Books Read in September, 2024
The start of a new month. Thus, as is my standard usage of my blog space at or near the beginning of the month, I present the listing of my September, 2024 reads.
*****
Books Read in September, 2024
Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks (r)
False Value by Ben Aaronovitch
Tales From the Folly by Ben Aaronovitch
Doctor Who and The Dalek Invasion of Earth by Terrance Dicks
What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch
Rivers of London: Monday, Monday #1-4 (Comics)
Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore
May, 2024 Locus
*****
And that was my reading for September, 2024. This was a pretty decent month of reading for me, about average for what I usually read book-wise in a month, and definitely was above average in terms of the quality of the books read this month. I probably would have read more books this month if I'd been feeling better, but allergies kept my head stuffed up much of the month and I was still suffering the lingering effects of my latest concussion, limiting my book reading. This month seems to have been primarily a read of Ben Aaronovitch books, but the Christopher Moore novel was a terrific way to end the month. As I've always maintained in these monthly book reading reports, it's all about the quality of the books, not the quantity, and this was true of Setember's reads in spades. Regardless, my bookcases are still stacked with a pretty large To Read Queue (TRQ). The books I enjoyed the most were:
False Value by Ben Aaronovitch
Peter Grant is facing fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm. Leaving his old police life behind, he takes a job with Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner's new London start-up: the Serious Cybernetics Corporation. Drawn into the orbit of Old Street's famous 'silicon roundabout', Peter must learn how to blend in with people who are both civilians and geekier than he is. Compared to his last job, Peter thinks it should be a doddle. But magic is not finished with the Met's first trainee wizard in fifty years... Because a secret is hiding somewhere in the building. A technology that stretches back to Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, and forward to the future of artificial intelligence. A secret that is just as magical as it is technological - and twice as dangerous.
The eighth novel and the tenth book overall in the Rivers of London or Peter Grant series. I'm a huge fan of Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London (or Peter Grant) series. I've read all the books, the novellas, all the short stories (that I have access to) as well as the graphic novels up through False Value. I've read about Ben Aaronovitch and know a lot of detail about the series. If you were to ask me what my favourite book is, I'd have to say Rivers of London, as that's the first novel that got the whole series and amazing world building process going. If you were to ask me what my least favourite book is, I'd say that I have liked them all, but for the purpose of the question, I would have to say False Value. While I enjoyed the book for the most part this book has something lacking. The author's magnificent world and magic building is once again centre stage, Peter Grant is once again investigating a crime and doing so amidst an interesting, unique urban fantasy setting. Nightingale is still-- well, he's Nightingale, 'nuff said. There's still the mention and seeing of the various river gods and goddesses that we've come to know and love about the series and the underground history of the practitioners of magic in this world. However, author Aaronovitch changes things up by having Peter go undercover and part of me wonders if the author may have been inspired by Neil Gaiman's American Gods as the reader gets a ghost in the machine, and a complicated AI story made all the better by being set in the Rivers of London universe. But there's also something missing, something intangible, and some of the magic is gone. In a lot of sf and fantasy series, some of the books wear thin and lose some of that early charm, but are still good books, still fun, and drawing on and expanding on the world building and the magical nature of the series. Author Aaronovitch has produced a good book here, still fun and entertaining for the most part, just not the best book. Once again, Ben Aaronovitch's writing is top notch, including all the things that one expects from his writing in the series to this point. The various Douglas Adams homages were quite nice, but see below on that, and there's a very emotional reference to David Bowie. The book is pretty much a terrific mix of magic, intrigue and high-tech mystery. But my real concern stems back to the earlier novel when it was clearly established that technology tends to fry around magic. There was some...wrangling (the only word that comes to mind) to get around this, and the import of spoiler territory later in the novel comes to fruition nicely. I do have three gripes about the book, however... First off, I didn't think there was any reason for the jumpiness of the timeline in the first part of the book. It doesn't add anything to the story, and to be honest, the reveal of Peter's undercover role was actually quite obvious and didn't warrant such a jarring, confusing set-up. Secondly, while I like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as much as anyone else, after the first four or five Hitchhiker references they just kept coming...and coming...and coming. A bit less, or perhaps references to something else, would have been better and appreciated. Finally, I have to wonder: Has Peter always been this...emotionally underdeveloped? While I've always enjoyed his dry humour and the healthy dose of self-deprecation that his Millennial nature seems to engender, the more I think about it the fact is there hasn't been a lot of emotional growth on his part through the series to this point since the first book. Just makes me wonder about what the future stories about Peter Grant have in store for the potential reader. However, it's also undeniable that for the last few books, the story had been getting increasingly complicated and confusing. This book doesn't pick up where Lies Sleeping left off, with Martin Chorley shot dead and Lesley May on the lamb. The reader doesn't get to see the direct fallout from that incident. Instead, it's been five months since those events and things are back to normal, relatively speaking. With this fresh start, Peter Grant is back in detective mode, rather than being too busy getting tangled up in Faceless Man and Lesley May drama. I loved the undercover aspect of his role, as it truly brings out his dedication to police work as well as his intellect and skill. False Value also shows a lot more of Peter's relationships with the people around him including Nightingale, his mentor, and Beverly Brook, his girlfriend and soon-to-be mother of his children. While the relationship between Peter and Bev is clearly special, there's hints of a conflict brewing as he finally realises the full implications of being involved with a river goddess. She's more benevolent than a lot of genius loci, but she's still unpredictable in her power and knows exactly the effect she has on others. Not to mention, being a new father is intimidating enough without having to wonder if your kids will turn out to be minor deities like their mother. This volume in the series also sees an expansion of the magical community beyond the United Kingdom. Peter has had dealings with agents from across the pond in the past, but False Value brings the Americans quite literally onto the Folly's doorstep, and one of them is even powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with Nightingale. This particular thread is an intriguing one so I don’t want to reveal much more about it, but Peter does come to appreciate that magical schools around the world have their own traditions and also not all of them view the spirits of place as kindly as the British practitioners do. Overall, False Value is a novel that I can say I liked when it came down to the final paragraph, but I enjoyed the execution of it as opposed to the story itself; the writing, the banter, the one-liners and repartee, the action and the police procedural bits were what allowed me to tolerate this novel. The story itself, however - the stakes, the set-up, the actual plot - didn't speak to me in the same way as the previous books did.
That said, this is the first book to move beyond the Faceless Man story arc. The reader is in the early stages of something new, so of course, there is still this sense that things are developing, but on the whole, I somewhat enjoyed the new direction and dynamics introduced here. Big things are clearly coming for Peter Grant and I look forward to seeing where the next book will take the reader. I recommend this novel for the most part, and if one is willing to not look too much at the past of the series, False Value is a good jumping in point for new, potential readers of the series.
