Books read in 2025: No. 8 -- Blood Rites

by Jim Butcher

Started: Feb. 25

Finished: March 7

Notes: I read a couple of these Dresden novels earlier his year and enjoyed them. Since I had one more in my to-be-read stacks, I thought I'd go ahead and read it.

Mini review: This might be my favorite yet of the Dresden novels I've read. In this one, Harry lands a job as a sort of security guard for an adult film shoot (yes, I mean porn) and eventually he ends up taking on vampires and other evils.

Beer of the Week: Great Lakes Cleveland Brown Ale

Beer score: 6.2

Company: Great Lakes Brewing Company
ABU: 5.6
IBU: 40

The Great Lakes folks have made another fine beer here. This one honors autumn and the Cleveland Browns football team.

This brew is one of the better brown ales, in my opinion, with a slight sweetness and just maybe a little too much carbonation for my liking.

Anyway, this one pours a smooth brown color with a nice, lacy head of foam.

While pouring, the smell is nutty with some brown sugar, and maybe some caramel notes.

The taste is much like the smell, though there's possibly more of a syrupy flavor with some breadiness.

Overall, fairly smooth though not the smoothest beer I've ever had, and some nuttiness.

Books read in 2025: No. 7 -- The Road to Corlay

by Richard Cowper

Started: Feb. 10

Finished: Feb. 25

Notes: I'm not familiar with this author nor this 1975 novel, but I keep running across it in used book stores, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Mini review: Mostly fantasy but with some elements of science fiction, this tale delves into a religious persecution happening in our world a thousand years from now after a great flood has rearranged the Earth's map a fair bit. This world is another of those semi-Medieval worlds where some level of magic now exists. This one wasn't quite for me. It was interesting, but the prose I found droll at best and often descriptive where it didn't really need to be. It's not that the descriptions here were way long, but I a hill is a hill and a castle is a castle and a forest is a forest, unless that is there's some literary reason to go more in depth, and I did not feel that was the case here.

Beer of the Week: Iron City Beer

Beer score: 4.0

Company: Pittsburgh Brewing Company
ABV: 4.7
IBU: NA

Been a looooong time since I've had one of these, and I have to say, it wasn't nearly as bad as I had remembered.

Pours a light yellow color, almost clear, with a faint scent of bread and perhaps fruit, possibly banana and/or citrus.

Goes down pretty smooth with a strong American-tasting bitterness that fades fairly quickly.

Nothing great, nothing awful, just a decent serviceable beer that can quench your thirst.

I'd think this one would make a good bar beer and go well at cookouts.

2 more fantasy shorts available

I wrote last month I was experimenting with shorter fiction on Amazon, specifically works that are exclusive to Amazon. So here are two more I've recently made available.

State of Love and Enmity: a novella of high fantasy

Civil war in the land of the elves has brought refugees to the nation of the humans, and it is Captain Izael's duty to round up and deport these refugees to other lands.

But when he is tasked with escorting an elven princess back to her homeland, betrayal piles upon betrayal and suddenly Izael finds himself allied withe one who would be his enemy.

Only time and fate will tell if he and the Princess Alanor can avoid their foes, learn the truth of events surrounding them, and find safety in a world turned upside down.

Charnel Mouths and Sightless Eyes: a Sword & Sorcery short story

Zilander the wizard is dead, and four thieves have taken it upon themselves to investigate the mage's forgotten tower in the middle of nowhere, all in the hopes of discovering treasure.

But though they are prepared for the dangers they are to find within the tower, they are not ready for the threat among themselves.

Beer of the Week: Belhaven Scottish Ale

Beer score: 6.1

Company: Belhaven Brewery
ABV: 5.0
IBU: 21

This is a strong, sweet and sturdy ale brewed in Scotland. This beer is so sweet that the ranking score I gave it would probably be higher if it weren't so sweet.

But then again, Scottish ales tend to be strong, sweet and sturdy, as well as dark colored.

This one pours a dark brown color with tinges of red, all while giving off smells of dark fruit, butter, and caramel. The taste is much the same, though even more so.

This beer isn't for everyone, but it's a fine beer and worth trying. If you enjoy Scottish ales in general, you should love this one.

Beer of the Week Blast from the Past: Highfalls India Pale Ale

Beer score: 5.4

Another week without trying any new beer, but here are a few notes from one I tried years ago.

When I first tasted this brew, it was made by the same folks who brewed JW Dundee's Honey Brown Lager, but later on it was brewed by the Genesee Brewery Folks.

