A Green Man Review

She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but she was a bit like a cat herself, forever wandering in the woods, chasing after squirrels and rabbits as fast as her skinny legs could take her when the fancy struck, climbing trees like a possum, able to doze in the sun at a moment’s notice. And sometimes with no notice at all.  — Lillian Kindred in  Charles de Lint’s The Cats of Tanglewood Forest

Oh that coffee that you’re smelling? It’s a bean from Java. We roast all our coffee here. It’s an extremely dark coffee blend with notes of bittersweet chocolate. Care for some? It just brewed up. I take mine with a dollop of cream we get from Oak Haven Estate, our neighbours just over the north ridge ten kilometres or so away.

And yes, those are are pumpkin cream cheese tarts and they have none of that obnoxious Halloween style spicing in them. They’re still just warm from our kitchen. So so have coffee and a tart while I finish off this edition.

First up is Clinton Heylin’s No More Sad Refrains: The Life and Times of Sandy Denny in which I had forgotten that our reviewer Chris does reference that zombie biography: ‘In some ways it’s apposite that a book written about an artist as emotionally charged and mercurial as Sandy Denny should itself have had a difficult and rocky genesis. Some people, myself included, were expecting a biography of Sandy written by Pam Winters to be issued by Helter Skelter last year. It’s not my place as a reviewer to pass judgment on the disagreements which caused that project to flounder, and led to Clinton Heylin writing this book. Nevertheless, I include these comments to clarify the situation for those readers who do not know the background, why a biography did not appear last year, and why the author of this book, Clinton Heylin, is perhaps not the same author that they may have expected. It also helps explain the rather unusual comments in Clinton Heylin’s acknowledgments. Maybe one day that full story will unfold, but I shall keep my thoughts and comments on the book in hand. ‘

Fairport Unconventional was one of those astounding box sets Free Reed did. And Chris just also looking at this tasty treat: ‘As amazing as the music lovingly collected in this box set is, the one hundred and seventy page book is in its own way even better. Shaped to fit the box set as you can see by the photo of the box set, it’s a full history of the band as written by Schofeld who’s very obviously a diehard fan as he amusingly with an introduction entitled ‘Fairport Convention: A recipe for success’ which includes this choice tidbit: ’11 lead guitarists, 11 lead vocalists, 6 fiddle players, 7 drummers, 5 keyboard players, 2 bass players’ which makes the band not all that different than any band that’s lasted thirty-five years such as the Breton fest noz bands.’

Last Night’s Fub: In and Out of Time with Irish Music pleased Chuck who tells us what’s about: ‘Ciaran Carson is an Irish poet and musician, who has, in Last Night’s Fun, put together a series of writings, each inspired by a traditional tune. In most cases, these are short essays. For others, he has written poetry or put together sets of quotations. Occasionally the subjects in consecutive chapters are directly related, but that is most likely happenstance.’

Tommy James’s rise to fame was engineered by a New York Mobster who was the inspiration for a character on HBO’s The Sopranos, according to a book Gary reviewed: Me, The Mob And The Music. James co-wrote this autobiography, the story of how James rose from his beginnings in garage bands in Niles, Michigan, to a series of Top 20 hits from 1966 through 1969. ‘The book chronicles the way James cranked out hit after hit for Roulette and never saw a cent,’ Gary says.

Larry Kane’s Ticket to Ride is about a slightly better known (and paid) group, but who’s Larry Kane? ‘He was the only American journalist in The Beatles’ official press group on their groundbreaking 1964 U.S. tour,’ Gary says. ‘The tour changed the way rock ‘n’ roll concerts were played, it changed a lot of people’s minds about The Beatles, and it changed Larry Kane’s life.’

Scott Allen Nollen’s Jethro Tull: A History of the Band, 1968-2001 gets a superb look see by Kate: ‘Scott Allen Nollen has proven his devotion as a Tull fan in the countless miles travelled and the hours passed collecting details and interviewing band members and other associates. He has included nostalgic pictures of the band, some of which were borrowed from Ian Anderson, the often frenzied flautist who, despite some controversy, became the Fagin-like front man for the band. After ten long years of research, here is a comprehensive and entertaining story of the much misunderstood Jethro Tull. The authenticity is underlined by the thoughtful and honest foreword written by Ian Anderson himself.’

Berlioz’s Evenings with the Orchestra came about as a result of him being neither a widely recognized composer in his lifetime, or being generally accepted at all during his lifetime, as Kelly notes in his splendid review: ‘In order to remain solvent, Berlioz often had to turn to penning articles of criticism and commentary on music and cultural matters for the Paris publications of the day. By all accounts, Berlioz hated this work and the necessity of it, which is ironic given the quality of his writing, as evidenced in Evenings with the Orchestra.’

Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span are two of my fave British folk rock(ish) bands, so it’s apt that Lars has a review of Brian Hinton and Geoff Wall’s biography of Ashley Hutchings: The Guv’nor & the Rise of Folk Rock as he helped birth both of those groups: ‘To some of us the subject of this book is, if not God, at least the musical equivalent to the pope. Name a group you like and have followed over the years, and there is a fair chance that Mr. Hutchings was there to start it, or at least influence the starting of it. He is in one way or another responsible for a very large number of the records in my collection, and yes, we are certainly talking three figures, here.’

I reviewed Mark Cunningham’s Horslips: Tall Tales, The Official Biography: ‘Horslips were, and in many ways still are, the Irish equivalent of Steeleye Span and, to a lesser extent, Fairport Convention, as they blend English and Irish traditional material and a rock and roll sensibility into what was the first Irish folk rock group.’ Did they get what they deserved? Oh yes.

Richard ends our English folk rock biographies by looking at Patrick Humphries’ Richard Thompson: The Biography: ‘Biographies of musicians are always dangerous propositions. Too many are tell-alls that insist on concentrating on lurid details and scandal, to the point where the reader forgets that the book is about a musician. Others go the other way, and are so slavishly and obviously creations of the PR machine that they’re essentially worthless as sources of fact. Books of both these sorts tend to cluster around hugely successful acts, and to clutter bookshelves right around holiday time.’ And let’s just say this this is decidedly not the biography this artist deserves.

Robert takes us in a different direction altogether, with a review of Allan Marett’s Songs, Dreamings, and Ghosts — The Wangga of North Australia: ‘First, a brief demurrer: “Ethnomusicology” can be a really scary idea, drawing together, as it does, the formal study of music and its forms, history, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and possibly a couple of “ologies” that I’ve overlooked, all discrete disciplines in Western thought and each by itself incapable of leading to any real understanding of cultures.’

David has the story of the Festival Express: ‘It opens with a faded map of north Ontario, Kapuskasing dead centre. Then the camera pulls back and from the middle of the screen comes a train — an old Canadian National engine — and tracks, lots of tracks. This is a movie about that train and the people who rode on it, and the places it stopped, and what happened one week in 1970 when this train went from Toronto to Calgary . . . with a cargo of rock’n’rollers and all their paraphernalia. What a summer.’

Our food review this time is actually a CD as Judith explains in her look at The Water of Life: ‘You would think that one album about booze would be enough for even a Scotsman, but not for singer-traditional songwriter Robin Laing. The Water of Life is Laing’s second, after The Angel’s Share, with songs on both CDs from his one-man show on whiskey. Laing, originally from Edinborough but now living in rural Lanarkshire, seems to have settled into a distillery groove. Great idea!’

