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I've been struggling to make myself read at the moment, so have been rereading some old favourites from Terry Pratchett to keep me reading. Currently on Going Postal, enjoying it just as much as the first time I read it.

Saw mention of this book about one of my favorite films on CBS Saturday Morning. Will definitely have to pick it up when I get a chance:

Surely You Can't Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane!

Surely You Can’t Be Serious is the first-ever oral history of the making of Airplane! by the creators, and of the beginnings of the ZAZ trio (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) – charting the rise of their comedy troupe Kentucky Fried Theater in Madison, Wisconsin all the way to premiere night. The directors explain what drew them to filmmaking and in particular, comedy. With anecdotes, behind the scenes trivia, and never-before-revealed factoids – these titans of comedy filmmaking unpack everything from how they persuaded Peter Graves to be in the movie after he thought the script was a piece of garbage, how Lorna Patterson auditioned for the stewardess role in the back seat of Jerry’s Volvo, and how Leslie Nielsen’s pranks got the entire crew into trouble, to who really wrote the jive talk. The book also features testimonials and personal anecdotes from well-known faces in the film, television, and comedy sphere – proving how influential Airplane! has been from day one.

I'll have to check that out.

That’s a must-buy.

Nice! Might pick that up myself, as it’s one of my favourite comedy movies. The sort of thing you catch a new joke every time you watch it.

But, it’s that time of the month again! My 2000AD Ultimate Collection has two new issues added. This month?

Damnation Station

Sci-Fi war story. It’s pretty cool. Variety of artists, and so interpretations, but it works for me. Plot is mankind is indebted to an older species, and pay our “rent” for living in their Galaxy is to fight wars against extra-galactic invaders.

There are some very interesting concepts at play, and of course eventually mankind comes out on top, with that older species and the thing the extra-galactic invaders were fleeing wiped out in a mutual annihilation.

Atavar

A Dan Abnett and Richard Epson effort.

This was a harder sell for me from the outset. And that’s because I find Abnett’s 2000AD efforts either hit or miss. And for my money, Richard Epson’s art is too tidy for 2000AD.

But this, like Kingdom was a Hit.

Alien species clone a human, in an effort to stop the Uos, a machine race created by man, which wiped out man, and has since annihilated all life from a spiral of the Galaxy.

This is big concept stuff, and I really enjoyed it.

Sadly no doubt Feral and Foe, an ongoing series sort-of spoofing AD&D, is bound to be part of this series. I came into that part way through a run, which admittedly is never a good introduction. But I found it smart-arsed, rather than clever. The artwork just too clean and uninteresting for a fantasy series.

But that’s a worry for a future month. In around four weeks, the next two issues will land. And that’s Harlem Heroes Vol 2 and….a mystery, as it’s not been announced on Hachette’s website.

Still reading Stephen King. Just finished Cujo, which I considered a mid-tier classic King novel until the ending kicked it way up in my estimation. It’s one of his more effective endings.

Starting his book 11/22/whatever, hoping the JFK plot is more of a red herring than the main focus.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Still reading Stephen King. Just finished Cujo, which I considered a mid-tier classic King novel until the ending kicked it way up in my estimation. It’s one of his more effective endings.

Starting his book 11/22/whatever, hoping the JFK plot is more of a red herring than the main focus.

11/22/63, in reference to the date JFK was assassinated.

Yeah. I understand it’s about someone obsessed with saving JfK messing with time and facing some kind of repercussions. I’m just hoping the focus in on that, not the JFK assassination in itself.

Currently reading Push the Zone by David the Good and slowly working on Green Wizardry by John Michael Greer.

I consider these to be continuing education for my homesteading. I want to grow coffee trees and more that we don't currently grow. So I hope to pick up a few tips and tricks from Pushing the Zone.

Green Wizardry is loosely about "Appropriate Tech" which was thing in the 70's. again looking for things I can apply to our homesteading.

The Loom of Time: Between Empire and Anarchy, from the Mediterranean to China by Robert D Kaplan.

At 72, this might be the last book by the author who I’ve been reading since about 1999, when I bought one of his novels en route to my first Army assignments and was instantly a fan. Part history, part travel, part geo-politics, his novels have always been insightful reads. His “claim to fame” was when then-President Bill Clinton was seen with a copy of Balkan Ghosts during the 1990’s wars in the Balkans and some say had a heavy impact on his policy decisions during those various upheavals.

