2021 may have been a depressing drag on various counts. But for the first time I am aware of my number of books read matched the year’s final two digits. Some of the books read were even quite thick. At least one had copious pictures. I was introduced to the prose writing of Neil Gaiman and Clive Barker. Interesting reviews of both writers were similar and named Stephen King as a matching influence. Oh, I at last read King’s The Shining. It was one of those thick books finished off last year. It maintained a fabulous tone of place and had a chilling sense of descending horror. As for literary classics, I did touch on those with a reading of D. H. Lawrence’s Kangaroo about a British couple’s relocation to Australia. The book contained grand descriptions of the place, not surprising as Lawrence resided there a while, and political turmoil brought to boil by the novel’s nicknamed title character.
This year I have read Gaiman’s American Gods. Long but interest holding. It boasted a wide cast of characters as it touched on old deities and brought their needful characters into complex interaction as their needs sought to bring about an apparent end of days.
Years ago I saw the movie The Magus, starring Michael Caine and Anthony Quinn. It was labyrinthine and quite challenging but I enjoyed it. The book on which it was based was by John Fowles. Years later when I saw the used book for sale I bought it and enjoyed the read. It became a favorite. Therefore having seen the film version of The French Lieutenant’s Woman, I decided to give that Fowles’ book a shot. I’ve started reading it twice but haven’t made it too far into the book. Perhaps I am just put off by its almost Victorian writing style.
Instead I recently opted for outer space action with an old paperback I had aquired but not read. It was the novelization of the Battlestar Galactica movie by Glen A. Larson and another writer. On the cover it boasted of the TV movie and promised interstellar action. I had not read the book but had seen the film. So far I like aspects of the book. While I am somewhat dubious of the promise, I have now read half of its 250 page length and should finish in early March, winds willing. I like the length. I enjoy reading that length while most of my written books measure closer to a hundred pages. So now it’s shameless plug time.
If you like that length book with science fiction adventure, mystery, action, or horror, give one of my short books a try. Currently available are Certain Shadows I Have Known and Masters of the Alpha Crystals from Rowanvale Books as well as available via its site. The later is listed there under my pen name of Adam Dust. The first is listed by W. P. Rigler and also at amazon.