Read The Cursed by Dave Duncan which was OK. Felt like should have been a series but I guess the war that is just beginning lasts 20 years and wars can be pretty boring. Was surprising how suddenly he wrapped it up, yet was able to do so adequately. I guess Tibal Frainith being a ....something scath and being to see the future and saying what is going to happen really helps. Gwin wasn't terribly interesting. Bulion Thorn and his family were nice but nothing stupendous. I enjoyed but it ended and seems to have just dissolved away somehow. All the problems felt somewhat easily overcome. Though Bulion dies. Polion becomes one of the faceless. Spent a lot of my 5 days off reading this. Now it's over. And so is my time off.

West of January by Dave Duncan. "Sci-fi". After rereading A Man of His Word series I was unhappy. A let down from leaving that world I suppose. Instead of continuing on tried something different. Liked it a lot. The beginning had a more serious tone than usual Duncan. Was really impressed. But eventually, despite the awful things that happened to him, it ended up feeling like his usual character who wasn't really affected by things somehow. Such as is normally the case in fantasy fiction/sci-fi. But then, it's fine line to walk when you're putting someone through such things while hoping the reader will keep turning the pages.

Anyway, starts with the Herdman who send the boys off on their own when they get armpit hair. They usually die. Adult male herdman have a ton of wives and except for rare traders/trades have no interaction with other herdmen except to fight to the death. Knoble leaves their with an "Angel". Then stays with the Seafolk for a while. Then a slave to the miners. Then sold to Traders. Then sold to a Spinster. Then saved by Angels. Stays with them quite a while. And then goes back to Herders and becomes their king while changing their way of life. Uses his power to destroy the slavery of the miners and that's that.

Stopped reading Frostborn by Jonathan Moeller on book 5 or 6. Hero blames self for wife's death, which seems a bit stupid. I mean I suppose subconsciously someone could really do that. And communicating the subconscious in a story is very very hard. So they instead just belabour the point to death and it's a bit stupid.

The Runner and The Wizard by Dave Duncan is definitely not his best. He really does a good beginning though. Definitely not the Great Game or a Man of his Word. Completely devoid of magic and quite short. Goes to get a guy to help the Thane keep his power. Meh.

The Axe and the Throne by Ireman. Barely remember it now.... been awhile. Has lumbering large viking types. Uncompleted series I shouldn't have started. Wasn't impressed enough to reread the first book which I've already mostly forgotten.

Pierce Brown space trilogy Red Rising, Golden Son, Morning Star. Has a leftist revolution. That got me interested. Society divided along very sharp lines. The Reds are the lowest. The workers. There are pinks, etc. All ruled by the Golds who act vaguely like the ancient Romans. But I stopped 75% into the final book. It got so boring. Space warfare is so boring.

Dave Duncan-Speak to Devils and When the Saints. Not his best stuff. Magic starts as a voice that you pray to. Did like the era (15th century).

Going to have open heart surgery to replace my ascending aortic artery in a few weeks. This has been looming over my head since I was less than ten. I'll get to be off work for a month and it can't hurt as bad as kidney stones. And until then I'm expected to be sedentary so really looking forward to getting this over with and getting back to tennis.

Hope I don't die because that would mean my one year old son would grow up without a father I guess. Joanna claims she wouldn't remarry. I certainly wouldn't want her to not remarry. Anyway though I would like to be there for him and make sure things don't repeat. But really he could grow up in an orphanage and he'd still get taken care of enough that things wouldn't repeat.

Was thinking I know the real reason I wanted to write so much but wasn't successful. I have some intense feelings but I can't multitask well enough. I can't hold on to those intense feelings while also thinking about typing, grammar, etc. I can type etc pretty well but it's enough that the intense feeling is deadened. So they say to write like it's a grind, 500 words everyday. Every time I've done that all the intense feeling that was the real reason I wanted to is quickly lost. To successfully write I would have to somehow hold onto those intense feelings while putting down words. Perhaps if I could hold onto those feelings for say 2% of the words...

“When will it ever end? Why won’t they stop? Why won’t they see? When will this horror end?” She says as if she’s pleading to someone, but not me. Because I can’t stop them.

 

In the afterlife we are all hunted by those we have wronged.

When they catch us, what then? What happens to us? They are stuck there forever. Ghosts forever living their terrible end. All who have had terrible ends are ghosts forever caught, unable to forget. Forever seeking a revenge that can never be quenched.

Read the Great Game by Dave Duncan. Protag just like Rap, super good guy. Very good trilogy. Really like Duncan. Very nice ending. (He lives and gets the girl). Goods in another world who get their power by being worshiped, etc. But one god gets out of hand and the hero it is prophesied will kill him.

Also read The Eye of Strife by him which was an interesting style. Each person's very different POV. Sort of a fantasy fiction mystery.

Also read the a trilogy by Harry Connolly The Way into Chaos/Magic/Darkness. It was good. Though the guy main character (Tejohn) was kind of a boring fellow really. A very good guy though. Cazia, the main lady, was a bit of a bitch in the beginning. Infectious monsters running amuck. Some Deus Machina (sp) I suppose. both nice trilogies.