Tales From the Folly by Ben Aaronovitch
Return to the world of Rivers of London in this first short story collection from author Ben Aaronovitch. This is a carefully curated collection that gathers together previously published stories and one brand new tale in the same place for the first time. Each tale features a new introduction from the author, filled with insight and anecdotes offering the reader a deeper exploration into this absorbing fictional world. This is a must read for any Rivers of London fan. Join Peter, Nightingale, Abigail, Agent Reynolds and Tobias Winter for a series of perfectly portioned tales. Discover what's haunting a lonely motorway service station, who still wanders the shelves of a popular London bookshop, and what exactly happened to the River Lugg...
The tenth book overall and the first story collection in the Rivers of London or Peter Grant series. This book is pretty what it says on the cover, a short story collection set in the Rivers of London (or Peter Grant) series. However, it's worth clarifying that Peter does not appear in perhaps half the stories, and only one of the tales here is unique to this collection. While I appreciate that these stories were made available to fans at large, as the majority of the pieces were 'bonuses' inside the Waterstones hardcover editions, they are not widely available. While the short stories are certainly polished enough, they usually lack the Peter Grant flair and magic. "A Rare Book of Cunning Device" is my favourite here by far. Author Aaronovitch writes an introduction to each story and snippet here, and mentions that "The Home Crowd Advantage" was one of his first tries at a short story. I'll be honest here, and state that pretty much squares up with my reading of most of these pieces, as it's clear that the author has problems with story endings. That said, it's clear that this matches his writing style as a whole, with loads of exposition and detail, neither of which is suitable to the short story format. Some short thoughts on the various stories and moments contained in the volume.
"The Home Crowd Advantage": Available for free on the website. Peter is called to a 'weird stuff' disturbance at a café during the 2012 Olympics. Nightingale is out of town, so it falls on him to deal with it. I enjoyed the story for the most part, but the ending of the story felt excessively short. I seem to recall that this story was changed from the website version. it, but the ending felt excessively short. I feel like this was changed from the website version. In his intro to the story, the author points out the story isn't canon due to changes in the timelines for the first three books in the series.
"The Domestic": Bonus in Waterstones edition of Whispers Underground. A constable investigating what seems to be a domestic abuse case is convinced that 'weird stuff' is going on, and Peter is called. He meets the woman living in the flat and her visitor. This story has a bit of a horror-like feel to it, similar to what the reader experienced in Whispers Under Ground, but is very under developed for a story.
"The Cockpit": Bonus in Waterstones edition of Broken Homes. This one is a ghost story of sorts set in the Piccadilly Waterstones bookshop, investigated by Peter and Leslie. The story feels very close to the author's heart, as he worked in this bookstore for quite some time. It's got a Ghostbusters joke in it that I didn't really have a feel for, but the story is somewhat enjoyable. And once more, it's too short.
"The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Granny": Bonus in Waterstones edition of Foxglove Summer. Peter, Bev and not-Nicky stop at a petrol station and Peter offers to help two men whose car has broken down. This is a story that I rather liked, though the ending felt a bit too easy and pat, a bit of a cheat. It has one of my favourite openings for a story by the author (but you'll have to read the tale to find out what it is!).
"King of The Rats": Short story for Cityread London 2015. Was available online. Not my favourite story in the collection. Has a trick ending that will make fans of the series howl, and to be honest, is potentially of questionable canon.
"A Rare Book of Cunning Device": Short story for Cityread London 2017. Peter, Nightingale and Professor Postmartin solve a problem at the British Library. This is my favourite story in the collection. It has terrific dynamics between the characters, with the interesting puzzle of the book. And I really like Elsie Winstanley, and hope to see her in future books or novellas. (Even a short story, if that's the only way to get her in again!). I learned an awful lot about the British Library and how libraries work in general from this story.
"A Dedicated Follower of Fashion": Bonus in Waterstones edition of False Value. This story is about a very hip 1970s kind of dude and his squad who are holed up in a deserted mansion. It's a fun story, has some interesting moments, is kind of weird/strange due to the voice of the narrator. A very abrupt ending, unfortunately.
"Favourite Uncle": Bonus in Waterstones edition of Lies Sleeping. This story is a Christmas tale where one of Abigail's friends asks her to investigate an uncle that visits once a year. The story is, to be honest, a good tale in its own right but Abigail's voice just grates on my nerves and has a too "know-it-all" feel to her. For the 12- or 13-year-old kid she's supposed to be, she comes across as too much of an adult. Hope never to read another book with Abigail as the narrator.
"Vanessa Sommer's Other Christmas List": Bonus in Waterstones edition of October Man. This is a very short story about Tobias Winter's partner after she learns about magic and rethinks some things she's seen at home. The story seemed to be just the right length, and the twist of an ending was a pleasant surprise. I really like the character, and look forward to seeing her in another book with Tobias.
"Three Rivers, Two Husbands and a Baby": New to this collection. One of the detectives and his partner are planning nuptials when a baby is discovered down by the river. Good thing there are some ladies next door to provide advice. This story isn't really a story, per sé, but feels more like a conversation that could have happened in the course of a novella and got cut out because it was a bit too long. There's not really any plot to this, but still it has a lot of the "world of the Folly" flavour to it.
Moment One: Nightingale - London, September, 1966: A blog published short-short, between Nightingale and Oswald. This is a lovely little story fragment that is just that, and offers no real...connection. Nothing to say about this.
Moment Two: Reynolds - Florence, Az., 2014: This is a short-short of Reynolds on an investigation. A lot of 'Mama says' and prayer talk. To be honest, I found this one boring and it sounds somewhat unbelievable when viewed in terms of the Reynolds that we've come to love and hate so far in the novels. My least favourite piece in the book.
Moment Three: Tobias Winter - Meckenheim, 2012: Blog published short story. Tobias reports back to his superior after he discovers that the Folly has taken on an apprentice. His boss makes a surprising offer to him, and the bit explains a great deal about the Tobias we encounter in The October Man.
As a final thought, this collection of short stories left me with a "What the heck was that all about?" feel for the most part. Most of the stories, and particularly the Moments, left me feeling like they were filler material and didn't really leave a solid impression on me, with a couple of exceptions.
Doctor Who and the Dalek Invasion of Earth by Terrance Dicks
The TARDIS lands in a London of future times - a city of fear, devastation and holocaust... a city now ruled by Daleks. The Doctor and his companions meet a team of underground resistance workers, among the few survivors, but after an unsuccessful attack on the Dalek spaceship, they are all forced to flee the capital. A perilous journey through England finally brings them to the secret centre of Dalek operations... and the mysterious reason for the Dalek invasion of Earth!
