strange and random happenstance

I love to think back to the North American Discworld Convention in 2011 as the short time I physically lived in Discworld. Terry Pratchett's books have transported me there many times, but to have a physical passport and walk among people who were living the same immersion experience I was, well, that was truly unique. As an added bonus a few of my other favorite authors were along for the journey. There was Esther Friesner, Patrick Rothfuss, Stephen Baxter, and the rumors of Neil Gaiman. Since day one of the con the rumors had been spreading that the reason the Good Omens panel had been moved from it's scheduled time on Saturday to Sunday was because Neil himself would be coming. To have Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett in the same room together would be ecstasy. This seemed like it was literally too good to be true yet the whispers continued. I started to get swept up in the anticipation of possibly FINALLY seeing Neil Gaiman. My mind was making pro/con lists and I kept hoping that the pro of Neil actually living in Wisconsin would tip the scales. I couldn't concentrate on making my Sock Mac Feegle, I couldn't keep my lunch down. I was like an overexcited small child who was destined for a tantrum and in need of a nap.

That afternoon the crush to get into the main hall was epic. I wasn't the only one who was willing to believe in rumors and hearsay. But as it happens, sometimes there are glittering moments in your life when everything aligns and rumors are true. The cheers, which must have been heard blocks away, started before I could even see them. People were soon on their feet as Neil and Terry came into view. Then just hearing Neil speak. That voice! It was just enough to hear his voice. The panel was oddly voyeuristic. I felt like I was sitting watching Neil and Terry just chatting in their living room. They recounted many stories about how Good Omens was written, many of the anecdotes I'd read about before, but it was different seeing them reminisce. They also upheld the belief that at one point the book started writing itself because there is one line they both love but they swear neither of them wrote. They also discussed taking the picture for the back cover of the book. Terry remembers thinking how cool the "black and white" look would be, only Neil laid claim to the black so he was nice and warm in this cemetery, in winter, in England. While Terry was wearing a pair of very lightweight cricket pants and all the cricket accoutrement, being the only white clothes they could find at that time of year. Therefore you have the cool laid back Gaiman who spent the day climbing on tombstones, and a cold Pratchett huddling in the meager warmth of the mausoleum.

At one point they sang a bit of a They Might be Giants song and at another point, while recounting meeting a crazy person who wanted to buy the rights to the book demonstrated their "escape plan." They where to employ the code word "Biggles." But this lady was so beyond Biggles levels they both started to pretend to fly, in a move the fictional pilot would heartily approve. When Neil, near the end of the wondrous hour, got up and stood at the podium near me, he realized just how big the room was. Literally everyone from the convention came... well, they kept telling us not to miss it? And have I said... rumors? Here was Neil going, "Wow, there's people over here." It was nice to finally see his face and not just his dulcet tones. The podium had a purpose, of which Terry was suspicious. Turns out Neil was there to present the 2010 Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy to Terry for I Shall Wear Midnight, a serious contender for my favorite Terry Pratchett book ever. Terry was very humble with his short speech: "About Bloody Time." I don't know if any author event or panel could ever live up to this. Since then Terry is sadly gone and Neil doesn't do as many events. But at least I can say I was there. Also, it wasn't the only time I was destined to see Neil.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Biggles, Esther Friesner, Gaiman Gala, Gaiman Reminiscence, Good Omens, I Shall Wear Midnight, Nac Mac Feegles, NADWCon, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss, Rumors, Stephen Baxter, Terry Pratchett, They Might Be Giants

The Long Cosmos by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: June 14th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The thrilling conclusion to the internationally bestselling Long Earth series explores the greatest question of all: What is the meaning of life?

2070-71. Nearly six decades after Step Day, a new society continues to evolve in the Long Earth. Now, a message has been received: “Join us.”

The Next—the hyper-intelligent post-humans—realize that the missive contains instructions for kick-starting the development of an immense artificial intelligence known as The Machine. But to build this computer the size of an Earth continent, they must obtain help from the more populous and still industrious worlds of mankind.

Meanwhile, on a trek in the High Meggers, Joshua Valienté, now nearing seventy, is saved from death when a troll band discovers him. Living among the trolls as he recovers, Joshua develops a deeper understanding of this collective-intelligence species and its society. He discovers that some older trolls, with capacious memories, act as communal libraries, and live on a very strange Long Earth world, in caverns under the root systems of trees as tall as mountains.

Valienté also learns something much more profound . . . about life and its purpose in the Long Earth: We cultivate the cosmos to maximize the opportunities for life and joy in this universe, and to prepare for new universes to come."

