Folly of the Faithful Canine

I've read novels set in Africa. I've read fantasies by Black women about Black heroines. But Nnedi Okorafor's Andre Norton Award winner may be the first example of both categories that I've known.

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Now I've picked up a Terry Pratchett novel, specifically The Wee Free Men. That ought to ensure that I don't read anything depressing when my birthday arrives.

On the first of this month, there was a local production of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical. I didn't watch it, but it demonstrated that the 2005 start of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series still has its fans. That may have inspired my reading choice.

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To take a break from fantasy and sci-fi, I'll try Sue Grafton's O Is for Outlaw. Not long since my last mystery, but this one should be magic-free.

After nearly six years, I still remembered Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb pretty well. The main hole in my memory pertained to Fitz's condition at the end of the novel: bedridden and having lost the independent use of the psychic Skill, thanks to an abortive attempt on his life. His illness dominates the early chapters of the second volume, until he finds the strength and courage to return to the royal palace after months.

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After those 675 pages, I feel like reading something shorter. That'll be H. Beam Piper's Cosmic Computer.

If you create a superhero, please don’t pick a name
That’s based on a projectile, as that sort is always lame.
Take Bulletman and Bulletgirl: They just wear dorky hats
And punch without a lot of power. Where’s the fun in that?
Torpedo topped a list of dumbest superheroes ever.
Each version failed before too long, because he wasn’t clever.
And then we get to those who use their namesake in a fight.
For instance, Captain Boomerang and Javelin aren’t right.
Let’s not depend on weapons that have long been obsolete.
No matter what your skill, they’re bad for cleaning up the street.
I realize the Green Arrow’s been successful on TV,
But that’s from expert writing and direction, seems to me.
OK, perhaps you want to add some humor to a battle.
If so, go right ahead with something silly like “Atlatl.”

I rarely read a book in its year of publication, especially when the author (Antonia Hodgson in this case) is brand-new to me. I think I was just eager to get one of the largest tomes off my shelf, tho the story doesn't run for quite as many words as I thought.

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Looking for sci-fi, I picked up Larry Niven's N-Space. A similar number of pages, but I'm not reading all of them.

I was unfamiliar with the Grimm fairy tale "The Goose Girl." From what I gather, T. Kingfisher's reimagining bears very little resemblance. There are geese, yes, but they rarely figure into the plot.

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Now I'm in the mood for something older and more masculine. I've picked up H. Rider Haggard's Allan Quatermain.

Normally, I'd wait longer to read another fantasy by a Black woman, for what I now realize are rather arbitrary reasons. But this one promised to be a little different, partly by being more genuinely YA (no sex, little swearing). Besides, the beautiful cover illustration drew me in.

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I have now picked up Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next: First Among Sequels. That ought to be funnier.

When I picked up N.E. Davenport's 2022 novel, it reminded me a bit of Dragon Pearl: a sci-fi/fantasy combo featuring a young, non-White, female first-person narrator. I wouldn't count it as YA, tho, because it includes a sex scene, gore, and a lot of swearing. Good thing my previous read was so tame.

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Believe it or not, I still have an appetite for long, dark fantasy. Next up is Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch.

In German lore, a kobold is a mostly household sprite.
It’s apt to do domestic chores for those who treat it right,
But if it feels insulted, it will soon resort to pranks
Or worse, so folks would often leave it milk to give it thanks.

This kobold is invisible until it takes a form.
A little human figure with a sharp red cap’s the norm,
But sometimes it’s an animal, especially a cat,
Explaining why the feline race is mischievous like that.

Some kobolds make a shop, a ship, or underground their home.
The last type is conflated with an older term for “gnome.”
Our cobalt gets its name from kobolds spoiling silver mines.
(And “nickel” meant a goblin, as derived along such lines.)

The English-speaking world adopted “kobold” rather late,
In print in 1830. Its reception wasn’t great,
Until the rise of RPGs, which call for lots of foes
From fantasy, including ones not everybody knows.

To make them more distinctive from a bunch of other races,
The games made kobolds canine-like, not least within their faces.
The later D&D type’s more a lizard or a dragon.
If you see one of those, it’s on the D&D bandwagon.

Indeed, the modern reptile’s gotten popular these days.
At least among the nerds like me, it almost is a craze.
The kobold may be wicked, but it’s made to look so cute,
In contrast to the ogre, goblin, orc, and other brutes.

It's easy to tell from the cover that Yoon Ha Lee's 2019 novel is written with younger readers in mind. For starters, the top reads "Rick Riordan Presents," and Riordan is best known for the Percy Jackson series. (Further reading tells me that Disney publishes all books with that header.) Second, the one illustration is a little more cartoony than usual, albeit not to the point of evoking comedy. I knew I'd finish before long.

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It's been almost a year since my last pre-1900 novel. I think I'll try Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe.