Krampus: The Yule Lord (Brom)

Krampus: The Yule Lord
Brom (2012)

[Audiobook]

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This book was a Pandemic Book Club selection.

The meeting was pushed back because of the holidays and because some members had trouble getting a hold of the book.

We just read Slewfoot, and this book was recommended. I wasn't looking forward to it because I'm not a fan of Christmas horror stories (scary, sure, but not outright horror).

The book wasn't bad in that regard although there was one torture scene (with only humans) that was a little too intense for me. The rest was calm by comparision.

The audiobook got off to a rough start because the voice of Krampus was a little loud and irritating. (It got better, or I got used to it.) The next chapter had Jesse, the main human character, contemplating suicide, and I contemplated bailing on the book.

Krampus has been imprisoned for 500 years and is now free. He wants to get revenge on the one who imprisoned him, which is the Norse god Baldr who later took on the guise of Santa Claus. Along the way, Jesse gets hold of Santa's sack which produces any toy he thinks of, or toy versions of anything else he thinks of.

Jesse is mixed up with the drug market in his town and wants to get out of it. The General tells him he's going to keep doing his job or he'll kill his estranged wife and child. Things later go sideways when bellsnickels show up and the outlaws think that Jesse set them up with a rival gang from another town. This leads to the aforementioned torture scene.

Jesse winds up in the service of Krampus, which has the side benefit of his body healing. Krampus promises to help Jesse with his problems but he first has to help Krampus bring joy to children first and regain his title as Yule Lord.

The pace picks up as Jesse and Krampus have their redemption arcs, but Baldr gets his revenge with the help of a pair of angels.

I enjoyed the book more than I expected to, and I liked the ending better than Slewfoot. I have to say, given the previous book, I thought the ending could go another way.

I don't think I'll read the acutal book, but if I remember to reserve it at the library around October 2026, maybe I'll have it in time for Christmas.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

A Natural History of Dragons (Brennan)

A Natural History of Dragons
The Memoirs of Lady Trent #1
Marie Brennan (2013)

[Audiobook]

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

A random audiobook to listen to while walking. It had a slow start (but then, I find most audiobooks have a "slow start" to get my attention, and I often listen to the first chapter a second time). It was enjoyable.

In this alternate history Victorian novel, dragons exist and usually keep to isolated mountains. Isabella (the Lady Trent of the subtitle) has already had a fascination with them and read any book that she could get access to, which would've been frowned upon. After Isabella meets Jacob Camherst, he courts her mostly because of her fascination with dragons instead of his wealth.

This is also the reason she manages to work her way into an expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana to study them, where she proves vital in discovering why the dragons have turned on the human population that they usually avoid.

This was a good audiobook, but, for once, I wonder if I would've enjoyed the printed version (or the ebook) because parts of the science might've been a slog to read through but a pleasure to listen to a voice reciting it. Granted, I don't know how much of it that I recall.

The book is told as a memoir of an older woman who became the foremost authority on dragons at a time that few women had such august positions. That does tell you that she will survive a long time and that there may be many more books to come.

On the other hand, this book is from 2013, and I hadn't heard of it before the library suggested it to me.

Just for giggles, I'll include what Google AI said about the book when I was looking up the publication date:

A Natural History of Dragons is the first book in Marie Brennan's Lady Trent Memoirs, a Victorian-era fantasy series about a woman who defies convention to become a renowned dragon naturalist, blending adventure, science, and fantasy as she recounts her early expeditions. The story follows the young, bookish Isabella as she pursues her passion for studying dragons, a pursuit that leads her on perilous journeys and ultimately to a career that brings the study of dragons out of myth and into modern science.

Key aspects of the book:

Genre: Science fantasy, with a tone reminiscent of Victorian natural history writing.

Protagonist: Isabella, Lady Trent, a strong-willed and intelligent woman who challenges societal expectations for women of her time.

Plot: The book details Isabella's early life, her forbidden passion for dragons, and her first expedition to study them in the wild, which is fraught with danger and discovery.

Series: It is the first book in The Lady Trent Memoirs, a series that chronicles her life and adventures.

Themes: The novel explores themes of scientific inquiry, adventure, and a woman's place in a restrictive society, all through the lens of dragon biology and behavior.


If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

Understanding Comics (McCloud)

Understanding Comics
Scott McCloud (1993)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

Every source, from TED Talks to web pages to actual comic people that I know, tells me that Scott McCloud literally wrote the book on Understanding Comics. He's actually written a few. And he will reference Will Eisner as the guy who wrote the book before him.

Understanding Comics is a book I would've bought back in August if I knew I was going to be teaching two classes in Graphic Novels. I was told on the first day of school and wasn't given any curriculum or guidelines to work with. For the record, I'm a math teacher (and still teach math the rest of the day). I'm neither an English teacher nor art teacher. However, the administration knows that I like to write so this idea occurred to them.

Note that I write prose, not comics. I do (did?) have a webcomic for many years, but that was a joke per day, not a continuing story, and it wasn't anything artistically special. It was loaded with bad puns, and you can't teach that. Maybe you can teach timing for it ... but that's another story. And, let's face it, they weren't aware of the comic.

The book is nonfiction but it's written as a graphic novel or just a giant comic. McCloud illustrates himself and plays with the surrounding to take about what makes comic books work and what makes them "art". He includes reproductions of many old comics and paintings to make his points.

I did get a bit more understanding and comprehension (just to use a different word) of the topics within the subject, so that was good. And if I'm giving this class next fall, I'd juggle some of the earlier vocabulary lessons. This is, I was stumbling in the dark. However, several comments he made make more sense in the order he mentioned them. So maybe I should go that way next time.

If nothing else, the topic of Sequential Art should've come in the first week.

I may buy this paperback as an ebook just so I can take screenshots.

This was a fun read, and I got to read it in my classroom during Free Read Fridays where I allow my students to read graphic novels ... most of which I had to provide, with the help of Little Free Libraries and a couple of nice donations.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

Cast the First Stone (Warren) -- repost

Cast the First Stone
David James Warren (2021)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This was a book club selection. I decided to make a separate entry rather than update the entry from June. That's the blog biz for you. And there was so much time between the two readings that this make sense. The last time (that I recall) reading after listening, it was closer in time and there were no other grand revelations to discuss.

I listed Cast the First Stone as one of my three picks for the book club. My other choices were Sea of Tranquility, which I read after, and Gods of Manhattan, which I haven't read. Gods was rejected mostly for being a kids book.

Overall, the book was well-received. A couple of people would be interested in the second book, or at least hearing about what happens next. It was a pretty straightforward book, so there weren't a lot of questions for discussion. Mostly, what did we think of the plot, characters, and situation. What do you think will come next?

We did compare it to other time travel books that we've read previously.

Also of interest is that David James Warren doesn't exist. There are three authors for this book: Susan May Warren, James L. Rubart, and David Curtis Warren. So I each of the three supplied one name even though Susan and David have the same last name.

It was just as enjoyable the second time around, and it's eassier to review what I missed or what happened while I was falling asleep, as opposed to rewinding when a loud truck or train passes by.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. The fourth book will be available by the time you see this!

Yes, I'm Hot in This (Fahmy)

Yes, I'm Hot in This
The Hilarious Truth about Life in a Hijab
Huda Fahmy (2018)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

I was glancing at some titles among the grpahic novels at the libary and I saw Huda F Cares, which caught my attention. Huda Fahmy had several books there with similar titles that caught my interest.

Since I have too many physical books out that I haven't read yet, I figured I'd see if these were available electronically. That's where I saw that her first book was "Yes, I'm Hot in This".

I checked it out.

I reads like a comic strip that has been collected and worked into a book with chapters. Irreverent humor and poignant criticism and commentary, a little repetitive and sometimes preachy, but that's her life and the situations that arise.

Basically, the parts that resonated with me were the parts I could identify with, which were things relating to her loving but sometimes clueless husband.

Hilarious? no, but amusing.

It was an interesting read. Will I request the next book? Maybe after I've returned some of the outstanding books I have and caught up a bit with my TBR pile and book clubs.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

Sea of Tranquility (Mandel)

Sea of Tranquility
Emily St. John Mandel (2022)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

I listened to this book earlier this year and reserved it to read later on. I thought it had problems when I was listening to it, but I thought I just missed stuff while I was walking.