This book is the novelisation of The Dalek Invasion of Earth, the second serial of the Second Season of Doctor Who and the tenth serial overall, featuring the First Doctor, as portrayed by William Hartnell, and his original companions - his granddaughter Susan (in her departure story), Ian Chesterton, and Barbara Wright. This novelisation is penned by Terrance Dicks, based on the television serial (teleplay) by Terry Nation. The Dalek Invasion of Earth is a classic serial and one of the best of the William Hartnell period, though perhaps moreso for the imagery and atmosphere found in the story than for the actual plot, which concerns a bizarre attempt by the Daleks to "degravitate" the Earth by removing its core. They would then have installed an engine and piloted it around the Universe. Thus, it would seem that Terry Nation did not have even a basic grasp of elementary physics, let alone understand how large the universe actually is. So surely any novelisation would have to make up for the lack of sound and vision by including descriptive passages or even by delving deeper into the characters' minds, much as David Whitaker did in the novelisation of The Daleks? Unfortunately, this book is so brief that Terrance Dicks was barely able to adequately cover the six episodes worth of scripts, let alone add anything substantial to them. The writing does occasionally display signs of the author's talent but overall, the effect is almost like a plot summary. The blame certainly does not lie fully with Dicks - either the publisher required him to limit the length or he simply did not have enough time to write more - but this 142 pages of text is merely a novella at roughly 36,000 words. Admittedly, Doctor Who and the Daleks by David Whitaker was not much longer, but in that book parts of the plot were removed to allow room for longer descriptions and internal monologue. That said, this novelisation is a fast paced retelling of the television serial. What is odd is that author Terrance Dicks provides no description of a Dalek at all. When the first one appears, the reader is simply told that "a Dalek was rising from the water". Even when the reader gets Ian and the Doctor later musing about the Daleks being on Earth, the reader just gets the two of them discussing that the Daleks have "evolved" with Chesterton commenting, "I see what you mean. These do look a bit different. I wonder if that's got anything to do with their increased power of movement". There's no description of how they have changed, no mention of them having a dish on their backs, just a mention of them being bigger than the ones the time travellers encountered before. I guess that author Dicks assumed everyone reading the book knew what a Dalek looked like, and so didn't bother wasting a sentence or two describing them. But to not describe the changes to the Daleks in this story is quite bizarre. However, you'd think if your reader knew what a Dalek was and so didn't need to describe it at all, then logically your reader would know what the TARDIS was and so would similarly give very little details about it. Not so here... author Dicks spends a page and a half describing the ship, its crew and how they came to travel together. Mind you, as the book continues, the reader can piece together things about the Daleks with mentions of their eye stalk, sucker arm, casing and so on, but never a concise description. (Though I guess, depending on which version of the novelisation one has, the reader will have a painting or picture still of a Dalek, so all is not lost.) That said, there are also some things missing in the novelisation when compared to the televised serial. There's no poster telling people not to dump bodies in the river, there's no scene of Susan and Barbara reacting to the fact that Daleks are on Earth, and there's a somewhat different farewell speech from the Doctor to Susan at the end. This suggests that author Dicks worked from an early script to produce this novelisation, or perhaps used a couple of variants of the Peter Cushing movie based on the television serial. At its heart, this television serial, and the novelisation, present the reader with a global devastation in which the Daleks have overrun civilisation as we know it, and those members of the human race who have not been enslaved by the Daleks or turned into Robomen (more on them in a moment) are showing resilience and resistance against the invaders. They are so busy trying to survive and fighting the Daleks that they have had no time or even thought as to what the Daleks' purpose in invading Earth is - it takes the arrival of the Doctor and his companions to get the resistance to consider this angle. The story is an allegory of World War II and its impact in Europe, with the Daleks being the equivalent of the Nazis. The mind-controlled servants of the Daleks, the Robomen, are used to control the slave population, hunt down the resistance and other survivors of the invasion. They are a generally terrifying element of the story, both in the novelisation and the serial itself, as family members, friends, and others that one knows could have been subject to robotisation. Still creeps me out, and the novelisation does justice to this element of the story. This is one of the superior serials in the Doctor Who series in terms of moral overtones and themes, and unlike many of the other novelisations in the Target line, this is a nuanced story with many threads and overtones overlapping. So Terrance Dicks does a good job of that, for what it's worth. Overall, Doctor Who and the Dalek Invasion of Earth is not a bad book, but it just doesn't do justice to the television serial. It is a flawed, relatively straightforward adaptation of the television serial. Of course, back in 1977 when this novelisation was published, it wasn't competing with the 1964 television serial because because no one was able to watch that. As such, this book served the readers and young fans of the series well. Recommended, with a grain or two of salt.
What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch
Ghost hunter, fox whisperer, troublemaker.
It is the summer of 2013 and Abigail Kamara has been left to her own devices. This might, by those who know her, be considered a mistake. While her cousin, police constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant, is off in the sticks chasing unicorns, Abigail is chasing her own mystery. Teenagers around Hampstead Heath have been going missing but before the police can get fully engaged, the teens return home - unharmed, but vague about where they've been. Aided only by her new friend Simon, her knowledge that magic is real, and a posse of talking foxes that think they're spies, Abigail must venture into the wilds of Hampstead to discover who is luring the teenagers and more importantly - why?
The third novella and the eleventh book overall in the Rivers of London or Peter Grant series. I am a huge fan of Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London (Peter Grant) series of books. I wasn't all that fond of the previous novel, False Value, but rather enjoyed the two novellas, The Furthest Station and The October Man; the former featured Peter Grant and had a terrific tale set in the London Underground and featured Jaget Kumar of the London Transport Police in a prominent role, while the latter introduced the German equivalent of the Folly and two new characters in Tobias Winter and Vanessa Sommer. The former also had Abigail Kamara in it in a primary role. Peter's cousin, Abigail was introduced in Moon Over Soho, and has been a minor character and somewhat troublesome and irritating character in Peter's life as she made him promise to teach her magic in the future. She's not a character I particularly like for various reasons (see below), so I can't say that I was thrilled to get a novella with her as the lead character in What Abigail Did That Summer. Peter Grant is not present in this book (he's occupied with events in Herefordshire, as witness in Foxglove Summer) and Abigail is the protagonist of this novel and hence its "voice", but Nightingale makes a few appearances. The book won't really make sense to the reader without having read the first couple of books in the series, as Abigail and a group of talking foxes try to solve the mystery of children who go missing in Hampstead and who return with no memories of where they've been. Author Aaronovitch's prose in What Abigail Did That Summer is excellent as usual, though the "voice" of Abigail as the protagonist, rather than Peter Grant (or Tobias Winter) is not my favourite (for reasons explained below). The plot of the novella is a bit spurious to me, and I'll be honest, I'm still not sure I understood what was going on with the disappearing children and the [redacted! No spoilers here!]