Brendan reviewed a couple of Nordic discs, starting with one by Ale Möller. ‘Ale Möller’s The Horse and the Crane is a thoroughly entertaining, thoroughly entrancing set of music made for a theatre concert based upon a set of novels by Sara Lidman about the extension of the railway into Northern Sweden. Filled with the stark instrumentation and ethereal sounds that seem to pervade the best Swedish music, this suite really does feel like the perfect soundtrack to a railway tour through glaciers.’ For contrast, he reviews a disc from Myllärit. ‘…this Finnish seven-person ensembles offers danceability and joy on In the Light of the White Night, a fine selection of Finnish and Karelian folk tunes.’

Donna reviewed a CD by one of her favorite groups, Frifot’s Flyt. ‘On the continuum between folk and jazz that this group occupies, I would put this closer to the folk end. It’s actually quite mellow — and please don’t take that to mean it’s boring, because it’s definitely not. Lead vocalist Lena Willemark seems less inclined than usual to explore the higher registers of her always astounding vocal range. [Ale] Möller and the group’s third member, fiddle player Per Gudmundson, sing very harmonious backup vocals on a number of tracks, giving the songs a richer sound than I usually associate with this group.’

Gary was very pleased with an album by his favorite Norwegian Hardanger fiddle player. ‘Glødetrådar is exactly the kind of album that I look for from Nils Økland. It’s brimming with creativity and musical ideas, and it expertly combines ancient sounding folk melodies and dance rhythms with modern jazz and improvisation techniques. Add to that a team of players who listen deeply to each other and care only about contributing to the work at hand, and you have a moving and lasting work of art.’

The Finnish group Okra Playground’s new disc Itku was reviewed by Gary. ‘The three powerful singing women of Okra Playground draw largely on Finland’s centuries-old runo singing tradition, embellishing it with elements of electro dance music, pop, and rock to great effect. Not every track on this nine-track album is fully to my taste, but there’s plenty here for fans who enjoy various aspects of  Finnish contemporary folk music.’

Gary has enjoyed the music of Finnish accordionist Maria Kalaniemi, including the album Ambra. ‘On this album she duets with pianist Timo Alakotila, with whom she has worked and played for more than a decade, particularly in a contemporary music group called Aldargaz. It’s a delightful match, as the two take turns as soloist and accompanist. The tunes range from traditional polskas and marches, to minuets and polkas, some tango-influenced excursions, and some unadulterated bal musette.’

He also reviewed Ilmajousi / Luftstråk, by Maria Kalaniemi and Swedish fiddler Sven Ahlbäck. ‘It’s a remarkable synthesis of sounds, styles and genres. The duo plays nine traditional pieces, most of them arranged by Ahlbäck, and eight contemporary works, six by Ahlbäck, two by Kalaniemi.’

Another Finnish group Gary has reviewed is Aallotar, including their CD Ameriikan Laulu. ‘Finnish accordionist Teija Niku and Finnish-American fiddler Sara Pajunen, performing as Aallotar, continue to explore their shared musical and cultural histories on Ameriikan Laulu, their second collaboration following their 2014 debut In Transit. I’ve been hoping these two would renew their musical partnership, and this album satisfies my appetite for more from them.’

Jack Merry is the author of several omnibus reviews of Nordic music in the Green Man archives, including this one that covers groups known as Færd, Harv, Spælimenninir, and Bukkene Bruse. Of the album Tost by Harv, he says, ‘Is there a Norwegian influence here? Oh, yes! Christain Svensson joins them as a percussionist, as does guitarist Peter Stahlgren. Now, the key to figuring out Harv is to remember that they are very, very upbeat — no mournful dirges here! I like Garmarna and Gjallarhorn, but I’ll bet my last penny that these lads are more entertaining in concert. Certainly less depressing. The musicianship is simply outstanding and the recording is a delight to hear — I repeated it a half dozen times in the first week I had it.’

Judith had fun with a sampler of Finnish music called Arctic Paradise: Contemporary Finnish Folk Music 2001. ‘The CD has culled the best of “contemporary” Finnish folk music. Some artists, like Varttina and Wimme, are fairly well known, but others will be familiar only to Nordophiles. Interestingly, only five of the tracks are traditional music, the rest for the most part are composed in a traditional style and many are transposed and fused freely.’

Kim had high praise for the music emanating from a disc called Ahma, by Maria Kalaniemi and Aldargaz. ‘The album’s great arrangements are not surprising, as most of the musicians, like Kalaniemi, also hail from the Sibelius Academy Folk Music department. Aldergaz are Timo Alakotila on piano, Olli Varis on guitars, Tarpani Varis on double bass, Petri Hakala on mandolins and Arto Järveläla on violin. These folks have a flair for the dramatic and a great sense of the potential of a tune.’

Our What Not comes courtesy of Chuck who looks at an Irish song commonly known as ‘Johnny Cock’ or ‘Johnny O’Braidslea’: ‘One of the fascinating things about folk music is the variety that one song or tune can produce. Niggling purism aside, there has never been one folk style. That’s even more true these days with musicians fusing traditional folk to jazz, rock, Latin, and whatever other style they happen to like. So what I’m going to do in And Reels is to take a song or a tune and see how different performers, as well as different sources, treat it.’

As I’ve noted before, I’m fond of the not quite trad music out of the Nordic cultures that arose starting in the early Nineties. Garmarna was one such band. With the stellar Emma Härdelin as their vocalist, they were active for about a decade and then took a break until now, as they’re working on a new album. This cut is called “Vedergällningen” which is from a Chicago performance in 2002. Skoal!

We keep our cats as happy as we can. — Anna Nimmhaus

I woke well before dawn as I wanted to watch the Northern Lights, which have been particularly outstanding lately. Though none of the humans save Tamsin, our Hedgewitch, on the Estate joined me, but several of the Irish wolfhounds that guard our livestock accompanied me as well and even some of Tamsin’s owl companions flew low overhead. We, well at least we humans, found them fascinating as the wolfhounds and owls seemed to be playing a rather complicated chase game that even Tamsin admitted she hadn’t even a clue to what it meant.

We later had breakfast back in the rather cozy Kitchen nook created originally for a few members of the Neverending Session to play in the Kitchen – thick cut thrice smoked applewood bacon, blueberry waffles with butter and maple syrup, tea for me and Tamsin as well, and Border strawberries, the ones that start red as blood and turn white as bleached bone, as well. We both felt like in need of  a very long walk to work it off, or a long nap … I however needed to put this together so both choices were put off for later consideration!

Let’s start off the book reviews this time with a look at Charles de Lint’s Newford Stories: The Crow Girls. Of all the immortal shapeshifting being that inhabit the Newford stories, the most charming at least for me are Maida and Zia, the two crow girls, who look like pinkish teenagers all in black naturally. After you read Cat’s review, you can experience them first hand in A Crow Girls Christmas written by (obviously) Charles de Lint and charmingly illustrated by his wife, MaryAnn Harris.

