Author: Nicky

Review – The Zoo

Posted July 31, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Zoo by Isobel CharmanThe Zoo, Isobel Charman

The cover promises the “wild and wonderful” tale of the founding of the London Zoo, but it isn’t really very wild, though you might decide it’s still wonderful in its way. It certainly was a heck of a task, and the fact that the London Zoo still exists is amazing considering some of the difficulties they had. The style is rather fictionalised — mentioning exactly what Charman imagines the protagonists of the story think and feel — and it doesn’t always stick very closely to the founding of the zoo itself. For example, there’s a whole chapter on Darwin, at least as long as the others, and yet of all of them he has almost nothing to do with the actual business of the zoo.

It’s not all about the zoo, then, but the story it tells is an interesting one, and I did enjoy the stories of men that might have been left out of the story in another time — the first vet, the keepers, etc. The people who did the day to day work on the ground, not just the people who designed the buildings or paid for things.

A little slow, really; it was a bit too fictional to give me the sort of details I want in my non-fiction, but too dry for my tastes as a work of fiction.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – The Murder of my Aunt

Posted July 30, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Murder of My Aunt by Richard HullThe Murder of my Aunt, Richard Hull

The narrator of most of this book is, by design, pretty repugnant — and honestly, I find the other characters so too, even when we get a little glimpse of the other side of the story. The satisfaction here is in seeing their plans come to grief, and waiting for everyone to get their comeuppance. There’s something satisfying in Hull’s skill about putting together these characters, but at the same time it feels like it would’ve worked better as a short story. Enough time to get the gist, without enough to start getting truly frustrated by the general horribleness (and stupidity, too).

It’s an entertaining enough read, but I was glad when it was over, too!

Rating: 3/5

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Discussion: The Rights of the Reader

Posted July 30, 2018 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

I’m fairly sure a lot of people have heard of Daniel Pennac’s book, The Rights of the Reader, maybe without knowing quite where it comes from (since the book itself is originally in French). Quentin Blake’s illustrations help with that, given the posters of the rights plus his illustrations that you can get, and I know I have seen those around.

Anyway, if you’re curious you can read my review of the book here, which is mostly about getting kids reading instead of the rules’ general applicability, but this post is actually about the rights themselves. And here they are, illustrated by Quentin Blake (click to embiggen):

  1. The right not to read.
    Seems like good sense to me. Who wants to feel forced to read? There are some situations where I guess you do have to read the book, like literature classes. Even there, I think there should be room for wriggling. I did a crime fiction course at Cardiff University, and one of the books included was a transphobic, rapey mess with tortures lovingly described in practically every chapter. I did feel that maybe we should’ve at least been given some warning about that one.
    Also, you know that feeling where everyone’s been reading a book so you should hurry up and do it too? Yeah, I think this right covers that, too. Read what you want to, when you want to. In other words, Mum, I’ll read Republic of Thieves when I’m good and ready.
  2. The right to skip.
    Read the ending first? Skip a gross scene or a boring chapter? Skip ahead to your favourite bit? All good with me, I’m all for this right.
  3. The right not to finish a book.
    I know a lot of people don’t like not finishing a book, but I’m all for it — I’ve already done a discussion post about it. Again, I just don’t see the point in feeling forced to read something you’re not enjoying. Unless you’re sort of masochistic about books, I guess. Actually, Quentin Blake’s illustration looks like he’s thinking that means just waiting to finish a book you’re enjoying, and hey, that’s valid too.
  4. The right to read it again.
    Something I’m clearly for, if you hang around here at all. Again, I have a whole post on it.
  5. The right to read anything.
    Screw the idea of guilty pleasures or feeling weird because the book’s actually aimed at middle grade readers or whatever. Read for pure joy and if it makes you happy, that’s great.
  6. The right to mistake a book for real life. 
    “It me!” Also referred to in the book as “Bovary-ism”. Because who doesn’t want to imagine they’re an interdimensional Librarian? Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what this one is meant to mean anymore, but if it means getting so caught up in a book it matters more than whatever else is on your plate, I’ve been there and done that and those are some of the absolute best books.
  7. The right to read anywhere.
    Okay, don’t do anything dangerous, but if you want to read sitting in the kitchen sink (high five if you know that reference) or while walking (with a careful eye on traffic) to work, then more power to you. I’ve read in bed, on trains, on planes, sitting on the stairs, sitting on a wall, sitting in the hall… and I’ve no doubt the list will keep growing.
  8. The right to dip in.
    Sounds a bit like the right to skip, to me. Actually, I’m kind of against this one for myself — I start at the beginning and go on until I come to the end, or give up. But hey, if you like reading random chapters or the middle book of a series, why not?
  9. The right to read out loud.
    I actually like to whisper the words to myself as I read. It’s not like I read to, and I read faster silently, but I love the shape and taste of words, and I kinda hate that I have to give that up in public for fear of being weird. (Also when my sister is in the room, because the whispers annoy her.)
  10. The right to be quiet.
    Nobody should disturb you when you’re reading.

