West With Giraffes (Rutledge)

West with Giraffes
Lynda Rutledge (2023)

(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 aleternate selection. It was my month to select three books, and I immediately put the books, ebooks, and/or audiobooks on hold at the libraries. This book, however, was only available in hard cover and when it arrived, I only read about half of it before it had to be returned. I thought about keeping it late and returning it, but I didn't want to rush it, and I had other things to read, I'm sure. So I returned it and got it back a couple months later.

There is one thing about this that reminds me of Titanic, and that's the fact that this historical drama involves an event from so long ago that the narrator involved needed to be over a hundred years old. It's a framing device to make the story more compelling, I guess, but I wonder if it'll seem a little odd to folks who check this out a decade from now. Maybe not.

The other good thing about using this technique is that the narrator doesn't need to get everything exactly right. On the other hand, there are newspaper clippings which support the story.

First, the history lesson, during the Depression, two giraffes arrived by boat to New York City, and they needed to be transported to the San Diego Zoo. There was a terrible storm when the ship made port like hadn't been seen in NYC in a long time, and one of the giraffes ("Girl") injured her leg. This meant that the injury had to be watched closely and that time was of the essence to get them across the country.

Some of the characters in the book are based on living people. The protagonist, Woodrow Wilson Nickel (aka Woody Nickel) is the author's invention. He's a young teen, who fled the Dust Bowl and death and had nothing going on for him. He sees the giraffes and follows them through quarantine. The giraffes like him, and the Old Man (if his name is mentioned, I've forgotten it) hires him temporarily, but he ends up making it most of the way across the country.

They get into a few scrapes along the way. And they are followed by a young, female photographer who reportedly stole the car she's driving. Woody is quite taken with her, and she seems to like him. She is married, however, if only for the time being, and Woody is just shy of his 18th birthday (which occurs along the way).

History tells us that the giraffes made it to San Diego, but what happens to the major players?

This was an enjoyable book, so there's no reason to spoil it. But you know that Woody will end up in a nursing home at 105 where he'll quickly scribble what he remembers while he still can. (He even "sees" giraffes out his window, so his mind is going a little.)

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my new book series that starts with, 7 Flashes of Science Fiction, seven glimpses into possible futures for our world and the worlds around us.

The Three-Body Problem (Liu Cixin)

The Three-Body Problem
Liu Cixin (2008)

[AUDIO ONLY -- no image]

(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've had this ebook for a long time. I started it once or twice and didn't really get into it. It's been suggested by Libby before, and I thought, why not just listen to it? If I like it, maybe I'll read it after. I listened. I don't know if I'll read it.

I know that the Three-Body Problem deals with three objects in a stable orbit about one another. If you were to look at an animated .GIF file, it would be interesting to look at. Adding to this is a fourth object, which would be a planet in such a system. All of this appears to the main character as a very realistic interactive game. She witnesses several civilizations fall as stable eras become chaotic eras when the population needs to dehydrate themselves so that they can be brought back in the next stable era.

(Another piece of confusion -- the book starts at the time of the revolution in China but jumps ahead to the present time. This was lost on me in the sporadic listening I was doing. Also, it was narrated by a male, so I wasn't always aware when the character speaking was female.)

I honestly couldn't tell you what was going on it the rest of the book outside the game. She is a scientist in China, so everyone needs to toe the party line or at least keep it in mind.

We also find out that Trisolaris (if I remember correctly) turns out to be real and when they are contacted, they insist that Earth not contact them again, lest they be invaded. But Earth does. What will the next four centuries bring?

I listened to the opening chapters twice (which is getting to be a habit). And I listened to the ending twice, just to make sure that I heard the ending. It did just seem to stop to me. But I probably just missed stuff along the way.

The book was okay. I don't know if I'm reading it later. I might watch it on Netflix though.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my new book series that starts with, 7 Flashes of Science Fiction, seven glimpses into possible futures for our world and the worlds around us.