He next offers us a review of one of his yearly readings: ‘Jane Yolen has set The Wild Hunt in the dead of winter, a winter where the weather is very, very bad — as bad as it will be at Ragnarok itself. The story told here is that Herne the Hunter, He Who is The Lord of Winter, is battling… a cat… a rather small cat at that. Ahhh, but not just any cat.’

Eric has a cozy of sorts for us: ‘Adding a new dimension to a real figure adds a kick to historical fiction. The key is to cast the person plausibly, if the historical feel of the fiction is to be kept. The role doesn’t have to be something that the person actually would have done, just something that the character can fall naturally into as the book progresses. In The Queene’s Christmas, Karen Harper strives to graft the role of detective onto the Queen. Somewhat difficult to swallow at times, but the overall effort is a good one.’

Grey says ‘When I was a teenager I often repeated these lines to myself as a kind of charm. It wasn’t that I expected them to make something happen; the words were a “happening” in and of themselves, and just saying them put me into the middle of it. They were a door into Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising cycle, one of the most compelling stories I had ever read. The story compels me to this day, and I continue to re-read it every few years.’

Henry Glassie’s All Silver and No Brass: An Irish Christmas Mumming is a wonderful book says Jack: ‘ What Glassie did in studying the Irish Mummers is the neat trick that any ethnographer wishes he or she could do: he gained access without going native, so he could ask questions only an outsider could ask. And ask he did! He asked and received tales about the mummers, their performances, the way mumming used to be in the old days, and the meanings of mumming. Mumming comes to life in a way that will reward both the general reader interested in a fascinating story and any serious student of Celtic folklore.

Jack also has a rather unlikely book with a winter holiday tie-in, Firecrackers: The Art & History. ‘Did you know that American newspapers were collected during community paper drives and shipped to China, where they were used as the paper wrappings for firecrackers? Or that Christmas, not the Fourth of July, was until the 1930s when firecrackers were set off in the American South?’

Lis has a special treat for us and tells about Pool Anderson’s The Complete Psychotechnic League, Volume 1 in detail: ‘In the aftermath of World War III, with restoration of peace and order, and the efforts to cope with the nuclear fallout, a new science of the human mind is secretly invented. Its inventors and those who study and work with it aim to create a stable, new, human civilization, that will ultimately prevent war wrecking civilization. They also want a civilization that protects the maximum freedom of individuals while preventing the nationalism and fanaticism and power hunger that ultimately crushes that freedom. Achieving this requires a certain amount of ruthlessness, and absolute secrecy, and the dangers in that are fairly obvious. Poul Anderson largely abandoned the series after the 1950s, both because the nuclear third world war hadn’t happened, and because he was losing his naivety. These are good stories despite that, and the characters are complex and realistic, as Anderson characters remained throughout his career.’

Her second review is of a novel just out, The Red Scholar’s Wake by Aliette de Bodard: ‘Xich Si is a tech scavenger, working out of a not very prosperous port of the An O empire. She just wants to support herself and her daughter in relative safety and comfort. On one ofher scavenging expeditions, she is captured by pirates and expects that the best she can expect is to be sold as a bondsperson. When the avatar of the mindshp that captured her comes to her cell, she expects worse, but gets a surprise she couldn’t anticipate. Rice Fish, whose wife, Huan, the Red Scholar, was killed in the fighting, wants Xich Si’s tech skills, to help find evidence of who really killed Huan. And to protect Xich Si while she’s doing that, they need to marry. Just a business arrangement, Rice Fish assures her. Xich Si agrees because the only alternatives are worse. Soon she finds that Rice Fish is an idealist trying to salvage what she and Huan were building, and that she needs to navigate her way through pirate culture, pirate politics, an increasingly complicated relationship with Rice Fish, and negotiating with officials of the An O and Ðai Viêt empires’

Cat loves this not so traditional Christmas film: ‘Once upon a Christmas season, there was a television show called How The Grinch Stole Christmas. A television show that explicitly had a message that Christmas was neither a celebration of the birth of Christ, nor was it something that comes in a box, but rather is a matter of remembering that we hold each other in our hearts. Warm, fuzzy, and aggressively secular. In 1966 no less!.’

I’ve been looking for an article I remember being in The Sleeping Hedgehog on eggnog on how it came to be a tradition here maybe forty years back but I can’t find it. What I do have is Jennifer Stevenson’s recipe for eggnog for Stay Home Egg Nog Fluff as she calls it so you can try it out in your drink making.

Christopher has, though it’s no surprise, a glowing review of a beloved holiday favorite. ‘Perhaps it’s the season, or the utter magic of Van Allsburg’s talents, whatever the reasons, the Twentieth Anniversary Edition of The Polar Express appears luxurious and incandescent.’

Gary was a bit surprised that he enjoyed a Christmas-themed album, Joyeux Noël, Bon Chrismeusse, by various artists. ‘This six-track EP puts a Cajun and Creole spin on some Christmas classics and tosses in some South Louisiana originals with a holiday theme, all done up in Acadian French with mostly traditional instruments.

Jack reviewed an album of traditional Welsh music, Cass Meurig’s Crwth, that has but a tangential connection to the winter holidays, but we couldn’t resist including it here. ‘If you like traditional instrumental medieval Welsh music played with skill, grace, and a lot of energy, you’ll love this CD. If you like traditional instrumental Celtic music of most any sort that has fiddles in it, give it a try too. I’ve played it a half dozen or so times in the past few months – it’s that good!’

Jayme gave a mixed review to Donal Hinely’s Midwinter Carols, an album played on the glass harmonica. ‘This is, I would say, the perfect CD to have playing in the background during a Christmas party or holiday gathering. It’s unpretentious and familiar on some deep level, but the look of fascinated confusion on listeners’ faces once they realize they’re listening to something unworldly may turn out to be the real treat for the host.’

Lars found Johnny Coppins’ Keep the Flame suitable for the season, if a bit abbreviated. ‘If you are looking for something soft and soothing to listen to while preparing for Christmas, Keep the Flame may well be what you are looking for. Clocking in at just over 28 minutes, it is a bit on the short side, but of course you can always put your CD player on repeat.’

Naomi was transported by the music on Caroline Peyton’s Celtic Christmas Spirit, considered by some to be one of the best holiday music recordings ever. ‘Featured on this CD are 11 tracks containing traditional Irish carols, combined with vocals so ethereal that you’d swear their origin was not human. Further blended and offset by haunting instrumentation, this disc will transport your soul to the true meaning of Christmas.’

She was less pleased by John Harbison’s Six String Christmas, which she found bland. ‘All the tracks are played to perfection; and, if all you wish to hear is the guitar, then this is for you. I prefer to hear other instruments and the occasional vocal, as well, though. But as I said, mixed in with the rest of our holiday favourites, all tracks played randomly, it ought to blend in quite well.’

No’am was less than thrilled by Tommy Sands’ disc To Shorten the Winter. ‘This disc presents 55 minutes of attractively presented songs, led by Sands’ warm tenor, and accompanied by a sympathetic backing of guitars, organ, pipes and percussion. It’s a competent noise that is relaxing to listen to, but doesn’t force itself upon the listener – faint but damning praise. This disc can function as more than adequate background music, but there’s no one song which makes the listener sit up and say “Wow, that was a great song!” ‘

I know that theThe Winter Solstice just passed, but let’s still have our annual story about that sacred event, Jennifer Stevenson’s ‘Solstice’ about a small-time rocker — well, listen to it as told by the author to find out what happens to her on that night, or if you prefer to read it, you can do so here.

