strange and random happenstance

Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: October 11th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy

Samuel Vimes has finally been made to go on vacation. Sybil insists, as does Lord Ventinari. They have this lovely estate they never go to and young Sam needs country air, and apparently lots of poo to look at. The country is good for poo... but then again, so are the streets of Ankh Morpork... it's just different. Of course, you can take the copper away from the watch house, but Sam will always be a copper. Always asking the uncomfortable question, pushing on people and never willing to let things be. His fellow noblemen, how Sam hates being in the same titled category as the likes of Rust, soon realize that Sam is going to be a problem. A problem that they will solve.

After the local blacksmith disappears after a confrontation with Sam and copious amounts of blood are found on his estate, Sam is "arrested" by the local copper Feeney. It only takes a few minutes to get Feeney over to his side and then the hunt is on for the body that used to contain all that blood. The body is that of a young Goblin girl. Goblins are a tricky subject. They are technically classified as vermin, not creatures capable of love and feeling like Dwarves, Trolls and the like. Sam doesn't care though. I body is a body and if the law has to catch up to him, then so be it. Soon Sam has a plethora of suspects, but they are all lower level henchmen. Sam wants to know all the secrets in this sleepy shire and wants to get all the skeletons out of the closets. He wants who is behind the Goblin problem, and if he has to turn to his darker half, if he has to take on Old Treachery, the dangerous river known for damn slams, then he will. Sam Vimes is a copper to the core!

I felt that this started out so strongly. Snuff was like Terry Pratchett doing a little cosy country mystery with balls and tea promised but with coppers, a la Hot Fuzz. The Pride and Prejudice spoof was one of the best written parodies in all Austen parodies, yes I'm looking at you vampires and zombies. Why didn't I ever think how funny the juxtaposition of a lumberjack would be against Mrs. Bennet? But did we get one ball, one gala? NO! Instead we got a treatise on Goblin rights. About how to categorize sentience from plain vermin. Sam Vimes would not approve of a bait and switch! Unless of course it was to catch a criminal, but he'd have a lot of inner monologues, and I am no criminal.

Snuff is well plotted, which is a rarity in Discworld, where there's usually lots of threads running every which way and then somehow tangling all together at the end, in some sort of knot, if I'm to stick with the thread analogy. Yet, it just didn't work. Maybe Sam Vimes needs his watchmen by his side to maintain the humor. Because Sam has successfully functioned outside Ankh Morpork before, yet not here. If the plot had stuck with the country house and the ingrained superiority of the landed gentry versus the peasants and not brought in the Goblin slaves, then this could have been the best book yet. Instead he retreads familiar ground and eventually ends up making this some sort of sea faring tale with a battle against Old Treachery. Sigh... what could have been... Hot Fuzz meets Jane Austen.

Another disappointment was that I've been reading the Discworld books in order so that I don't miss out on something. They can stand alone, but their cumulative history is so wonderful, knowing the first time Wee Mad Arthur appeared, or getting a joke that would only be gotten had you read the first Witches book. But here I skipped ahead because of my excitement hearing passages at the North American Discworld Convention, I shouldn't have done that... what really happened in Koom Valley!?! I think Thud! has to be required reading to get half of what's going on with Sam's internal monologues. So maybe after I finally get to Thud! (I'm still like nine books behind) and then get back up to Snuff (five books later), I might appreciate this book for what it is and not bemoan what it isn't.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Ankh Morpork, Discworld, Goblins, Hot Fuzz, Jane Austen, Koom Valley, Mrs. Bennet, NADWCon, Pride and Prejudice, Sam Vimes, Snuff, Terry Pratchett, Thud

Well, seeing as October had not one, but two giveaways, I think it's time that I announce the winners, seeing as they have already been notified and are doing little dances of joy (or so I asume from the joy in the emails).

Snuff is being sent out to Carol, who would like to be Susan, as would I, as would I.

Haunted Wisconsin is being sent out to cyn209. Get those lightbulbs changed, you won't want to be in the dark once you start reading this stories!

Thanks to everyone who entered, come back in a week because I have a feeling another fun giveaway will be starting.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 1 comments  

Labels: Giveaway, Haunted Wisconsin, Snuff

Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: October 11th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"At long last, Lady Sybil has lured her husband, Sam Vimes, on a well-deserved holiday away from the crime and grime of Ankh-Morpork. But for the commander of the City Watch, a vacation in the country is anything but relaxing. The balls, the teas, the muck—not to mention all that fresh air and birdsong—are more than a bit taxing on a cynical city-born and -bred copper.