Had been listening to the beautiful Skyrim soundtrack on Pandora and it got me wanting to play it again. It would be nice to write stories that sort of take place there. The thing is have to have characters. That was always my real weak point. As Duncan points out. Setting is easy. Characters are hard.

One falls into predicaments because: one insists on doing the right thing with little to no regard for one's own self interest, bad luck, making bad choices. One escapes a predicament by exceptional athletic abilities, the help of friends, intelligence creativity, special powers, luck.

Read the Gilded Chain by Dave Duncan... and have no recollection of it at all.... I remember the Reluctant Swordsman which was a series by him I didn't finish.... Oh yes. The Gilded Chain a guard for the King. A bit of magic. These guards have a sword shoved into their chest by the person they are going to guard. It's magic. The king has many such guards but the hero is the best ever swordsman, etc, etc and the King makes him his right hand man. Rollicking good tale.

Then read the Piebald Prince by the master, Robin Hobb. Only 80 pages long. Unhappy ending. Very very good. Exceptional. As expected.

And then reread Tschai. To me it is somehow just such a wonderful tale. And I absorbed it better this time than in the past. ZAP 210 I think I didn't like the love interest before and was figuratively holding my noise. This time didn't feel that way. Ends with Adam Reith, his three friends and four technicians taking off in a spaceship, leaving Tschai..... Wish it didn't end but hard to imagine how.

Everytime I try to use my laptop my nine month old comes running. Oh well.

Tennis. Just about there now. Determined the serve grip determines how much you should face the court on the serve. With an almost eastern forehand grip should just about face straight up, with almost eastern backhand you should be turned sideways. I've been trying to stand a bit sideways while using almost eastern forehand. This means a sort of hitch in the middle of my motion where I really lose accuracy. I dislike facing straight toward the service box though. May experiment more with almost eastern backhand service grip.

Andy Murray backhand now and very happy with it. Extremely good return of serve today. And really trying to hit a two hand forehand drive instead of Santoro style. Because I want to be able to hit winners and not get totally destroyed by anyone. Went pretty well today but still getting used to it. Actually lost to Chi trying to play this way. Oh well.

Finished Dave Duncan's 8 book series. A Man of His Word and A Handful of Men. First book was The Magic Casement.

Divided humankind into Jotnar-football/rugby like sailors who like to brawl. Goblins-like to rape and torture, not intelligent. Imps-Romans, order/structure/curious/physically nondescript. Fauns-stubborn and like animals. Fairies-? magic comes from them. Trolls-large, ugly, very peaceful, seemingly stupid, but not really. Dwarves-greedy, stolid, unimaginative. Elves-artists. Djinns-Arabs, treat women like shit. Pixies-similar to elves, very afraid, hide and live simple lives in the woods.

Did as is generally done with characters but for races. Stereotypes. But as I went to a local football game (got invited and went for the hell of it) I couldn't help but think of the jotnars as that's pretty much who surrounded me.

Sounds like no big deal and isn't really but I liked it while at the football game. At this stage of my life wanting to play football is very foreign to me and I guess I'll dvr the local college team's game but I certainly don't have much interest anymore. Maybe just because I'm back into tennis. Football seems very stupid. Lots of injuries. Lots of standing around. Few guys ever actually touch the ball. Very few plays that are actually fun to watch. But I always knew that, yet got into it anyway. Anyway now it's like a bunch of jotnar, perhaps with some goblins mixed in.

In the first four books the hero (Rap) is getting power (magic words give you power). And I like him. He isn't the typical perfectly bland harry potter type hero. For example trying to not hold it against someone that they're good looking. That's exactly the sort of thing I would think and it isn't quite typical. Super ethical. Refuses to take power, etc. The following four are not as good. Too many separate plot threads. Bouncing around too much to people I never quite care very much about.

And so very little bad ever happens to main characters... or at least that's how it feels. None of them ever die. And you know they won't. And it gives it a light hearted tone that doesn't draw you in quite as much.

Yes Inos (Rap's wife) does get raped. Somehow that even doesn't feel like a big deal. She easily deals with it. Rap does get tortured and wants to die at one point. But he has magical powers and then heals himself.

If someone important had died early. Well, Thaile's husband and child were killed... and she certainly didn't shrug it off. But there's just a light feel to the tone/style.

Anyway, 8 books. It was a nice escape from reality.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
It was a bit light. Nice idea but ultimately not all that deep considering it's supposed to be about gods in general, which is such a vast subject. All the forgotten gods throughout time. Not terrible either. Better than I've ever managed certainly. Shadow was a bit simplistic. Has free time and sits around practicing card tricks. Dead wife says it's like he's half dead and well I guess, yes. Simplistic thought processes. But I enjoyed it as I read it.

Given up on Malazan, just randomly goes on and on in a pretty meaningless way.

Started the Magic Casement by Dave Duncan and LOVE the first page or so. The description of the weather, terrain/geography. At least the first page or so anyway. That kind of detail is so important.