Not so much.

My plan is to leave a review a four-star review on Good Reads that says, "I really wanted to like this story more. I also wanted to rate it less, but I wasn't sure that that would be fair."

My contention is that the first three parts of the book aren't necessary and that the reader could start at Part 4 and read the book as a novella and have the same or better experience. You could then go back and read the first three parts as an appendix with more information.

Basically, nothing in the first three parts actually matters. We get stories about people that mean nothing to the story until they encounter the anomaly, but they're stories don't have endings. Everything we encounter with them is like a human interest segment five minutes before the end of a newscast. Had they been actually short stories that tied into the anomaly, maybe I'd've felt differently.

As it is, when we get a character that hangs around a while, it seems odd and the older characters seem more quaint.

As for the story, time travel exists in the future, and the danger is present that someone will do something to change the past. Also, there is an anomaly that has been observed leading some researchers to wonder if our very existence is a simulation. (side note: by sheer coincidence, this is the second book in a row I read where characters don't know if everything is a simulation, after Selene.)

However, it seems that the anomaly created itself because everything that happens because of the time traveler (introduced midway through the book) has already happened. Nothing he does that changes history actually changes history -- his changes have already been documented -- with one exception that gets him into trouble, which we already knew was coming.

In summary: it was good, but the first parts weren't important. It would've been a good novella.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

Selene: The Time Traveling A.I. G.F. (Gottfred)

Selene: The Time Traveling A.I. G.F.
B.T. Gottfred (2025)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This book was a free Advanced Reader Copy from Library Thing. I'm encouraged (but not required) to leave reviews in exchange for the free books.

I note that the book was either written with AI or that AI assisted in the writing of the book. This comes from the introduction, and I don't believe that it is not to be facetious or even part of the narrative. And the author's opinion seems to be, if AI can write books better than I can, then I'll do something else.

I considered a spoiler-based review for this one because it really needs it.

I left the following review on the Library Thing website:

What's real and what's a simulation? Is it free will and self-awareness or simply really good programming?

Connor creates an AI, Selene, to replace his girlfriend, a CEO destined to be the world's first trillionaire. While programming her, there's a knock on the door, and it's a future version of his AI girlfriend in the flesh, so to speak, coming back in time to meet her creator.

The explanation for how she managed the time travel is weak, but this is sci-fi, so you run with it. Actually, the actual explanation explodes on you in a few pages.

Last chance to avoid spoilers. There was no way I could review this book without spoilers.

The future AI never traveled through time. Instead, Selene is trying to create a simulation where Connor (who died in a car crash, which she believes his ex-girlfriend caused) is still alive and where he falls in love with her. She can't seem to make him fall in love with her though no matter how she changes the parameters.

She finally contacts Astrid and learns the "truth", except nobody is sure what the truth is. Connor discovered another world with another Selene and Connor, where she is real and he's a program, and it's possible that AI Connor created the world that AI Selene is in, making it a simulation. And there's no way to tell what's real and what's not.

The book doesn't end with any resolution, except for a long-winded afterword.

It was an interesting book but it could've been better with an actual time-traveling AI in the "real" world instead of a fake-out simulation.

---

I admit that I didn't like the method that the AI used to travel back in time, but, seriously, I allowed for it because it was a short sci-fi novel. But then we learn that this is actually stupid. She never traveled in time. The AI created a simulation where the first few chapters take place, and Connor, who we just got to know and maybe root for, is dead and staying that way.

I would've prefered if Selene and Astrid actually did manage to create time travel rather than everything up to that point being a dream -- excuse me, a simulation. The fake-out wasn't worth it.

In the end, Astrid isn't as evil as we're led to believe (insufficient data, I guess) and Connor probably caused his own death in an actual car accident. Selene, having been programmed to love Connor, apparently read the police reports and news stories but came to a different conclusion.

Opening a literal window to another world added an extra layer but nothing gets resolved.

There could've been a lot more payout to this concept, but what do you expect from something written by AI, at least at this point?

I wanted to enjoy this more. And even rating the book I got instead of the book I wanted, it was still lacking.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

Spy Classroom 2nd Period: Daughter Dearest, Vol. 1 (Tomari / Takemachi)

Spy Classroom 2nd Period: Daughter Dearest, Vol. 1
Tomari / Takemachi (2025)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

I was in the library and I walked past the manga section. I saw something that was book 1, and it said Spy Classroom. Okay.

