Books read in 2022: No. 35, Books read in 2023: No. 1 -- No Name

by Wilkie Collins

Started: Nov. 15, 2022

Finished: January 12, 2023

Notes: I kicked off my fiction reading in 2022 by trying my first novel from this 19th-Century author, and I generally enjoyed the book, so I thought I'd wind down the year and start the next one by reading another from him.

Mini review: That was a long read, the longest I've had in years, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Collins might be my favorite of the Victorian authors of whom I've read. Here a pair of sisters lose their inheritance after the deaths of their parents, and one sister settles into a life of trying to recover that inheritance by any means possible, up to conning people and scandal. This is not an action novel, but very much in the vein of later soap operas to no small extent, but the characters are all interesting, the plot moves along fairly quickly, and the ending is as perfect an ending for a novel as I've experienced. I'm sure I'll be reading Wilkie Collins again.

Books read in 2022: No. 34 -- The Book of Daniel

published by Zondervan

Started: Nov. 12
Finished: Nov. 15

Notes: I've read much of this book of the Bible over the years, but I don't believe I've ever read the entire thing from front to back. So here goes with this prophetic work.

Mini review: Daniel interprets dreams for kings, survives being tossed into a den of lions, and foretells events of the near future ("near" for him or the Jewish people at the time, about 200 B.C.). Interesting material, but not overly expansive upon Judaism or Christianity.

Books read in 2022: No. 33 -- Ghostly Tales & Legends Along the Grand Strand of South Carolina

by Blanche W. Floyd

Started: Nov. 9

Finished: Nov. 12

Notes: Whenever I travel, I like to visit a local bookstore and pick up a book by a local author. In this case, I grabbed this one while visiting the Myrtle Beach area in South Carolina recently. Plus, it's not been that long since the Halloween season and I didn't read enough spooky material for that time of year.

Mini review: This one really wasn't all that spooky, but it did have some basic but interesting historical information about the region. There were some ghostly tales here, but the author seemed to brush most of them off in one form or another.

Books read in 2022: No. 32 -- Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City

by K. J. Parker

Started: Oct 31

Finished: Nov. 8

Notes: I've heard good things about this series, so I thought I'd give it and its author a try.

Mini review: What a fun read! I don't normally think of fantasy as "breezy" literature, but this was about as close as I've experienced. An engineer who happens to be a colonel in an imperial army finds himself the highest ranking person in a besieged city and he has to find ways to keep the city from being overrun. Sounds serious, and it is, but it's also loads of fun with humor that isn't over the top. I'll have to give this author another read.

Books read in 2022: No. 31 -- Conan and The Treasure of Python

by John Maddox Roberts

Started: Oct. 18

Finished: Oct. 31

Notes: It's back to reading fantasy. For perhaps the first time in decades I do not have any new Robert E. Howard to read, but at least I have this novel based upon his most famous of characters. I'll see how this author handles Conan the Cimmerian.

Mini review: This is not Howard's Conan, but is much more akin to the Conan of the 1970s Marvel comics, not that that's an awful thing. Her Conan is hired by some Aquilonian nobels to go in search of a missing brother, which is really a subterfuge for finding the treasure which the brother went in search of. Decently written, I felt there wasn't enough action though there's a fair amount of weirdness reminiscent of Lovecraft. However, the ending was fine and bloody with a running fight, a battle, a duel, an unearthly monster, and more, so in the end it was a decent read.

Books read in 2022: No. 30 -- The Book of Ezekiel

published by Zondervan

Started: Oct. 10
Finished: Oct. 18

Notes: Catching up on my Biblical reading, this is one of the more famous books from one of the Old Testament prophets.

Mini review: Much of this book is Ezekiel handing out messages he has received from God, mostly condemnations of Israel and other nations, though there are some signs of hope for Israel's future. The last portion of this book is almost a much shorter reworking of the Numbers and Deuteronomy, laying out the building of a new temple as well as appointing lands to the twelve tribes.

Books read in 2022: No. 29 -- Haunted Chillicothe

by Neal Parks

Started: Oct. 9

Finished: Oct. 10

Notes: Since it's the Halloween season, I thought I'd take a break from my recent fantasy reading and turn to something spooky. Plus, I actually lived in Chillicothe, Ohio, for 10 years during the '90s, so it might be fun to re-visit some old haunts. Pun intended.

Mini review: A short book, but worth the read to relive some memories and to learn about spooky places and events in a place I continue to cherish. Similar to many regional ghost-hunting books, this one could use some editing, but it still wasn't a bad book. Locals to the Chillicothe area should love this one.