So bittersweet. An intriguing series coming to an end all the sadder because of Terry Pratchett's passing. 

The Gallery by Laura Marx Fitzgerald
Published by: Dial Books
Publication Date: June 14th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A riveting historical art mystery for fans of Chasing Vermeer and The Westing Game, set in the Roaring Twenties!

It's 1929, and twelve-year-old Martha has no choice but to work as a maid in the New York City mansion of the wealthy Sewell family. But, despite the Gatsby-like parties and trimmings of success, she suspects something might be deeply wrong in the household—specifically with Rose Sewell, the formerly vivacious lady of the house who now refuses to leave her room. The other servants say Rose is crazy, but scrappy, strong-willed Martha thinks there’s more to the story—and that the paintings in the Sewell’s gallery contain a hidden message detailing the truth. But in a house filled with secrets, nothing is quite what it seems, and no one is who they say. Can Martha follow the clues, decipher the code, and solve the mystery of what’s really going on with Rose Sewell?

Inspired by true events described in a fascinating author’s note, The Gallery is a 1920s caper told with humor and spunk that readers today will love."

Um, this does kind of scream me doesn't it? Plus that cover is divine!

Sidney Chambers and the Danger of Temptation by James Runcie
Published by: Bloomsbury USA
Publication Date: June 14th, 2016
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"It's the summer of love in late 1960s England. Basil D'Oliveira has just been dropped from the English cricket team before for a test series in apartheid South Africa; the war in Biafra dominates the news; and the Apollo 11 astronauts are preparing to land on the moon. In the midst of all this change, Sidney Chambers, now Archdeacon of Ely Cathedral, is still up to his amateur sleuthing investigations.

A bewitching divorcee enlists Sidney's help in convincing her son to leave a hippie commune; at a soiree on Grantchester Meadows during May Week celebrations, a student is divested of a family heirloom; Amanda's marriage runs into trouble; Sidney and Hildegard holiday behind the Iron Curtain; Mrs Maguire's husband returns from the dead and an arson attack in Cambridge leads Sidney to uncover a cruel case of blackmail involving his former curate.

In the rare gaps between church and crime, Sidney struggles with a persistent case of toothache, has his first flutter at the Newmarket races and witnesses the creation of a classic rock song.

Charming, witty, intelligent, and filled with a strong sense of compassion, here are six new stories guaranteed to satisfy and delight this clerical detective's many fans."

If you're addicted to the show or the books, good news, a new book with a new series being filmed!

The Mistresses of Cliveden by Natalie Livingstone
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: June 14th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of Downton Abbey comes an immersive historical epic about a lavish English manor and a dynasty of rich and powerful women who ruled the estate over three centuries of misbehavior, scandal, intrigue, and passion.

Five miles from Windsor Castle, home of the royal family, sits the Cliveden estate. Overlooking the Thames, the mansion is flanked by two wings and surrounded by lavish gardens. Throughout its storied history, Cliveden has been a setting for misbehavior, intrigue, and passion—from its salacious, deadly beginnings in the seventeenth century to the 1960s Profumo Affair, the sex scandal that toppled the British government. Now, in this immersive chronicle, the manor’s current mistress, Natalie Livingstone, opens the doors to this prominent house and lets the walls do the talking.

Built during the reign of Charles II by the Duke of Buckingham, Cliveden attracted notoriety as a luxurious retreat in which the duke could conduct his scandalous affair with the ambitious courtesan Anna Maria, Countess of Shrewsbury. In 1668, Anna Maria’s cuckolded husband, the Earl of Shrewsbury, challenged Buckingham to a duel. Buckingham killed Shrewsbury and claimed Anna Maria as his prize, making her the first mistress of Cliveden.

Through the centuries, other enigmatic and indomitable women would assume stewardship over the estate, including Elizabeth, Countess of Orkney and illicit lover of William III, who became one of England’s wealthiest women; Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, the queen that Britain was promised and then denied; Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland, confidante of Queen Victoria and a glittering society hostess turned political activist; and the American-born Nancy Astor, the first female member of Parliament, who described herself as an “ardent feminist” and welcomed controversy. Though their privileges were extraordinary, in Livingstone’s hands, their struggles and sacrifices are universal.

Cliveden weathered renovation and restoration, world conflicts and cold wars, societal shifts and technological advances. Rich in historical and architectural detail, The Mistresses of Cliveden is a tale of sex and power, and of the exceptional women who evaded, exploited, and confronted the expectations of their times."