Ysbaddaden and his stumped tail black coated yellow eyed brood are telling me that ’tis time for their eventide feeding, so I’ll take your leave now. Now where did the kitchen staff put that leftover smoked duck from last night? Ahhh, there it is! Let me feed them and I’ll see about some music to leave with you after their feeding, so one moment please…

I’m thinking that I mentioned here a few months back that I had been playing a concert recording by Skara Brae, The short-lived Irish trad group which the sorely missed Mícheál Ó’Domhnaill wa a member as he was of a number of bands including  Nightnoise, so I’ll finish off with a set of tunes, ‘Ar A Dhul Chun’ and ‘Chuain Dom’, from that performance. And I’ve no idea why they didn’t get a commercial release of this performance as both the music and the production are quite fine indeed.

The roasting, the feasting and the hours of horseplay helped to create a special warmth on this cold, hard day. Then the fire was stoked and fed to make a warm place where there could be dancing until darkfall. Martin was very drunk. Rebecca danced alone, wide skirts swirling, hair flowing as the accordion wheezed out its jig, and feet stamped on the stone flags at the edge of the field, where the pit had been dug. — from Robert Holdstock’s Merlin’s Wood

Aren’t you glad that you’re inside while a rather nasty sleet storm is going on? It looks lovely from inside the Pub but Gus’s groundskeeping staff have been cursing fluently in whatever language they prefer – including ancient Celtic in the case of Cerridwen, one of my Pub staff who’s lending a hand – as the sleet is a wet, heavy one that needs shaking off fruit trees and such. They come in every so often to change clothes, warm up, get a another flask of coffee and something to eat before heading back out.

So I’m in our Pub, iPad in hand, asking Cat and Gary what they’ve got for this edition, so I can figure what else they have to go in it. Mind, none of us are working at it very hard as the Neverending Session is playing Swedish trad music, the fire’s roaring and Finch’s giving generous pours of our favorite libations…

Let’s start off the book reviews this time with a look at Charles de Lint’s Newford Stories: The Crow Girls. Of all the immortal shapeshifting being that inhabit the Newford stories, the most charming at least for me are Maida and Zia, the two crow girls, who look like pinkish teenagers all in black naturally. After you read Cat’s review, you can experience them first hand in A Crow Girls Christmas written by (obviously) Charles de Lint and charmingly illustrated by his wife, MaryAnn Harris.

He also offers us a review of one of his yearly readings: ‘Jane Yolen has set The Wild Hunt in the dead of winter, a winter where the weather is very, very bad — as bad as it will be at Ragnarok itself. The story told here is that Herne the Hunter, He Who is The Lord of Winter, is battling… a cat… a rather small cat at that. Ahhh, but not just any cat.’

Eric has a cozy of sorts for us: ‘Adding a new dimension to a real figure adds a kick to historical fiction. The key is to cast the person plausibly, if the historical feel of the fiction is to be kept. The role doesn’t have to be something that the person actually would have done, just something that the character can fall naturally into as the book progresses. In The Queene’s Christmas, Karen Harper strives to graft the role of detective onto the Queen. Somewhat difficult to swallow at times, but the overall effort is a good one.’

Gary liked Arkady Martine’s A Desolation Called Peace even better than its prequel, A Memory Called Empire, which he reviewed last time. ‘With her first two novels, Arkady Martine has emerged as the author of some of the best military/political science fiction of the era. Her memorable and not always likable characters capture and hold our imaginations as they navigate a host of big meaning-of-life questions in life-or-death situations. This is space opera for the ages. I have high expectations and many questions that I hope are met in the next installment. Like, I wonder if I’m right about the kittens?’

Lis has another review of a Ben Aaronovitch Rivers of London, this time Broken Homes, number four in this series: ‘A dead woman with no ID, her face shot off, and DNA that appears to come from what Peter, Nightingale, and the team refer to as “The Strip Club of Dr. Moreau.” A city planner who turns around to go back down to the underground tracks, and inexplicably appears to commit suicide. A burglar found dead, burned from the inside. A stolen grimoire of industrial magic, which is traced back to a deceased crazy architect who built the SkyGardens council housing estate, where very odd things seem to be happening. Is Peter headed for another confrontation with the Faceless Man?’

A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files got this note from Richard: ‘Generally speaking, the supernatural western rests roughly at the heart of Joe Lansdale’s run on Jonah Hex. You can shift it a little toward Briscoe County here, a little toward the Deadlands RPG there, but really, the metaphor’s pretty solidly set. Until, of course, something comes along like Gemma Files’ A Book of Tongues, which takes the traditional supernatural western, sizes it up, and then calmly shoots it in the back of the head.’

Robert brings us a look back at early — well, fairly early — Charles de Lint, with reviews of two of his novels set in and around Tamson House. First is Moonheart: ‘Moonheart may very well be the first novel by Charles de Lint that I ever read. I can’t really say for sure — it’s been awhile. It certainly is one that I reread periodically, a fixture on my “reread often” list. It contains, in an early form, all the magic that keeps us coming back to de Lint.’

And next Robert has Spiritwalk: ‘Spiritwalk is a loose sequel to Moonheart, a series of related tales, again centering around Tamson House and including many of the same characters. In fact, the House is even more important as a Place in this group of stories.’

Warner has a healthy assortment today. First is Joanna Schaffhausen’s Long Gone, which questions the problems a cop faces after turning in another. 

John Langan’s Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies brings forward horror with plenty of dark looks at myths, folklore, and society.  

Anthony Horowitz’s The Twist of a Knife represents a rarity where the author puts himself on suspicion of murder.

Warner sees Amanda Kool’s Resembling Lepus as “a startlingly new mystery sci fi-novel” featuring a death at it’s core.

A return to the British Library Crime Classics comes in the form of Anthony Berkeley’s Murder in the Basement.

Finally a “basic setup of a graduate student dealing with past trauma” is is taken an interesting directions by Isaac Fellman in The Two Doctors Górski.

Speaking of The Hobbit, Robert reviewed Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: ‘I saw Peter Jackson’s first installment on his trilogy of The Hobbit twice, and, strangely enough, An Unexpected Journey was better the second time. Fortunately, I haven’t read The Hobbit in years, so I wasn’t having to pull myself back from what should have happened to what was actually happening.’ He later saw the second Hobbit film: ‘Inevitably, I found myself catching the first local showing of Peter Jackson’s latest entry into his J. R. R. Tolkien sweepstakes, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. It was better than I expected.’

Naturally we also reviewed The Lord of The Rings films that actually preceded those films. Grey reviewed all three and it’s best that I not spoil the wonderful treat that you’ve got waiting for in reading her illuminating reviews, so I’m just going to send you to her The Fellowship of Ring review here, The Two Towers review here and The Return of The King review thisaway.  Suffice it to say that she wasn’t disappointed in any of them!

We asked a number of folk we know this question: Is it a bowl of your mother’s fish chowder? Or a warm doughnut dusted with powdered sugar? Comfort food is as individual as each of us. So here is Deborah Grabien‘s reply:

Well, it’s an odd thing: as a cook, I think all food is comfort food.

