  the country's third largest parking garage company but also ran a villainous empire complete with a volcano lair.

Unfortunately he has also inherited his uncles enemies.

My thoughts

I generally like scalzi's books a lot, they are funny, exciting and clever. Starter villain is no different and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. But with the latest two (starter villain and Kaiju preservation society) have taken a turn to be more relatable. At least to me... and I suspect any other millennial in an unsatisfactory work and/or living situation. In this case it's not so much his money trouble but the soul crushing feeling of sending job application after job application into the void and getting nothing back. Of living in a town I didn't like because of circumstances not because I actively chose it.

At the same time it takes the tropes and asks how would that work in reality. So you have the problem of trillion of dollars sitting unused in a bank because moving it would raise all the red flags. The reasons why you can't drown someone in lava and genetically engineered dolphins going on strike.

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Starter villain.

Unnatural Magic by C.M Waggoner

Onna is a young mathematical prodigy and in a world where math and magic is intrinsically linked going to magical university is a dream of hers.

But although she aced the entrance exams she still doesn't get accepted (mostly due to classism and sexism in this quasi Victorian world). She instead goes to Hexos an island nation renowned for its magic. But Trolls are being murdered in the streets of Hexos and in the countryside of Draeslundic and Onna quickly finds herself as part of the investigation.

It also follows Jeckran a down on his luck nobleman and military officer sent to stop the brewing conflict between humans and trolls. Instead he finds himself rescued by Tsira a half troll living on the outskirts of both human and troll society. Setting out to make their fortune together they do quite well for themselves until a personal tragedy drags them into the murder investigation. 

My thoughts

There's a lot of lost potential in this book. The idea of a high functioning troll society side by side with a human one is interesting. But you only get to see either the poor clans at the border or the enclaves within human cities. And constantly being told their magic is a lot more advanced than humans is not the same.

I also had trouble engaging with the characters. Onna she's a bit to perfect, sure she is a prodigy but even a highschool prodigy shouldn't easily beat someone at university level.  

The investigating murders plot mostly meanders around. With Onna occasionally accusing various people of murder based on mostly circumstance. 

This part could be a lot better if more time had been devoted to it but unfortunately most of the book is taken up by Tsira, Jeckran and their love story. I don't like them and I certainly don't like their relationship. They feel more like two people taking advantage of each other. Jeckran for money and protection, Tsira for status. It doesn't help that Tsira almost never refers to him by his name or that Tsira is violent and willing to attack or threaten anyone who even looks at them weird. With Trolls being significantly larger and stronger than humans that is a problem.

And they don't really contribute much to the murder plot. 

All in all it's not a book that I'll be reading again.

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you despite this wants to try it then it can be bought here Unnatural.