. The author sprinkles the novella with some interesting new characters, notably Simon (who seems to now be a good friend to Abigail when it's all done with), and his mother, who works for the Home Office, and "recruits" Abigail to do some work with her in future (perhaps setting up the characters for a series of their own tales in future?), and the talking foxes. The talking foxes think of themselves as spies, conducting surveillance no less and hoovering up cheese puffs. Abigail's dealing with the various talking foxes in the story, particularly Indigo, Lucifer and Sugar Niner, was handled pretty well, the foxes manipulating Peter's cousin for their own ends in the story (she does get them to do things that she wants them to do, even if it takes bribing with the aforementioned cheese puffs). I did like the encounter between Abigail and Control, the fox mastermind. Shades of John Le Carré. Also pretty good was the fox story about how they lost the ability to speak, even though they are unwilling to share how they regained it. What I didn't like about this book is Abigail Kamara herself. A large part of this is due to the fact that I am not the right audience for this book and the character herself. Abigail is meant to be a 13-year-old girl in this story, and I am a 69-year-old reader. I can't really associate all that well with Abigail, primarily because her "voice" in the novel (as the protagonist, much as Peter Grant is the "voice" in the main series of books) is not that of a 13-year-old girl, at least to me. While Abigail is studying Latin (among other subjects) and is quite intelligent and precocious, her voice in the story comes across as very adult to me, her prose filled with the same sorts of descriptions and making conclusions as does her cousin, and just doesn't feel like the voice of a 13-year-old girl. It's obvious to me that author Aaronovitch did his research on all manner of subjects for this novel, including the language and slang of children and early teens, for this book, but much of the slang terminology and jargon that Abigail uses in this novella went completely over my head. The footnotes provided in the book, written by the Folly's librarian Harold Postmartin (supposedly or American Agent Kimberley Reynolds, according to the first footnote), helped tremendously with this but to be honest, I still had to look up a few things on-line. There are also a few situations where I felt that Abigail should have been completely out of her depth, but that came across as being too conveniently handled by someone (Abigail) who knows too much about the magical aspects of London and the world at her current level of apprenticeship (if one can even call it that) with the Folly. Her meeting with Fleet, one of the daughters of Mama Thames, and her inner circle was too...easily handled by Abigail, given the dealings that Peter has had with other rivers of London in previous novels, though I was certainly intrigued by the character of Thistle and look forward to seeing more of this character in future books perhaps. I also didn't like the ultimate conflict against the [redacted]. While I eventually think I understood what was happening, I wasn't fond of it and how Abigail was able to deal with matters of magic most profound in the end... and I also didn't love that Abigail was willing to leave a fox behind, so to speak... I also felt that Nightingale took it too easy on Abigail after all was said and done, something that he certainly has never done with Peter. I don’t know whether the author is planning on writing a spin off series aimed at children, but I am definitely not the right audience for this due to my age. Overall, What Abigail Did That Summer is a novella that struck some of the wrong notes for me. Abigail is described as a ghost hunter, fox whisperer, troublemaker - notably by Fleet, and several others over the course of the book. This is not a young woman who is going to sit back and let the world run over her, and while I admire her seeming intelligence and bravery, getting her friends and herself out of a dodgy situation (which she got them into, mind you), Abigail doesn't come across as a 13-year-old here at all. The story has a good pace, most of the character all feel real, but I felt the stakes were too high for someone of such limited magical ability and knowledge. That said, this story has heart in its own way. The novella won't work for everyone, and I suspect older readers may struggle with the main character's voice and the slang and terminology of the early teenager. Still, a diverting read, if nothing else. I tentatively recommend the novella as a diversion from the Peter Grant-related stories to this point, but...
Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore
Set adrift by his pirate crew, Pocket of Dog Snogging - last seen in The Serpent of Venice - washes up on the sun-bleached shores of Greece, and into deep trouble. A pair of runaway lovers has the island in turmoil. Egeus, the Duke's minister, is furious that his daughter, Hermia, is determined to marry the most unsuitable Lysander. Egeus wants Hermia to marry the man he's chosen, the opportunistic Demetrius (who just happens to be her best friend Helena's true love). The Duke decrees that if, by the time of the wedding, Hermia still refuses to marry Demetrius, she shall be executed... or consigned to a nunnery. Pocket, being Pocket, cannot help but point out that this is complete bollocks, and that the Duke is an egregious weasel for having even suggested it. Meanwhile, the Duke's men are looking for tat rascal fairy Puck, jester to the shadow king, Oberon. When the guardsmen mistake one fool for another, swords are drawn, a knife is thrown, and Pocket has a near-death experience (there's always a ghost) and stumbles into the wooded realm belonging to Oberon - who, as luck would have it, is short a fool. Puck, it seems, is dead. Murdered, thanks to an arrow sticking out of his chest. Since Pocket is found with the body, he's the likely suspect and faces certain death. Then Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons, makes Pocket an offer he can't refuse. She'll get him out of the dungeon if he promises to find out who killed Robin Goodfellow. He's got three days. If he's not back, it will be Drool's head. But as anyone who is aware of the Bard's most performed play ever will know, nearly everyone on this island has a motive for wanting the mischievous sprite dead. With too many suspects and too little time, Pocket must work his own kind of magic to find the truth, save his neck and his mates, and ensure that in this dream, all ends well.
The third book in the Fool series. I have read pretty much everything that Christopher Moore has written, and to be honest, I adore the somewhat raunchy and randy fun that all of the author's books have. One of my favourite series that author Moore has going is the Fool series, where Moore re-imagines famous Shakespeare works with the Christopher Moore twist to them. Shakespeare for Squirrels may well be my favourite book of his since The Island of the Sequined Love Nun and is definitely my favourite book in the Fool series so far. Part of the reason is that I'm quite fond of the Bard's work, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Humourous, raunchy, irreverent, this book finds the main protagonist, Pocket, in fine form, and I adore the variants of his line, "Moi?" "I said in perfect fucking French." And the line, "Heinous fuckery most foul" is just...classic Pocket, and near perfection. While it isn't necessary to have read Shakespeare's play before reading Shakespeare for Squirrels, it certainly behooves the potential reader to do so, as they will find so much more to love about this novel if they do. I'm not going to spoil this novel at all, since that would be very unkind of me :), but will say that in the course of this book, author Moore takes on Puck, fairies (notably Cobweb, Oberon and Titania), Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius, and let us not forget Nick Bottom. There are several parts in this book that had this reader laughing until my sides hurt or my eyes teared up. The fairies are absolutely brilliant, notably Cobweb, the frequently quoted line is the goblins (which I won't spoil here, but they say it constantly) had me laughing out loud, and the play (within the play) at the end is near perfection and just fits the story so well. Author Moore manages to create a different concluding play by the craftsmen, while keeping their inherent characteristics that made them such unique characters. That's the best part of the story: the bones of Shakespeare's play are all here. It's still the same basic story, just bastardized in a way only Christopher Moore can do. And with squirrels... so many sodding squirrels. Overall, one of the things I love about the Fool series of books is that the ridiculousness that Pocket involves himself in never ceases to amaze and entertain me and I will continue to read about him as long as Christopher Moore keeps writing about him. Shakespeare for Squirrels is simply an entertaining novel that provides lots of laughs, some wonderfully lewd humour, but is still steeped with brilliant language and word play. I heartily recommend this book to those who have a twisted sense of humour and love this sort of thing and lewd satires of Shakespeare's plays. Oh, and squirrels! :)
Overall, I managed to read 6 novels, 0 RPGs and RPG products, 1 magazines, 4 comics, and 0 graphic novels in September. This brings the year total in 2024 to a set of numbers that look like this: 53 books, 8 RPGs and RPG products, 12 magazines, 64 comics, and 0 graphic novels.