Real live Downton Abbey? Yes please, I'm in withdrawal!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Downton Abbey, Grantchester, James Runcie, Laura Marx Fitzgerald, Sidney Chambers, Stephen Baxter, Terry Pratchett, The Gallery, The Long Cosmos, The Long Earth, The Mistresses of Cliveden

The Long Utopia by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2015
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The fourth novel in Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter’s internationally bestselling “Long Earth” series, hailed as “a brilliant science fiction collaboration . . . a love letter to all Pratchett fans, readers, and lovers of wonder everywhere”

2045-2059. Human society continues to evolve on Datum Earth, its battered and weary origin planet, as the spread of humanity progresses throughout the many Earths beyond.

Lobsang, now an elderly and complex AI, suffers a breakdown, and disguised as a human attempts to live a “normal” life on one of the millions of Long Earth worlds. His old friend, Joshua, now in his fifties, searches for his father and discovers a heretofore unknown family history. And the super-intelligent post-humans known as “the Next” continue to adapt to life among “lesser” humans.

But an alarming new challenge looms. An alien planet has somehow become “entangled” with one of the Long Earth worlds and, as Lobsang and Joshua learn, its voracious denizens intend to capture, conquer, and colonize the new universe—the Long Earth—they have inadvertently discovered.

World-building, the intersection of universes, the coexistence of diverse species, and the cosmic meaning of the Long Earth itself are among the mind-expanding themes explored in this exciting new installment of Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter's extraordinary Long Earth series."

While I'm still bereft from the death of Terry Pratchett, I hope that Stephen Baxter gets to carry on with this wonderful series in his name.

Trailer Park Fae by Lilith Saintcrow
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2015
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author Lilith Saintcrow returns to dark fantasy with a new series where the faery world inhabits diners, dive bars and trailer parks.

Jeremiah Gallow is just another construction worker, and that's the way he likes it. He's left his past behind, but some things cannot be erased. Like the tattoos on his arms that transform into a weapon, or that he was once closer to the Queen of Summer than any half-human should be. Now the half-sidhe all in Summer once feared is dragged back into the world of enchantment, danger, and fickle fae - by a woman who looks uncannily like his dead wife. Her name is Robin, and her secrets are more than enough to get them both killed. A plague has come, the fullborn-fae are dying, and the dark answer to Summer's Court is breaking loose.

Be afraid, for Unwinter is riding..."

While this does sound really fascinating, the sword messing with the kerning on the cover is really really really annoying me. 

Tiny Little Thing by Beatriz Williams
Published by: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2015
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the summer of 1966, Christina Hardcastle—“Tiny” to her illustrious family—stands on the brink of a breathtaking future. Of the three Schuyler sisters, she’s the one raised to marry a man destined for leadership, and with her elegance and impeccable style, she presents a perfect camera-ready image in the dawning age of television politics. Together she and her husband, Frank, make the ultimate power couple: intelligent, rich, and impossibly attractive. It seems nothing can stop Frank from rising to national office, and he’s got his sights set on a senate seat in November.

But as the season gets underway at the family estate on Cape Cod, three unwelcome visitors appear in Tiny’s perfect life: her volatile sister Pepper, an envelope containing incriminating photograph, and the intimidating figure of Frank’s cousin Vietnam-war hero Caspian, who knows more about Tiny’s rich inner life than anyone else. As she struggles to maintain the glossy façade on which the Hardcastle family’s ambitions are built, Tiny begins to suspect that Frank is hiding a reckless entanglement of his own…one that may unravel both her own ordered life and her husband’s promising career."

New Beatriz Williams, how can I say no?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Beatriz Williams, Lilith Saintcrow, Stephen Baxter, Terry Pratchett, The Long Earth, The Long Utopia, Tiny Little Thing, Trailer Park Fae, Tuesday Tomorrow

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
Published by: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: June 17th, 2014
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The capital has fallen. The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

Ruin and Rising is the thrilling final installment in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy."

Oh, it's so hard picking which book to read first this week... but I have a feeling Ruin and Rising shall win...

The Long Mars by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: June 17th, 2014
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The third novel in Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter’s “Long Earth” series, which Io9 calls “a brilliant science fiction collaboration.”

2040-2045: In the years after the cataclysmic Yellowstone eruption there is massive economic dislocation as populations flee Datum Earth to myriad Long Earth worlds. Sally, Joshua, and Lobsang are all involved in this perilous rescue work when, out of the blue, Sally is contacted by her long-vanished father and inventor of the original Stepper device, Willis Linsay. He tells her he is planning a fantastic voyage across the Long Mars and wants her to accompany him. But Sally soon learns that Willis has an ulterior motive for his request...