Yet a policeman will find a crime anywhere if he decides to look hard enough, and it’s not long before a body is discovered, and Sam—out of his jurisdiction, out of his element, and out of bacon sandwiches (thanks to his well-meaning wife)—must rely on his instincts, guile, and street smarts to see justice done. As he sets off on the chase, though, he must remember to watch where he steps. . . . This is the countryside, after all, and the streets most definitely are not paved with gold."

Every year the new Terry Pratchett book is something to look forward to. But this year, oh this yeah! I went to the North American Discworld Convention and there was a few select readings from the book. It's Discworld meets Jane Austen, it's all my heart could have wanted with Samuel Vimes. MUST READ NOW!

As the Pig Turns by M.C. Beaton
Published by: Minotaur
Publication Date: October 11th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Winter Parva is a “picturesque” (touristy) Cotswold village with gift shops, a medieval market hall, and thatched cottages. After a disappointing Christmas season, the parish council has decided to hold a special event in January, complete with old-fashioned costumes, morris dancing, and a pig roast on the village green.

Always one for a good roasting, Agatha Raisin organizes an outing to enjoy the merriment. The rotary spit turning over a bed of blazing charcoals is sure to please on this foggy and blistery evening. But as the fog lifts slightly, the sharp-eyed Agatha notices something peculiar about the pig: a tattoo of a heart with an arrow through it and the name Amy.

“Stop!” she screams suddenly. “Pigs don’t have tattoos.”

The “pig,” in fact, is Gary Beech, a policeman not exactly beloved by the locals, including Agatha herself. Although Agatha has every intention of leaving matters to the police, everything changes when the Gary’s ex-wife, Amy, hires Agatha’s detective agency to investigate—and another murder ensues. With that provocation, how could any sleuth as vain and competitive (and secretly insecure) as Agatha do anything other than solve the case herself?"

For my mom, the M.C. Beaton addict (and no, she doesn't want an intervention).

Jane Austen Made Me Do It by Lauren Willig et al
Published by: Balantine
Publication Date: October 11th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
" “My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” If you just heaved a contented sigh at Mr. Darcy’s heartfelt words, then you, dear reader, are in good company. Here is a delightful collection of never-before-published stories inspired by Jane Austen—her novels, her life, her wit, her world.

In Lauren Willig’s “A Night at Northanger,” a young woman who doesn’t believe in ghosts meets a familiar specter at the infamous abbey; Jane Odiwe’s “Waiting” captures the exquisite uncertainty of Persuasion’s Wentworth and Anne as they await her family’s approval of their betrothal; Adriana Trigiani’s “Love and Best Wishes, Aunt Jane” imagines a modern-day Austen giving her niece advice upon her engagement; in Diana Birchall’s “Jane Austen’s Cat,” our beloved Jane tells her nieces “cat tales” based on her novels; Laurie Viera Rigler’s “Intolerable Stupidity” finds Mr. Darcy bringing charges against all the writers of Pride and Prejudice sequels, spin-offs, and retellings; in Janet Mullany’s “Jane Austen, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!” a teacher at an all-girls school invokes the Beatles to help her students understand Sense and Sensibility; and in Jo Beverley’s “Jane and the Mistletoe Kiss,” a widow doesn’t believe she’ll have a second chance at love . . . until a Miss Austen suggests otherwise.

Regency or contemporary, romantic or fantastical, each of these marvelous stories reaffirms the incomparable influence of one of history’s most cherished authors."

Yeah Jane Austen! Yeah lots of authors I love. Sure, it's uneven... but the best stories in here would be worth the price just for one of them!

Twilight the Graphic Novel Volume Two by Syephenie Meyer
Published by: Yen
Publication Date: October 11th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Having uncovered the dark secret of her enigmatic classmate, Edward Cullen, Bella Swan embraces her feelings for him, trusting Edward to keep her safe despite the risks. When a rival clan of vampires makes its way into Forks, though, the danger to Bella has never been more real. Will she make the ultimate sacrifice to protect the people dearest to her?

The second volume of Twilight: The Graphic Novelcompletes the visual adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's worldwide bestselling debut novel and is a must-have for any collector's library."

OMG! I wonder how it ends? No, seriously, how long are the going to take to do all the books as graphic novels?

Haunted Wisconsin by Michael Norman
Published by: University of Wisconsin Press
Publication Date: October 15th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Grab a cozy blanket, light a few flickering candles, and enjoy the unnerving tales of Haunted Wisconsin. Gathered from personal interviews with credible eyewitnesses, on-site explorations, historical archives, newspaper reports, and other sources, these scores of reports date from Wisconsin’s early settlement days to recent inexplicable events.