Anyway, thoughts and comments are always welcome. :)
*****
Books Read in September, 2024
Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks (r)
False Value by Ben Aaronovitch
Tales From the Folly by Ben Aaronovitch
Doctor Who and The Dalek Invasion of Earth by Terrance Dicks
What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch
Rivers of London: Monday, Monday #1-4 (Comics)
Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore
May, 2024 Locus
*****
And that was my reading for September, 2024. This was a pretty decent month of reading for me, about average for what I usually read book-wise in a month, and definitely was above average in terms of the quality of the books read this month. I probably would have read more books this month if I'd been feeling better, but allergies kept my head stuffed up much of the month and I was still suffering the lingering effects of my latest concussion, limiting my book reading. This month seems to have been primarily a read of Ben Aaronovitch books, but the Christopher Moore novel was a terrific way to end the month. As I've always maintained in these monthly book reading reports, it's all about the quality of the books, not the quantity, and this was true of Setember's reads in spades. Regardless, my bookcases are still stacked with a pretty large To Read Queue (TRQ). The books I enjoyed the most were:
False Value by Ben Aaronovitch
Peter Grant is facing fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm. Leaving his old police life behind, he takes a job with Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner's new London start-up: the Serious Cybernetics Corporation. Drawn into the orbit of Old Street's famous 'silicon roundabout', Peter must learn how to blend in with people who are both civilians and geekier than he is. Compared to his last job, Peter thinks it should be a doddle. But magic is not finished with the Met's first trainee wizard in fifty years... Because a secret is hiding somewhere in the building. A technology that stretches back to Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, and forward to the future of artificial intelligence. A secret that is just as magical as it is technological - and twice as dangerous.
The eighth novel and the tenth book overall in the Rivers of London or Peter Grant series. I'm a huge fan of Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London (or Peter Grant) series. I've read all the books, the novellas, all the short stories (that I have access to) as well as the graphic novels up through False Value. I've read about Ben Aaronovitch and know a lot of detail about the series. If you were to ask me what my favourite book is, I'd have to say Rivers of London, as that's the first novel that got the whole series and amazing world building process going. If you were to ask me what my least favourite book is, I'd say that I have liked them all, but for the purpose of the question, I would have to say False Value. While I enjoyed the book for the most part this book has something lacking. The author's magnificent world and magic building is once again centre stage, Peter Grant is once again investigating a crime and doing so amidst an interesting, unique urban fantasy setting. Nightingale is still-- well, he's Nightingale, 'nuff said. There's still the mention and seeing of the various river gods and goddesses that we've come to know and love about the series and the underground history of the practitioners of magic in this world. However, author Aaronovitch changes things up by having Peter go undercover and part of me wonders if the author may have been inspired by Neil Gaiman's American Gods as the reader gets a ghost in the machine, and a complicated AI story made all the better by being set in the Rivers of London universe. But there's also something missing, something intangible, and some of the magic is gone. In a lot of sf and fantasy series, some of the books wear thin and lose some of that early charm, but are still good books, still fun, and drawing on and expanding on the world building and the magical nature of the series. Author Aaronovitch has produced a good book here, still fun and entertaining for the most part, just not the best book. Once again, Ben Aaronovitch's writing is top notch, including all the things that one expects from his writing in the series to this point. The various Douglas Adams homages were quite nice, but see below on that, and there's a very emotional reference to David Bowie. The book is pretty much a terrific mix of magic, intrigue and high-tech mystery. But my real concern stems back to the earlier novel when it was clearly established that technology tends to fry around magic. There was some...wrangling (the only word that comes to mind) to get around this, and the import of spoiler territory later in the novel comes to fruition nicely. I do have three gripes about the book, however... First off, I didn't think there was any reason for the jumpiness of the timeline in the first part of the book. It doesn't add anything to the story, and to be honest, the reveal of Peter's undercover role was actually quite obvious and didn't warrant such a jarring, confusing set-up. Secondly, while I like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as much as anyone else, after the first four or five Hitchhiker references they just kept coming...and coming...and coming. A bit less, or perhaps references to something else, would have been better and appreciated. Finally, I have to wonder: Has Peter always been this...emotionally underdeveloped? While I've always enjoyed his dry humour and the healthy dose of self-deprecation that his Millennial nature seems to engender, the more I think about it the fact is there hasn't been a lot of emotional growth on his part through the series to this point since the first book. Just makes me wonder about what the future stories about Peter Grant have in store for the potential reader. However, it's also undeniable that for the last few books, the story had been getting increasingly complicated and confusing. This book doesn't pick up where Lies Sleeping left off, with Martin Chorley shot dead and Lesley May on the lamb. The reader doesn't get to see the direct fallout from that incident. Instead, it's been five months since those events and things are back to normal, relatively speaking. With this fresh start, Peter Grant is back in detective mode, rather than being too busy getting tangled up in Faceless Man and Lesley May drama. I loved the undercover aspect of his role, as it truly brings out his dedication to police work as well as his intellect and skill. False Value also shows a lot more of Peter's relationships with the people around him including Nightingale, his mentor, and Beverly Brook, his girlfriend and soon-to-be mother of his children. While the relationship between Peter and Bev is clearly special, there's hints of a conflict brewing as he finally realises the full implications of being involved with a river goddess. She's more benevolent than a lot of genius loci, but she's still unpredictable in her power and knows exactly the effect she has on others. Not to mention, being a new father is intimidating enough without having to wonder if your kids will turn out to be minor deities like their mother. This volume in the series also sees an expansion of the magical community beyond the United Kingdom. Peter has had dealings with agents from across the pond in the past, but False Value brings the Americans quite literally onto the Folly's doorstep, and one of them is even powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with Nightingale. This particular thread is an intriguing one so I don’t want to reveal much more about it, but Peter does come to appreciate that magical schools around the world have their own traditions and also not all of them view the spirits of place as kindly as the British practitioners do. Overall, False Value is a novel that I can say I liked when it came down to the final paragraph, but I enjoyed the execution of it as opposed to the story itself; the writing, the banter, the one-liners and repartee, the action and the police procedural bits were what allowed me to tolerate this novel. The story itself, however - the stakes, the set-up, the actual plot - didn't speak to me in the same way as the previous books did.
That said, this is the first book to move beyond the Faceless Man story arc. The reader is in the early stages of something new, so of course, there is still this sense that things are developing, but on the whole, I somewhat enjoyed the new direction and dynamics introduced here. Big things are clearly coming for Peter Grant and I look forward to seeing where the next book will take the reader. I recommend this novel for the most part, and if one is willing to not look too much at the past of the series, False Value is a good jumping in point for new, potential readers of the series.
Tales From the Folly by Ben Aaronovitch
Return to the world of Rivers of London in this first short story collection from author Ben Aaronovitch. This is a carefully curated collection that gathers together previously published stories and one brand new tale in the same place for the first time. Each tale features a new introduction from the author, filled with insight and anecdotes offering the reader a deeper exploration into this absorbing fictional world. This is a must read for any Rivers of London fan. Join Peter, Nightingale, Abigail, Agent Reynolds and Tobias Winter for a series of perfectly portioned tales. Discover what's haunting a lonely motorway service station, who still wanders the shelves of a popular London bookshop, and what exactly happened to the River Lugg...