No, I’m not being difficult. It’s just that I love to cook, and I don’t cook anything I don’t also love to eat, unless I’m cooking for a large crowd. The whole thing about food is that — like air and water — it’s one of the great imperatives. Sex is brilliant, but you can go without it your entire life with no ill effects, and in fact, many do. Try going without food, air or water, though, and you’re in serious trouble.

We seem to be in an age when everything is based on competition. I used to watch the Food Network for a chance at recipes I didn’t have, ideas, fusion for things I hadn’t come across. Now it’s all about pitting cooks against each other. And that, for me, is 180 degrees from what cookery is supposed to be for. I can’t watch it anymore. “Challenge” this, “Worst” that, “Best” whatever. What are these people talking about? It’s food.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a big pot of bolognese bubbling away on the 150 BTU simmer burner, or a bowl of warm peas straight from the garden drizzled with butter and sea salt, or a slab of cinnamon savarin, or fresh pineapple carved off the heart and chilled in its own juice. A bowl of cereal, a cup of cocoa, an apple, a burrito: it’s all comfort food. Why would I cook it, or eat it, if it did anything other than please me?

David got endless amusement from the ongoing series of The Complete Peanuts. We’re featuring his reviews of Volumes 1-3, Volume 4, and Volume 5. ‘Designed by Canadian cartoonist Seth, the books have a distinctive look and appropriate heft, as though you are holding something important in your hands. I first saw the books last summer in New York City. We stayed in a hotel just off Broadway, and out the back door was a huge comic book store. I spent many free moments browsing through the racks in Jim Hanley’s Universe. Then I saw Volume 1 of The Complete Peanuts. It was signed by designer Seth, and featured a drawing of one of his own characters (in Shulz’s style) chasing Charlie Brown and volunteering to “be his friend.” I bought it on the spot.’

Gary has some new winter holiday music from Norway, Trygve Seim and Andreas Utnem’s Christmas Songs. ‘By their nature most of these tunes are quite familiar to most of us, but if you go just a little below the surface of the arrangements on Christmas Songs you’ll hear something different. Trygve Seim and Andreas Utnem have given us the gift of an album that asks us to reimagine these old chestnuts along with them.’

‘I like Melissa Carper’s music a lot,’ Gary says in his review of her solo album Ramblin’ Soul. ‘She brings a lot to the table – or to the stage or studio, as it were – including her deft rhythmic sense on the upright bass, a unique vocal style and sound, a great way with lyrics that encompasses a whole range of emotions from joyful to utterly depressed, sometimes within the same song, and a deep familiarity with classic country music that enables her to present those lyrics in an appropriate setting.’

‘Right out of the gate you know there’s something different going on with Laszlo Gardony’s Close Connection,’ Gary says in his next review. ‘Although this, his 14th leader date, features the Hungarian born pianist and composer with his longtime trio mates, bassist John Lockwood and drummer Yoron Israel, the music they’re playing is anything but straight ahead piano jazz. The first two cuts, “Irrepressible” and “Strong Minds,” introduce the two seemingly disparate influences that underpin this album: Hungarian folk music on the former and progressive rock on the latter.’

Gary remains a big fan of the “ambient country” music of SUSS. He reviews a new six-song EP from this New York trio called Winter Was Hard, which is the third side of a forthcoming vinyl double LP called simply SUSS. ‘After the shimmering Southwestern soundscapes of Night Suite and Heat Haze, Bob Holmes, Pat Irwin and Jonathan Gregg take us into chillier territory on Winter Was Hard. And back out again.’

Finally, Gary reviews a short set of Nordic folk-rock, Gangar’s Tre Danser. ‘If you’ve been wishing for some heavy metal arrangements of Nordic folk tunes, St. Nicholas has heard you and answered with this fresh new recording. Tre Danser is the first release from the Norwegian folk-rockers Gangar, a brief three-song EP that has quite an impact for such a short record. They’ve been playing as a band for a couple of years with popular live shows, combining Norwegian folk songs and tunes with heavy metal inspired by the likes of Meshuggah, Hoven Droven, AC/DC, and Gåte.

Let’s see what we have in the Archives that might fit with the approaching holidays …

Big Earl had feelings about two releases from the U.K. band The Ukrainians: ‘I mean, if I ever catch these guys live, I’m starting the Pit; to hell with the violin and mandolin flourishes! This is frankly the direction I wish the Pogues had taken: the harder, rougher road. Let’s face it, much northern European traditional dance music wasn’t meant to be played pretty and delicate. These traditions have always meant to allow the listener to become dervish-like, flailing one’s way towards the gods and clan, not sitting at the side and nodding along politely.’

David had high praise for a holiday release from the good folks at the archival label Dust-to-Digital, Where Will You Be Christmas Day? ‘There are some Christmas albums that can be played non-stop throughout the Christmas season — favourite seasonal songs by your favourite singers. James Taylor recorded one last Christmas that will stay on holiday playlists for years. But every once in a while a record comes along that transcends the season and provides good listening, solid musical value, and even (dare I say it) historical importance to be played outside the month of December. Where Will You Be Christmas Day? is one of those recordings.’

David also reviewed a wee EP of holiday songs, Merry Christmas from Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull. ‘It’s all very warm and cozy. People outside the office called in, “Dave! You’re putting us in the Christmas spirit!” Oh! Wouldn’t want to do that . . . before you know it I’ll be surrounded by tinsel and lights!’

Jack covered three Nordic releases with some themes and sounds in common, Lena Willemark’s När som gräset det vajar, Ale Möller Band’s Bodjal, and Maria Kalaniemi Trio’s Tokyo Concert. He especially liked the one by Lena Willemark. ‘I’ve heard more Nordic neo-traditional CDs than I care to think of, and I can say that this is one of the very best I’ve heard!’

Jayme enjoyed Out of Time, a release from Wyndnwyre, a Texas band that played ancient music. ‘There’s not much in the way of medieval music these folks can’t handle. And what they handle, they handle well. That sound has made them a popular headliner at various Houston pubs and the charming “Dickens on the Strand” held on Galveston Island each December. In the controlled atmosphere of a recording studio, that talent shines all the more brightly.’

Judith reviewed Canadian singer songwriter Aengus Finnan’s North Wind. ‘Winner of the 2002 Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Award, Finnan’s song writing is excellent, not so much because of the words he uses, but because of the way they interact with the melody, the acoustic arrangements, and his own smooth voice. More interesting, though, is the sequencing of tracks; it is rare to hear an album like this where with each track you ask “What’s next?” ‘

Peter had high praise for the live album Once Upon A Winter’s Night by Yardarm Offa. ‘The quality of the recording is excellent; indeed if not for the audience singing the choruses, it would be hard to distinguish it from a studio recording. But the band singing live and responding to the reaction and mood of the audience as they are enjoying the songs and joining in, is a joy to behold. It lifts the band, and you get that extra sparkle in the performance that is impossible to recreate in a cold studio recording. This is true folk music, as it should be, and what you hear in a real folk club.’

And Peter learned something when he reviewed Robin Bullock, Al Petteway and Amy White’s A Midnight Clear, even though he reviewed it six months early! ‘I don’t think I had realised before researching this album how different Christmas is on the two sides of the Atlantic, and indeed elsewhere around the world. In the U.K., it is perceived as a celebration (in the eyes of the Church) in the Americas it is a holiday, although we both have the same theme.’

