How to Talk Like a Chicken: 09/30/24

How to Talk Like a Chicken by Charlie Grandy and Alex G. Griffiths (Illustrator) is a picture book about the intricacies of chicken language as taught by a rooster in pants to you, the unnamed reader.

Chicken language is difficult because it not only involves a lot of clucking, peeping, and bwoking but also feather ruffling and tail waggling. Hidden in the errors on the reader's part is the set up for a delightful end of book brick joke.

Interestingly, the reader apparently already knows some key chicken phrases. That knowledge comes in handy at the end of the day when a predator comes on scene.

The reader gets to save the day by alerting everyone on the farm (and one other unexpected character) to the danger so that they can help save the day.

The illustrations are a little rough but the entire book is high energy. The off model chickens work with the larger than life text and the silliness of some of things one can say in chicken language.

Five stars

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Seams Deadly: 09/28/24

Seams Deadly by Maggie Bailey and Allyson Johnson (Narrator) (2023) is the start of the Measure Twice Sewing mystery series. Lydia Barnes finds her next door neighbor murdered shortly after they had been on a dinner date together. He was murdered with shears from the sewing shop Lydia works at.

Lydia needs to figure out who killed Brandon to clear her name and to get the awful image of him dead at his writing desk out of her head. She's also unsure of her future in Peridot. Will the store survive? Will she be fired for the trouble? Will she be convicted?

This initial volume has a Twin Peaks meets Northern Exposure vibe. It's quirky people doing things that confuse, confound, and captivate in equal measure. It's somewhere Lydia wants to stay but she's not sure she fits in or ever will.

Lydia is in a small group of cozy lead characters. She's older (forties). She's heavy (200 lbs). She makes her own clothing (but not well). She likes bright, clashing things and she's not obsessed with current fashion trends. She's one of the reasons I will be reading further in this series.

The other main reason is Baby Lobster. She's the calico cat on the cover. She's clearly written by someone who has lived with a calico or two in their life time. She's a lovable, no fucks to give chaos demon who is absolutely loyal to Lydia and only Lydia.

The second book is Quilty as Charged (2024).

Four stars

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The Plant Sitter: 09/26/24

The Plant Sitter by Gene Zion and Margaret Bloy Graham (Illustrator) (1959) is one of my all time favorite picture books. Tommy has taken up the summer job of being his neighborhood's plant sitter, two cents a day. His parents have to learn to live with Tommy's temporary jungle.

The illustrations are simple but delightful. Every room, every surface has numerous plants. Even the bathroom has plants. The tv is barely visible through all the plants. It's these plants, this internal jungle, that I remember most fondly.

Under Tommy's care the plants thrive. The jungle becomes unmanageable. The jungle results in a nightmare for poor Tommy.

But Tommy is a resourceful kid. He's willing to do his homework. And he does. He gets the plants under control and probably makes a healthy profit out of it too.

Five stars

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Ill-Fated Fortune: 09/25/24

Ill-Fated Fortune by Jennifer J. Chow and Catherine Ho (Narrator) (2024) is the start of the Magical Fortune Cookie series. Felicity Jin after years of trying has finally found her magical recipe: the fortune cookie. Now she can bake along side her mother and continue the Jin family tradition of baking joy and magic into their bakery goods.

Although Felicity makes small quantities: only a dozen or so at a time, the fortune cookies end up being incredibly popular. In a pinch she writes a custom fortune for a customer, who later ends up dead in a way that's eerily similar to what she predicted. Afraid that her magic might have doomed the man, she sets out to solve his murder.

Ill-Fated Fortune has a similar vibe to The Noodle Shop mystery series by Vivien Chien. Here is another mother-daughter dynamic, albeit one with a supernatural twist. The family dynamic, though, is tighter with the Jins and so far the over arching Asian community seems more supportive than the highly competitive dynamic Vivien Chien describes in her books.

I prefer the recent trend of family being so integral to an amateur sleuth's success in both business and investigating. I like how Felicity has her mother and her BFF Kelvin the florist to boost her up and help out when she needs it.

The second book is Star-Crossed Egg Tarts which releases January 21, 2025.