The tenth book overall and the first story collection in the Rivers of London or Peter Grant series. This book is pretty what it says on the cover, a short story collection set in the Rivers of London (or Peter Grant) series. However, it's worth clarifying that Peter does not appear in perhaps half the stories, and only one of the tales here is unique to this collection. While I appreciate that these stories were made available to fans at large, as the majority of the pieces were 'bonuses' inside the Waterstones hardcover editions, they are not widely available. While the short stories are certainly polished enough, they usually lack the Peter Grant flair and magic. "A Rare Book of Cunning Device" is my favourite here by far. Author Aaronovitch writes an introduction to each story and snippet here, and mentions that "The Home Crowd Advantage" was one of his first tries at a short story. I'll be honest here, and state that pretty much squares up with my reading of most of these pieces, as it's clear that the author has problems with story endings. That said, it's clear that this matches his writing style as a whole, with loads of exposition and detail, neither of which is suitable to the short story format. Some short thoughts on the various stories and moments contained in the volume.
"The Home Crowd Advantage": Available for free on the website. Peter is called to a 'weird stuff' disturbance at a café during the 2012 Olympics. Nightingale is out of town, so it falls on him to deal with it. I enjoyed the story for the most part, but the ending of the story felt excessively short. I seem to recall that this story was changed from the website version. it, but the ending felt excessively short. I feel like this was changed from the website version. In his intro to the story, the author points out the story isn't canon due to changes in the timelines for the first three books in the series.
"The Domestic": Bonus in Waterstones edition of Whispers Underground. A constable investigating what seems to be a domestic abuse case is convinced that 'weird stuff' is going on, and Peter is called. He meets the woman living in the flat and her visitor. This story has a bit of a horror-like feel to it, similar to what the reader experienced in Whispers Under Ground, but is very under developed for a story.
"The Cockpit": Bonus in Waterstones edition of Broken Homes. This one is a ghost story of sorts set in the Piccadilly Waterstones bookshop, investigated by Peter and Leslie. The story feels very close to the author's heart, as he worked in this bookstore for quite some time. It's got a Ghostbusters joke in it that I didn't really have a feel for, but the story is somewhat enjoyable. And once more, it's too short.
"The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Granny": Bonus in Waterstones edition of Foxglove Summer. Peter, Bev and not-Nicky stop at a petrol station and Peter offers to help two men whose car has broken down. This is a story that I rather liked, though the ending felt a bit too easy and pat, a bit of a cheat. It has one of my favourite openings for a story by the author (but you'll have to read the tale to find out what it is!).
"King of The Rats": Short story for Cityread London 2015. Was available online. Not my favourite story in the collection. Has a trick ending that will make fans of the series howl, and to be honest, is potentially of questionable canon.
"A Rare Book of Cunning Device": Short story for Cityread London 2017. Peter, Nightingale and Professor Postmartin solve a problem at the British Library. This is my favourite story in the collection. It has terrific dynamics between the characters, with the interesting puzzle of the book. And I really like Elsie Winstanley, and hope to see her in future books or novellas. (Even a short story, if that's the only way to get her in again!). I learned an awful lot about the British Library and how libraries work in general from this story.
"A Dedicated Follower of Fashion": Bonus in Waterstones edition of False Value. This story is about a very hip 1970s kind of dude and his squad who are holed up in a deserted mansion. It's a fun story, has some interesting moments, is kind of weird/strange due to the voice of the narrator. A very abrupt ending, unfortunately.
"Favourite Uncle": Bonus in Waterstones edition of Lies Sleeping. This story is a Christmas tale where one of Abigail's friends asks her to investigate an uncle that visits once a year. The story is, to be honest, a good tale in its own right but Abigail's voice just grates on my nerves and has a too "know-it-all" feel to her. For the 12- or 13-year-old kid she's supposed to be, she comes across as too much of an adult. Hope never to read another book with Abigail as the narrator.
"Vanessa Sommer's Other Christmas List": Bonus in Waterstones edition of October Man. This is a very short story about Tobias Winter's partner after she learns about magic and rethinks some things she's seen at home. The story seemed to be just the right length, and the twist of an ending was a pleasant surprise. I really like the character, and look forward to seeing her in another book with Tobias.
"Three Rivers, Two Husbands and a Baby": New to this collection. One of the detectives and his partner are planning nuptials when a baby is discovered down by the river. Good thing there are some ladies next door to provide advice. This story isn't really a story, per sé, but feels more like a conversation that could have happened in the course of a novella and got cut out because it was a bit too long. There's not really any plot to this, but still it has a lot of the "world of the Folly" flavour to it.
Moment One: Nightingale - London, September, 1966: A blog published short-short, between Nightingale and Oswald. This is a lovely little story fragment that is just that, and offers no real...connection. Nothing to say about this.
Moment Two: Reynolds - Florence, Az., 2014: This is a short-short of Reynolds on an investigation. A lot of 'Mama says' and prayer talk. To be honest, I found this one boring and it sounds somewhat unbelievable when viewed in terms of the Reynolds that we've come to love and hate so far in the novels. My least favourite piece in the book.
Moment Three: Tobias Winter - Meckenheim, 2012: Blog published short story. Tobias reports back to his superior after he discovers that the Folly has taken on an apprentice. His boss makes a surprising offer to him, and the bit explains a great deal about the Tobias we encounter in The October Man.
As a final thought, this collection of short stories left me with a "What the heck was that all about?" feel for the most part. Most of the stories, and particularly the Moments, left me feeling like they were filler material and didn't really leave a solid impression on me, with a couple of exceptions.
Doctor Who and the Dalek Invasion of Earth by Terrance Dicks
The TARDIS lands in a London of future times - a city of fear, devastation and holocaust... a city now ruled by Daleks. The Doctor and his companions meet a team of underground resistance workers, among the few survivors, but after an unsuccessful attack on the Dalek spaceship, they are all forced to flee the capital. A perilous journey through England finally brings them to the secret centre of Dalek operations... and the mysterious reason for the Dalek invasion of Earth!