This IPA didn't have the overpowering sour taste common to some IPAs. However, it did have too much carbonation. The taste was slightly sweet and a tad syrupy, almost like a weak Scottish Ale.

Books read in 2025: No. 6 -- Imaro

by Charles R. Saunders

Started: Jan. 30

Finished: Feb. 10

Notes: Though I've long known of this author's importance to the genre of Sword & Sorcery, I've yet to take a look at his work. I expect good things.

Mini review: Holy hell, this is quite possibly the best S&S novel I've ever read. Reading like a series of connected short stories, it all comes to tell the tale of a jungle warrior's origins and the various sorcerous foes he faces during his younger days. The book doesn't end in a cliffhanger exactly, but it definitely leaves open a path to future tales, and I'll have to seek these out.

Beer of the Week: Schlitz Malt Liquor

Beer score: 0.7

Company: Pabst
ABV: 5.9
IBU: NA

So I go a few weeks without tasting any beer, and then all I can get my hands on is this stuff.

Sometimes life ain't fair.

Anyway, it's wet ... and that's about the only good thing that can be said about it (okay, okay, it'll get you drunk, too, if that's what you're looking for).

Pours a light orange color while giving off smells of sweet, cheap alcohol. Hardly any taste here other than a little sweetness on the way down. Not a lot of fizz, though.

At least it's cheap.

Books read in 2025: No. 5 -- The Golden Gryphon Feather

by Richard Purtill

Started: Jan. 20

Finished: Jan. 29

Notes: As sometimes happens with me, I was traveling recently without my Kindle and I finished reading the book I had on hand. So, I popped into a used-book store to find something else, and I came across this novel and this author, both of which are unfamiliar to me. However, I like to try authors new to me, so I'll give this one from 1979 a chance.

Mini review: Set during ancient Greece, a noble Athenian girl is taken to Crete as something of a political prisoner to take part in a holy rite known as the Dance. For the most part, this novel has some courtly intrigue as well as that of the gods. The first half of this one I found to be quite a slog, but I felt the story finally got going with the second half and ended well but abruptly. Readers who enjoy fantasy set in the ancient world might like this story, as well as those who have interests in mythology.

An experimentation in short stories

I've mentioned elsewhere that with age and health difficulties, writing isn't as easy for me as it used to be. Because of this, I've been focusing of late upon writing shorter works, novellas and short stories.

So, recently I published on Amazon a couple of short stories, "The Prison of His Tyranny" and "A More Sudden Revenge." Normally I don't publish short stories straight to the online world. Usually I'll shop my shorts around to different publications, but this time I wanted to try something different, an experiment of sorts to see how well some of my short stories will sell straight to the market.

If anyone is interested, this stories will only be available at Amazon and will be part of Amazon's Kindle Unlimited, so you can purchase the e-book versions of these stories straight out for 99 cents or you can read them if you have a Kindle Unlimited account. Occasionally these e-book stories will even be available for free as Amazon allows. Also, there are print and audio versions of these tales available at Amazon.

Will more stories come? Probably. I'll see how I feel and how many more ideas come to me.

I will admit it's a bit strange working on shorter tales, because I've focused upon writing novels for the longest time. As most writers could tell you, writing shorts and writing longer works requires different talents, different tasks, and a different way of thinking. I'm feeling a bit rusty writing short stories at the moment, but I can feel the old wheels getting greased, so hopefully things will get better in those regards.

Beer of the Week Blast from the Past: Dog Days Golden Ale

Beer score: 3.6

This one was brewed by a few different breweries for the Flying Dog Brew Pub of Aspen Colorado. Broadway Brewing of Denver made this beer when I tasted it back in the 1990s.

Anyway, this beer is no longer available, and though I'm always one to hate to see a beer disappear, I'm not sure this one is much of a loss.

It had a cheap beer taste to it, as if it were a premium beer, and it had so much carbonation that it was hard to swallow.

Books read in 2025: No. 4 -- Year of the Unicorn

by Andre Norton

Started: Jan. 13

Finished: Jan. 19

Notes: I've not read much of Norton, some of which I liked and some which I didn't, but I'm willing to give her another try, especially as I once read where a couple of Tor publishing editors thought this was one of her best works.

Mini review: A young woman with a mysterious past finds herself to be married to a Wererider, a magic user of sorts, and to be carted off to an unknown land. There's a lot more to this tale than that, but I don't want to spoil anything. For the most part, I enjoyed this novel, though there were a handful of areas (5 to 10 pages each) that I felt got bogged down with descriptions of a journey. That said, it was worth the read.

