Seven books for January.
The Woman in Black (1983) by Susan Hill
Instead of telling a ghost story on Christmas Eve, Arthur Kipps decides to put into writing an experience from his past. He writes about seeing a mysterious woman in black after being sent to the countryside to attend a funeral. Dangerous marshes, a spooky old house that is reached by a causeway when the tide is low, a graveyard, foggy nights, and tragedy all add to make for a great ghost story. I loved the prose, the atmosphere, and how everything is gradually revealed and tied together. Although written in 1983, it very much had the feeling of a Victorian ghost story.
The Winter Solstice: The Sacred Traditions of Christmas (1998) by John Matthews
This book traces how many Christmas traditions have evolved from Winter Solstice traditions. Also included are recipes and examples of how some of the old customs can be celebrated today. I was more interested in the history and folklore aspect. I was planning on finishing this in December but it wasn’t as interesting as I had hoped. Although there are lots of illustrations and it covers a wide variety of traditions, folklore, and history, the information about each topic is a little sparse as most of the topics are only given a column or a page. It’s a nice book to jump into during the winter months and it’s gotten me interested in learning more about the topic though.
Lest Darkness Fall (1941) by L. Sprague de Camp
This was my first pick for Vintage Science Fiction month which I learned about on Twitter.
Archeologist Martin Padway finds himself transported back in time to post-Imperial Rome. Using his knowledge of science and history, he attempts to stop the coming of the Dark Ages. Padway’s plans are original and creative. He starts a business making brandy, introduces algebra, bookkeeping, and printing among other innovations. He meets a variety of historical figures. Things often don’t go as originally planned though so he winds up having to improvise a lot.
Some of the situations were serious and some were quite funny. There was a lot more humor than I was expecting which I enjoyed. Whenever he’s asked what religion he is, Padway, who is agnostic, stays out of trouble by answering, “I’m a Congregationalist. That’s the nearest thing we have to (insert the religion of the person he’s talking to) in your country.” Padway does his best to stay away from warfare but eventually he decides he has to get involved to try and keep the peace. Once again things don’t go as planned which leads to a big battle at the end.
As it was written in 1941 some ideas in the book come across as dated, but overall this was a fun and interesting read.
My Lady of Plagues and Other Gothic Fairy Tales (2022) by Elana Gomel
Sixteen beautifully told dark fantasy and gothic fairy tales. While I liked some stories more than others, I enjoyed the writing in all of them. I also loved the illustrations. Both the writing and the kinds of stories reminded me a little of Angela Carter, Tanith Lee, and Neil Gaiman, as well as the original versions of the folk and fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. I read this one on Kindle.
The Big Time (1961) by Fritz Leiber
This was my second pick for Vintage Science Fiction Month.
Two factions are involved in a long-term time war called the Change War. Participants, both human and alien, are plucked out of time from various points in the past and the future. The entire novel takes place in a recuperation station for soldiers that exists outside of time and space known as The Place. The station is staffed by a doctor, entertainers, and therapists. The first half sets everything up and after an event towards the middle, the story becomes a locked room mystery.
This story treats time as resistant to change. Changing one event has no effect, there is no butterfly effect. Instead, numerous changes have to be made, sometimes over and over again. This takes a toll on the soldiers hence the need for recuperation stations.
There are lots of fascinating concepts, but I wasn’t a fan of the way the story was told. Although it’s a short novel, it was slow going between the parts that held my interest and the parts that moved the story forward. The stage play aspect seemed limiting, there were too many speeches, and I didn’t think the characters were strong enough to carry the story. Fritz Lieber wrote more stories about the Change War which are collected in The Mind Spiders and Other Stories. As a fan of Leiber’s other work, I’m curious if I’ll like the short stories more.
The Cabin at the End of the World (2018) by Paul Tremblay
I've had this on the shelf for some time and I figured I'd read it since the movie adaption is about to be released.
A married couple from Boston are staying at a remote cabin with their adopted seven-year-old daughter Wen. Creepy people show up and demand to be let in.
I liked the relationship between Wen and her two dads but that was about it. From the beginning things just didn’t click for me. While there’s tension in the first chapter, I thought it dragged on too long. It felt that way for the rest of the book. The pacing seemed off, everything felt stretched out, and I kept getting annoyed with the characters and the lack of any real revelations. And with what happens around the middle of the book, the final chapters were a real struggle to read. It’s been a long time since I was this frustrated with a book.
As this is the only thing by Tremblay that I've read, I haven't given up on him just yet. I'm curious if I'll like one of his other books instead. I'm thinking about Disappearance at Devil's Rock and A Head Full of Ghosts. We'll see.
Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story by Ursula K. Le Guin
Most of the books I’ve read on writing spend a lot of time on things like plot, characterization, and dialogue. This book focuses on topics like the sound of language, sentence length, and repetition, both verbal and structural. Each chapter includes helpful examples and exercises. I started this one in November and it took some time to get through all the exercises. I found this book to be very useful at the stage I’m currently at with my writing.
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