Meanwhile U. S. Navy Commander Maggie Kauffman has embarked on an incredible journey of her own, leading an expedition to the outer limits of the far Long Earth.

For Joshua, the crisis he faces is much closer to home. He becomes embroiled in the plight of the Next: the super-bright post-humans who are beginning to emerge from their “long childhood” in the community called Happy Landings, located deep in the Long Earth. Ignorance and fear have caused “normal” human society to turn against the Next. A dramatic showdown seems inevitable..."

While there's a part of me super excited to read this right away, there's also a part of me that's not sure... the first book was amazing, the second was kind of meh... plus Mars, really?

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling
Published by: Mulholland Books
Publication Date: June 17th, 2014
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, Mrs. Quine just thinks her husband has gone off by himself for a few days-as he has done before-and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home.

But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realizes. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were to be published, it would ruin lives-meaning that there are a lot of people who might want him silenced.

When Quine is found brutally murdered under bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any Strike has encountered before... A compulsively readable crime novel with twists at every turn, THE SILKWORM is the second in the highly acclaimed series featuring Cormoran Strike and his determined young assistant, Robin Ellacott."

So I should probably get around to reading the first one now right?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Grisha Trilogy, J.K. Rowling, Leigh Bardugo, Robert Galbraith, Ruin and Rising, Stephen Baxter, Terry Pratchett, The Long Earth, The Long Mars, The Silkworm

The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: June 18th, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

We are the Village Green Preservation Society
God save Donald Duck, vaudeville and variety
We are the Desperate Dan Appreciation Society
God save strawberry jam and all the different varieties

Preserving the old ways from being abused
Protecting the new ways, for me and for you
What more can we do?

We are the Draught Beer Preservation Society
God save Mrs. Mopp and good old Mother Riley
We are the Custard Pie Appreciation Consortium
God save the George Cross, and all those who were awarded them

We are the Sherlock Holmes English-speaking Vernacular
God save Fu Manchu, Moriarty and Dracula
We are the Office Block Persecution Affinity
God save little shops, china cups, and virginity
We are the Skyscraper Condemnation Affiliates
God save Tudor houses, antique tables, and billiards

Preserving the old ways from being abused.
Protecting the new ways, for me and for you.
What more can we do?

We are the Village Green Preservation Society
God save Donald Duck, vaudeville and variety
We are the Desperate Dan Appreciation Society
God save strawberry jam and all the different varieties

God save the village green!

A generation has passed since the Long Earth has opened up. Travel is now easily possible between the worlds and large and small communities are forming throughout this stepwise expansion. Joshua is now married with a son and has a contented life. Then Sally shows back up and tells him that the Long Earth needs him. Joshua's wife realizes that as long as Joshua is Joshua, if Sally shows up and says the Long Earth needs him, he will go. Things are happening that his voice will lend credence to. Sure, there are political problems and questions of taxing and policing the footprint of America, but Sally couldn't care less. She is worried about the trolls. They have always lived peacefully in their way and have even proved a valuable resource to the settlers. Their long call binds the earths together. Yet humanity is uneasy of their presence. Violence has arisen against the trolls and the trolls have responded by disappearing. Sally knows, in her bones, that the Long Earth cannot survive without the trolls. They must be found. So their journeys begin again.

About a year ago, when I read the last page of The Long Earth, all I could think of was how was I going to be able to wait a year for the second volume. I am not at all patient in my nature, luckily my Barnes and Noble understands me, and I don't know by what fortuitous alignment of planets this happened, but they accidentally put this book out the Friday before it's release date and I was lucky enough to be stopping by looking for Father's Day cards (see, it pays to be a good daughter!) Going home I quickly finished off the book I was reading, how could I not, and then I returned to the world Terry and Stephen had made. The reentry was not the smoothest. I should have perhaps re-read The Long Earth, because there was more that I had forgotten then remembered, so that might have brought my appreciation for the book down a notch or two, but I quickly rebounded.

The Long War, set twenty or so years after Joshua's legendary journey with Lobsang, really doesn't have that much more of a plot then the first book. And seeing as it's twenty or so years on... shouldn't the jokes be less timely to 2013? I mean, sure, there is a stalling of continued innovation and invention due to people fleeing the Datum, but still, for 2040, less of the 2013 would be nice. The book continues with the further exploration of the Long Earth but weaves into it the ramifications of what this means politically, environmentally, and even morally. This book deals with massive concepts but in a palatable way. The Long War deals with humanities dual nature of innovation and destruction. That said, I think a book with "war" in the title might have a little more war and a little less barbecue parties as a denouement. Unless it really is "a war unlike any mankind has waged before" in that it's not really a war...