Our What Not caused Reynard to ponder something in the Nibbling Mouse Folkmnis puppet: “I’ve no idea where it’s been since it came in for review nearly twenty years ago, nor do I know how it ended up in the room off the Estate Kitchen that houses the centuries-old collection of cookbooks, restaurant menus and other culinary-related material but I just noticed it there, a very adorable white mouse puppet holding a wedge of cheese in its paws. Somebody had placed it in a white teacup on the middle of the large table so I really couldn’t overlook it.”

A couple of well known musicians from the North East of England, Rachel Unthank and Paul Smith, calling themselves Unthank, have released the first two songs off their forthcoming album Nowhere And Everywhere, scheduled for release in February 2023. (Props for the nod to Waterson:Carthy in the name of this duo.) Rachel, of the folk and folk/rock vocal group The Unthanks, and Paul, of the indie rock band Maxïmo Park, will tour the UK and Ireland in March and April 2023.

The album itself will feature a lot of traditional songs, but the first two tracks released are both originals: “The Natural Urge” by Paul and “Seven Tears” by Rachel. The former was part inspired by the bleak World War I art of Paul Nash, and the latter incorporates Northumbrian mythology about selkies.

“The Natural Urge is, ultimately, an anti-war song, but I tried to write something more atmospheric and less obvious than that might imply, Paul says. “The guitar riff reminded me of a folk melody, and the theme also seemed to fit with the tradition of protest.” You can watch it here.

Of her song “Seven Tears,” Rachel says, “I have always loved the songs and ballads about selkies – a seal in the sea that takes off their sealskin and adopts human form on land. “When doing some research about the selkie mythology, I read that if you cried seven tears into the sea, then your selkie lover would come back to you. I also love the Northumbrian word ‘darkening’ which means dusk; that time of night when magic happens, and the time that I once saw a bob of seals off a Northumbrian beach, which inspired me to write this song.”

You can listen to them both here.

Sometimes, she reflected, she dressed for courage, sometimes for success, and sometimes for the consolation of knowing that whatever else went wrong, at least she liked her clothes. — Eddi in Emma Bull’s War for the Oaks

We’ve got our first snow here at the Kinrowan Estate — not that much but enough to turn everything properly white. It was interesting to watch our sheep dogs, Irish wolfhounds all, play in the snow as they’re wont to do.

And there was several attempts to make snow beings of various sorts but the snow wasn’t quite right for that. As for myself, I was content to watch from the Pub here while enjoying an Irish coffee while reading the screenplay for War for the Oaks.

Oh if you’ve not seen it, there is a short trailer that Emma and company made for the novel. It’s quite charming and here it is. The music is by Boiled in Lead. Our review of it is here and well worth reading for all the details about it.

Bjorn, our Estate Brewmaster, five years ago laid down for ageing the elderberry liqueur he’d distilled. If you’d like to join us in the tasting room after you read these notes, I’m sure you’ll find it to your liking!

April leads off our reviews with an unusual novel from a SF writer doing his only thriller: ‘Dead Man’s Brother is a delight to read — Roger Zelazny’s language and characters seem right at home in this genre — and regrettably over all too fast at less than 300 pages. If only more such jewels were left to unearth…’

Gary says Arkady Martine’s first full length sf tale is a very assured debut. ‘A Memory Called Empire is the first book of a planned trilogy. It won the 2020 Hugo Award for best novel, and deservedly so, for Martine has created in Teixcalaan a unique and complex civilization peopled by memorable characters – and an equally memorable character in this book’s lead, Dzmare. The book’s themes include the trauma inflicted by colonialism, which has become something of a trope (although a necessary one) in modern space opera – but it also delves into complex ideas about language and memory and personality, with a new twist on the old chestnut of free will vs. fate.’

Jennifer gets her greedy little paws on Barbara Monajem’s third Rosie & McBrae Regency mystery, Lady Rosamund and the Plague of Suitors, and gets to watch Rosie wallow in wads of wicked mothers, wealthy would-be wooers, and the wit of that hot Scot, McBrae.

From the Rivers of London books by Ben Aaronovitch, Lis has a review of the audiobook of Whispers Under Ground. ‘When Peter Grant’s young cousin, Abigail Kamara, drags him and his colleague and fellow magical apprentice, Leslie May, to a railroad track running under a school playground, they do find the ghost. But the ghost is no threat, and doesn’t seem to be pointing to anything of concern now. So when the first case that lands on his desk on Monday is a man stabbed to death on the track at Baker Street Station, he puts the ghost aside, and sets about finding out why the British Transport Police officer, Sgt. Kumar, thinks there’s something odd about the case in a way that makes it the Folly’s business.

Lis has another of the Rivers of London books for us, Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection: ‘Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London world includes more characters than Peter Grant and his coworkers, and more places than just the neighborhoods and suburbs of London. In this collection, we meet a very odd book with a mind of its own, a drug dealer with a taste for fine cloth who meets an infant river goddess, and a “favourite  uncle” whom one of the teens becomes very concerned about when she realizes he’s not on the family tree and has been visiting at Christmas for generations. And more.’

And then there’s her latest Roger Zelazny reviews which is of Isle of the Dead and Eye of Cat in an omnibus that he did. She says ‘They each feature a solitary adventurer, who faces a new enemy and a world that has changed around him over his long life. William Blackhorse Singer in Eye of Cat is a 20th century Navaho, a hunter and tracker who lived long enough to make a career of stocking interstellar zoos, extending his life still further by relativistic travel. He learns the Navaho are no longer his Navaho people, and one of the “animals” he caught for a zoo is a person who wants to hunt him.

Francis Sandow in Isle of the Dead is also a 20th century man, an adventurer and entrepreneur, who has built conglomerate in which the key component is his work as a worldscaper—building and shaping worlds to suit the client. He’s had enemies over his thousand years of life, but now he has an enemy whose identity and grievance he doesn’t know, a missing friend, and an alien mentor who taught him his art and is now dying—and has something important to tell him first. Sandow is going to confront his values, beliefs, and very identity.’ 

Paul comments that ‘Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Spare Man provides the most seductive of settings for a space opera novel – an interplanetary cruise liner with all the trimmings – and deploys that setting to tell a crackerjack murder mystery.’

Robert has two books that are really Autumnal in feel: “Charles de Lint is known as “the godfather of urban fantasy,” and indeed, it’s in that genre that he’s made his mark – he’s never been a writer of heroic fantasy: in a better than thirty year career, very few buckles get swashed, although the two short novels included in Jack of Kinrowan — Jack the Giant Killer and Drink Down the Moon — come close, something of a romp a la Dumas pere — by way of Harold Lloyd, perhaps. Both concern the adventures of Jacky Rowan and Kate Hazel, best friends who find themselves enmeshed in the doings of the land of Faerie that coexists with modern-day Ottawa.‘

It is Autumn so an English country house murder mystery set in the time of year gets reviewed by David: ‘As traditional as the genres he chose might have been, in Altman’s hand they were turned upside-down, and sideways. Warren Beatty and Julie Christie became anti-hero and opium addict in Altman’s “western” McCabe & Mrs. Miller, set to the music of Leonard Cohen! A laconic Elliott Gould became Raymond Chandler’s private dick Phillip Marlowe in an updated LA for Altman’s “detective” classic The Long Goodbye. Robert Altman has been the most American of directors, and now, in Gosford Park, he takes on the English country house murder mystery. Altman’s Agatha Christie film? What could this mean?’