This book is the novelisation of The Dalek Invasion of Earth, the second serial of the Second Season of Doctor Who and the tenth serial overall, featuring the First Doctor, as portrayed by William Hartnell, and his original companions - his granddaughter Susan (in her departure story), Ian Chesterton, and Barbara Wright. This novelisation is penned by Terrance Dicks, based on the television serial (teleplay) by Terry Nation. The Dalek Invasion of Earth is a classic serial and one of the best of the William Hartnell period, though perhaps moreso for the imagery and atmosphere found in the story than for the actual plot, which concerns a bizarre attempt by the Daleks to "degravitate" the Earth by removing its core. They would then have installed an engine and piloted it around the Universe. Thus, it would seem that Terry Nation did not have even a basic grasp of elementary physics, let alone understand how large the universe actually is. So surely any novelisation would have to make up for the lack of sound and vision by including descriptive passages or even by delving deeper into the characters' minds, much as David Whitaker did in the novelisation of The Daleks? Unfortunately, this book is so brief that Terrance Dicks was barely able to adequately cover the six episodes worth of scripts, let alone add anything substantial to them. The writing does occasionally display signs of the author's talent but overall, the effect is almost like a plot summary. The blame certainly does not lie fully with Dicks - either the publisher required him to limit the length or he simply did not have enough time to write more - but this 142 pages of text is merely a novella at roughly 36,000 words. Admittedly, Doctor Who and the Daleks by David Whitaker was not much longer, but in that book parts of the plot were removed to allow room for longer descriptions and internal monologue. That said, this novelisation is a fast paced retelling of the television serial. What is odd is that author Terrance Dicks provides no description of a Dalek at all. When the first one appears, the reader is simply told that "a Dalek was rising from the water". Even when the reader gets Ian and the Doctor later musing about the Daleks being on Earth, the reader just gets the two of them discussing that the Daleks have "evolved" with Chesterton commenting, "I see what you mean. These do look a bit different. I wonder if that's got anything to do with their increased power of movement". There's no description of how they have changed, no mention of them having a dish on their backs, just a mention of them being bigger than the ones the time travellers encountered before. I guess that author Dicks assumed everyone reading the book knew what a Dalek looked like, and so didn't bother wasting a sentence or two describing them. But to not describe the changes to the Daleks in this story is quite bizarre. However, you'd think if your reader knew what a Dalek was and so didn't need to describe it at all, then logically your reader would know what the TARDIS was and so would similarly give very little details about it. Not so here... author Dicks spends a page and a half describing the ship, its crew and how they came to travel together. Mind you, as the book continues, the reader can piece together things about the Daleks with mentions of their eye stalk, sucker arm, casing and so on, but never a concise description. (Though I guess, depending on which version of the novelisation one has, the reader will have a painting or picture still of a Dalek, so all is not lost.) That said, there are also some things missing in the novelisation when compared to the televised serial. There's no poster telling people not to dump bodies in the river, there's no scene of Susan and Barbara reacting to the fact that Daleks are on Earth, and there's a somewhat different farewell speech from the Doctor to Susan at the end. This suggests that author Dicks worked from an early script to produce this novelisation, or perhaps used a couple of variants of the Peter Cushing movie based on the television serial. At its heart, this television serial, and the novelisation, present the reader with a global devastation in which the Daleks have overrun civilisation as we know it, and those members of the human race who have not been enslaved by the Daleks or turned into Robomen (more on them in a moment) are showing resilience and resistance against the invaders. They are so busy trying to survive and fighting the Daleks that they have had no time or even thought as to what the Daleks' purpose in invading Earth is - it takes the arrival of the Doctor and his companions to get the resistance to consider this angle. The story is an allegory of World War II and its impact in Europe, with the Daleks being the equivalent of the Nazis. The mind-controlled servants of the Daleks, the Robomen, are used to control the slave population, hunt down the resistance and other survivors of the invasion. They are a generally terrifying element of the story, both in the novelisation and the serial itself, as family members, friends, and others that one knows could have been subject to robotisation. Still creeps me out, and the novelisation does justice to this element of the story. This is one of the superior serials in the Doctor Who series in terms of moral overtones and themes, and unlike many of the other novelisations in the Target line, this is a nuanced story with many threads and overtones overlapping. So Terrance Dicks does a good job of that, for what it's worth. Overall, Doctor Who and the Dalek Invasion of Earth is not a bad book, but it just doesn't do justice to the television serial. It is a flawed, relatively straightforward adaptation of the television serial. Of course, back in 1977 when this novelisation was published, it wasn't competing with the 1964 television serial because because no one was able to watch that. As such, this book served the readers and young fans of the series well. Recommended, with a grain or two of salt.
What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch
Ghost hunter, fox whisperer, troublemaker.
It is the summer of 2013 and Abigail Kamara has been left to her own devices. This might, by those who know her, be considered a mistake. While her cousin, police constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant, is off in the sticks chasing unicorns, Abigail is chasing her own mystery. Teenagers around Hampstead Heath have been going missing but before the police can get fully engaged, the teens return home - unharmed, but vague about where they've been. Aided only by her new friend Simon, her knowledge that magic is real, and a posse of talking foxes that think they're spies, Abigail must venture into the wilds of Hampstead to discover who is luring the teenagers and more importantly - why?
The third novella and the eleventh book overall in the Rivers of London or Peter Grant series. I am a huge fan of Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London (Peter Grant) series of books. I wasn't all that fond of the previous novel, False Value, but rather enjoyed the two novellas, The Furthest Station and The October Man; the former featured Peter Grant and had a terrific tale set in the London Underground and featured Jaget Kumar of the London Transport Police in a prominent role, while the latter introduced the German equivalent of the Folly and two new characters in Tobias Winter and Vanessa Sommer. The former also had Abigail Kamara in it in a primary role. Peter's cousin, Abigail was introduced in Moon Over Soho, and has been a minor character and somewhat troublesome and irritating character in Peter's life as she made him promise to teach her magic in the future. She's not a character I particularly like for various reasons (see below), so I can't say that I was thrilled to get a novella with her as the lead character in What Abigail Did That Summer. Peter Grant is not present in this book (he's occupied with events in Herefordshire, as witness in Foxglove Summer) and Abigail is the protagonist of this novel and hence its "voice", but Nightingale makes a few appearances. The book won't really make sense to the reader without having read the first couple of books in the series, as Abigail and a group of talking foxes try to solve the mystery of children who go missing in Hampstead and who return with no memories of where they've been. Author Aaronovitch's prose in What Abigail Did That Summer is excellent as usual, though the "voice" of Abigail as the protagonist, rather than Peter Grant (or Tobias Winter) is not my favourite (for reasons explained below). The plot of the novella is a bit spurious to me, and I'll be honest, I'm still not sure I understood what was going on with the disappearing children and the [redacted! No spoilers here!]