You’ll read about Wisconsin’s most famous haunted house, Summerwind; three Milwaukee men who encountered the beautiful ghost of National Avenue; a phantom basketball player; a spectral horse that signaled death in the pioneer era of the Wisconsin Dells; a poltergeist in St. Croix County who attracted a crowd of more than three hundred spectators; the Ridgeway Ghost who haunts the driftless valleys of southwestern Wisconsin; a swinging railroad lantern held by unseen hands; the Ghost Island of the Chippewa Flowage; and many others. Are ghosts real? That’s for you to decide!

Now available in a Third Edition with updates and several new accounts, Haunted Wisconsin remains a favorite collection of unexplained midwestern tales, enjoyed by readers of all ages."

Re-release of Michael Norman's Haunted Wisconsin. Love the new cover and edition. Plus, you could win this beautiful new edition thanks to the publishers sending me one! You know you want it!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: As the Pig Turns, Discworld, Haunted Wisconsin, Jane Austen Made Me Do It, Lauren Willig, M.C. Beaton, Michael Norman, Snuff, Terry Pratchett, Twilight

For a short while, all too short, Discworld came to Madison, Wisconsin. From July 8th to the 11th I was a traveller in a very familiar land. Everywhere I went I'd run into favorite characters, from Sergeant Angua to a plethora of Twoflowers. I had a little passport that would be stamped whenever I ventured in this hotel cum fantastical land. I think they might have even placed four giant elephants and a space turtle under it, but I can't prove this... But the highlight was the very center of the con, the man in black... Terry Pratchett. The man who must look around and wonder, what have I done.

Because I live in town, I ventured down the night before to get all my registration taken care of, as well as to sign up for the multitude of crafting sessions my friend Jess and I where determined to participate in (they delayed craft registration till the next morning). Our goals? See everything with Terry Pratchett then craft the hell out of Discworld. Do to my early registration the first thing I would be doing on Friday was meeting Terry Pratchett. Now, this was a bit intimidating. I thought I'd have the whole weekend to prepare, but no. I got up bright and early and headed to the con to succeed in my craftacular registration, of which I succeeded fully! Over the next three days we would be making Igors, crafting our own Nac Mac Feegles, designing our own personal crest and making shambles, of which I was very excited. There where tons more I would have loved to have done, but there's only so much time in a day!

So, to the Terry signing I went, where there was almost a riot. The source? They strictly forbade autographs, based on Terry's Alzheimer's, opting for Terry handing out a special bookplate and stamping our passports. What happened next led to hew and outcry. They said Terry would stamp a book if we had it. HEW CRY WAIL! Me, I got on the phone, located someone in my house, told them to located the turquoise book on the top shelf near the window in my library, the limited edition of I Shall Wear Midnight and deliver it to me outside the Concourse... it was done, it was achieved. I now have the one book I love more than any other stamped, sticker and fingerprinted by the man. The fingerprinting surprised me, it's a far more intimate thing that a signature. I will treasure it always.

Sadly, I didn't really get to say anything to the man himself, because the lady in front of me was sweet but didn't really understand signing line etiquette and I ended up getting bitched at by the guy who kept the flow going... sigh. Felt like a little bit of a wasted opportunity, but then again, these things happen. Also, it's not like I wasn't going to be seeing him every chance I could all weekend!

The opening ceremonies where interesting. They kicked off with a song and dance number to the might Om. Here you can see Om singing with the help of one of his disciples. They where quickly eshewed away and the Seamstresses Guild took over. They where the ones who initiated this con back in 2009... but even for founders, I started to get sick of all the double entendres rather quickly.  As a woman, I don't think I'd like to be making aspersions against my character for four days straight.


Terry was then brought forth and the Gods of Discworld paid tribute to him. One of the gods took a bit of a tumble and had to get stitches, but it didn't slow down the ceremony, and the paramedics attended to her backstage. Apparently she was in her 80s! Back to the ceremony. Two amusing things, Terry very much liked Bastet, the cat God, even pulling her tail, and the God with the bubbles was fun two. One thing learned from this. Terry is very bad at remembering to speak into the microphone, no matter how many times people try to fix it. Therefore, I was glad I was used to arriving at events early. For the ceremonies I was in the second or third row... barring one incident, I was in the front row for every other talk he did.

After the opening ceremonies, there was to be a reading. AKA "Reading with Rob." Rob Wilkins is Terry's assistant. So while Terry sat back and relaxed (yes, that does involve removing the ever present hat!) Rob read. Now, I should mention, I'm not the best at listening to people talk for long periods of time. As Patrick Rothfuss has said, he starts to see peoples interest waning after the first 15 minutes. Hence he likes to do small little bits to keep people awake. I agree with Pat. I am horrible after about 5 minutes. I remember I went to a reading of Dante's Inferno at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York for Maundy Thursday... so dull... so long... in fact, the person who signed their section was the most interesting part. Anyway, here I was, front row for an hour long reading. Was I crazy? Well, yes, that's been long since established. But rumors where that he was going to be reading from Snuff, the upcoming Discworld novel. This made me excited. This reading also made me fall a little bit in love with Rob Wilkins.