The title refers to The Odyssey, wherein Penelope would tell her suitors that once she was done weaving her loom, she would declare Odysseus dead and remarry. At night, she would undo whatever progress she made on the weaving and start afresh, thereby holding off her suitors in the hopes that Odysseus would return.

Currently on the section regarding Turkiye and the author goes into detail about his decades long travels there and how the country has changed, poor to wealthy, secular to islamist, for better or worse.

Its a pretty sobering read, but thats the state of the world I guess. Its not really doom and gloom, its just somewhat sad that so much opportunity has been wasted in great places.

2000AD time!

Harlem Heroes Vol 2

Classic early 2000AD. Hyper violent sport? Check. Kind of ties into Dreddiverse? Check. Unusually diverse cast for a British comic of its era? Check.

Absolute mayhem that caused the clutching of pearls in its day? Oh yes!

Lovely stuff.

Counterfeit Girl

Well now. This is much more modern 2000AD, and an excellent example of its modern fare. The art is gloriously bonkers, but the plot is genuinely thought provoking as it deals with identities, and a world where it’s possible to add bits and bobs to a personality on demand.

Also contains a number of the writer’s other strips, which range from the madly brilliant (Illuminati types, but convinced of deeper meaning in Carry On films) to the really quite sobering “what is to be human” of Tribal Memories.

Two cracking volumes.

I finished 11/22/63 a few days ago, and I consider it one of King’s better novels. It’s not really horror, though. The book is more of a mix of thriller, love story, and supernatural adventure that provides a whole emotional rollercoaster. There’s a lot for JFK enthusiasts, but fortunately that’s far from the only thing going on in the book.

Started reading Four Past Midnight for some smaller stories before I move on to anything else. I’m also re-reading the Dropfleet books for their fluff because my gamer ADD says “spaceships now”.

Inspired

This is a book about the Bible. It is written by a former Evangelical who is now a Progressive Protestant. The audience of this book, is really Evangelicals to help them think about the Bible in a different way. It breaks the book down into the various types of stories and adds context, historical details, theological insights from other faiths, etc.

There is a surprising amount of discussion on the Old Testament, with 2/3rds on that and only 1/3 on the NT. I am not an Evangelical, but it seemed liked this focus on OT is part of their "culture" for lack of a better word. That was a bit of a surprise. I was expecting more emphasis on Christ. He was 1 chapter out of 6, with Paul getting just as much book time.

Anyway, most of the historical context, cultural context, and talking points the book brought up were not new to me. My history with the Bible was not Evangelical and "Divinely Inspired" so my take away was more.... "Yes, and?" However, as a glimpse into a culture of Evangelicals it was much more interesting even if that was not the thrust of the book at all.

That doesn't entirely surprise me. The NT was... officialized... early on, with a lot of extraneous material purged, and the surviving stuff turned into doctrine (or biblical canon, if you prefer (and yes, for passers-by, that is actually a historical term, it isn't a modernism). Adding 'historical context' raises theological questions.

The Old Testament has a lot more room (and versions) and isn't technically doctrine to most Protestant sects. Its safe to explore without raising theological issues or hackles.

A lot of the things a Progressive Protestant might find themselves disagreeing with other Protestants on is also stuff that'll generally come from the OT. Not all of it, but there's a reason fire and brimstone Preacher's love Revelations and the Old Testament so much.

It's a bit easier to reconcile the Gospels and many of the letters of the New Testament with a progressive social outlook. If their goal is to advocate for a more progressive approach to the Bible, it make sens they'd spend a lot more time discussing the Old Testament.

I just finished reading the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons. It was incredibly good but he definitely dragged it out over four books. Kinda diluted what made the first book special. I give it my Dune recommendation. Definitely check out the first book, and only proceed if you're really into the universe. The Poet's Tale is an absolute delight.

Right now I'm reading the Bloody Crown of Conaan. It's a compilation of three of the longer Conaan stories. I really enjoyed about half of the shorter Conan stories. So far I am not into this second anthology but I'll reserve judgement until the end.

Had some light reading over the weekend into last night and finished "The End and the Death Volume 2" by Dan Abnett.

I liked it, though felt it could've been more concise. A few pretty neat twists (one big one in particular) throughout.

Not entirely a spoiler but :



Though I've enjoyed this series through the years, as I was reading this book I felt weirdly elated that its going to end. Like when a decent movie drags on and you keep checking your watch.

With that said, I wouldn't say no to a "Scouring" limited series.

