The Week in Womble aka Oh wow its OVERRRR!
Hellooo!!
So, this week was supposed to be simple – pack the last few things in the flat up and move Friday. Unfortunately. my buyer’s solicitor had realised a few things they should have done were not ready so I was running around to catch up and sadly still not moved!! I have however finally exchanged contracts, so this means in two weeks a new home is mine AT LAST. So been a bit of a weird stop start week but was nice to finally know the saga is over. I am never moving ever again!
Anathem update
Still on page 100! I should be judged!
What I read this week
The Bastard Legion: War Criminals by Gavin Smith reviewed here - The latest in the series was the best yet with planetary warfare mixing with politics and mysterious AI
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley reviewed here – an interesting crime mystery with both a query as to who is the killer but also who was the victim. It has an intriguing look at the dark side of friendships while giving you a classic countryside mystery.
Shelter by David Hutchinson – The planet was struck by a comet and in the devastation that followed the UK is now a series of discreet communities all suspicious of each other. So far a dark and nasty little tale of little Englanders – I’m enjoying it a lot
Creatures – The Legacy of Frankenstein edited by David Thomas Moore – five authors deliver novellas exploring what Mary Shelley gave us 200 years ago. Already enjoyed Tade Thompson’s grim tale of Victorian scientists going too far.
Other Media
Television –
Brexit Drama – modern dystopia with unrealistic cliffhangers and the cast all act unrealistically. Who wrote this?
Films –
The Shining – I have only seen this once as a teenager and remember being bored more than thrilled. I then read the book and found that better. But sometimes nice to revisit things and I found it a different experience. It’s the tale of Jack, Wendy and their son Danny who agree to looking after a remote Hotel while its deserted in a gruelling winter cut off from everyone. The Overlook has a history of affecting its occupants and both Danny and Jack experience visions of the past. This a story of madness and Jack is the one most changed or possibly unleashed) by either isolation or the Hotel. This time I realised there are more hints that Jack was a violent husband even before the Hotel and I think if this had been used more rather than Jack Nicholson obviously going for MAD JACK it may have been scarier than a horror film with ghosts. It is an unsettling film and the large hotel makes the humans within it seem weak and tiny but I think its good rather than a classic.
Podcasts –
Not had any time!
What I want to read next
I’m looking at the these over the next few weeks
-
- Darksoul by Anna Stephens – the sequel to another one of my favourite debuts Godblind
- Shelter by David Hutchinson – a future UK where a disaster has turned back the clock
- American Monsters Part 1 edited by Margret Helgadottir – the latest entrant in this brilliant Fox Spirit series with writers telling tales of their cultures.
- The Djinn Falls in Love & other stories – edited by Mahvesh Murad & Jared Shurin – an intriguing look at what the Djinn offer us with a fine cast of writers
- The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas – intriguing SF for SKCA
- Chlorophyll and Gasoline by S J Fleming – also for SKCA a novella I’m going in cold on
- Stars Now Unclaimed by Drew Williams – an SF action tale
- The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Graton – a fantasy tale based around Lear sounds intriguing too
