Fiction log - February 2016

[pedanther]

Fiction books
Lionel Bart. Oliver!
Lois McMaster Bujold. Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen (e)
Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener. Atomic Robo and the Ring of Fire (e)
T Kingfisher. The Raven and the Reindeer (e)
Tim Powers. On Stranger Tides (e) (re-read)
Manly Wade Wellman. The Beyonders (e)

In progress
Terry Pratchett. Soul Music (e) (re-read)

Non-fiction books in progress
Harley Granville-Barker. Prefaces to Shakespeare: Hamlet

Short fiction
Paul Cornell. "The Deer Stalker" (e)
P C Hodgell. "Songs of Waste and Wood" (e)
P C Hodgell. "The Talisman's Trinket" (e)
Ursula Vernon. "Jackalope Wives" (e)
Ursula Vernon. "Pocosin" (e)
Ursula Vernon. "Razorback" (e)

Fanfic, novel-length
the_wordbutler. Harmless Error (Marvel Cinematic Universe, non-superhero AU)
Yahtzee. Father Charles (X-Men, non-superhero AU)

In progress
the_wordbutler. Sua Sponte (Marvel Cinematic Universe, non-superhero AU)

Fanfic, novella-length
Annariel. "Star Sapphire and Damascus Steel" (Sapphire and Steel)
arrogantemu. "Though All Whom You Have Slain Should Entreat For You" (Tolkien)
idareu2bme. "Bill and Ted's Triumphant Return" (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure)
incandescent. "Londinium" (Neverwhere)
Mithrigil. "The Winter Wind" (Marvel Cinematic Universe, non-superhero AU)
the_wordbutler. "The Promise of Light" (Marvel Cinematic Universe, non-superhero AU)
tree_and_leaf. "PUSH" (Harry Potter)

Film
The Man from UNCLE
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Theatre
Gianni Schicchi
The Lion King

Theatre, short
Clara's Husbands
Cupid's Bad Day
The DMV One
Gray Matter
I Can't Think of It Right Now
The Wedding Story

Television serials in progress
Doctor Who, 2005 season (DVD)
Enemy at the Door (DVD)
Star Trek (DVD)

Television, individual episodes
Batman: Beware the Grey Ghost (DVD)
Batman: Heart of Ice (DVD)
Drunk History: Journalism (online streaming)
Drunk History: Miami (online streaming)
The Pretender: Pilot (DVD)

Interactive narrative
Scribblenauts Unmasked


Books bought
Lois McMaster Bujold. Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen (e)
T Kingfisher. The Raven and the Reindeer (e)
Helen Simonson. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand (e)
Ryk E Spoor. Phoenix Ascendant (e)
Ryk E Spoor. Phoenix in Shadow (e)
Manly Wade Wellman. The Beyonders (e)
(also a large box of second-hand books by various authors)

Books borrowed
(none)


Top of the to-read pile
William Shakespeare. Hamlet

Comments

[pedanther]

Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen is the newest Vorkosigan novel, just published in February. It's set after Cryburn, which will give you some idea what it's about if you've read Cryoburn.

If you've only vaguely come across the Chalion series, I take it that means you haven't read The Curse of Chalion? In that case, I feel I should warn you that Paladin of Souls, being a sequel, gives away several of the big plot twists in the earlier book.

[igenlode.livejournal.com]

The latest Vorkosigan I've read is "Diplomatic Immunity" -- and that only because I got the omnibus "Miles, Mutants and Microbes" as an Amazon voucher reward for doing a lengthy fan-fiction survey :-)

I'd got the idea somehow from the author's notes to that volume that she'd brought Miles's career to an end at that point, having promoted him to an awkwardly high level that made personal involvement increasingly implausible: evidently not!

The local library gave up stocking her books about twenty years ago, and I don't normally buy new, let alone order online (I had to order "Shards of Honor" from America via my local bookshop, back in the days before Amazon shopping even existed -- that shop no longer sells books, let alone does international orders). So I see them only very sporadically. I read "A Civil Campaign" years before I finally saw "Komarr", and thus was very thoroughly spoiled for the latter. (As a result, my gut reaction was sympathy for the unfortunate Tien, who was so blatantly being set up to fail by the author in order to enable her desired romance :-p)

Normally I would worry about reading the Chalion series out of order, but in this case I think I'm unlikely ever to see any of the other novels in the series anyway, or not for a very long time...

[pedanther]

It's not entirely un-true. Cryoburn is another Lord Auditor Miles Vorkosigan investigation, but in the end it rather reinforces the "promoted to an awkwardly high level for a protagonist" aspect; the other two that have come out since then feature other characters, with Miles appearing as a supporting character if at all. Captain Vorpatril's Alliance is a Miles-less adventure for Cousin Ivan, and Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen features Cordelia. (In some ways it's a book-end to Shards of Honor; whether that means it's the end of the series, only time will tell.)