FF: Various Oddities

This week’s reading seems to include a lot of stories in which “oddness” is an element.  Even the historical novel…

Silver and Usagi Read

For those of you just discovering this feature, the Friday Fragments lists what I’ve read over the past week.  Most of the time I don’t include details of either short fiction (unless part of a book-length collection) or magazine articles.

The Fragments are not meant to be a recommendation list.  If you’re interested in a not-at-all-inclusive recommendation list, you can look on my website under Neat Stuff.

Once again, this is not a book review column.  It’s just a list with, maybe, a bit of description or a few opinions tossed in.

Recently Completed:

Od Magic by Patricia McKillip.  Audiobook.  Enjoyed, although nothing really “new,” in story conception from what she’s done well before.

Winter Door by Isobelle Carmody.  Sequel to Night Gate.  Continues story but has its own tale to tell.  I want to read The Firecat, but am going to need to hunt up a copy.

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King.  Turns what could be a typical “problem book” into something so weird that, oddly, it’s more real than realism.

In Progress:

The King’s Gambit by John Maddox Roberts.  Audiobook.  First in the SPQR series.  Time for a re-read!

Maskwork by Jennifer Foreman.  Part history of the form, part project book.  Entirely fascinating.  Digesting a bit at a time.

King of Chaos by Dave Gross.  Pathfinder sword and sorcery.  Just started.

Also:

Jim insisted I needed several special issue periodicals on David Bowie, so I’ve been dipping into these.  Fascinating to remember how long he took to become successful.  Would an artist today even be given the chance to have three failed albums before achieving moderate success?

Fame took a long time coming, and when it did it wasn’t everything he’d imagined.