As for humanities innovation, they have spread across the Long Earth and made new colonies and new ways of life. Joshua lives in a little town in a stepwise Hannibal Missouri, home on the Datum of Mark Twain, where his life is very much like it would have been for a settler when "westward ho" was the call in America. Yet this new frontier and westward expansion is different from our ancestors, because the human capacity of ingenuity is infinite, and they create colonies, not just in one world, but in the same area over many. They are able to use different worlds for scavenging, and this changes the way things work and the need for life's sustainability converts back to a hunter gatherer nature versus an agrarian nature. Though just the fact that all these stepwise Earths are in the footprint of what is on the Datum, the United States of America... well, that brings a whole lot of other problems with it. But to me, there's a feel of a science fiction Little House on the Prairie meets Deadwood vibe, that in turn had me start rewatching Deadwood.

But humanity itself is the main problem. There are so many evils that man does. Without even consciously thinking, the expansion into the Long Earth has brought death and destruction to the worlds and to the indigenous trolls and kobolds and elves. I keep going back to the Kinks song that the kobold Finn McCool loves in the book, The Village Green Preservation Society, it's about preserving how we've always done things. The world, or in this case, worlds, around us have changed, but we stay dogmatic in our beliefs. We stay xenophobic, imperialistic, we believe in taxes and policing and destroying that which is "other." The violence to the trolls is just the most horrific iteration of this. If there is one point to The Long War, it's that we must learn to coexist. What we are doing to our world has ramifications. Will a Long Earth open up to save us?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Datum Earth, Deadwood, Hannibal Missouri, Joshua, Little House, Lobsang, Mark Twain, Stephen Baxter, Terry Pratchett, The Kinks, The Long Earth, The Long War, Village Green Preservation Society

The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: June 18th, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter follows the adventures and travails of heroes Joshua Valiente and Lobsang in an exciting continuation of the extraordinary science fiction journey begun in their New York Times bestseller The Long Earth.

A generation after the events of The Long Earth, humankind has spread across the new worlds opened up by “stepping.” A new “America”—Valhalla—is emerging more than a million steps from Datum—our Earth. Thanks to a bountiful environment, the Valhallan society mirrors the core values and behaviors of colonial America. And Valhalla is growing restless under the controlling long arm of the Datum government.

Soon Joshua, now a married man, is summoned by Lobsang to deal with a building crisis that threatens to plunge the Long Earth into a war unlike any humankind has waged before."

Ok, firstly, I've been eagerly awaiting this book since the first in the series came out last year and was subsequently awesome, making it onto my top ten list for last year. Secondly, I think it's totally funny that seeing as Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett are friends and I saw the two of them AND Stephen Baxter all at the last North American Discworld Convention, that their books would come out on the same day. Problem though... which to read first?

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: June 18th, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 192 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A brilliantly imaginative and poignant fairy tale from the modern master of wonder and terror, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is Neil Gaiman’s first new novel for adults since his #1 New York Times bestseller Anansi Boys.

This bewitching and harrowing tale of mystery and survival, and memory and magic, makes the impossible all too real..."

Not sure if I'm excited for this or not... because really, I love Neil's YA writing so much more...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Neil Gaiman, Stephen Baxter, Terry Pratchett, The Long Earth, The Long War, The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: June 19th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Everything changed on "Step Day." One day there was one Earth. Overcrowded and dying slowly. Then innumerable Earths opened up just a step away. Pure, untouched, Earth as it once was or could have been, yet completely uninhabited, save for animals and insects. Each Earth different and another step away. All because of a simple device whose instructions where placed online. A machine powered by a potato, that could lead you to these infinite worlds, only one after the other in sequence though. Yet there was Joshua. Joshua didn't need a stepper. He was a natural. Unbeknownst to him, so was his mother. At the time of his birth, Joshua's mother accidentally stepped and Joshua was born and left for a moment on an Earth all his own. That was when he first became aware of the silence.

On Step Day Joshua inadvertently became a hero because due to his natural stepping ability, he was able to go from one Earth to the next without having the debilitating nausea that most people experienced. That night he rescued countless children from Earth 1 and brought them back to Datum Earth, or so they would come to be known as. Joshua became something of a folk hero then, because he was more comfortable out exploring the Long Earth as it came to be called, than back in the Home on Allied Drive.

