A short post today, I’m afraid. (Hey, stop that cheering.) I’m freshly returned from Urgent Care this morning for “Paronychia of finger of left hand.” That is, draining an infected thumb. It required three tries for the needle to hit the proper pocket of puss. It was every bit as painful as you are imagining. The point is, even typing hurts so I’ll keep this brief.
I’m reading Hope Mirlees’ Lud-in-the-Mist, the Lin Carter Adult Fantasy Series edition. I am about a third of the way through and finding it charming. I have no idea exactly where the narrative is going and that is a rare treat. I would be reading it now but for the fact that another book showed up a the library. Library books, given their transient nature, take priority.
So, now I’m reading Ian Esslemont’s Forge of the High Mage. This is the fourth book in Esslemont’s series filling in some of the back story to Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen series. There is a sense of anticipation that accompanies a new Malazan book, like walking into a pub you used to frequent: there is a simultaneous sense of familiarity and novelty. The problem with reading these books is the gap of time between publication. Given the cast of thousands, the dozen or so races, the mysteries, etc., I sometimes struggle to recall who is who, and what happened before (or, given the temporal position of this series) what will happen. But it generally comes back to me, at least enough to allow me to muddle through without too much confusion. This one, about a quarter of the way in, appears to follow the standard convergence narrative, with a few disparate groups with conflicting motives, slowly heading toward the same location, all while Esslemont gradually reveals the central mystery. So far, so good.
And in the car and at the gym, I am listening to Agatha Christie’s Hallowe’en Party. It is later Christie, and I find her social commentary interesting. Still don’t know whodunnit. Poirot hasn’t yet identified any prime suspects. But I’m always happy to tag along.
So, that’s it. I’m going to rest for a while. But first, please consider buying one of my books. How about the Semi-Autos and Sorcery series?