The Hyperion series starts strong, but the new so weak by the last few pages of Fall of Hyperion. I tried the Endymion duology, and also his Ilium/Olympus Duology, and I can only conclude Dan Simmons crawls further up his own backside the deeper he gets into a second book.

And after Royal Mail returned the initial dispatch, I’ve now received one of my two 2000ad Ultimate Collection volumes. Because Hachette screwed up the replacement in turn and only sent one of two expected volumes.

But…what a volume!

Scarlett Traces

Ian Edginton and D’israeli’s speculative fiction sequel to War of the Worlds.

Turns out this had quite a turbulent gestation, going from publisher to published just in time for that publisher to fold. And it eventually landed in the hallowed halls of The Mighty Tharg.

Concept is pretty straight forward. War of the Worlds happens as per the book. But….all that snacky alien tech. Just sort of….left kicking around. And in the hands of the British Empire. What happens next!

Particularly interesting stories, as it happens. The first of two volumes in the collection, we deal with various time periods which in their way take account of Actual History, such as the decline of Empire once other countries get their own hands on Martian or Martian Derived Tech.

This is well worth reading, and if you’re in the UK you can get it in hardback from Hachette Partworks for an entirely reasonable £10.99.

The missing volume though is Proteus Vex. A much more modern 2000ad adventure. And one which I’ve never been entirely sold on, having come in at a random point in its publication history, and halfway through a story at that.

I will of course give that an honest shot when it arrives, but I can’t entirely remove my current bias.

Just finishing off the Millenium trilogy - Girl With The Dragon Tattoo etc. Very readable, although generally with quite a basic, no-frills style of writing - which I guess may well have come from the translation rather than the original author. Definitely live up to the hype, real shame the chap died after writing the first 3 books.

Just finished Vaults of Terra Series, before that was reading End and the Death Part 2.

About halfway through The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland.

It came up in a list of novels when I googled "Best horror novels of 2023". Not a "make you afraid of the dark" type of horror novel, or anything that's really disturbing,but so far (about halfway into it) its pretty interesting and its a take on vampires that I haven't personally read before.

A mostly solitary vampire grapples with the realities of living forever in a world where everything dies. Her thirst also appears to be getting worse, which may be bad news for the pre-school kids that she teaches, while something more ancient and primal seems to be stalking her (the titular God of Endings, given the name Czernobog). At this point in the novel, I'm not sure if the "god" is even real and not part of the madness associated with outliving everything you ever loved. I opted for the audio book while I paint/game/do chores and the narrator is great.

After wrapping up Stormlight Archives last year, I decided to dive head first into the Cosmere and picked up the first Mistborn trilogy. I'm on book 2 so far and loving it. Brandon Sanderson just hits all the right notes for me.

So my copy of Proteus Vex arrived.

Got to admit, whilst not a 2000ad Classic? It reads much better a single volume.

Halfway through Forges of Mars trilogy, not too bad but it's not to the standard of not being able to put it down. Hopefully it'll pick up a bit more.

Is Czernobog the bad guy from the Night on Bald Mountain segment of Fantasia?

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Is Czernobog the bad guy from the Night on Bald Mountain segment of Fantasia?

It (with various spellings, including an optional starting 't' and interchangeable h's and z', and a's and e's. Sometimes ending in '-borg' rather than '-bog') is a Slavic god/demigod/personification/hero/villain of... 'misfortune' or 'evil' (with the caveat that Christianization added a heavily slant on representation of older deities in the region) that's appeared in a lot of media over the years. Gaiman used Chernobog in American Gods, for example.

But yes. 'Chernabog' is the demon-y fellow in Fantasia.

I’m working my way through the Siege of Terra and I recently finished Fury of Magnus; I really enjoyed the ending, it felt right. Why would Magnus end up as a demon prince, fully on the side of Horus? They answered that question in a very believable way.

It’s that time of the month! It’s 2000ad O’Clock!

This month, I’ve got Survival Geeks and Dan Dare.

Currently reading Survival Geeks. A proper mental pastiche of pop culture references featuring variously willing housemates on a trans dimensional adventure.

I got some stories from this when I was subscribed to the Prog, but missed most of it. And frankly? It’s wonderful stuff.

So wonderful, come payday I’m gonna pick up two further copies as gifts for friends, who I reckon will get a real kick out of its nonsense.

I just finished up a Star Trek The Lost Era novel. It was fun.

I’m also reading a book about the Iran-Iraq war. Less fun.