Here's my latest blog post with a few illustrated tiny stories
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Pathologist, educator, also writes tiny stories and speculative fiction. Scottish-born (hence @mhthaung@mastodon.scot), now lives in London. Reading tastes vary, depending on how much of a break I need from academia. Mainly speculative fiction, some mystery (going through a Golden Age phase), and chunks of science- or society-related non-fiction. She/her.
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MH Thaung
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Another enjoyable creature feature
If you’re familiar with William Meikle’s work, you’ll know he enjoys repurposing characters (and creatures) from other sources, with Sherlock Holmes being one example. This adventure features another character of Conan Doyle’s: Professor Challenger. As with Great Men and sidekicks, the story’s narrated (in first person) by Malone, a reporter who we also associate with Challenger.
As we’ve reliably come to expect, it’s a fast-paced and fun adventure. I note here that although I generally stay away from horror, the gruesome elements in this author’s books have all been fine for me. There’s more to the plot than “travel somewhere new and fend off peculiar creatures”, although Malone and Challenger are more observers/victims of the underlying scheme, rather than investigators.
Overall, another enjoyable creature feature with hints of more to come.
MH Thaung reviewed Madrenga by Alan Dean Foster
Low-tension journey through a fantasy world
I’ve read quite a few of Foster’s books over the years. This one has a very similar flavour to his “Journeys of the Catechist” trilogy. The story covers a journey towards a simply defined objective, meeting characters, creatures and cultures along the way. There’s an episodic feel with a mild sense of curiosity about what odd thing will happen next along the pre-ordained path. However, I don’t get much sense of each element building on the previous ones, and the “challenges” could be interchanged or omitted without detriment. Despite quite a lot of gore and guts, there was little tension.
Madrenga doesn’t strike me much as a personality. He’s simply the character who experiences the journey rather passively. He literally grows as the story progresses (as do his companions), but he doesn’t seem to learn from experience. I found myself rolling my eyes more than once. For someone with supposed …
I’ve read quite a few of Foster’s books over the years. This one has a very similar flavour to his “Journeys of the Catechist” trilogy. The story covers a journey towards a simply defined objective, meeting characters, creatures and cultures along the way. There’s an episodic feel with a mild sense of curiosity about what odd thing will happen next along the pre-ordained path. However, I don’t get much sense of each element building on the previous ones, and the “challenges” could be interchanged or omitted without detriment. Despite quite a lot of gore and guts, there was little tension.
Madrenga doesn’t strike me much as a personality. He’s simply the character who experiences the journey rather passively. He literally grows as the story progresses (as do his companions), but he doesn’t seem to learn from experience. I found myself rolling my eyes more than once. For someone with supposed street smarts from growing up in poverty, he loses his caution far too often and too easily, in a very telegraphed (belaboured by the author) way.
Still, a fun read as long as you don’t expect a thought-provoking tale that will linger.
MH Thaung reviewed Death in Diamonds by S. J. Bennett
Light and entertaining
I’ve previously read The Windsor Knot but not the other books in this series. In this one, we go back to a mystery set in 1957 rather than contemporary times. The story certainly felt like it was set several few decades ago, especially with societal attitudes to women.
On looking back at my notes for The Windsor Knot, the mystery here seemed more complex, and I enjoyed having more to get my teeth into. Some of the character actions seemed a bit unconvincing—rather, where they did those actions wrt potential witnesses—though I get that we the readers need to see some clues along the way.
I enjoyed the character interactions across a range of social situations. As with the first book, I wasn’t keen on how we dipped into everyone’s heads, especially as I wasn’t always clear who was expressing an (internal) opinion.
Overall, a fast and entertaining read.
Powerful, disturbing and well worth a read.
This novelette packs an effective punch as it shows us a frightenly plausible future. The short length is perfect as it emphasises the sense of running out of time, and the tension is high throughout. Main character Ai is sympathetic if somewhat remote (understandably). It was almost painful witnessing her make decisions that we (the readers) knew would make everything worse. But those decisions made perfect sense in the context.
Overall, powerful, disturbing and well worth a read.
MH Thaung reviewed You Can Draw In 30 Days by Mark Kistler
Non-intimidating introductory lessons
I’m one of those middle-aged adults who “has never been able to draw”. Unusually for me (where “learning to draw” is concerned), I quite enjoyed each lesson here and wasn’t tempted to bail out partway through the course. I think that’s because the material was 1. non-intimidating, 2. encouraging, 3. introduced a fairly small amount of technical knowledge. This last might be viewed as a negative point: and I suspect some topics such as shadows were not strictly correct. But on the other hand, you might argue that beginner lessons introduce concepts in a simplified way that can be expanded/refined with future study.
Overall, a decent starter course that’s whetted my appetite to learn more.
MH Thaung reviewed Shift Happens by T.M. Baumgartner
Pleasant urban fantasy
I enjoyed this urban fantasy by a new-to-me author. There’s an interesting premise of people sometimes becoming shifters, with MC Angela being a “probation officer” who guides them through the process. Unlike many other urban fantasies, shifting is neither hidden nor widely practised: it’s more “acknowledged but not spoken of in polite society.”