Rob takes such joy in what he reads, sometimes having to pause the regain his composure. I don't know if I will ever be able to read a Discworld book again without hearing him in my head. I hadn't read much up on Snuff, so imagine my surprise when it's Samuel Vimes going to his wife's estate in the country. It's Discworld does period miniseries. Sam Vimes does Pride and Prejudice. It was so funny and wonderful that I didn't want it to end. Knowing that I'd have to wait till this month, three whole months after hearing Rob read was a harsh blow. I want to know more about the apples that go up versus down. I just need it now!

While listening to Rob I also started to devise a theory, I'm very good at multitasking. Rob seems to combine all the best of British actors I like. I saw a bit of Adrian Lukis, aka that naughty Wickham from Pride and Prejudice. But then Rob smiled and, dear lord, if it wasn't the smile of Richard Armitage I would be struck down. At this point I was kind of a goner in my Rob crush. My friend Jess said that there was a little bit of Martin Freeman she could see peaking through. So here is the Rob Wilkins mathematical formulae:

After the reading I went forth and retrived my Jess from the airport and had some dinner with my Matt and Jess (ironically at a restaurant besieged by Discworld people). After dinner we had a production by The Cromulent Shakespeare Company doing a play of The Wyrd Sisters. It had luckily been long enough since I read it so that it wasn't predictable. Magrat was a little too masculine and hippy dippy for me, but Granny Weatherwax, though being portrayed by a young woman, so had the posture and just all out presence of Granny Weatherwax it was amazingly well done. I was very happy and surprised by how fun and good it was, even if a little embarrassed that when there was this audience participation part and we had to jump in a circle and I found out that Terry Pratchett was standing behind me, seeing me in all my wacko glory. After a quick trip to the Seamstress Guild's party, to bed to bed, for there where to be Igors bright and early in the morning.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Angua, Bastet, Dante's Inferno, I Shall Wear Midnight, Martin Freeman, NADWCon, Om, Pride and Prejudice, Richard Armitage, Rob Wilkins, Snuff, Terry Pratchett, The Wyrd Sisters, Twoflower

In lieu of Oktoberfest, I have decided to have a fest of truly festive proportions that I would go to any day, ie, Pratchett (P)fest! Ok, so I usually devote the month of his new release to him anyway... but I got to make a (P)fest... doesn't that could for something? Plus October is Halloween, and there's just scads of zombies and vampires and werewolves in his books (of course most of them work for the Night Watch...) But back on track, this month Snuff is released. This will be the 39th Discworld book as well as a return to those wondrous of Night Watchmen and of course, Samuel Vimes! I'm sure you all have been anxiously awaiting this book, as well as all the tales I have to tell about this years North American Discworld Convention that a) I was bragging about in July and b) led to July not having many blog posts. I was saving them dear readers! Saving them and reliving them and dwelling on them... I got to meet Terry Pratchett!?! Still doesn't seem real. But if it wasn't real then how do I know that Snuff will be the best book yet? Because at the convention there was a plethora of readings from it! It's like someone took Sam Vimes and dumped him in a Jane Austen novel. It's such an awesome collision of all the things I love and I will therefore probably be boring you silly over the coming weeks. But you have a chance to win something at least!

Besides what's a (P)fest without (p)resents?


Prize: Snuff, the 39th Discworld book plus the Jane Austen book of your choice

The Rules:
1. Open to EVERYONE, just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter, you just get more entries if you prove you love me by following.
2. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if your name is drawn, either your blogger profile or a link to your website/blog or you could even include your email address with your comment(s).
3. Contest ends Monday, October 31st at 11:59PM CST (Yes, that's Halloween y'all)
4. How to enter:

Answer me this: Which character would you like to be in Discworld? Note, that's it's not your favorite. Because Rincewind might be your favorite, but I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to be him, what with all the dangerous situations that he's thrust into... but then again, maybe your what The Luggage as you sidekick...

5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

• +1 for answering the question above
• +2 for becoming a follower
• +10 if you are already a follower
• +10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @MzLizard), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link!
• +25 if you comment on any of the posts this month, with something other than "I hope I win" or a variation thereof.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 1 comments  

Labels: Discworld, Giveaway, NADWCon, Pratchett (P)fest, Rincewind, Sam Vimes, Snuff, Terry Pratchett, The Night Watch