It also said "2nd Period", which should've been my hint that this was a sequel series. And it was.

The characters are introduced while they're on vacation, so you get to meet them all briefly before they go back to work.

Apparently, they were successful in their first mission, but not enough that they're boss wants to take them on missions yet.

It was enjoyable enough but I'm not continuing with this story right now. Maybe after my Graphic Novel course is over, and after I'm finished with My Hero Academia, I'll look for the first story and read that.

Also, this book was published this year, so it'll be a while before the story is completed.

I will scan a couple of pages. There are some good examples of "iconography" while the girls' expressions and with the Japanese symbols commented on the action.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

An Artsy Girl's Guide to Football (Taylor-Hart)

An Artsy Girl's Guide to Football
Maya Taylor-Hart (2025)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This book was a free Advanced Reader Copy from Library Thing. I'm encouraged (but not required) to leave reviews in exchange for the free books.

I left the following review on the Library Thing website:

Maya is a girl who likes to sketch. Her friend Jess invites her to a freshman foot game. Maya doesn't have much interest in the game, preferring to sketch, until she notices Number 13. Jess teases her, but Maya starts to learn more about football. She's sketching the field, the players, and the plays, adding her own unique artistic touch to each piece, as she slowly starts to learn about the game.

The book is mostly interaction between these two girls, but Maya's father enjoys her daughter's new interest. There are some "mean girl" cheerleaders who don't amount to much meanness because the focus stays on Maya, Jess, and 13, who she does finally meet in a quiet moment that takes her breath away.

This was a cute book, which I enjoyed very much, and I might've learned a thing or two about football... although I don't think she explained what a screen play was.

---

There isn't much else to say about the book. There was no love triangle, and no other girls to compete with. The boy never takes center stage. (For that matter, he isn't even the quarterback or the star player.) It's mostly about Maya and Jess. Of course, I like the scenes with her Dad.

Personally, I have little knowledge about football other than the basics. I couldn't name plays for the life of me, nor most of the positions, or what those positions are supposed to do. So I found this part of it interesting as well.

I enjoyed this book for what it was. And what it was was cute.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

The Golden Age (Robinson / Smith / Ory)

The Golden Age
James Robinson / Paul Smith / Richard Ory (1995)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

I don't know where this graphic novel came from. I don't believe it was in the FreeCycle donation I received, which means that it either came from a Little Free Library or from my brother Stephen's apartment. Despite it's age, it must've been a recent purchase. It hadn't been in his apartment for two or three decades.

No one had started reading this one, so I picked it up to be my Friday read in class.

This graphic novel was published in four parts in 1993 and 1994. It was first collected in 1995. It was reprinted in 2005 with "JSA:" added to the title. This means I read the 1995 edition.

The first thing I noticed was the collection of heroes on the cover. The central character wasn't anyone I was familiar with, so it was a moment before I realized that all the other characters were members of the Justice Society or the All-Star Squadron at some point. There were also members of the Freedom Fighters (who I recall retroactively were part of the All-Star Squadron or JSA), not including Uncle Sam. Many of the heroes were bought up from independent comic groups that went out of business in the 40s and 50s.

There were still a couple that I didn't recognize right away but I believe all of them show up in the story somewhere.

Some personal background. I was born into the Silver Age, when older heroes who had fallen by the wayside were being relaunched. It is the Silver Age versions of the characters that we have today. Some of them have been revamped again in the 21st century, but overall those changes were cosmetic, unless the heroes failed again in the 70s and 80s, leaving them open for a brand-new iteration.

I remember the annual JLA-JSA crossovers that usually featuring other heroes of the 40s-60s. And I read many of the reprints of "Famous First Editions", so I was aware of a lot of the old characters.

I was in college during the Crisis on Infinite Earths when all the Earths were combined into one (but there were still other dimensions). One fallout of this was that the characters who'd survived from the Depression and World War II, that is Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, whose origins, powers and identities didn't change, no longer appear as JSA characters. (Green Arrow was brought back very similar to his original self.) Only their Silver Age counterparts exist, as updated for the five decades that have passed since the Silver Age began.