Five stars

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BLAME! MASTER EDITION 2: 09/24/24

BLAME! MASTER EDITION 2 by Tsutomu Nihei and Melissa Tanaka (Translator) (2015) continues the exploration of the overgrown structure where various organic AIs have run amok and pushed humanity to the margins or outright exterminating those who don't fit the profile. It's been four years between reading volume one and two for me and four years of working on the Road Narrative Spectrum project, meaning my take on volume 2 has probably evolved from where it would have been if I had binged these books.

Kyrii and Cibo are sent by the Administration to continue searching for the Net Terminal Gene amongst the surviving human populations. Along the way they discover a population living near the entrance to Toha Heavy Industries. The two have to contend with the autonomous Safeguards that are programmed to kill any human without the Net Terminal Gene who attempt to access the net.

Kyrii comes out of this mission with a newfound ability and Cibo makes the ultimate sacrifice, leaving the volume to close on a cliffhanger.

Having read so much more between volumes, BLAME now reminds me of a mix of Yokohama Station SF (2015) and Jeff Lemire's Ascender series.

The series continues to traverse the Road Narrative Spectrum. In the first volume things were slowly being set up and the reader's experience was more atmospheric than plot, framing Kyrii as an orphan traveler.

Now though Kyrii has a clear partner and together they are set up as protectors against the monsters in the machine, thus making it a scarecrow/minotaur dichotomy of travelers (99). As their location has now been better defined for the reader, it resolves into being a city (00) of sorts. The route, though, still remains a very dangerous maze (CC).

I plan to be quicker in reading the remaining volumes.

Five stars

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Trouble is Brewing: 09/23/24

Trouble is Brewing by Vicki Delany and Shaina Summerville (Narrator) (2024) is the fifth book in the Tea by the Sea mystery series. Lily Robert's Tea by the Sea tearoom is hosting a bridal shower and a groom's family is staying at the bed and breakfast. Unfortunately the groom's father is found dead the next morning in his room. Did he drink himself to death or was he poisoned?

The upcoming marriage is between the son and daughter of ex-business partners. The groom's family has money and the bride's family doesn't. Rather, they live comfortably but not to the sorts of lavishness that the groom's mother is accustomed. The bitterness between the families, though, is business related, not money leaving Lily pondering the roots of this on-going tension.

The solution to this mystery — at the least the who of the whodunnit — was unfortunately obvious. It wasn't even a particularly clever solution. Here's another mystery where the murderer all but announces that they've committed the crime and they do it early on and frequently throughout the book. I'm honestly shocked that Lily, who like most of Delany's main characters, is usually very observant, completely misses obvious person being obvious.

Four stars

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Museum of Thieves: 09/21/24

Museum of Thieves by Lian Tanner (2010) is a middle grade apocalyptic urban fantasy set in an oppressive town known as Jewel. Goldie Roth like every child has worn a silver guardchain her entire life. Separation Day, the day when she is finally to be given autonomy, is canceled after an explosion. Goldie, at her personal breaking point decides its better to run away than continue to be forced to obey the Blessed Guardians.

The first chapter or so was a struggle and I'm not alone in that struggle having read reviews on Goodreads. The American publisher did us a disservice by allowing a moose head on the cover. By putting a North American animal on this cover one is put in the mindset of Puritanical fascism. One expects a middle grade version of The Handmaid's Tale or maybe The Crucible. This book isn't that but with the moose on the cover it's hard not to expect it.

Further confusing my understanding of the novel's starting point, or underlying metaphor, is the inclusion of what looked like oddly spelled German. It's not German, it's Dutch. Or at least, Dutch adjacent.

After two chapters I set the novel aside and looked up the author. I wanted to see what I was missing. And there it was: the author is Australian. She grew up in Launceston and now lives in Hobart. Jewel isn't in a New England colony. It's in a fantasy inspired Tasmania — originally discovered by the Dutch.

I've been to Launceston. I've been to Hobart. I lived in Preston for three months and attended school in Devonport. Once I knew to be picturing a Tasmanian inspired landscape everything clicked.

Tasmania was a penal colony. I've visited the gaols. Launceston is a low lying city with a huge dam and a river running near the city. It's a place that's seen the wars and hardships locked away behind the iron gate in the Museum of Dunt where Goldie finds safety and meets Toadspit.

The brizzlehound, last of its kind, is probably more Tasmanian wolf/tiger (Thylacine) than doberman as drawn in the American book. But the book is done up with illustrations aimed at American readers at the expense of the book's foundation.