Beer of the Week Blast from the Past: Blue Ridge ESB Red Ale

Beer score: 6.0

Another week without trying any new beers, but I have notes from beers I drank years ago.

This one was originally made by the Frederick Brewing Co, but then it was bought out by the Flying Dog Brewery. Eventually it ended up with the Wild Goose Brewery. So, with all that jumping around, this one did not make the cut and is no longer with us.

A shame, because this wasn't a bad beer.

It was a style of beer known as "bitter" in England. In taste and texture this one was similar to many "red" beers, popular in the late '90s, though this one was better than the average mass-produced red ale.

Not a great beer, really nothing special, but it wasn't bad.

Beer of the Week Blast from the Past: Isosceles

Beer score: 3.1

The Gluek Brewing Company of Cold Springs, Minnesota, made this brew when I first tried it in the late '90s, but I tried it again later when the company became the Cold Springs Brewing Company. My notes remind me a portion of the proceeds went to AIDS and breast cancer research, so while this wasn't an extraordinary brew, at least you could feel good that you were drinking for a good cause.

Anyway, this beer is not longer with us, which makes sense because it was a light beer that tasted like any other premium, mass-marketed light beer. Though maybe there was a little extra sweetness thrown in.

Books read in 2025: No. 3 -- Born to Exile

by Phyllis Eisenstein

Started: Jan. 9

Finished: Jan. 13

Notes: This 1978 fantasy novel was apparently the author's first, but for the life of me I can't remember why I picked up this book in the first place. I must have had something that drew me to it, so I suppose I'll give it a go. Anyway, 1970s fantasy fiction is often some of my favorite from the genre, so I'll see here.

Mini review: Over all, this one was pretty good. A young minstrel who knows nothing of his lineage travels and has adventures in a number of locales before finally discovering the truth about his past. There's not much action here, for those who enjoy such, but the tale is told well enough and is interesting. The main downfall here, in my opinion, was the ending. There's not really much of an ending. It just sort of ... ends, though it does offer possibilities for further adventures by the protagonist. There is a sequel, so perhaps I'll have to search it out.

Books read in 2025: No. 2 -- Fool Moon

by Jim Butcher

Started: Jan. 2

Finished: Jan. 8

Notes: I just finished my first Dresden Files novel and mostly enjoyed it, so I thought I'd give another a try.

Mini review: As one might expect from the title, in this one Harry Dresden faces off with some werewolves, and it's a right bloody mess! In a good way. I think I enjoyed this one more than I did that first Dresden novel, so I'll have to read some more of these in the future, which works out well since there's already another waiting in my to-be-read stacks, though I might take a break for a while so as to not burn myself out.

Beer of the Week: Lindeman's Kriek Lambic

Beer score: 9.8

Company: Lindemans
ABV: 3.5
IBU: 18

I decided to start the new year off with a great beer, and this old favorite was a solid choice.

Made with fresh cherry juice, this Belgian brew tastes more like a fine fruity seltzer than it does a beer.

It pours a smooth ruby color, and you can definitely smell and taste the cherry here. Most of the cherry flavoring here is sweet, but there is also a little tartness, perhaps even hints of sourness.

Usually quite pricey, but worth the cost for special occasions and for when you want something truly different. One of the more unique beers, you haven't lived until you've at least tried this stuff.

It is kind of odd, though, that one of the best of beers doesn't really taste like a beer, and I'm not someone who usually enjoys fruity drinks.

Books read in 2024: No. 53, Books read in 2025: No. 1 -- Storm Front

by Jim Butcher

Started: Dec. 28, 2024

Finished: Jan. 1, 2025

Notes: I've read next to no speculative fiction this past year, and definitely little fantasy, so I'm going to correct that in coming weeks and months. Though I've not read any of Butcher's Dresden Files books, it's almost impossible to be a fantasy enthusiast and not having heard at least a little about them. Anyway, I was gifted a few of these books a while back, and I thought it time I dropped myself into one, this one apparently being the first of the series.

Mini review: A wizard in the modern world works as a private investigator and finds himself facing off against a new foe while ancient powers threaten. This one wasn't bad at all. Not the greatest I've ever read, but definitely worth my time. If you're a fan of John Constantine, and/or maybe even the TV show Supernatural, you might enjoy this one.