Yes, you can keep harvesting this particular plant until Autumn, that huge tropical-leafed plant in your grandmother’s garden with red, red stems, and you chew the stems and your mouth goes dry for the next three days? Jennifer reviews Red Ass Rhubarb wine and gives us a recipe for dark chocolate mousse to eat with it.

Though not strictly an Autumnal tale, it could be. Mia says that ‘A Circle of Cats is intended to be the prequel to the de Lint/Vess collaboration Seven Wild Sisters. Since I’ve been thwarted in every attempt to procure a copy of Sisters, and haven’t had a chance to read the story sans Vess artwork in Tapping the Dream Tree collection, I have no idea how A Circle of Cats stands in relation to that rare release. In relation to de Lint’s body of work as a whole, and indeed to the field of modern fantasy and fairy tale overall, this piece is simply outstanding.’

Gary has a lot of fun listening to an album by a Finnish band that plays a nostalgic version of Nordic light pop jazz. ‘Life seems very serious these days, and a lot of music is very serious, too. But sometimes it’s good to dive into some music that’s just fun, and that’s what the Nordic ensemble Uusikuu is handing out on a cake platter – their fifth album Karuselli.’

Folks in the U.S. are recovering from their biggest feast day of the year, Thanksgiving, and eating a lot of leftovers. With that in mind we took a tour through the Archives for music reviews that touch on that theme. Let’s see what we have …

‘Whew! Just listing his albums requires effort!’ David said. Who’s he talking about? ‘Anybody named after one of the most beautiful buildings in the world has to be special! Born Henry Saint Clair Fredericks in 1942, Taj Mahal has produced an impressive body of work and has maintained a reputation of one of the music world’s “all ’round good guys,” even amongst his ex-wives!’ See David’s impressive career overview of this international treasure of a musician.

David and his buddy SPike took an extensive look at the underappreciated middle period of The Kinks. Have you encountered SPike yet? You’re about to. David: ‘What separated the Kinks from the rest of the British Invasion were the songs of Ray Davies. While his peers were writing about love and lust Davies focused on the British middle class. His lyrics describing the “Carnaby-tian army” in their fancy duds, the “Waterloo Sunsets,” and “Sunny Afternoon[s]” used satire and wit, and a fair dollop of charm to lift them from the mass of blues-based rock. And the power chords of brother Dave helped!’ SPike: ‘Oh, aye, they @#$%in’ DID!’

David also reviewed Stolen Roses, one of two then extant tributes to the songs of the Grateful Dead. ‘The album begins with a sprightly bluegrass version of “Cumberland Blues” by the Cache Valley Drifters. Jerry Garcia spent his life fascinated with bluegrass. He started out as a bluegrass banjo picker, and ended his career playing something very near to that form with his good friend David Grisman. The Cache Valley Drifters play great!’

While we’re on that subject, Jack reviewed the other Dead tribute, a wonderful affair called Deadicated. ‘If you’re a Dead fan, get ready to really hate me. I truly hate Jerry’s singing as I think he had a weak voice with limited range. I much preferred the instrumentals to the songs because of this. Hell, the best vocalist the Grateful Dead ever had (I’m using their full name as the new version of them that formed this year is called simply the Dead which I suppose makes them something out of a Joyce novel) was Donna Godchaux, a woman whose voice was truly good. Jerry was a great guitarist, but a dreadful singer. What Deadicated does is correct that problem by having bands who have true vocalists sing songs that are classic Grateful Dead material.’

Our man Peter was less than thrilled with a release from one of his (and our) favorite groups, Waterson:Carthy’s Dark Light, ‘From the entertainment point of view, it is a very dour experience. Waterson:Carthy are very brave to bring out this album, for if the album had been put out by someone not so famous or well known, it would get panned! Pains me to say so, as I am normally a great fan, but this may not be the best album Waterson:Carthy have released.’

Gus, who many of you already know is our longstanding Estate Head Gardener, is one of our excellent storytellers. He has an Autumnal gardening tale for our What Not this time as we approach that season. He leads off his story in this manner: ‘Oh, hello. It’s you again. How is it that every time we meet up, I’m clomping around in muddy boots? Come out to get some fresh air, have you? Give me your name again? I’m Gus, if you remember, the gardener around these parts. Here, I need to head out to the kitchen gardens, come walk with me a bit. They’re behind that wall over there.’

I think a bit of rather lively music in the form of ‘Red Barn Stomp’ to show us out this edition will do very nicely. Recorded sometime in June of 1990 in Minneapolis by the Oysterband with June Tabor joining them there as well. The lads were on tour in support of their Little Rock to Leipzig album where you can find another version of this tune.

Ian Tefler, a band member, tells me that the name of this piece was chosen to sound trad. It features John Tefler calling the tune and very neatly incorporates the actually trad tune, ‘The Cornish Six-Hand Reel’ in it as well.

Every book tells a different story to the person who reads it. How they perceive that book will depend on who they are. A good book reflects the reader, as much as it illuminates the author’s text. — Charles de Lint’s The Little Country

I can smell garlic, cumin, nutmeg, cardamom, and even a hint of ginger on the whole baby lamb being slowly cooked as  I approach our Kitchen… All welcome smells, especially on this raw, slefty afternoon on this Scottish estate where the temperature will be hard pressed to reach freezing on this November day. Yes, everything is getting a thin coating of ice too. Nasty indeed.

It’ll be a day of naps, reading and noshing for most of the Estate staff who can avoid going out into the treacherous weather. Rebekah, our newish Kitchen staffer who’s from Haifa, uses a day like this to do a stunning array of Jewish sweets, to wit date-filled hamantash, krembo (a chocolate-coated marshmallow treat), rugelakh, some filled with raspberry jam and some filled with chocolate, and even ma’amoul, small shortbread pastries filled with dates, pistachios or walnuts.

And that yeasty smell that is ever appreciated is freshly baked whole wheat sourdough rolls more than warm enough still as they are covered with a soft cloth to keep them warm to warrant butter and the jam of your choice on them.Me, I go for them strawberry jam or raspberry jam…  Join me in the Kitchen after you peruse this Edition.

Are you horrified that you’ll have to wait another whole year for Halloween to come ’round? Fear not! Kestrell brings a review of three timely books: A collection of horror stories, a book on writing horror, and an annotated Lovecraft. Check out her thoughtful review of Al Sarrantonio’s Halloween and Other Seasons, Matt Warner’s Horror Isn’t a Four-Letter  Word, and H. P. Lovecraft and S. T. Joshi’s The Annotated Supernatural Horror In Literature.

Lis says of Larry Niven’s Hugo Award winning Ringworld: ‘Louis Wu is 200 years old, and … bored.When a Puppeteer, a member of a species that’s been absent from Known Space for a bit over 200 years, diverts Louis’ transfer portal shift in the course of his birthday celebration, Louis Wu is ready to be recruited into a new offworld adventure. The fact that this will involve traveling with the Puppeteer, called Nessus; Speaker-to-Animals, a very junior diplomat of the predatory, big-cat-like species humans have been at war with multiple times, the Kzin; and a fellow human, Teela Brown, who is genetically “lucky”; and all of them in an untested, experimental hyperdrive ship much faster than any existing hyperdrives…what could possibly go wrong?’