Yet in a world that was changing so fast, taxes and policing having new definitions, with people abandoning their lives, with precious metals becoming worthless, with iron becoming precious because of it's inability to be taken on a step, one corporation stands tall. The Black Corporation. They summon Joshua to their headquarters for a special mission. Lobsang is a reincarnated Tibetan motorcycle repairman who now resides as an AI in a computer. Yet he is definitely human, in that he proved it in a court of law. Lobsang wants Joshua to take him to the end of the Long Earth. They will journey to worlds end in a flying dirigible.

Lobsang has theories about what he will find and Joshua is his fail safe. Joshua can bring him back if anything where to go wrong. Also, Joshua won't get sick on the journey. The two of them set forth, jumping from world to world in the blink of an eye. The way they travel, watching movies at night and eating fine cuisine, makes Joshua a little jaded, and even wish for the way he used to travel. Yet, in all his travels he has never seen the mysterious creatures that are known as Trolls and Elves till now. Soon he realizes that there is more to the Long Earth than anyone could have ever imagined. And that's what scares people the most back on Datum Earth.

This book had two very good reasons for going straight to the top of my "to be read" pile, well, actually three, in that I've been waiting for it to come out for a year... The first reason is my undying love of Terry Pratchett. He is just the most amazing writer out there able to combine hard truths with laugh out loud humor. The second reason is that a fair amount of this book takes place in my hometown of Madison, Wisconsin! Ok, so, it's not really a weird coincidence that it takes place in Madison, seeing as Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter used last years North American Discworld Convention that was here in Madison as a research trip and therefore thought setting a good chunk of the book in Madison was handy. At the convention they had a panel where the two of them discussed basically the structure of how the "Long Earth" works, so I had some foreknowledge as to how stepping worked. The idea fascinated me. It's not really an original hypothesis, versions of this theory have existed, even in Philip Pullman's Dark Materials books, we have worlds upon worlds stacked on top of each other only a slim knife's cut away. But here the lack of humanity is intriguing. Also the idea that all the Earths are what could have been possible had something happened differently is fascinating.

At times though, the book does get bogged down in the science of the hows, whys and wherefores. As the authors said, this first book in the series, is more just an introduction to the concept of the Long Earth. A travelogue wherein we familiarize ourselves with how things work. This of course brought to mind the writing style of Douglas Adams, with his Hitchhiker's Trilogy. If you think about those books, nothing much happens, yet you are travelling with these people through space. I think this book owes a lot to Adams, Doctor Who, and Mark Twain. The airship after all is named the Mark Twain, and it very much reminded me of a movie I watched once which I believe was a dramatization of Tom Sawyer Abroad,  a novel by Mark Twain featuring Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in a parody of a Jules Verne-esque adventure story. I distinctly remember the hot air balloon knocking the nose off of the sphinx. So, I can see the validity of people who claimed that this book was thin on plot. Though everything else made up for that loose, and, really, it's the first book, we have to see where it's going.

What really intrigued me though was all the things that would fall under the category of "that's so Pratchett." How the "other" creatures they encounter would account for an actual basis in mythology of Trolls and Elves. The "iron" that the fae feared being the only metal unable to step. His love of the word susurrus. His humor, dear lord, his dead on humor. It was subtler than in some of his other books, but still, to have the AI Lobsang, who I kept picturing as Jude Law from AI, constantly being unclear in his loyalties yet encouraging movie night wherein they would watch 2001. Or where he would say how he had originally created his appearance and demeanor based on the replicants from Bladerunner. To have Lobsang not just have these overtones, but then have Lobsang himself with a nudge and a wink then reference them himself was priceless. I particularly liked when he started to take on his "British Butler" persona, seeing as if there is a true flaw in the book, it's that the authors being British using turns of phrase that Americans would never use, so therefore the Butler kind of made up the language gap. I really think that David from Prometheus has a thing or three to learn from Lobsang.