Museum of Thieve is a middle grade deconstruction of the horrors that went into creating Australia's southern most state. It's a look at the death and destruction brought by colonizers. It acknowledges the way the poor were shipped to the other end of the world and left there to serve their sentence (for being in debt) and weren't given a way home afterwards.

And then the novel supposes, what if it didn't get better? What if the oppression continued and the people living there believed it was for their own good?

There's also a supernatural side to things. Like Nagspeak in Kate Milford's Greenglass House series or more recently the house in Puzzleheart, the Museum of Dunt is sentient and capable of reconfiguring itself. Both abilities stem from years of all the "bad" things being locked away to protect the citizens of Jewel.

Now that those in charge have decided to take even more power, the museum is threatening to release all those ills back onto Jewel. For better or worse, change is coming and Goldie, Toadspit and their adult companions might be the only ones to mitigate the impending disaster.

This novel though not American, does sit firmly on the Road Narrative Spectrum. Goldie and the other museum folk are marginalized travelers (66). They have been forced into hiding by those in charge. Their destination is uhoria (CC): protecting the future by understanding the past. Their route is through the maze (CC) — the changing landscape of the museum full of potentially deadly traps.

The second book is City of Lies (2011)

Five stars

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Haunting License: 09/20/24

Haunting License by Carol J. Perry and C S E Cooney (Narrator) (2024) is the third book in the Haunted Haven mystery series. Maureen Doherty finds a murdered fisherman while walking her dog, Finn. She decides to honor the man and boost business at her hotel during the slow June season by restarting a fishing tournament last held in Haven about twenty years earlier.

Besides the murder, Maureen is distracted by two of her guests. One is an anthropologist specializing in shell mounds. She's here to study the ones within walking distance of Haven and thankfully protected by being within the bounds of a bird sanctuary. The other is a pair of birders: one who publishes a magazine, the other his much abused photographer.

Finally, there's the question of how Maureen was chosen to inherit the hotel. So lots of lingering questions about the history of the place are finally answered.

The murder is something that Maureen and the anthropologist solve fairly easily but the problem is finding enough evidence to warrant an arrest. The bulk of the mystery is Maureen and her cohorts doing the homework to gather the necessary evidence.

Five stars

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The Bookshop on the Shore: 09/18/24

The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan (2019) is the second book in the Kirrinfief romance series. Although Nina's mobile bookshop is still a part of the book, the main characters this time are Zoe and her toddler son, Hari as she tries to make a better life for the two of them by being "Nanny Seven" to Ramsay Urquart's three impossible children.

Nina, facing an earlier and longer than expected maternity leave is forced to find someone to run her bookshop at least part time. Zoe answers the call although she knows nothing about books, certainly not the way that Nina does. To have a place for herself and her mute son to stay, she's also nannying at the run down Beeches manor. Nina, though, on bed rest, is kept out of the loop of most of what Zoe has to suffer through as she carves a new life for herself.

The Urquart drama happened in the background of the first book. Now though the truth behind the rumors will be revealed. This isn't a book for the faint of heart. Colgan pulls no punches. This is a book about grief, about struggle, about fears, about depression, about bullying. It's also about recovery, patience, love and acceptance.

The novel also is an interesting contrast to the much more upbeat Twelve Books of Christmas which is set in nearly the same spot in Scotland. Here though is a Scotland populated by people, rather than upbeat stereotypes and baddies.

Like the first novel, this one is set on the Road Narrative Spectrum. While the destination is still "home," the travelers this time are a family and the route there is the cornfield/tkaronto.

The third book in the series is 500 Miles from You (2020).

Five stars

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Premeditated Mortar: 09/17/24

Premeditated Mortar by Kate Carlisle and Angela Starling (Narrator) (2020) is the eighth book in the Fixer-Upper mystery series. Shannon and her crew have been hired to convert a wing of an old sanitarium into a modern hotel. Before they can even begin there is controversy over the site that results in Shannon being attacked and a woman being murdered.

I really don't know where to begin with this book. It falls into the author's usual traps but also includes every single asylum trope and the two are in a tug of war with the reader stuck in the middle.

The first half of the book falls into the everything is just so glorious and beautiful. The grounds are stunning. The architecture is stunning. The place is calming and soothing and will be oh so perfect for the hotel, uwu.

What's this? A bricked up passage? Let's investigate. Let's not wait to do this properly. What's this? Unstable wall is unstable? Oh noz. Shannon nearly falls to her death! But it's ok because she's a brilliant and strong contractor!

