There’s always hope for something. Just not always… not always what we want.
James S. A. Corey’s The Mercy of Gods
I smelled something quite enticing in the hallway out of our Kitchen. So I handed Pub duties over to Finch and got myself down there for the eventide meal, which was lamb kebabs seasoned with fennel, cumin, garlic and chili.
According to Gus, our Groundskeeper, who does oh so much more than that essential work, it turned out that we just slaughtered a lamb. The kebabs were served up with basmanti rice, steamed veggies and the best yeasted whole wheat rolls I’ve had.
We had ice cream for desert: a cardamom and ginger one, another intensely dark chocolate and peanut, and a strawberry one with some berries of the summer season. I sampled all three and can say that Mrs. Ware and her ever so talented Kitchen staff outdid themselves!
So let’s head over to my work table where my iPad is and see what we’ve got for you this evening.
Gary leads off with a review of a recent release from James S. A. Corey, The Mercy of Gods. ‘As with the crew of Rocinante in The Expanse, “Corey” (a.k.a. Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) has created a team of distinct individuals for the reader to identify with, each having their own strengths, weaknesses and quirks. And then put them into an unimaginably stressful situation that brings out their best and sometimes worst traits.’
So the rest of our book reviews are space operas as well. We think you’ll find something here that will please you to read, so I’ll get out of your way and let you look at these reviews.
Cat looks at Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven’s The Mote in God’s Eye of which he says, ‘Until the likes of Iain M. Banks with The Culture series and Neal Asher with the Polity series came along, quite possibly the best Space Opera of all time was this forty year-old novel that took the Space Opera novels of the 1930s and 1940s and very, very nicely updated them.’
Gary reviews a book of literary criticism about Iain M. Banks Culture series. He says Simone Caroti’s The Culture Series ‘is valuable reading for anyone who wants to move into a deeper understanding of what that series is really about, where it stands in the history of SF and literature, and why it’s important.’
Gary also reviewed a recent SF anthology called The New Space Opera: ‘Of course, “space opera” is what all science fiction used to be, up until about the 1970s or so. Thrilling tales of adventure in outer space, usually featuring huge starships, weird aliens, strange planets and battles, either physical or of wits.’
Joel reviewed Neal Asher’s Gridlinked, a space opera of sorts that’s a novel in The Polity series which has been running a lot longer than The Culture series did: ‘I’ve never been one for long series, and certainly the greater part of my reading time is spent on authors I’m encountering for the first time, rather than always going with the same old stand-bys, but what can I say? I get something new in the Polity universe and I know it will always be good. When it comes to escapist fiction, Neal Asher has become my most dependable travel guide. No surprise then I moved him to the top of my reading pile.’
Robert came up with a series that is quintessential space opera, with a twist: C. J. Cherryh’s The Chanur Saga, including Chanur’s Homecoming, and the sequel, Chanur’s Legacy: ‘C. J. Cherryh’s The Chanur Saga is an almost-omnibus edition of her tetralogy about Pyanfar Chanur and her ship, the interstellar trader The Pride of Chanur. Because of length, the “omnibus” volume contains the first three in the series . . . , and one would be well-advised to be sure that Chanur’s Homecoming, issued separately, is within easy reach, lest one be left hanging off a cliff.’
Our reviewer Pinky quibbled with some of the facts in Stewart Lee Allen’s The Devil’s Cup: Coffee, The Driving Force in History, but had praise for this book that weaves social, cultural, and culinary history into a manic travelogue. ‘Discarding chronology, Lee seamlessly weaves in past and present to explain the nuances of coffee’s influence in a region. An instance of this is the chapter “War,” where hundreds of years of Turkish history are traversed without a jolt.’k
Asher proclaims ‘Here is a tale of human folly — “Whatever the cost, do it”. Of a noble dream – “One land, one king!” Of magic – “Can’t you see all around you the Dragon’s breath?” Of its passing – “There are other worlds. This one is done with me.” And of memory – “For it is the doom of men that they forget.” Excalibur is arguably the most exciting film version of the myth of Arthur to date.’
Gary here with music. Let’s lead off with a musician interview by Daryana. She had a long email conversation with Russian composer, musician, singer, and researcher Zhenya Wind. In her introduction, Daryana says, ‘Folklore, ethnographic expeditions, and original fairy-tale songs — all of these find expression in Zhenya Wind’s work. Her music becomes a key to understanding the magic of folk traditions and stories. Joining the listeners who have chosen her songs for their playlists means immersing yourself in a true musical expedition experience — one that opens new horizons and invites you to rethink your own perception of the world.’
I have a review of the 30th anniversary deluxe edition of John Prine’s Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings. The best thing about it is the bonus tracks including some very good demos of the album’s best songs. The original album is still not my favorite. ‘That said, if you’re in the right mood, this can be a fun album if the production doesn’t put you off as much as it does me. As with all Prine albums, the lyrics run the gamut from gut-punch sad to warmly loving to knee-slapping funny, often within one short stanza.’
Faith as always had some strong opinions, wittily expressed, in her review of a reissue of Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger’s Classic Scots Ballads: ‘So what do we have? Several Child Ballads, for starters. “The False Lover Won Back” always makes me wonder why she wanted him back. He must have been quite the lad to be worth running behind his horse halfway across Scotland.’