In the end, I will say that this is yet another series of Terry Pratchett's that I will eagerly await the next book. Even if my heart will forever remain in Discworld, I was happy to say that I really enjoyed this book, far far more than his other stand alone, Nation, but that is another story all together, not just the "book" by my dislike of that book... he should have so stopped before the afterword... ok, I said I wasn't going to get into it, so I won't. Pratchett is wonderful, Baxter worked well with him, but again, like Gaiman and Good Omens, I think it's Pratchett's voice that comes out the clearest.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bladerunner, Datum Earth, Doctor Who, Douglas Adams, Elves, Joshua, Madison, Mark Twain, Philip Pullman, Prometheus, Step Day, Stephen Baxter, Terry Pratchett, The Long Earth, Tom Sawyer Abroad, Trolls

1) Lock 14 by Georges Simenon - I have always wanted to read the Maigret mysteries by Georges Simenon, mainly because my only knowledge of the currently is that Michael Gambon was in a tv series based on these books. So finding these six books was a wonderful find. Not to mention the are so cute and small, about the size of a paperback in height but a little wider. Also, gorgeous deco design by Penguin. Bought at Half Price Books.

2) A Man's Head by Georges Simenon - Ditto. Bought at Half Price Books.

3) The Bar of the Seine by Georges Simenon - Ditto. Bought at Half Price Books.

4) The Madman of Bergerac by George Simenon - Ditto. Bought at Half Price Books.

5) The Hotel Majestic by George Simenon - Ditto. Bought at Half Price Books.

6) The Friend of Madame Maigret by George Simenon - Ditto. Bought at Half Price Books.

7) The Native Star by M.K. Hobson - I picked up the second book in this series awhile back, doh, so now I want to read it and thought, best start at the beginning. If all goes to plan it will be a part of Steapmunk Summer! Bought at Amazon.com.

8-10)* A Ministry of Peculiar Occurances: Tales from the Archives Volumes 1-3 by Pip Ballatine, Tee Morris et al - Short epub Steampunk stories that will be reviewed this coming month for the continuation of Steampunk Summer! Also, totally awesome price because I got all the short stories for less than a paperback! Bought at Amazon.com

*Means it's already been read

11)* A Ministry of Peculiar Occurances: Tales from the Archives Sins of the Father by Tee Morris - Ditto above. Bought at Amazon.com.

12)* A Ministry of Peculiar Occurances: Tales from the Archives A Swan in Siam by PJ Schnyder - Ditto above. Bought at Amazon.com

13)*A Ministry of Peculiar Occurances: Tales from the Archives Women of the Empire by JR Blackwell - Ditto above. Bought at Amazon.com.

14)*A Ministry of Peculiar Occurances: Tales from the Archives The Emperor's Fist by J R Murdock - Ditto above. Bought at Amazon.com.

15) Tempest's Fury by Nicole Peeler - The most recent Jane True book. Bought at Barnes and Noble.

16) A Midsummer Tights Dream by Louise Rennison - I've been waiting what seems like forever for the fun new istallment in Rennison's new series, as an added yeah, I had a 20% off coupon to use. Bought at Barnes and Noble.

17) The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter - A year seems like a long time to wait for this one, but hopefully it will be worth it, I'm just about to start reading it as I type this. Bought at Amazon.com.

Note on the bookstores:

Amazon.com - because sometimes, more often that not, your local Barnes and Noble didn't stock that ONE book you where looking for, and having prime means everything shows up so fast!

Barnes and Noble - the last big chain in the Midwest that everyone knows and loves or loathes accordingly.

Half Price Books - chain store of used books where you can often get amazing deals, but whose prices are not quite half off anymore since they decided to raise their prices in a bad economy.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 1 comments  

Labels: Georges Simenon, Louise Rennison, M.K. Hobson, Maigret, Michael Gambon, Ministry of Peculiar Occurances, Nicole Peeler, Pip Ballantine, Stephen Baxter, Tee Morris, Terry Pratchett, The Long Earth

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: June 19th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The possibilities are endless. (Just be careful what you wish for. . . .)

1916: The Western Front. Private Percy Blakeney wakes up. He is lying on fresh spring grass. He can hear birdsong and the wind in the leaves. Where have the mud, blood, and blasted landscape of no-man's-land gone? For that matter, where has Percy gone?

2015: Madison, Wisconsin. Police officer Monica Jansson is exploring the burned-out home of a reclusive—some say mad, others allege dangerous—scientist who seems to have vanished. Sifting through the wreckage, Jansson find a curious gadget: a box containing some rudimentary wiring, a three-way switch, and . . . a potato. It is the prototype of an invention that will change the way humankind views the world forever.

The first novel in an exciting new collaboration between Discworld creator Terry Pratchett and the acclaimed SF writer Stephen Baxter, The Long Earth transports readers to the ends of the earth—and far beyond. All it takes is a single step. . . . "

Well, I've been impatienly waiting for this book for over a year, mainly because I adore Terry Pratchett, but also because it's set in my home town! Also, now that I read the discription... Percy Blakeney? Is there some Scarlet Pimpernel in this too!?!