I can think of some other ones, some more silly than others — the right to fill a book with bookmarks at strategic points while I’m reading so I can track my progress. The right to babble to others about the exciting thing I’m reading. The right to give other people books you think they’ll love. The right to differ from other people about a book (I’m sorry, I just don’t get some authors).

But really, it all comes down to one golden rule, which if you read my blog you can probably guess. Everyone deserves…

THE RIGHT TO ENJOY THE HECK OUT OF READING BY WHATEVER MEANS NECESSARY FOR THEM.

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Review – The Battle of the Sun

Posted July 29, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of The Battle of the Sun by Jeanette WintersonThe Battle of the Sun, Jeannette Winterson

I remember quite enjoying Tanglewreck, so I was somewhat surprised to be rather unhappy with The Battle of the Sun. The opening is fairly promising — the description of Jack being so, so eager for his spaniel, so full of thoughts of the spaniel, that he’s practically a spaniel himself, it really works and paints exactly the picture it needs to. Not that vivid imagery has ever been a problem for Winterson, and it’s so surprise that her writing is poetic and vivid and phantasmagoric.

However, it’s also quicksilver, jumping from thought to thought, and things aren’t explained — they just happen, one after another, and who knows why? I can’t remember if I found Tanglewreck to be like that, but I can’t say I enjoyed it in this book. In the end, I zipped through to the end on my ereader and put it down with a sigh of relief. Just not one that worked for me.

Rating: 2/5

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Review – Crooked Kingdom

Posted July 28, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of Crooked Kingdom by Leigh BardugoCrooked Kingdom, Leigh Bardugo

It took me a while to get into this — around 50% of the book, actually — because it all felt like Kaz was being driven by Van Eck, instead of the crew banding together and calling the shots, which I badly wanted after the ending of Six of Crows. Kaz felt too cold and distant for a lot of it, and his POV took a long time to come round. Still, once it did, I did enjoy the way Kaz’s need for vengeance was handled, and his difficulties in touching people and expressing his feelings, etc. There’s a great bit which just describes perfectly how those OCD behaviours get established if you don’t fight them every step of the way.

And once you hit that 50% mark, the crew really start to take back what’s theirs and fight back, and it’s a lot of fun. Wylan and Jesper’s relationship is adorable, and I rather enjoy Jesper’s father’s part as well. The comeuppance is great, and the end of the book did not go quite exactly as I’d pictured. Gah, some of the last imagery of Nina and Matthias… But ahh, Inej’s ending is everything I needed, and Wylan’s position at the end is awesome.

If you enjoyed Six of Crows, you’ll probably enjoy this, and if you find it slow at first you probably just need to hold out for about 50% of the way through.

Rating: 4/5

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted July 28, 2018 by Nicky in General / 10 Comments

Good morning, folks! Here it is mostly far too warm and I am very much hoping that when I travel back to the UK on Tuesday, it’s going to be cooler there. Mind you, I hope it cools down here too, because the bunnies are too warm to even be nuisances, which is always worrying.

Received to review:

Cover of Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley

Read this week:

Cover of Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo Cover of The Zoo by Isobel Charman Cover of The Murder of My Aunt by Richard Hull Cover of The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman

Reviews posted this week:

–Hadrian’s Wall, by David Breeze and Brian Dobson. Lots and lots of info, most of which the layperson won’t want to memorise, but interestingly presented. 4/5 stars
–Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky. A book I enjoyed a great deal, although a good bit of my review is puzzling over the science! 4/5 stars
–Human Universe, by Brian Cox and Andrew Cohen. Very much a book by Brian Cox, so it’s quite physics-focused, but more comprehensible to the non-math minded than, say, Universal. 3/5 stars
–The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All The Way Home, by Catherynne M. Valente. A lovely end to a lovely series. 4/5 stars
–The Henchmen of Zenda, by K.J. Charles. An entertaining rewrite which doesn’t quite rehabilitate the Zenda side of the conflict, but adds some interesting motivations. 3/5 stars
–Thirteen Guests, by J. Jefferson Farjeon. I find something really moreish about this author’s books: it’s a shame I only have a couple left to read. Thank goodness the love story in this one is far less creepy, though. 4/5 stars
–Gorgon, by Peter D. Ward. Mostly about Ward’s work in the field, rather than actually being about gorgonopsids. Interesting in its way, but not quite what it says it’s going to be. 3/5 stars

Other posts:

–Discussion: Rereading. Once more, probably predictably, I argue in favour of reading for fun, whatever that might be, and never letting it turn into work for any reason.
–WWW Wednesday. My usual weekly update on what I’m currently reading.
–Find me elsewhere. If you feel like checking out my other blogs…

Out and about:

–NEAT science: the first giant. Wanna read about one of the earliest giant dinosaurs?
–NEAT science: should boys get the HPV vaccine? Spoiler: yes. Obviously.
–Once Upon A Blue Moon: ‘How The Story Goes’. A short (very short) story about two men and a woman and a story many of us know very well indeed. If you’re a fan of Arthuriana, this one might just be for you.

So how’s everyone doing? Too warm where you are, or not so bad? Plenty of reading getting done?

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Find me elsewhere

Posted July 27, 2018 by Nicky in General / 0 Comments

Interrupting your normal scheduled posts here to point out to anyone new that you can find me elsewhere online! I have two other blogs, and one of them is brand new.

First we have, of course, my popular science blog. I suspect it’ll always be biology-heavy, because I’m a biologist, but it’s partly based on what I get questions about. So feel free to make me put my research skills to work and ask me awkward questions…

Notable posts have included an introduction to my dissertation, experimental proof that reading is good for me, a warning about the upcoming post-antibiotic world, and an explanation of why science is WEIRD.

Then we’ve got my fiction blog, which is brand new and which you can find here. It’s a bit of an experiment for now, but let’s see what happens.

And because it’s so new, there’s only one post: a 300-word piece of fiction called How the Story Goes.

So hey, if those interest you, now you know they’re out there and can follow them or drop in occasionally. Don’t forget to wave!

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Review – Gorgon

Posted July 27, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Gorgon by Peter D WardGorgon, Peter D. Ward

If you’re looking for information on the gorgonopsids and their world, this book is rather thin on that. Instead, it’s mostly about Ward’s career and some of his excavations and initiatives. Admittedly, much of that is in the service of getting information about the gorgonopsids, but the book is rather thin on what was actually found. There is some interesting stuff on pinning down that mass extinction and figuring out how fast it happened, but the gorgonopsids in life — how they lived, what they did — are absent.

So pretty interesting in terms of understanding Ward’s career as a palaeontologist, with the appropriate set pieces about how hot it was and how difficult, etc, etc, but low on actual pre-dinosaurian monsters ruling the Earth.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Thirteen Guests

Posted July 26, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Thirteen Guests by J. Jefferson FarjohnThirteen Guests, J. Jefferson Farjeon

Like Seven Dead, this actually includes a love story as well, although of a rather different stripe (and maybe a bit less of the focus, since neither party is seriously suspected of the murders). It’s less prominent than the love story in Seven Dead, and thankfully less creepy as well, with some rather good scenes between the two of them negotiating their relationship. At the same time, there’s a convoluted mystery going on with several deaths, complex interrelationships and, well, the usual stock in trade of Golden Age crime fiction, really. It’s a country house mystery, too, just to hit all those traditional notes.

I found it solidly entertaining, and though it’s a bit less weird/creepy than Seven Dead, I think it was probably stronger for it. There’s something about Farjeon’s writing that I find rather more-ish, and I’d gladly pick up a bunch more of his novels. Sadly, I only seem to have The Z Murders left… though I should check for something by other publishers or maybe as an ebook.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – The Henchmen of Zenda

Posted July 25, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Henchmen of Zenda by KJ CharlesThe Henchmen of Zenda, K.J. Charles

If you don’t know The Prisoner of Zenda, then I doubt this will be of much interest — and I think you’d also have to be interested in m/m romance to really appreciate it, as well. With both those things in mind, it’s a fun romp, turning aspects of The Prisoner of Zenda on their head and making a little more of two background characters, and particularly the flamboyant and unrepentant Rupert of Hentzau. Detchard is a total cipher in the original book, really, so he makes good ground for Charles to play with in rewriting the story.

Ultimately, is it an amazing work of literature? No. Does it do anything particularly new or interesting in rewriting The Prisoner of Zenda? Also no (though I enjoyed that Charles didn’t try too hard, Black Michael is still as black as he’s painted). It doesn’t depart too far from the original, though I enjoyed the friendship between Detchard and Antoinette, and Rupert’s actual loyalties, as additions to the original plot.

It may not be very startling, but it’s solid fun, and I do enjoy the bantering, slightly adversarial relationship between Detchard and Rupert. Charles doesn’t lay it on too thick or try to change the essentials of the characters, and it produces a good romp.

Rating: 3/5

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