But oh no! Here comes evil mc evil lady. She wants to cause trouble. Oh no! How dare she. Let's investigate. Oh noz, Shannon's been attacked by all those bricks left behind. Shannon, did your crew forget to pick up their mess?

But wait! The secret tunnel is a clue! Things at the asylum weren't as honey sweet as Shannon, et al are imagining. Some bad shit happened here in the bowels of the beautiful building. And of course the bad shit was more recent than anyone cares to think about and of course it's tied to what's going on now.

I try to give authors plenty of wiggle room. It's okay to have some misses in your hits. This one, though, has some absolute bangers of dumb passages. There's a section where Shannon and hotelier are checking out the elevators. The hotelier comments on how it's large enough she could put a bench in there. Shannon pipes up with the obvious observation that it had to be large enough for the gurneys. To which the hotelier says, "Wow, you're so smart!" or something similar. Shannon replies equally cheerfully, "I did research!"

Congrats on doing your research on the mysterious aspect of elevator capacity in hospitals. It's just such a dumb sequence. Haven't either of them been to a modern hospital where the same thing is true?

Once the bricked up passage way is revealed it's clear this book was going to go for a Gothic horror ending for the mystery. That mean's mistaken identities, wrongly imprisoned people, twins, evil parents, etc. It's all there in this entertaining dumpster fire of a mystery.

The ninth book is Absence of Mallets (2021).

Three stars

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The Worst Ronin: 09/16/24

The Worst Ronin by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Faith Schaffer (Illustrator) (2024) is an odd page turner about two young women saving a village and sticking it to the man. Although the graphic novel is set in a pre-car, pre-train Japan, cellphones, television, the internet, and computers exist. It feels like a modern companion piece to Oh Edo Rocket.

Chihiro wants to be a samurai but the presigeous academy has only ever accepted one girl. Now she's hired her to go to a village where children have gone missing. Even with texting, Chihiro is in the dark about the tragedy that has befallen her family in her absence.

It's not the glamorous life Chihiro was expecting, nor is the ronin the dashing hero she expected. The war was hard on her and she has taken to drinking in excess to dull the painful memories.

Despite the jarring inclusion of some modern technology the graphic novel is a roller coaster. It's a quick read that goes through humor, tragedy, trauma, and drama. Neither character is particularly lovable but you will find yourself caring for them by the time the novel is finished.

Five stars

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Death by the Sea: 09/15/24

Death by the Sea by Kathleen Bridge and Lauren Ezzo (Narrator) (2018) is the first book in the By the Sea mystery series. Liz Holt has returned home to the Indialantic by the Sea hotel run by her Aunt Amelia. The hotel's heyday is long past. At one point it was one of the destination spots for Melbourne, Florida.

These days it serves more as a low rent apartment for the down and out and their pets but a wealthy socialite demands a room for herself, her husband, and her cat. After a few days of putting Amelia and her staff through hell, the woman is murdered in the hotel.

Liz's father (who also lives in the hotel) is a private detective. Before the murder, Liz had plans to work for him while she decides if she will write her second novel. In the meantime, she's asked to work with a fire fighter / arson investigator visiting from New York. She's reluctant because he's an ass and she has a traumatic history with the Big Apple.

Liz has come home scared physically and mentally. The how and why of her injuries and her flight home is revealed slowly throughout the mystery. I think some of this revelation is done for the melodrama and I personally would have liked the straight version up front.

The mystery itself was entertaining enough. There aren't enough characters for a complicated solution but I was still surprised by how things played out.

The big character in this book and probably for the entirety of the series is the hotel. It's clearly inspired by an actual hotel, and I would argue is the same one that inspired the setting of Cloaked by Alex Flinn (2011). I found the similarities between the two distracting from time to time.

The second book is A Killing by the Sea (2018).

Four stars

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Flyte: 09/14/24

Flyte by Angie Sage and Mark Zug (Illustrator) (2006) is the second book in the Septimus Heap series. Septimus and Jenna have settled into their new lives: him as apprentice to ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand and she as Princess of the castle. And then out of nowhere Simon rides in and kidnaps Jenna which cascades into a series of remarkable events.

The world of the Septimus Heap stories gives me the vibe of being a blend of Tolkien's Middle Earth and the world of Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures series. It's a fully realized world where dramatic and dangerous things happen but it's all presented with a lighthearted air.