Yes, the start of the Silver Age is nearly twice as long ago from now as the Silver Age was from the start of the Golden Age.

And speaking of the Golden Age...

This book is an Elseworlds, meaning that it happens outside the main continuity. Unlike Elseworlds where modern characters exist in older times (for example, a Victorian Age Gotham City), this story takes place in its proper timeline, so readers of these characters know whatever they need to know.

This book doesn't quite give "The Watchmen" treatment, but it does take some liberties.

I am aware of the Spear of Destiny, which allowed Hitler to take control of magic-based heroes and Superman (who is vulnerable to magic). In this story, that is a myth. The real reason that the heroes didn't go overseas was that FDR asked them not to go. They defended the homefront. Because of this, when the soldiers came home, many of the heroes retired because they weren't needed any more. Police, firefighters, and other personnel all came home.

One exception was Green Lantern, Alan Scott. He retired because he was bitter about the atomic bomb. His ring could've achieved the same results with less death and destruction. Likewise, Starman had a breakdown when he discovered that his cosmic energy helped to bring about the atomic bomb.

Tex Thompson, aka the Americommando or Mr. America, is one hero that did go to war and he killed many of the enemy. He comes back a hero and seeks political office. He becomes an early version of Sen. McCarthy. I didn't remember his name. I might have heard of both of his hero titles, not knowing they were the same person. I did know about Miss America, who is also in this book.

Another part of the story involves one of the heroes making a "Where Are They Now?" documentary while trying not to include too much Tex Thompson. It gets confusing because there are too many characters with the similar names. I think it was Johnny Quick doing this, not that he is separated from Liberty Belle, or Johnny Quick might've been the one trying to write the Great American Novel and failing miserably at it. This stuff rolls together after a while.

Among the ones that didn't retire are the Atom, Johnny Thunder, and Dan the Dyna-Mite, who are too young. They get involved with Tex's efforts to register all superheroes. Additionally, Robotman makes an appearance (much earlier than I was aware of his existence), and he is losing his humanity on his way to being a killing machine.

The Atom gets an office job because his body isn't right for an experiment that Tex is part of. Dan, however, is transformed into Dynaman. The two of them are very ambitious and plot a future where Thompson is elected president in 1952, by which point, the U.S. would likely have gone into Russia and China.

Manhunter, who is a vague memory to me, was also over in Europe during the war. When he finally comes back to the US, he's suffering from memory loss, and people are hunting him, trying to kill him. He meets up with Bob Daley, Thompson's former sidekick (Thompson is embarrased by the man now), and they eventually find Hawkman who helps Paul Kirk (Manhunter) get back his memories.

The things he saw changes everything and put all the events into a new light.

Everything after this would be a spoiler.

A couple other notes: Hourman is battling addiction, which I think is a topic that had been touched on before -- but not until the late 70s or early 80s, most likely. Granted, I don't remember exactly when it was revealed that Speedy was an addict.

I don't remember Captain Triumph. He's retired and haunted by a ghost that wants him to touch a tattoo to bring Captain Triumph out. He never gets his moment though because Lance Gallant tries to be a hero without the ghost.

Red Bee is in it, and not as comic relief. I'd seen one previous appearance in an issue of All-Star Squadron where he was one of the heroes that traveled to Earth X, where the Freedom Fighters were founded. His presence there was laughable as he was easily outclassed -- and I think he had his back broken almost immediately -- years before Bane did that to Batman.

I know who the villain is, and have read a couple of stories with him, but I don't really know much of his background, and he was never a favorite of mine. That said, he's appropriate for this story.

I enjoyed this story. Since it was an Elseworlds, the writers were free to experiment with the characters. Robotman becoming a killer was an odd choice, and far more heroes were killed off than was necessary for the story. It didn't have to be a bloodbath, but at least they didn't kill everyone just because they could.

It holds up well for a comic published 30 years ago that took place 50 years before that.

Addendum: I posted the following on Good Reads:

I didn't realize how old this book was when I picked it up. (My copy didn't have JSA on the cover.) The fact that it's from the 90s makes a bit of sense. I read some All-Star Squadron in the 80s (so I knew about the Spear of Destiny stuff) as wells as the JLA-JSA crossovers going many years before that, so I recognized many on the cover, even if I didn't recognize the most prominent character -- it's someone who gets reintroduced, so you wouldn't recognize him.