On Earth as It Is on Television (Jane)

On Earth as It Is on Television
Emily Jane (2023)

[AUDIO ONLY -- no image]

(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 random audiobook selection that I found in a library app. It suffered from being an audiobook on a few fronts. First, the multiple POV shifts made it confusing to follow when I started and stopped too often, so I had to listen on longer walks (not to the subway in the morning). Second, it was just difficult keeping track of the characters and I wasn't always sure where I was. Third, some of the voice work, particularly the kids talking about "Mr. Meow Mitts" were really, really annoying. Really.

Whatever everyone had going on in their lives, and there was something for everyone, it all took a strange turn when alien ships enter the atmosphere. And then, even stranger, the ships all left, and no one knows why. Why did they come all this way and then just leave?

Also, any time someone acts a little strange, there's talk of trying to peel their skin off to see if they're really an alien. The kids think their dad might be one. (Not really a spoiler: He's not, but Mom is.)

We later learn that aliens have been living among us for some time. They were supposed to be watching and not interfering, but they didn't know how long they were going to be her, or even if they're stuck here, so they joined humanity. (They don't actually look like us, but they were "downloaded" into human bodies.) Some of them know about each other even though they aren't supposed to. One of them was even a "Jeopardy" champion and met Alex Trebek. (They've been here a while.)

The main characters all seem to be on the move for one reason or another, and all of them seem to have cats with them, some of which can talk to their companions.

As far as I can tell, the original dropping off aliens was 20 years earlier and went unnoticed. The ships arriving now was basically sending a message that they'd be coming back soon. Things work out somewhat for most of the aliens although we never actually learn how many are hear because, again, they aren't supposed to know.

The book was okay, except for the annoying kids (and "Mr. Meow Mitts"). I don't think I'm come back to reading it unless my book club somehow chooses it, and I'm not recommending it.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my new book series that starts with, 7 Flashes of Science Fiction, seven glimpses into possible futures for our world and the worlds around us.

Bourbon Penn 21, July 2020

Bourbon Penn 21, July 2020

(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've been aware of Bourbon Penn from the Submissions Grinder, but I hadn't actually seen a copy until a couple of conventions ago. Now I have three print editions (perfect for pool reading). A quick check tells me that the stories are available online for free (https://www.bourbonpenn.com/issue/21), so I could read these whenever I'm at my desk.

This was an interesting collection (over 150 pages long, so I can count it as a book) of odd science fiction and fantasy, and I enjoyed most of them (as well as pool time).

A quick rundown of the stories:

• "To Inherit Hunger" by Crystal Lynn Hilbert starts off with a child being able to see her mother's hallucinations. It's a condition that her mother inherited from her father. They become more real and tangible as time goes on, causing brain damage and finally death. Jillian starts to figure out that her mother's condition could be something else, and she tries to solve it logically, but her mother doesn't cooperate. At one point, she forces her mother's hands above her hand to see if she can touch the birds flying overhead -- and her mother tells her that there's nothing there. Jillian is showing symptons. There is a puzzle to solve and a twist in the conclusion.
• "Patchwork" by Maria Dones confused me a little, switching between two worlds: a princess and a dragon, and the popular girl sitting on the bus next to a dorky kid who can help with an assignment. The ending left me scratching my head a little as to which was which.
• "Unnamed Government Agency" by Josh Pearce suffered from my reading it in two parts over two days. The second day, I was having trying remembering the first. You have "Men" in black, codenamed Eye, Ear, and Voice, which name the function that the mainly serve, investigating some weirdness or other. There were also characters named Aural and Iris, unless they were Ear and Eye, or maybe a different Ear and Eye. I didn't follow this one, and it left me confused but not in a good way. It wasn't quite as X-Files as I would've liked. But I did like that someone was Eyes of the group, etc.
• "Carrion Coast Highway" by Barton Aikman is a post-apocalyptic tale (I assume) with the two main characters searching for a farm that they'd heard about. There's a bit about beached whales and another with animals on the mountains jumping off and ascending (which was unexplained, except that it doesn't work for humans). It just ends in a less than satisfying way. It also ends with a plot hole, or a plot gaffe. It mentions in the closing pages that they stole the car, and that they used a rock to break a window. However, when they arrive, they say they don't need the car any more and toss the key on the seat. Okay, so then why did they need to break a window if they had a key? This was also just a subplot to show that they weren't nice people. (In fact, they're bad people.)
• "Blow Flies" by Erin K. Wagner doesn't seem to have an obvious speculative element in it unless I'm oblivious, or unless the guy that I thought was dead was actually undead. A woman gets a message for her husband from his parents that he never wants to see that see to come quick because there isn't much time. She goes instead. She isn't exactly welcome as it isn't her house and the note wasn't for her. This one didn't do anything for me.
• "Disappearer" by Jason Baltazar had it's good points and dull points. It did manage to go in a direction that I didn't expect, which was nice, but the plot after we learn of Maddox's condition -- he accidentally makes things disappear -- is a bit cliche to the point of embarrasment. Granted, the author is Salvadoran, so I can assume he's writing the half-white, half-Salvadoran Maddox from some kind of experience, but the behavior of the drunk cop in the story (who used to date Maddox's mother) would've been over the top in the 1950s. Maddox has a smart mouth, and Officer Ferrin isn't just going to arrest him, he's ready to put bullets into him for resisting arrest. The officer even calls in that Maddox is armed without giving a location. I don't remember him taking a backup weapon from anywhere (glove compartment?) to plant as evidence of that. The bright spot is that Maddox doesn't make Ferrin disappear, which one might expect as he's trying to escape.

