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.