I like how adaptable most of the characters in the book are. Although the Heaps know Jenna isn't their daughter and that Septimus is their son, she is still as much a Heap as now he is. Septimus, though, still has ties to his child soldier days and meets up with an old friend. All of this makes Simon's lingering hate of how things have changed all the more disturbing.

My one concern, though I'm not counting it against this book, is how Septimus Heap and Jenna seemed tied up with every damn prophesy. I worry that Septimus will end up being leveled up way beyond what a kid his age should.

The third book is Physik (2007).

Five stars

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Case of the Bleus: 09/13/24

Case of the Bleus by Korina Moss (2023) is the fourth in the Cheese Shop mystery series. Cheesemongers have come to the Sonoma Valley for the Northwest Cheese Invitational. The talk of the event is the secret recipe to the Church Bleu now that it's maker, Max, has died in a car crash.

Rather than sharing his secret with his staff and the folks set to inherit his estate he chose to turn the secret into a scavenger hunt. Of course this idiotic ploy leads to murder, break-ins, vandalism and general mayhem.

Willa Bauer, probably the most qualified to do anything with Max's secret gets thrust into solving another murder and all the other associated crimes. She also seems to have the main clue to solving Max's mystery.

Scavenger hunts don't play out well in mystery books. There are three ways it can play out. The first is a solution that is somewhere away from the beginning that can be followed through a logical progression of clues. The second is a whole bunch of frustrating work to take the searcher right back to where they started. The final version is a set of clues that when solved end up being a shaggy dog story with no actual prize.

The clues Max leave behind are ultimately from this reader's point of view unsatisfying. First of all, we're not shown the first set of clues, only told what the solution is. The second set of clues comes in the form of two riddles with very different solutions. One provides letters. The other provides a basic geological feature. Unfortunately in the context of the first solution the geological feature doesn't make any sense. This makes me think that the author doesn't know California geography all that well.

The murder mystery part itself was interesting and more complex than I was expecting. The murder weapon, though, made me think briefly that I was actually reading [LINK]Kill or Bee Killed[/LINK] by Jennie Marts. I was reading both around the same time, so it's not completely unreasonable.

The fifth book is Fondue or Die which releases October 22, 2024.

Four stars

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Goodbye, My Brother: 09/12/24

"Goodbye, My Brother" by John Cheever (1951) was initially published in the August 25th issue of the New Yorker. The Pommeroys have come to Massachusetts for vacation in their summer home every year. But this year's trip is marred by the arrival of Lawrence, the sibling that has been absent for years.

Our only interaction with Lawrence, nicknamed Tifty, is through the narrator's version of things. He tells of a child who was mocked by his siblings and father.

While the analysis I've read of the story describes this story as a reverse Cain and Abel, I get more of a Prodigal Son vibe. The family feels obligated to celebrate Tifty's return but it's all very forced.

Tifty himself has come with his family only to finally divorce himself of them. He plans to sell his equity in the house to the third brother. It is over the discussion of money that leads to fratricide. The narrator dispassionately relates how twice in his life he was driven to beat Tifty with a rock. Only this time, it's implied that he won't be recovering from it.

The story sits on the Road Narrative Spectrum. The narrator is a privileged traveler (00). His destination is home (66), the crumbling structure on the ocean cliff. The route there is the cornfield (or tkaronto) as represented by the garden crumbling into sea (FF).

Four stars

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Haunted Ever After: 09/11/24

Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca and Jeannie Sheneman (Narrator) (2024) is the start of the Boneyard Key romance series. Cassie Rutherford has bought the Hawkins house, a place that was recently repaired and updated after sitting abandoned for eight decades. Meanwhile, Nick Royer who runs the local coffee shop is hoping to convince Cass to stick around and start something lasting with him. That is if both can avoid been cock-blocked by the ghosts in their homes.

As it's set in a haunted coastal Florida town, I mistook the book for the next in the Haunted Haven cozy mystery series by Carol J. Perry. Both had summer releases and in my confusion, I purchased the audiobook version of this book. I normally avoid romances as audios because I don't wear headphones when I listen to books. So this time around I had to plan my listening times when I knew I wouldn't be interrupted.

As with her Well Met series, her main characters aren't perfect. They're flawed. They're scared. They have messy histories. But they are still true to themselves and willing to be descent and open to those who do the same.