The Girl Below by Bianca Zander
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: June 19th, 2012
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Suki Piper is a stranger in her hometown. . . .

After ten years in New Zealand, Suki returns to London, to a city that won't let her in. However, a chance visit with Peggy—an old family friend who still lives in the building where she grew up—convinces Suki that there is a way to reconnect with the life she left behind a decade earlier. But the more involved she becomes with Peggy's dysfunctional family, including Peggy's wayward sixteen-year-old grandson, the more Suki finds herself mysteriously slipping back in time—to the night of a party her parents threw in their garden more than twenty years ago, when something happened in an old, long-unused air-raid shelter. . . .

A breathtaking whirlwind of mystery, transgression, and self-discovery, Bianca Zander's The Girl Below is a haunting tale of secrets, human frailty, and dark memory that heralds the arrival of an extraordinary new literary talent. "

Something just draws me to this book... past secrets maybe? Also, I do love books that take place in the past and present, without being time travel.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bianca Zander, Madison, Stephen Baxter, Terry Pratchett, The Girl Below, The Long Earth

Morning came all too soon and I thought, was I crazy signing up to do crafts first thing in the morning? Again, yes to the crazy, no to the wrong. It was actually quite relaxing and calm. At first my friend Jess and I where thinking, oh, this looks lame, just pieces of paper to color. But no! It was vinyl! So cool and colored really well. My Igor (seen above) is a very dandy Igor. A fop if you would. The gentleman's gentleman of the undead. After our Igor session, which being our first craft session made us realize that the sessions needed to be far longer to get anything done. I didn't even finish my Igor! But Jess and I had a lot of fun switching and trading body parts.

After this I went to a book signing with Stephen Player. Stephen Player is the artist who did the art for the Discworld and Ankh-Morpork maps as well as all the art for the illustrated Wee Free Men. Stephen was incredibly nice and I got to share a little story with him, because his poster he did for the con had the Wisconsin State Capital on it, I said that he probably doesn't know that it's the second largest in the US, it was the first, but it had to be rebuilt because there can not be a capital building taller than the one in Washington D.C. Take that history classes! Make me tour that Capital repeatedly, I will retain something.

After a long lunch and a little shopping we got there nice and early for Terry's panel on his new book series, The Long Earth, being written with Stephen Baxter. Some of the book is even set in Madison! The basic idea is that there are any number of earths, but say you want to go to earth 50, you have to go through earth 1-49 to get to it. In essence, chain parallel worlds. Could be an interesting concept. Stephen works with the sciencey bits and Terry works with the storytelling bits. Should be out in 2012, and I'll be sure to pick up a copy.

After this we had an hour till the "Talk with Terry." Aka, Rob and Terry just chatting. In that time Jess bravely kept the seats, which where multiply attacked by invading forces, including a cameraman! I went to see Patrick Rothfuss, which was something that caused a bit of a to-do. The problem was, the website stated all "Kaffee Klatches" (of which this was one) where going to be lottery to determine the 15 people to attend. This was not the case, it was first come first serve. I, being older, wiser, and more willing to make people stick to what they say, raised a bit of a kerfuffle. I was going and that was that. In the end I won. I thank the people at the con for working with me and admitting there was a mistake and letting me participate and not giving me something to look back on and be pissed about. The Klatch ran long so I was a few minutes late to the talk... oops.

Rob and Terry just sat and talked about their normal kind of day while Rob fought to keep Terry talking into the microphone. They reminisced about this little town they found in New Zealand that was straight out of another time, which ironically was on the same day they went to visit Hobbiton, which is out of a different world. Rob said that he never wanted to leave Hobbiton and he was sad he couldn't post or share any of the pictures he took, but he said it was still worth it. They also discussed that Terry has never let Rob be employee of the month, that honor always being bestowed on the cat, because she never talks about her grandma. For picture of said employee click here. It was also rumored that Terry is planing on writing his autobiography and that most days he feels like a cat with a really long tail in a room full of rocking chairs.

Instead of staying for the Masque, we went out for Chinese food, some book browsing and a game of skittles, which is a wicked awesome British pub game that everyone should play and which I shouldn't have taught to Matt because he got way too good too fast.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Discworld, Hobbiton, Igor, Kaffee Klatch, Madison, NADWCon, Patrick Rothfuss, Rob Wilkins, Stephen Baxter, Stephen Player, Terry Pratchett, The Long Earth