Lars reviewed several albums from English folk musicians Simon Mayor and Hilary James. Let’s start with Children’s Favourites from Acoustics, which he greatly enjoyed. ‘James and Mayor have the ability to write songs that appeal to children, and to the child within adults, without ever sounding childish. They do not oversimplify things; they trust their audience to be able to pick up on clever musical passages and word games in the lyrics.’
Next up Lars reviewed Music from a Small Island. ‘Many of the traditional tracks are well known, but Mayor and James make them their own. The treatment of “Such a Parcel of Rogues” for instance lets Mayor display his ability on a number of instruments, and “Rosebud in June” first gets an instrumental arrangement, followed by James’s clear soprano voice.’
Then Lars reviewed two at once: Simon Mayor and Hilary James’s Lullabies with Mandolins, and Hilary James with Simon Mayor’s Laughing With the Moon. ‘Well, you may ask yourself what the difference is between a CD made by SM & HJ and a CD made by HJ with SM. I am sorry to confess that I have not got a clue. Both these CDs seem to be proper duo albums, although they differ greatly when you consider the underlying feeling of each album, and in the fact that the duo are alone on the Lullabies and have brought in extra musicians for Laughing With the Moon.’
Peter Massey delved into an album of folk song by Peggy Seeger, Love Call Me Home. ‘I must say my favourite songs on the album were the two new songs written or updated by Peggy. The first is the opening track “Sing About These Hard Times.” It’s a great song, and Peggy has chosen to bring this old chestnut up to date with a theme of how things are now. The other is the title track, a beautiful song dedicated to the memory of a friend who died of cancer.’
Samantha was disappointed with Mick McAuley & Winifred Horan’s Serenade. ‘I expected a more thrilling ride from what are essentially two very talented artists. Solas fans may wish to buy it, if only to hear a different angle of the group. I just hope that if McAuley and Horan plan any future duet albums, they will be inspired to jolt some of the old fire back into their playing.’
Our coda is Aaron Copland’s ‘A Fanfare for The Common Man’ as performed by the Rolling Stones. Yes the Rolling Stones! A number of bands including Styx and ELP (Emerson Lake and Palmer) have adapted it for use. So here’s their decidedly offbeat version. No idea where or when it was recorded. It is known they used it to open their shows in 1975 and 1976.
I'm the Librarian for the Kinrowan Estate. I do love fresh brewed teas, curling, English mysteries and will often be playing Scandinavian or Celtic music here in the Library here in Kinrowan Hall if the Neverending Session is elsewhere.
I'm a violinist too, so you'll me playing in various contradance band such as Chasing Fireflies and Mouse in the Cupboard as well as backing my wife Catherine up on yearly Christmas season tours in the Nordic countries.
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New SF from James S. A. Corey; Terry Gillian’s Excalibur; Rolling Stones do Aaron Copland’s ‘A Fanfare for The Common Man’; An offbeat history of coffee; an interview with Russian folk singer Zhenya Wind; and a grab bag of folk music
There’s always hope for something. Just not always… not always what we want.
I smelled something quite enticing in the hallway out of our Kitchen. So I handed Pub duties over to Finch and got myself down there for the eventide meal, which was lamb kebabs seasoned with fennel, cumin, garlic and chili.
According to Gus, our Groundskeeper, who does oh so much more than that essential work, it turned out that we just slaughtered a lamb. The kebabs were served up with basmanti rice, steamed veggies and the best yeasted whole wheat rolls I’ve had.
We had ice cream for desert: a cardamom and ginger one, another intensely dark chocolate and peanut, and a strawberry one with some berries of the summer season. I sampled all three and can say that Mrs. Ware and her ever so talented Kitchen staff outdid themselves!
So let’s head over to my work table where my iPad is and see what we’ve got for you this evening.
Gary leads off with a review of a recent release from James S. A. Corey, The Mercy of Gods. ‘As with the crew of Rocinante in The Expanse, “Corey” (a.k.a. Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) has created a team of distinct individuals for the reader to identify with, each having their own strengths, weaknesses and quirks. And then put them into an unimaginably stressful situation that brings out their best and sometimes worst traits.’
So the rest of our book reviews are space operas as well. We think you’ll find something here that will please you to read, so I’ll get out of your way and let you look at these reviews.
Cat looks at Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven’s The Mote in God’s Eye of which he says, ‘Until the likes of Iain M. Banks with The Culture series and Neal Asher with the Polity series came along, quite possibly the best Space Opera of all time was this forty year-old novel that took the Space Opera novels of the 1930s and 1940s and very, very nicely updated them.’
Gary reviews a book of literary criticism about Iain M. Banks Culture series. He says Simone Caroti’s The Culture Series ‘is valuable reading for anyone who wants to move into a deeper understanding of what that series is really about, where it stands in the history of SF and literature, and why it’s important.’
Gary also reviewed a recent SF anthology called The New Space Opera: ‘Of course, “space opera” is what all science fiction used to be, up until about the 1970s or so. Thrilling tales of adventure in outer space, usually featuring huge starships, weird aliens, strange planets and battles, either physical or of wits.’