I didn't recognize any of the author's names from any other magazines or from conventions. Their bios indicate that they've all been published elsewhere in magazines that I've heard of although not necessarily have read.

The cover doesn't go with a story. It's by Fintan Magee and is titled "The Plague". There's no story (meaning an explanation) behind it, but Magee does get a much longer bio than the authors do.

Final words: I enjoyed a few of these, but it didn't really give me any idea what kinds of stories to write for this magazine, but I'm pretty sure that the ones I have available wouldn't be accepted if I sent them. (They are a lower paying market, but they do pay.)

And I'll probably read the next one of these instead of switching magazines.

This one will be going into a Little Free Library in the neighborhood.

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 Fourth Consort (Ashton)

The Fourth Consort
Edward Ashton (2025)

[AUDIO ONLY -- no image]

(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 random audiobook selection that I found in a library app. It was pretty good for walking around. As I mentioned in a different write-up, I may recommend this along with Between Two Fires and Dragon Teeth for my book club if I get another turn soon. (I also said that this review was coming soon -- and then promptly forgot about it!)

Not exaggerating -- since I listened to this, I listened to another book twice, plus another sci-fi book, and I'm in the middle of one more. I need to catch up.

Imagine that there's a federation of planets, except that Earth doesn't run it. In fact, there are only a couple of Terrans involved, and they work for giant snails of Unity. These Terrans are left on a planet of insectlike minarchs to start arranging a treaty. Their mother ship is destroyed in a confrontation with the Assembly, and they're waiting for a rescue. The Assembly's representative is Breaker, a giant stickman or sorts.

The intrigue comes not only from two rival factions of galactic confederation trying to win a planet, but from political intrigue with the minarchs themselves. First Among Equals meets with the human Dalton and gets named her Fourth Consort, which is unheard of and problematic. Dalton now has protected status but cannot leave the compound. He meets the Second Consort and Third Consort and discovers that the First Consort has been consumed by First Among Equals.

Also, escaping and hiding can be a problem because that would basically turn the planet over to the Assembly, and the snails would be so unhappy that the two humans would lose everything they have and be banished somewhere.

The clash of cultures plays out, especially considering that the minarchs are matriarchal, and that the stickman holds humans responsible for the death of his partner (translation confidence is low on that word). Dalton basically has a target on his back despite protections. He winds up as a second in a challenge for a disgraced minarch because no other minarch would stand by her, and as a result of his actions ends up in a duel of his own that will likely lead to his torture long before his death.

Spoiler: it does not. However, he's still not exactly safe, and he has decisions to make regarding his future as well as Neera's. (She's the other human, who has worked for the snails for much longer.)

This was enjoyable to listen to and I wouldn't mind reading it at some point in the future, if I don't forget about it.

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.