Now she looks at a novel from G. Willow Wilson, a favorite around here:  ‘Alif the Unseen takes us on a wild ride through life in a Middle Eastern city-state, cyber-duels between State Security and gray hat hackers, jinn, a magic book, Arabic mythology,political chaos, and the difference between infatuation and love.’

Paul exclaims lovingly ‘R F Kuang’s Babel is an audacious and unrelenting look at colonialism, seen through the lens of an alternate 19th century Britain where translation is the key to magic. Kuang’s novel is as sharp and perceptive as it is well written, deep, and bears reflection upon, after reading, for today’s world.’

And he looks at another novel as well: ‘Emery Robin’s debut novel, The Stars Undying, attempts, with uneven success, to transplant the story of Cleopatra and Gaius Julius Ceasar to a space opera setting.’

Warner has a brought few interesting reads. The first is Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell, a return to her sci-fi setting from the previous Winter’s Orbit.

He had good things to say about Loren D. Estleman’s Paperback Jack, starting with the fact the author is ‘best known for his detective novels, and this book brushes closely up against that area without quite matching.’

On the topic of earlier detective novels, E.C.R. Lorac’s These Names Make Clues made an impression as ‘a recently rediscovered or at least republished volume by a popular author.’ At the same time Tasha Alexander’s Secrets of the Nile calls back to an older style.

Gary has a look at Michael Wadleigh’s Woodstock, The Director’s Cut: ‘What started as a three-day music and art festival in the farmlands of upstate New York in July 1969 became one of the touchstones of a generation and an era. This 25th Anniversary “director’s cut” edition of the movie that documented the phenomenon that was Woodstock captures the event in all its sprawling chaos and unlikelihood.’

Oh, we review some odd things as Denise proves in her review of the Kit Kat Fruity Cereal Candy Bar:  ‘Limited Edition Froot Loops candy? Sure. I’m game. Though I guess KK couldn’t spring for the rights for the official cereal, or didn’t want to do a collab. I can see why. DAMN this smells like candy plastic. You know what I’m talking about; when a food has so many chemical reactions going on that all you can think of is an ’80s Strawberry Shortcake doll and that “strawberry” smell. But with more plastic. It was so weird-in-a-gross-way I was actually scared to bite into this bad boy.’

Donna took a dive into Marjane Satrapi’s The Complete Persepolis, which might offer some recent historical background on current events in Iran. ‘Persepolis relates events of Marjane’s childhood, adolescence and young adulthood, living through the so-called Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War. It’s sometimes mordantly funny, but more often scary and sad. She and members of her very secular family are often arrested or otherwise persecuted for engaging in activities that violate the rules of the Islamic republic – like neglecting to wear a veil in public, or serving wine at parties.’

Gary enjoyed the Welsh chamber folk trio Vrï’s Islais a Genir. ‘The multitude of sacrifices people make in everyday life, the oppression of hard and low-paying work, and the way their humanity shines forth through music and song – that’s the spirit and message of Islais a Genir</i> the second release from the Welsh trio VRï.

Gary reviews the influential English folk album, The Watersons’ Frost and Fire: A Calendar of Ritual and Magical Songs, on the occasion the release of a new vinyl LP version. ‘The Watersons – Norma, Mike and Lal Waterson and their cousin, John Harrison, were known for their stunning, muscular four-part vocal performances, usually unaccompanied, of traditional songs from around the U.K. Their importance is hard to overstate.’

Pianist and composer Jason Yeager has created a suite inspired by the works of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., called Unstuck in Time, played by a nine-piece ensemble. Gary, a big Vonnegut fan himself, says ‘Yeager has very nicely captured Vonnegut’s eccentricity, and his thematic and stylistic depth with a musical pallette to match – aided and abetted by the varied colors and styles accessed by the big band.’

The turning of the weather put us in the mood for some Balkan music, so we combed through the archives for a few reviews.

To Brendan fell the enviable task of reviewing one of the greatest Balkan compilations ever, Balkans Without Borders, which at the time raised funds for Doctors Without Borders (medecins sans frontieres). ‘This CD cuts across the spectrum of Balkan music from the Mediterranean to the Baltic Sea, from the Ural River to the Ruhr, and stretching even beyond those boundaries. Taken as a whole, it clearly shows the shared musical and cultural heritage that all of the people of the Balkans share, a heritage that, given the current violence of the region, is that much more heartbreaking to witness.’

Big Earl loved the music but not the presentation of One To Remember, a live disc by the American Balkan group Sviraj. ‘This disc is a live recording of a particularly fine performance in November 2000: it is superbly recorded for a live disc (although the bass could be louder). The problem is, as a double disc set, it is far too drawn out. So, by the time the high points come around, like “Niska Banja,” or “Zorice, Zoro Moja,” the songs turn into a blur. The disc never sounds forced or dull, but long-winded.’

Gary had fun with Balkan Jam I, a re-release of an early recording by Sviraj previously available only on cassette. ‘The 15 tracks on Balkan Jam I are full of the kind of passionate performances cited by GMR’s Naomi de Bruyn in her review of Ciganine. This disc came to me without anything in the way of documentation, so I’m relying on my ear, but it seems to draw on much the same sources, particularly Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Dalmatia, Romania, Hungary and the Roma. It also includes a cover of Dick Dale’s surf classic, “Miserlou,” sung in some Balkan tongue, with Spanish-style guitar and Balkan-style three-part harmonies. Dudes!’

Gary also enjoyed Many Languages, One Soul, a live recording by a one-off group called Balkan Clarinet Summit. ‘If you at all like instrumental music from southeastern Europe, if you enjoy the sound and versatility of the clarinet, or if you just like wildly eclectic international music – personally, all three describe me – then this Balkan Clarinet Summit disc is a must-have.’

Kim nearly ran out of superlatives in her review of Reptile Palace Orchestra’s We Know You Know. ‘This album is chock full of songs that pique the interest, encased in some fine horns and rhythms that gallop along almost out of control, but never quite. Great fun.’

Naomi had unqualified praise for Sviraj’s disc Ciganine. ‘This CD has 17 tracks, filled with a music containing so much passion it is impossible not to let it work its magic upon you. The lyrics are in both their original tongue and in English, allowing for a complete understanding of the song. The handful of instrumental tracks are delightful in many ways, some with the simplicity, others with their complex arrangements.’

Our What Not is a rather unusual review today which means Warner has a bit of a treat for us today. For those feeling a bit of Tolkien withdrawal, The One Ring role-playing game, Second Edition can serve as a game manual or enjoyable art book.

Now let’s have some music to finish out this edition. It’s Northumbrian piper and fiddler Kathryn Tickell performing   ‘The Pipes Lament’, a tune written by her,  which was recorded at the Shoreditch Church, London on the 15th of June 2010, should do nicely. Tickell, by the way, connects indirectly to Charles de Lint’s The Little Country novel as smallpiper Janey Little in the novel lists Northumbrian Bill Pigg as one of her inspirations to become a musician, something that Tickell also claims.