Cleaned up my mess from painting Mandarin Morning. I may have set a personal record for the number of brushes I used in a single painting: from a triple zero round to a 1½ inch flat. I’ll let you decide why I used a bristle flat (normally for oils) on a watercolor.
Book Review: Shield Maiden by Sharon Emmerichs (five stars)
The goblet seemed forged from legend, crafted in gold and silver and myth.
Excellent historical fantasy novel. Evokes the circumstance and poetry of Old English Beowulf. Delves into current angst and action becoming history and myth. Richly imagined and developed.
“I’ve changed my mind,” [redacted] said. “This is a terrible idea.” Beowulf grinned …. “Isn’t it, though? Most fun I’ve had in years.”
While many of the historical and literary characters are true to their origins, both the protagonist(s) and antagonist are relatable by moderns. Most references and expletives are appropriate for the time and beliefs. (Excepting a crude misogynic term the female protagonist calls herself.) The presence of a black African though explained seems improbable, but this isn’t history.
She will see the sword again, and all the characters in this drama. She knows it, because she trusts in fate. She trusts the story.
Captures the culture of that era in relationships, technology, and philosophy. Story reflects both creativity and effort. Her magic cups subplot illustrates her talent. Extra star for this being the author’s debut novel. Looking forward to more.
“Dreams can change.”
Movie Review: The Fall Guy, directed by David Leitch (five stars)
“They were trying to kill me. And not in a fun way.”
A fun action-comedy homage to the stunt performer industry. Stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt shine. Interwoven romance, movie making, and mystery facilitate more stunts.
“Too dangerous! There’s got to be stairs.”
Shades of Jackie Chan action movies. It’s all about the stunts, but enough other stuff going on to keep the audience engaged and wondering what comes next.
“Have you been crying to Taylor Swift?” “Doesn’t everyone?”
Book Review: Steelheart (Reckoner #1) by Brandon Sanderson (four stars)
We were like deaf people trying to dance to a beat we couldn’t hear, long after the music actually stopped. Or … wait. I don’t know what that actually was supposed to mean.
Young adult dystopian science fiction. A relatable protagonist suffers doubt, guilt, anger, and puppy love on his way to finding who he is and where he fits. Does Sanderson owe Marvel comics royalties for such an obvious X-Men ripoff/parody?
She can shoot like a dream and she carries tiny grenades in her top, a bit of my addled mind thought. I think I might be in love.
Series authors and readers: This is how you end the opening novel is a series. A conclusion that makes sense (as much as any SFF story makes sense) and leaves the protagonist and readers wanting more.
“What do you trust when your own thoughts and emotions seem to hate you?”
2013 review: At least four stars. All the excellent character and plot development we expect from Sanderson. Both a satisfying climax and sufficient hooks into an extended tale. A very good read.
From May 3 through June 28, 2024, my Memorial Rose painting will be displayed along with other water media selected for the 45th Annual Juried Exhibition of the Virginia Watercolor Society. The exhibit will be at the Academy Center of the Arts, Lynchburg, Virginia.
Memorial Rose is a blossom from the plant presented to my niece, Jon Moss, honoring her husband, Terry Moss (1958-2021). The painting will not be available for sale at the exhibit, as many works are, as it will be gifted to Jon in Graham, Washington, after the show.
Book Review: The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett (three stars)
“Projecting motives is a fool’s game. But how they do it—that’s a matter of matter, moving real things about in real space.”
Excellent character and world building. A fantasy mystery with sides of political intrigue and supernatural monsters. Narrative propels the story and reader at eye-watering speed.
“You know how he was killed?” “Of course I do. He was killed by an assassin.” Ana turned her blindfolded face to [redacted]. “And you helped them do it, sir.”
Convoluted plot helps conceal and reveal, as appropriate, the narrator to both him and his reader. His flaws and talents mesh to create an extraordinary but believable Watson. Bennett’s Holmes is less credible though equally entertaining.
“What the [redacted] else do you know how to do?” I handed her the cup. “I do seem to be developing a talent for tolerating verbal abuse and mad questions, ma’am.”
Lost a star for gratuitous profanity. Not only offensive but mostly unnecessary. It didn’t fit the character of Bennett’s sleuth to talk trash like a teen. Lazy writing. Some will be entertained.
“And then I had to go and do something gallant and stupid anyway.” “Yes. It shall take work to keep you alive, boy.
Book Review: Revenger (Revenger #1) Alastair Reynolds (four stars)
If I had one grain of sense in me I’d have ignored every one of those words. But sense was never my strong point.
Engaging steampunk for young adult readers. Good character and world building. Linear plot with single point of view narrator draws reader into her foibles and her growth. Reverses and surprises peppered throughout.
“You’ll pay for this.” “No, girlie. I’ll be paid for it.”
Clear, declarative writing. Nothing subtle about either the protagonist or most of the cast. Physics of this universe explained as needed to keep the pace moving. Giving local names—lungstuff, swallower, cove, leagues—for common terms enhances the other feeling. (League is the most overused and largely inappropriate linear measure in fantasy.)
There are wrongs that need setting right, things to do with quoins, and if half of what [redacted] told me is lies, I still want to find out what the rest of it means.
This is one of the works I will display at the Lee Artists Association show from May 1 through 31 at the Mechanicsville Branch of the Pamunkey Regional Library. The display will be at the main entrance and will be available for viewing whenever the branch is open.
Lee Artists are individuals expressing themselves in a variety of media: oil, acrylic, watercolor, photography, collages, etc. They meet monthly, usually at the Mechanicsville Branch library. Contact coordinator, Teressa Pearson, (tapstat@difficulthill.com) for organization details.
Book Review: The Sunlit Man (Cosmere #30) by Brandon Sanderson (four stars)
“You think?” Do I think? I’m not sure. Depends on your definition. “You know, I liked you much better when you were alive.” And who is to blame for that?
You can’t run forever, even if you must. Despite its connection to Sanderson’s Stormlight series, this is a standalone, demanding no more from the reader than attention to this story. Illustrated, though the drawings add nothing.
“Adonalsium—or whatever god you follow—bless your flight, Sunlit.” “I’ll settle for no gods intentionally thwarting me for once.”
Perhaps the least successful of Sanderson’s secret projects, this Cosmere outlier is nonetheless better than most current science fiction offerings. A rousing good story where protagonist and reader must determine the rules of the game from within the game. The clock is ticking, or in this case dawn is coming, bringing excruciating death with it..
Storms. He had to get off this planet, or everything would start looking like part of some nebulous, deific plan.
Book Review: Infinity Gate (Pandominion #1) by M. R. Carey (four stars)
[Redacted] saw Armageddon coming from a long way off. At first she was fairly philosophical about the whole thing.
Excellent interdimensional travel science fiction. Plot progresses through shifting point of view of leading characters. Differing age, status, and personality color how each views the developing train wreck.
“Life is a movement that makes itself within the great unmaking that is the entropic universe.”
Manages reflective reflection amid the accelerating crisis. Argument for humanity of sentient non-organics grows naturally amid the action. Slavery is assessed as potentially a universal human sin.
“If slavery is wrong, then it’s wrong for all selves, not just for constructs.” “I follow the logic.”
Disapointments: Though character-appropriate for hardened, career soldiers, profanity is excessive and unnecessary. Tells us over and over that gabber is prohibited but available. Ending is just that; the story breaks off rather than concludes. Whole story is an intro to next book.
Both sides had made exactly the same mistake. They looked at something radically different from themselves and saw it as something less.
As a Matter of Fancy 