Books read in 2022: No. 28 -- Demons Don't Dream

by Piers Anthony

Started: Sept. 16

Finished: Oct. 8

Notes: Somehow or other I've made it all these decades without having read a Xanth novel, or for that matter anything by Piers Anthony. So I thought it high time I fix that situation. I picked this one by happenstance, having come across it in a used book store a while back.

Mini review: A teen boy and girl are pulled by a computer into the world of Xanth where they take part in a game for a prize. Along the way they make companions, meet lots of strange beings, and visit plenty of fantastical places. If you're one who enjoys silliness and especially puns, this one should be for you. Unfortunately, while I could enjoy this book, it wasn't what I was really in the mood for. The writing was good enough and the ending was actually quite nice, but I suppose my state of mind was seeking something more serious. That doesn't mean I won't give Piers Anthony another try at some point, but either I'll try on of his non-Xanth books or I'll make sure I'm in a goofy state of mind before I start a Xanth book.

Books read in 2022: No. 27 -- Flashing Swords #2

edited by Lin Carter

Started: Sept. 9

Finished: Sept. 16

Notes: I was thinking this was the last of this iconic Sword-and-Sorcery series for me to read, but looking back over my personal notes and this blog I believe I have still to find and read #3. So, I'll read this one and my search will continue (the search being part of the fun for me at used book stores and the like).

Mini review: These were four very fine Sword and Sorcery stories. My favorite was probably the Elric tale by Michael Moorcock, but the others were quite good, as well.

Books read in 2022: No. 26 -- The First Book of Swords

by Fred Saberhagen

Started: Sept. 2

Finished: Sept. 9

Notes: Nearly four decades ago I read this book, and over the rest of the 1980s I read all the books in this original trilogy and the longer, related series that followed. I loved all those books. But it's been a long time. So I thought I'd try one again to see if I still have the same love. Let's see how time and age have changed by eyes.

Mini review: This tale of epic and heroic fantasy involving a dozen swords the gods have placed within the world in order to play a game with humanity was still a delightful read, and I'm tempted to hunt down the rest of the books in this series and read them once again. At one time I had all the books, but alas they have fallen away from me over the decades.

Books read in 2022: No. 25 -- The Book of Lamentations

published by Zondervan

Started: Sept. 1
Finished: Sept. 1

Notes: I'm in the middle of something of a fantasy literature binge, but I'm not wanting to drop my Bible reading altogether, so I thought I'd sneak in this book, one of the shorter ones of the Bible.

Mini review: This book is exactly what the title implies, the Israelites lamenting that God has punished them and brought about their exile, along with some prayers and calls for hope for the future.

Books read in 2022: No. 24 -- Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons

by Ben Riggs

Started: August 25

Finished: Sept. 1

Notes: As I've read a fair amount pertaining to the history of D&D, I'm not expecting to learn much new here, but as this was just published perhaps there is some new scholarly work of which I'm unaware. I'll give it a try.

Mini review: A more accurate subtitle for this book might have been "How TSR screwed the pooch." In case you don't know, TSR was the company that originally produced and published all things D&D until 1997 when the company Wizards of the Coast bought them out. This is a good book and an interesting read, but it almost entirely focuses upon the business aspects of TSR and a little on WOTC. So, there isn't much here if you're interested in information about game creation, writing, designing, etc. Also, this book wraps things up soon after the purchase of TSR by WOTC, about the time a third edition of D&D was released around the year 2000, and in my opinion that leaves out a lot of possible information for a book that's supposed to be about the history of the D&D game. In other words, a lot more has happened in the last 22 years, including the fate of a fourth edition of the game and then the rise and popularity of the fifth edition of the game, plus changes in book publishing, the nerd/geek world, etc. Perhaps another book would be in order? Regardless, I'll repeat that this is a good book. It should be especially nostalgic for those of us who were playing D&D and tabletop RPGs in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, but this book could also be an interesting read for newer players who want to learn about the past of one of their favorite pastimes.

Books read in 2022: No. 23 -- The Written (Emaneska #1)

by Ben Galley

Started: August 13

Finished: August 31

Notes: I've had this one on my Kindle for a long while now, so I thought I'd give it a try. I've never read this author before. I have to admit the unusual cover initially drew my attention.

Mini review: The writing here I only found to be fair at best, something a little editing could help, but the world is somewhat interesting and the characters are very interesting. For those who love heroic fantasy and dragons, this one could be for you.

Books read in 2022: No. 22 -- Shadow of a Dark Queen

by Raymond E. Feist

Started: July 26

Finished: August 13

Notes: So far this year I've read no fantasy, and it's time to correct that. Plus, I've been meaning to read something from this author for a good while now, having heard plenty good about his works.