Angela was a likeable character, although with a bit of a too good to be true “saint complex.” It’s a refreshing change that she isn’t tortured by internal conflicts and secrets, but perhaps that also made her come across as a bit bland. The other characters were pretty much as described on the tin, with no surprises (no hidden agendas) once we’d met them. The jerks remained so all the way through, as did the friendly, supportive side cast.
The writing was smooth and the read easy. Despite some dangerous challenges (there are deaths, so I wouldn’t …
I enjoyed this urban fantasy by a new-to-me author. There’s an interesting premise of people sometimes becoming shifters, with MC Angela being a “probation officer” who guides them through the process. Unlike many other urban fantasies, shifting is neither hidden nor widely practised: it’s more “acknowledged but not spoken of in polite society.”
Angela was a likeable character, although with a bit of a too good to be true “saint complex.” It’s a refreshing change that she isn’t tortured by internal conflicts and secrets, but perhaps that also made her come across as a bit bland. The other characters were pretty much as described on the tin, with no surprises (no hidden agendas) once we’d met them. The jerks remained so all the way through, as did the friendly, supportive side cast.
The writing was smooth and the read easy. Despite some dangerous challenges (there are deaths, so I wouldn’t call this cosy), the vibe I got was mainly slice-of-life. There was a focus on interpersonal interactions , eg office politics and thinking about other people’s perspectives. The action was depicted with a light touch.
Overall, a very pleasant read.
Classic novella collection, maybe more for the completionist than a new reader
I’ve enjoyed reading Zelazny’s works after borrowing Nine Princes in Amber from my local library some forty years ago. Some of the novellas in this collection of ten were old friends, and I enjoyed revisiting them while discovering new-to-me works as well.
Setting each work in perspective, the novellas are interspersed with brief commentaries, author’s notes and explanatory notes. (I didn’t pay much attention to the last. On the one hand, they might be handy, but on the other they felt rather condescending.) I liked learning more about the context (eg what else was being published at the time, and by whom).
Zelazny’s protagonists are unapologetically exceptional. We don’t (generally) follow them through a story that challenges their abilities. The opposition they face is not usually from equally competent people. Instead, they may strive against forces of nature (as in “This Moment of the Storm” or “This Mortal Mountain”). Their …
I’ve enjoyed reading Zelazny’s works after borrowing Nine Princes in Amber from my local library some forty years ago. Some of the novellas in this collection of ten were old friends, and I enjoyed revisiting them while discovering new-to-me works as well.
Setting each work in perspective, the novellas are interspersed with brief commentaries, author’s notes and explanatory notes. (I didn’t pay much attention to the last. On the one hand, they might be handy, but on the other they felt rather condescending.) I liked learning more about the context (eg what else was being published at the time, and by whom).
Zelazny’s protagonists are unapologetically exceptional. We don’t (generally) follow them through a story that challenges their abilities. The opposition they face is not usually from equally competent people. Instead, they may strive against forces of nature (as in “This Moment of the Storm” or “This Mortal Mountain”). Their challenges—or maybe, the challenges the reader perceives—are moral or philosophical problems, such as the dying population in “A Rose for Ecclesiastes”. Perhaps because I binge-read the collection, I found myself hankering for a touch more human fallibility, but I guess then the stories would lose their mythic tone. It would also have been nice if the women had more than walk-on roles.
Overall, a handy collection for completionists, but new readers might want to start elsewhere.
MH Thaung
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Another few illustrated tiny stories from #MastoPrompt in my newest #BlogPost
Bit dry, but a good starting point for further reading
This is an exploration of how Victorian innovations, development and men (I use the term intentionally) laid the foundation for ongoing science and technology.
I admit I found the first half slow going. The events and personalities came across as facts and lists rather than the (I would imagine) exciting, maybe even scandalous, clashes that would have played out at the time. No doubt The Royal Society played a hugely important role in fostering and challenging ideas, but its internal politics make dry reading from this vantage point. I found myself dipping in and out rather than reading from start to finish. This was easy enough to do with each chapter’s focus being on a different technology.
I enjoyed the later chapters more, especially about telegraphy and attempts to fly.
Each chapter ends with a list of cited references, which will be a useful resource for further perusal.
MH Thaung replied to Bodhipaksa's status
MH Thaung
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Just wanted to let you know, @mhthaung, that I’m three chapters into The Diamond Device and enjoying it very much! It’s very well written. Thank you.
MH Thaung replied to Bodhipaksa's status
@bodhipaksa@mastodon.scot Thanks! I had enormous fun writing it :)
Fourteen year old Mona is a baker but she is also a not-very-powerful wizard - …
Fun adventure for young readers
This was a quick and fun story that I think would appeal to young readers. The plot was straightforward and clearly explained: a bit too clearly for my tastes, with heavy-handed social commentary, but then I’m certainly not young! I liked that Mona had a good relationship with her aunt and uncle. She did came across as younger than her stated 14, especially in the medieval-ish setting. She struck me more as an observer and pushed around by circumstances (and other people’s actions/decisions) than having her own agency, which added to the “young” feel. The gingerbread man was fun.
MH Thaung
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You have until *tomorrow* to pick up any of my novels for just 0.99 in your favourite ebook store!
Fancy a light-hearted steampunk romp with mismatched buddies? Try The Diamond Device at https://books2read.com/mhthaung11
Or for a thoughtful exploration of infection paranormal powers, start with A Quiet Rebellion: Guilt at https://books2read.com/mhthaung1