. The author sprinkles the novella with some interesting new characters, notably Simon (who seems to now be a good friend to Abigail when it's all done with), and his mother, who works for the Home Office, and "recruits" Abigail to do some work with her in future (perhaps setting up the characters for a series of their own tales in future?), and the talking foxes. The talking foxes think of themselves as spies, conducting surveillance no less and hoovering up cheese puffs. Abigail's dealing with the various talking foxes in the story, particularly Indigo, Lucifer and Sugar Niner, was handled pretty well, the foxes manipulating Peter's cousin for their own ends in the story (she does get them to do things that she wants them to do, even if it takes bribing with the aforementioned cheese puffs). I did like the encounter between Abigail and Control, the fox mastermind. Shades of John Le Carré. Also pretty good was the fox story about how they lost the ability to speak, even though they are unwilling to share how they regained it. What I didn't like about this book is Abigail Kamara herself. A large part of this is due to the fact that I am not the right audience for this book and the character herself. Abigail is meant to be a 13-year-old girl in this story, and I am a 69-year-old reader. I can't really associate all that well with Abigail, primarily because her "voice" in the novel (as the protagonist, much as Peter Grant is the "voice" in the main series of books) is not that of a 13-year-old girl, at least to me. While Abigail is studying Latin (among other subjects) and is quite intelligent and precocious, her voice in the story comes across as very adult to me, her prose filled with the same sorts of descriptions and making conclusions as does her cousin, and just doesn't feel like the voice of a 13-year-old girl. It's obvious to me that author Aaronovitch did his research on all manner of subjects for this novel, including the language and slang of children and early teens, for this book, but much of the slang terminology and jargon that Abigail uses in this novella went completely over my head. The footnotes provided in the book, written by the Folly's librarian Harold Postmartin (supposedly or American Agent Kimberley Reynolds, according to the first footnote), helped tremendously with this but to be honest, I still had to look up a few things on-line. There are also a few situations where I felt that Abigail should have been completely out of her depth, but that came across as being too conveniently handled by someone (Abigail) who knows too much about the magical aspects of London and the world at her current level of apprenticeship (if one can even call it that) with the Folly. Her meeting with Fleet, one of the daughters of Mama Thames, and her inner circle was too...easily handled by Abigail, given the dealings that Peter has had with other rivers of London in previous novels, though I was certainly intrigued by the character of Thistle and look forward to seeing more of this character in future books perhaps. I also didn't like the ultimate conflict against the [redacted]. While I eventually think I understood what was happening, I wasn't fond of it and how Abigail was able to deal with matters of magic most profound in the end... and I also didn't love that Abigail was willing to leave a fox behind, so to speak... I also felt that Nightingale took it too easy on Abigail after all was said and done, something that he certainly has never done with Peter. I don’t know whether the author is planning on writing a spin off series aimed at children, but I am definitely not the right audience for this due to my age. Overall, What Abigail Did That Summer is a novella that struck some of the wrong notes for me. Abigail is described as a ghost hunter, fox whisperer, troublemaker - notably by Fleet, and several others over the course of the book. This is not a young woman who is going to sit back and let the world run over her, and while I admire her seeming intelligence and bravery, getting her friends and herself out of a dodgy situation (which she got them into, mind you), Abigail doesn't come across as a 13-year-old here at all. The story has a good pace, most of the character all feel real, but I felt the stakes were too high for someone of such limited magical ability and knowledge. That said, this story has heart in its own way. The novella won't work for everyone, and I suspect older readers may struggle with the main character's voice and the slang and terminology of the early teenager. Still, a diverting read, if nothing else. I tentatively recommend the novella as a diversion from the Peter Grant-related stories to this point, but...
Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore
Set adrift by his pirate crew, Pocket of Dog Snogging - last seen in The Serpent of Venice - washes up on the sun-bleached shores of Greece, and into deep trouble. A pair of runaway lovers has the island in turmoil. Egeus, the Duke's minister, is furious that his daughter, Hermia, is determined to marry the most unsuitable Lysander. Egeus wants Hermia to marry the man he's chosen, the opportunistic Demetrius (who just happens to be her best friend Helena's true love). The Duke decrees that if, by the time of the wedding, Hermia still refuses to marry Demetrius, she shall be executed... or consigned to a nunnery. Pocket, being Pocket, cannot help but point out that this is complete bollocks, and that the Duke is an egregious weasel for having even suggested it. Meanwhile, the Duke's men are looking for tat rascal fairy Puck, jester to the shadow king, Oberon. When the guardsmen mistake one fool for another, swords are drawn, a knife is thrown, and Pocket has a near-death experience (there's always a ghost) and stumbles into the wooded realm belonging to Oberon - who, as luck would have it, is short a fool. Puck, it seems, is dead. Murdered, thanks to an arrow sticking out of his chest. Since Pocket is found with the body, he's the likely suspect and faces certain death. Then Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons, makes Pocket an offer he can't refuse. She'll get him out of the dungeon if he promises to find out who killed Robin Goodfellow. He's got three days. If he's not back, it will be Drool's head. But as anyone who is aware of the Bard's most performed play ever will know, nearly everyone on this island has a motive for wanting the mischievous sprite dead. With too many suspects and too little time, Pocket must work his own kind of magic to find the truth, save his neck and his mates, and ensure that in this dream, all ends well.
The third book in the Fool series. I have read pretty much everything that Christopher Moore has written, and to be honest, I adore the somewhat raunchy and randy fun that all of the author's books have. One of my favourite series that author Moore has going is the Fool series, where Moore re-imagines famous Shakespeare works with the Christopher Moore twist to them. Shakespeare for Squirrels may well be my favourite book of his since The Island of the Sequined Love Nun and is definitely my favourite book in the Fool series so far. Part of the reason is that I'm quite fond of the Bard's work, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Humourous, raunchy, irreverent, this book finds the main protagonist, Pocket, in fine form, and I adore the variants of his line, "Moi?" "I said in perfect fucking French." And the line, "Heinous fuckery most foul" is just...classic Pocket, and near perfection. While it isn't necessary to have read Shakespeare's play before reading Shakespeare for Squirrels, it certainly behooves the potential reader to do so, as they will find so much more to love about this novel if they do. I'm not going to spoil this novel at all, since that would be very unkind of me :), but will say that in the course of this book, author Moore takes on Puck, fairies (notably Cobweb, Oberon and Titania), Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius, and let us not forget Nick Bottom. There are several parts in this book that had this reader laughing until my sides hurt or my eyes teared up. The fairies are absolutely brilliant, notably Cobweb, the frequently quoted line is the goblins (which I won't spoil here, but they say it constantly) had me laughing out loud, and the play (within the play) at the end is near perfection and just fits the story so well. Author Moore manages to create a different concluding play by the craftsmen, while keeping their inherent characteristics that made them such unique characters. That's the best part of the story: the bones of Shakespeare's play are all here. It's still the same basic story, just bastardized in a way only Christopher Moore can do. And with squirrels... so many sodding squirrels. Overall, one of the things I love about the Fool series of books is that the ridiculousness that Pocket involves himself in never ceases to amaze and entertain me and I will continue to read about him as long as Christopher Moore keeps writing about him. Shakespeare for Squirrels is simply an entertaining novel that provides lots of laughs, some wonderfully lewd humour, but is still steeped with brilliant language and word play. I heartily recommend this book to those who have a twisted sense of humour and love this sort of thing and lewd satires of Shakespeare's plays. Oh, and squirrels! :)
Overall, I managed to read 6 novels, 0 RPGs and RPG products, 1 magazines, 4 comics, and 0 graphic novels in September. This brings the year total in 2024 to a set of numbers that look like this: 53 books, 8 RPGs and RPG products, 12 magazines, 64 comics, and 0 graphic novels.
Anyway, thoughts and comments are always welcome. :)