graculus

I was intending to post last Wednesday, but when I woke up in the morning I had way too many floaters in my left eye; a few years back this happened with my right eye, and I learned that this is something warranting an immediate visit to the eye doctor, so I called the office and got a mid-morning appointment. Fortunately it looks (again) like vitreous detachment rather than corneal tear (translation: not going blind today, hooray) but my eyes were dilated and I couldn't face sitting at the computer; even after my eyes returned to normal the floaters have been incredibly annoying, so I've been limiting my online time. Grr! (I've been writing this bit by bit all day...)

What I've recently finished reading:

Royal Gambit by Daniel O'Malley, the 4th Checquy Files book. Okay, this was a lot of fun, probably my second favorite of these behind the first. The protagonist is named Alexandra "Alix" Dennis-Palmer-Hudson-Gilmore-Garnsey, the twelfth Lady Mondegreen - how can I resist that, hee! Because of her aristocratic background, Alix (who can break bones with her brain) has been brought up as a friend to the royal family, and when the Prince of Wales dies unexpectedly (and unnaturally), she's assigned as lady-in-waiting to the new heir - his sister, who she attended school with but was never really close to - and tasked with solving the murder.

The royalty stuff was as over the top as the powers stuff, which kept it from being boring to me - I'm not into royalty stuff, but hey, all the ladies wearing bizarre varieties of tiara at a ball is as funny as the guy whose superpower is that he can turn into a tree. I am also really pleased that Shantay showed up again!

Pagans by James Alistair Henry, which (like the Checquy Files books, heh) I lifted from merit's recommendations. This is a police procedural set in the modern day of an alternate history in which the Norman Conquest never happened: Britain is a "developing nation just off the coast of the Islamic Caliphate of Southern Europe", divided into the Celtic tribal lands to the west, the Saxon kingdom to the east, and the Democratic Republic of Scotland - part of the Nordic Economic Union - to the north. The world superpower is the Pan-African Unified States; Asia is a patchwork of warring nations, and the Americas are barely mentioned.

This makes for a super fascinating mishmash of modernity (cars, drones, mobile phones) and ancient culture (ritual tattoos, ceremonial seaxes, psychoanalysis via herb-assisted vision quest) that reminded me a little of the TV show Beforeigners (in which Viking era Norse start showing up in Oslo; the main character, the cop Alfhildr, reminds me a lot of the protagonist Aedith Mercia), and a little of B. L. Blanchard's Peacekeeper, which is similar in that it's police procedural set in the modern day of an alternate history in which North America has never been colonized (set in the big city of Shikaakwa, where the protagonist comes from his small village on the train of the killers of his mother's best friend, and for reasons that don't need exploring at this venture...) - though I think this book is much better.

The story centers on the apparent serial killing of members of some weird minor cult called the Fishers - because they have tattoos of stylized fish - and yep, that's exactly what you think it is, thus the title. This is all happening as the Unification Summit is about to get underway, so there are political implications; and the detective in charge, Aedith Mercia, has political connections. I really enjoyed this one, and I hope the ending means that there will be a sequel.

Speaking of this weird minor cult in something closer to our world, I also read:

Conclave by Robert Harris, which I found surprisingly enjoyable - surprising, because a thriller set during a papal conclave sounds very much not up my alley. What made it work for me was the close 3rd person narration by Cardinal Jacopo Lomeli, who as Dean of the College of Cardinals holds the responsibility of presiding over the conclave. Lomeli is a sympathetic narrator, who wants above all for the conclave to reflect the will of God - but he also has opinions about the primary contenders for the papacy, and struggles to reconcile these things. His position also brings him additional knowledge about these men, which also must be part of the mix.

I figured out the twist (more or less, such as it is) early on as I noticed the clue which Lomeli does not consider the implications of until later; I also guessed the ending. Which didn't make it any less satisfying! I know the movie version has a huge fandom, doubtless because of the actors playing the various cardinals. Though I was surprised to see they'd made Lomeli into an Englishman, as the nationalities of the various men is a consideration in the plot.

What I really tried to read but I don't think it's for me:

Children of Strife the fourth book in Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time series. The library hold was so long that I ended up buying it; maybe that's why I can't seem to get into it. Well, it's still on my e-reader, I might try it again at some point.

What we recently finished watching:

House of the Dragon season 3 - it was enjoyable! Though some storylines are more enjoyable than others, and I admit that I was hoping certain people would die and just stay dead, you know? But I guess that would make for a less exciting story.

What we have tried out watching:

Black Mirror, the first episode (huh, of this season, not actual first, I just realized, though of course for this it doesn't matter), "Common People". It was extremely sharp and relevant - the subscription model of everything (which I hate in the real world) and the constant enshittification of products - and I thought about it for days afterward. It was also unpleasant to watch, and the idea of watching a bunch of unrelated dystopian stories was just too depressing.

Little House on the Prairie, the first episode of the reboot. I don't recall if I watched the original, but I certainly read the books. It struck me as the G-rated version of the Yellowstone prequel 1883; no swearing or sex or gratuitous death, utterly wholesome and predictable. Not sure we're up for this, either - maybe?

If you have a recommendation of a good series for us, let me know! Pretty much any streaming service. We like SF, fantasy, and historical, and are not really into contemporary drama. (Though I am thinking I'd like to give Slow Horses a try.)

We may try Star Trek Lower Decks, in honor of the series' recent OMG 60 year anniversary.