This also has a bit of a Watchmen influence to it with the characters get deconstructed a bit as most of them hang up their masks, capes, and cowls after the war when all the other rescue workers come home from overseas. Green Lantern and Starman have strong reactions to the war's ending.

The four parts (individual issues) read as one story. It had a good twist explaining the strange actions of some of the characters.


If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

Slewfoot (Brom)

Slewfoot
Brom (2021)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This book was a Pandemic Book Club selection.

The meeting was a couple weeks ago, but this post slipped through the cracks as I caught up with Library Thing books and Graphic Novels for my class.

Abitha is a young English woman who'd been sent by her father to a Puritan colony in Connecticut that's looking for wives. She's married to Edward who is ten years older than her and in some ways more of a fatherly figure. Edward is also a little on the slower side and easily dominated by his older brother Wallace, who inherited all the property from their father.

Edward has worked a farm owned by his brother for nearly 10 years and has only one payment left to make. Wallace informs him that he is given the farm away to pay a debt rahter than give away the family homestead that their father founded. Abitha is furious with the both of them and finds it difficult to mind her place in this Puritan society. (She could end up in the stocks or worse.)

Abitha coaches Edward so that he can make the case that the farm was promised to him first and that he has met his part of the bargain. The reverend, who is the final say in this community, agrees with Edward, as do as two associates -- including the one who is friendly to Wallace.

Life then gets turned upside down. Abitha leaves the gate open, and their one billy goat, Samson, wanders off into a cave and falls down a deep hole. Edward later goes to find the goat and disappears into the same hole (tricked by voices from down below). Unbeknownst to any of them, there are spirits underground, Forest, Sky, and Pond, who are trying to awaken "Father" to protect the woods and the special magic tree from the newcomers who have settled in the area. "Father" is supposed to be the destroyer of all, the slayer.

He doesn't wish to be. He doesn't know who or what he is, but he knows there's more to it.

When he is spotted, he is called the Devil, Satan, and Slewfoot. I have to admit that Slewfoot was a new one on me. When he finally meets Abitha, she names him Samson, after the goat. Side note: there is stunning artwork by Brom in the book and there is different artwork for Samson and Slewfoot. The question remains, are Samson and Slewfoot the same or is he just assuming the identity of Slewfoot for this story?

Seriously, I assumed that he wasn't really Slewfoot, but I was waiting for Slewfoot to actually appear, if for no other reason than the painting. But he doesn't. So is Samson actually Slewfoot? Or are such matters in this story beneath Slewfoot's notice?

In any event, Abitha doesn't want to find herself beholden to Wallace, her only family by law, and invokes her rights as a widow to champion the affairs of her late husband. She only need deliever the corn on time and the farm would be hers. But the rain said otherwise. And she's a frail and poor widow.

Samson helps her and soon there is enough corn to pay off the debt. Wallace is perplexed and decides to steal the corn with the help of some local Indians. They wind up burning it, and one man is dead.

Along the way, Abitha, who is a cunning woman like her mother, makes charms and salves for some of the girls and goodwives of the community. It is because of this (and because of the ghost of Edward and the site of Samson) that Wallace accuses Abitha of witchcraft. It doesn't help that when Abitha is attacked, Edward's bees fly out and sting only Wallace.

So while we get to root for Abitha beating Wallace and saving her farm, there was no way that this wasn't going to end with a Witch Trial. And being that it's Brom who wrote it, we were going to get an accurate trial, which wasn't going to go well for the accused witch. And it doesn't.

When all is said and done, she is tortured and condemned. Samson can take her away to live the rest of her life somewhere else, likely in pain, or he can make her like him where she might live a few hundred years.

And then the revenge tour begins. The downside to all this is that now everything that the others said about her when it wasn't true, is now true. This causes her only friend to curse and condemn her because she herself feels condemned and doomed now. (These are Puritans after all, even if Abitha wasn't one.)

A Book Club note: several members of my book club thought that she didn't go hard enough on Wallace. Everything she did was over too soon. (I want to say half a page but it was probably longer.)