Joel reviewed Neal Asher’s Gridlinked, a space opera of sorts that’s a novel in The Polity series which has been running a lot longer than The Culture series did: ‘I’ve never been one for long series, and certainly the greater part of my reading time is spent on authors I’m encountering for the first time, rather than always going with the same old stand-bys, but what can I say? I get something new in the Polity universe and I know it will always be good. When it comes to escapist fiction, Neal Asher has become my most dependable travel guide. No surprise then I moved him to the top of my reading pile.’
Robert came up with a series that is quintessential space opera, with a twist: C. J. Cherryh’s The Chanur Saga, including Chanur’s Homecoming, and the sequel, Chanur’s Legacy: ‘C. J. Cherryh’s The Chanur Saga is an almost-omnibus edition of her tetralogy about Pyanfar Chanur and her ship, the interstellar trader The Pride of Chanur. Because of length, the “omnibus” volume contains the first three in the series . . . , and one would be well-advised to be sure that Chanur’s Homecoming, issued separately, is within easy reach, lest one be left hanging off a cliff.’
Asher proclaims ‘Here is a tale of human folly — “Whatever the cost, do it”. Of a noble dream – “One land, one king!” Of magic – “Can’t you see all around you the Dragon’s breath?” Of its passing – “There are other worlds. This one is done with me.” And of memory – “For it is the doom of men that they forget.” Excalibur is arguably the most exciting film version of the myth of Arthur to date.’
I have a review of the 30th anniversary deluxe edition of John Prine’s Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings. The best thing about it is the bonus tracks including some very good demos of the album’s best songs. The original album is still not my favorite. ‘That said, if you’re in the right mood, this can be a fun album if the production doesn’t put you off as much as it does me. As with all Prine albums, the lyrics run the gamut from gut-punch sad to warmly loving to knee-slapping funny, often within one short stanza.’
Faith as always had some strong opinions, wittily expressed, in her review of a reissue of Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger’s Classic Scots Ballads: ‘So what do we have? Several Child Ballads, for starters. “The False Lover Won Back” always makes me wonder why she wanted him back. He must have been quite the lad to be worth running behind his horse halfway across Scotland.’
Lars reviewed several albums from English folk musicians Simon Mayor and Hilary James. Let’s start with Children’s Favourites from Acoustics, which he greatly enjoyed. ‘James and Mayor have the ability to write songs that appeal to children, and to the child within adults, without ever sounding childish. They do not oversimplify things; they trust their audience to be able to pick up on clever musical passages and word games in the lyrics.’
Next up Lars reviewed Music from a Small Island. ‘Many of the traditional tracks are well known, but Mayor and James make them their own. The treatment of “Such a Parcel of Rogues” for instance lets Mayor display his ability on a number of instruments, and “Rosebud in June” first gets an instrumental arrangement, followed by James’s clear soprano voice.’
Then Lars reviewed two at once: Simon Mayor and Hilary James’s Lullabies with Mandolins, and Hilary James with Simon Mayor’s Laughing With the Moon. ‘Well, you may ask yourself what the difference is between a CD made by SM & HJ and a CD made by HJ with SM. I am sorry to confess that I have not got a clue. Both these CDs seem to be proper duo albums, although they differ greatly when you consider the underlying feeling of each album, and in the fact that the duo are alone on the Lullabies and have brought in extra musicians for Laughing With the Moon.’
Peter Massey delved into an album of folk song by Peggy Seeger, Love Call Me Home. ‘I must say my favourite songs on the album were the two new songs written or updated by Peggy. The first is the opening track “Sing About These Hard Times.” It’s a great song, and Peggy has chosen to bring this old chestnut up to date with a theme of how things are now. The other is the title track, a beautiful song dedicated to the memory of a friend who died of cancer.’
Samantha was disappointed with Mick McAuley & Winifred Horan’s Serenade. ‘I expected a more thrilling ride from what are essentially two very talented artists. Solas fans may wish to buy it, if only to hear a different angle of the group. I just hope that if McAuley and Horan plan any future duet albums, they will be inspired to jolt some of the old fire back into their playing.’
Iain Nicholas Mackenzie
I'm the Librarian for the Kinrowan Estate. I do love fresh brewed teas, curling, English mysteries and will often be playing Scandinavian or Celtic music here in the Library here in Kinrowan Hall if the Neverending Session is elsewhere. I'm a violinist too, so you'll me playing in various contradance band such as Chasing Fireflies and Mouse in the Cupboard as well as backing my wife Catherine up on yearly Christmas season tours in the Nordic countries.
More Posts
About Iain Nicholas Mackenzie
I'm the Librarian for the Kinrowan Estate. I do love fresh brewed teas, curling, English mysteries and will often be playing Scandinavian or Celtic music here in the Library here in Kinrowan Hall if the Neverending Session is elsewhere. I'm a violinist too, so you'll me playing in various contradance band such as Chasing Fireflies and Mouse in the Cupboard as well as backing my wife Catherine up on yearly Christmas season tours in the Nordic countries.