Mini review: This one surprised me. It started off in what I felt was a fairly generic fashion with a typical story of a village boy who runs into trouble and must flee to go off on some grand adventure, but then about halfway through this novel became something more akin to Glen Cook's The Black Company books, dealing with mercenaries and war, etc. The writing was good, though not great, and I can't say I loved this book, but I also didn't hate it. I'll likely give the author another chance at some point in the future.

Books read in 2022: No. 21 -- The Book of Jeremiah

published by Zondervan

Started: July 19
Finished: July 26

Notes: Having gotten into the section of The Old Testament that deals with the prophets, I'm interested in seeing how this book compares to The Book of Isaiah, recently read by me.

Mini review: This has got to be the most repetitive book of the Bible. Over and over again the Lord speaks to Jeremiah and tells him to tell others of the troubles that are to befall them in the coming future. Mostly the Jews take the brunt here, but Babylon and no few others also face the wrath of God.

Books read in 2022: No. 20 -- The Bushcraft Bible

edited by James Henry

Started: June 29

Finished: July 19

Notes: As a much younger man I used to read books and articles and such pertaining to wilderness skills and survival, but it has been a long time, so I thought I'd take a refresher with this book. Plus, who knows? I might learn something new.

Mini review: This one was something of a disappointment. There was plenty of information here, much of which I was already familiar with, but there were a number of issues with this book which could have been solved by stronger editing. The grammar, spelling, punctuation, and such were decent enough, but there were other issues. For one thing, some of this information I would exactly call bushcraft, though it might be interesting, such as the long chapter on canning food and the longer chapter listing outdoors games to play, including professional sports games. For another thing, a number of this articles referenced photos or drawings which were not included, and often even if they were included the images were so small as to be useless even with the help of a magnifying glass. Lastly, my big pet peeve here was that the articles presented here were reprints, not that I had a problem with that, but they were reprints from various time periods, sometimes quite recent and sometimes from more than a century ago; this isn't necessarily bad in and of itself, but there were no obvious markers to tell when these stories first came out so the reader would have a frame of reference, instead the reader having to figure it out from little details sprinkled throughout the articles, such as prices and the rare mention of dates. All in all, not awful but could have been better, and over the years I've run across other books which definitely were better.

Books read in 2022: No. 19 -- The Jungle

by Upton Sinclair

Started: June 22

Finished: June 29

Notes: For some while I've been meaning to check out this early 20th-Century novel about working conditions among immigrants of the time, so here goes.

Mini review: This was actually a pretty good book until the last fourth of it. Most of this book is a tale of immigrants coming to America in about 1904, working in the beef industry in Chicago, then a whole bunch of just truly awful things that happen to them. As bad as that sounds, it was all quite interesting to read, though also heartbreaking. The last fourth of the book, however, basically becomes socialist propaganda. I'm not disparaging socialism, nor am I defending it, but here it was rather preachy and ruined what could have been a good ending to a novel.

Books read in 2022: No. 18 -- The Book of Isaiah

published by Zondervan

Started: June 15
Finished: June 22

Notes: I've not read as much of the Bible as I had hoped to this year, but now I can get back to it. Now I'm getting into the Old Testament section concerning the prophets.

Mini review: This is mostly a mixture of admonitions against the Jewish people for their lack of loyalty to God and prophecies about their future. As is often the case with the Bible, it's not exciting reading, but I do find it interesting.

Books read in 2022: No. 17 -- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

by Ken Kesey

Started: June 3

Finished: Jun 15

Notes: To tell it like it is, I've had this book on my to-be-read pile for some while now, but today I was packing to hit the road for a mountain trip this weekend and I wanted a small paperback for ease of carrying. This book was the choice. No, I've not seen the famous 1970s movie based upon this novel, but it's been such a part of culture that I at least know a little about it. Hopefully the novel will be as good.

Mini review: It's a strong novel. The writing isn't the best I've ever read, a little slow in places, but it makes up for it in characterization and to some extent in plot. Even though I've not seen the movie, I am familiar with the actors in the movie, and this book seems as if it was written with those very actors in mind (which is not the case since the novel came first, but somebody did some great casting). The ending was not quite sad for me, mainly because it seemed so inevitable, and in a way showed a spark of hope. It also begs the question of why society/culture has to destroy parts of itself from time to time.

Books Read in 2022: No. 16 -- Revival

by Stephen King

Started: May 27

Finished: June 2

Notes: After some heavy readings, I'm needing some fiction, so I turn to King.

Mini review: A pastor with interests in electrical studies loses his family to a tragedy, then years later he experiments with electricity in order to unravel some of the mysteries of the universe. I'm making this sound rather bland, but I'm trying not to give anything away. This is actually a pretty good book, though not quite King at his best. That being said, I did feel this was one of King's darker books, philosophically speaking. Ultimately shades of Lovecraft are to be found here.