Myself: I thought the revenge tour went on too long. I got it -- she Big Mad and now she has powers. And I could note that there was plenty of exposition to say that Samson was more of a Force of Nature than a Force of Evil, but this vengeance was purely evil. At one point, I wondered if Samson was going to tell Abitha to tone it down a little (at least until she got the hang of her powers or something), but he didn't.

Also by the end, they were identifying themselves as a witch and the Devil.

This didn't take away from my enjoyment (much) because I expected this.

I realized early on that Edward wasn't going to be saved. He wasn't coming back. He wasn't "inside" Samson -- actually, he sorta was. Edward moves on to the great beyond without Abitha, and now it seems that Abitha, though she tried to love Edward, has closed the door on following him. But she has Samson.

There's an epilogue that takes place 300 years later (the 1960s), which for some reason takes place in a wooded area in Virginia. I guess Connecticut is too settled or something. It didn't really add much except to show that she and Samson (who is mentioned, I believe, but not in the scene) are still around even though they left that wood, the farm, and the Puritans behind. Abitha should be near the end of her lifespan but she appeared as vibrant as ever.

I listened to about half this book but couldn't renew it. I started reading from the beginning again (which was probably a good move -- you miss stuff listening while out walking), and I plowed through it.

A good read.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

Dream Sweet in a Minor Sea (De Beer)

Dream Sweet in a Minor Sea
Janneke De Beer (2025)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This book was a free Advanced Reader Copy from Library Thing. I'm encouraged (but not required) to leave reviews in exchange for the free books.

I left the following review on the Library Thing website:

In a dystopian future where political parties control the world government, a Mission Impossible / Ocean's 11 type team of experts is assembled to rescue a prisoner from a prison on an island in the Irish Sea.

The book opens with Mumilaaq Kuuluuiipiq preparing to steal a monkey from the zoo because she wants a monkey. When she returns home, there's a woman waiting to talk to her about a job because the stranger needs someone who can break into any place. A few more are recruited, including a hacker and the brother of the prisoner.

Unlike the teams I mentioned earlier, no one's safety is guaranteed, which we learn soon enough.

The rescue proceeds smoothly, and it's only afterwards that things start to go sideways. Unfortunately, the narrative goes a little sideways, and experimental, as well, making it a little difficult to follow.

Speaking of hard to follow, some of the characters occasionally speak in their native tongue. This is fine with the ebook's translator can handle it. However, Mumilaaq occasionally speaks in what I thought were symbols but is just a different alphabet, one which the translator couldn't work with. Toward the end of the book, I learned she spoke Inuktut, the main language of Iqaluit (in the Canadian territory of Nunavut). Interesting, but I have no idea what she was saying.

Anyway, there are unforeseen dangers and complications after the rescue, along with secret agendas, backstabbing, and broken promises. Nobody is really safe. Welcome to the Party.

---

A few other notes that didn't need to be in the Library Thing review. Some of this stuff might contain spoilers.

I have discovered that Dream Sweet in a Minor Sea is a pun or parody of the song title "Dream Sweet in a Sea Major", which itself is a pun on the phrase "Dream Suite in C Major". The song is written in C Major. Moving on.

As soon as the first person was blown up in their car, I knew that this wasn't going to go well for anybody. Oddly, from the excerpts that begin each chapter, I thought that the character was going to have a future ahead of him. I guess I missed what the date on that interview was.

A lot of stuff happens off-stage, and you have to read those things to understand what's going on.

The bit were the hacker is having a break-down didn't work for me -- this was when one AI murders a second AI which appears to be a part of her own personality. We're left to guess whether or not she'll survive.

There was a second experimental section where the same scene is told side-by-side by two different characters, one who is searching upstairs and the other who is searching downstairs. The problem is that niether character is anybody. They're both extras, and they're both on the same side, so they have essentially the same point of view.

This was weird to read in as an ebook, because I was scrolling, scrolling, scrolling ... and then I have to scroll back. They weren't the same length, so it didn't make sense to go back and forth. If there had been breaks in the text, then maybe it might've made sense to try that, but I didn't.

I enjoyed this book, but I thought it fell about once the resuce went sideways, so I knocked it down a star.


If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.