Although this is a romance first and foremost, between two living human beings, it does have a paranormal twist. The town really is haunted and through the ghost tour Cass takes and later through her research we get to learn the lore of the town. I hope in future volumes we get to learn more. I am here for the lore!

Besides the history, there's the matter of fact way that the living coexist with the dead. Not everyone can communicate with the dead but some can. Nick does it through texting. Cass does it through refrigerator poetry.

Along with the history and the modern day romance, there is a paranormal mystery. It hinges on Cass not being able to charge her laptop at home. Further clues are revealed as Nick feels incredibly uncomfortable in Cass's house. Since I went into the book expecting a mystery, this B plot helped scratch that itch.

This first volume also clearly sets up couple for the second romance. At the time of writing this review a second title or publishing date hasn't been announced. That said, I am looking forward to more books in this series.

Five stars

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Tea Cups and Carnage: 09/10/24

Tea Cups and Carnage by Lynn Cahoon and Susan Boyce (Narrator) (2016) is the seventh book in the Tourist Trap mystery series. South Cove is having trouble with some out of town bikers who are riding dangerously. Meanwhile a newly planned tea shop seems to be running into snags before it can even open.

The woman, Kathi, who is opening the tea shop is followed into town by her sister and a cousin. The cousin is murdered and it looks like Kathi is responsible. Jill, who has befriended the woman can't believe she could be a murderer.

Jill does her best to not investigate. Her sheriff boyfriend is on the case and she has her own mystery to worry about. Her aunt has misplaced the $3000 grant from the city and the check has been deposited into someone else's account. Jill starts suspecting her employees which causes lots of hurt feelings.

Of the two mysteries, I found the missing money the more compelling one. The Texas family drama / murder was just too dependent on certain cliches and stereotypes. Plus the mystery is resolved again by having the murderer reveal themselves and threaten everyone.

The next book in the series is Hospitality and Homicide (2017).

Four stars

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Sun Up: 09/07/24

Sun Up by Alvin Tresselt and Roger Duvoisin (Illustrator) (1949) is a beautiful picture about a day on a farm. It begins and ends with the sun, with the rooster crowing and later settling down for the night.

In between it follows a farmer and his child as they do the daily chores. There are cows to feed and milk. The chickens to let out of the coop. Crops to tend. Etc.

In the middle of this hot sweltering day comes an unexpected, fierce but refreshing summer down poor. Everyone rushes for cover to wait it out. And then the day continues.

This picture book was reissued in 1991 with illustrations redone by Henri Sorensen but it was the artwork of Roger Duvoisin that had me seeking an older copy.

Rendered in simple, bold colors the farm comes to life. There's efficiency and knowledge in the use of line to create these scenes.

Five stars

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Kill or Bee Killed: 09/05/24

Kill or Bee Killed by Jennie Marts and Cris Dukehart (Narrator) (2024) is the second book in the Bee Keeping mystery series. Humble Hills is having a baking contest during it's annual Bee Festival. A news anchor from Los Angeles has come to host but ends up murdered before the contest is even over.

Cooking contests in a mystery make me grit my teeth. Reality TV murder shenanigans have become cliche and rely on the reader being a consumer of reality TV. I am not so I find the inclusion of these contests hit or miss, and often on the miss side of things.

The contest part of this novel is a small piece of the larger plot. It's so small that the contest doesn't even get to finish because of the chaos post murder. Also with the contest being part of a larger event, a community fair, puts into a more realistic perspective.

The mystery itself hinges on past secrets and long held grudges. It's something that Bailey, having been away from Humble Hills, is out of touch with. She needs to rely on local knowledge to solve the mystery.

The climax again pulls on a trope that often bothers me: the murderer revealing themselves. That said, Jennie Marts clearly knows the pitfalls of this trope and manages to play with expectations to make something both funny and nail biting. Bailey, while still in danger, does manage to save herself, by calling for help and by fighting back when the opportunity arises.

Five stars

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Rinkitink in Oz: 09/02/24

Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum and John R. Neill (1916) is the tenth Oz book. It primarily takes place among a string of islands beyond the Nome Kingdom and is a departure from the more typical of the Oz books. The book though is a reflection of Baum's life, something I didn't appreciate the first two attempts I made at reading it.

