The Summer Solstice is upon us. As is Father’s Day. And we’re closing in on the 250th Independence Day, here in the rebellious colonies (and later additions.) So, huzzah.
As I watch my savings dwindle and the job application rejections mount (most recently I learned that the ten year experience requirement was a hard cap — I’m overqualified) I find myself increasingly grateful for the public library. I can’t add many new volumes to my diminishing shelf space, but I can borrow.
Some of my borrowings are in audio format. While I have the entire run of Lindsey Davis’ Falco novels, and have read them all, I’m enjoying a steady progression through the audio versions, though I will occasionally pull a hard copy from the shelf to look at a map.
In print, I just finished the second book of Jonathan Maberry’s Kagen the Damned trilogy. The first volume was a fine addition to the grimdark genre (about which genre I retain mixed feelings). The baking into the setting of Lovecraftian mythos and Robert Chambers is introduced slowly enough that it doesn’t jar, and Easter Egg hunting becomes part of the enjoyment. Maberry continues dropping references in the second book, Son of the Poison Rose, alluding tangentially to fantasy writers from Leiber to King. I did, however, feel that much of the novel reads as filler, as if Maberry were padding the narrative to reach a contractual third book. Most of the major revelations and important plot points could have fit into a novella (or a slightly longer second half of a duology.) The lack of a final copy editing pass makes it seem the book was rushed into print. Still, I have reserved the third book and will see how this all plays out. Quibbles aside, Maberry remains an unquestionably talented writer. NB, this is grimdark fantasy, so you know what you’re getting. If you are a squeamish reader, don’t blame me. You’ve been warned.
Speaking of libraries, do you know you can recommend books to add to your county library’s collection? Well, you can. Perhaps you might suggest Twilight Galaxy: Dekason by that impecunious scribbler, Ken Lizzi.