Prince Inga of Pingaree and King Rinkitink and his service goat are the only three remaining after Inga's island is invaded. The King and Queen of a pair of islands usually at war have come together to conquer Pingaree.

At it's most basic, Rinkitink is an exploration of leadership. We have the young Crown Prince who must step up to free his parents and their subjects. He has three magic objects which he needs to use ethically to make his rescue. There is King Rinkitink who is burned out from years of being King and has literally run away. There are the waring King and Queen who seek power through enslavement and conquest. There is the new Nome King who has been installed after Oz defeated the last one and is naturally wary but is still compelled to align himself with the conquers. And finally there is Ozma who ends up taking sides not because any of the events are an immediate threat to Oz, but because she will force peace on her neighbors by any means necessary.

The inclusion of Ozma, Glinda, and Dorothy was a means to and end. Baum at that time had a yearly obligation with his publisher and hadn't produced an Oz book for 1916. He reworked an older manuscript to shoehorn it into the Oz universe. Had it been a stand alone, Inga and Rinkitink would have eventually beat the Nome King at his games. Sending in Dorothy to stop the Nome King, though, is a fascinating show of power from a nation that prides itself on being a peaceful utopia. Of course, the nine books that come before show that Ozma's utopia isn't as perfect as her PR would have you believe. It's also the first time that Ozma as a scary leader (from an outside perspective) is first mentioned, though it appears again in later books, such as Speedy in Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson (1934)

Like all the previous Oz books, Rinkitink sits on the Road Narrative Spectrum. As all the travelers are royalty, they are privileged travelers (00). Their destination is ultimately home (66) to their respective kingdoms. Their route there is and offroad one (66) via water and other magical travel.

The next book is The Lost Princess of Oz (1917).

Four stars

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The Scarecrow of Oz: 09/02/24

I should have posted this review in August but completely forgot!

The Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum and John R. Neill (1915) is the ninth book in the original Oz series. It's also the third book in the Trot and Cap'n Bill series. For the second time in his existence, the Scarecrow will end up King, but this time it's part of being a hero.

Although Oz can be walked across in about a week's time (coincidently, so can Kansas), it seems to have infinite spots for micro-kingdoms. This volume spends a good chunk of time and effort in Jinxland, a valley kingdom just inside of Quadling County, pressed up against the Great Sandy Waste and an impassible mountain pass.

Because the Jinxlanders can't leave their kingdom, Glinda and Ozma are completely disinterested in them or their well fare, even after two palace coups which include the burying alive of a person. It's not until previous guests to the Emerald City that either woman decides it's time to do something about the Jinxland situation.

Besides the despot ruler, there's a forbidden romance between a princess and the gardener's boy. Here's where John R. Neill's inconsistent illustrations get annoying. For the most part, the princess and Trot are written as peers. Trot, though younger is still old enough to appreciate that the princess is in love and doesn't want to consent to an arranged marriage to a much older man.

But Neill's artwork throughout the series has one major annoying quirk. When he draws female characters on their own, or together (without the presence of a male character) he draws them as young adults, somewhere in the range of mid teens to early twenties. However, if there is a male character about, they are suddenly back to looking in the age range of six to ten years old and are invariably in short dresses and bonnets. Only Glinda the various wicked witches seem to be completely invulnerable to Neill's patronizing pen. Ozma gets this treatment almost as regularly as her friends do.

Four stars

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August 2024 Sources: 09/02/24

Preparation for Kay's move to Victoria, BC as well as that actual move kept me busy in August. I'm writing this post from Victoria.

In August I read 14 TBR books, down from the previous month's 24 TBR. One book was published in Augst. Six books were for research. None were reviews.None were from the library. My ROOB score for August was -3.90, down slightly from the previous month's -3.88. It was an average August.

I predicted a -4.0 and was nearly spot on. For September, I'm going with -4.4.

My average for August improved from -3.03 to -3.09.

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August 2024 Summary: 09/01/24

August was the end of Kay's Scotland trip, preparation for her move to Victoria, BC, and ultimately her move there. I am still in Victoria as part of a two week vacation tied in with her move.

I read fewer books in August, 21, down from 24. Of my read books, 15 were diverse and five were queer. I reviewed 23 books, two fewer than the previous month. On the reviews front, 15 were diverse and four were queer.

I have 1 book left to review of the books I read in 2023, and 15 from August of the 174 read in 2024.

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