Two Envelopes And A Phone > Recent Status Updates

Yeah, I’m having a nerd thrill reading The Book of the Crime, and then The Book of Accidents. It may spawn more “linked duo” reading for the next little while, especially where similar titles are concerned. Or not. But The Secret Power, and The Dead Secret look like a match made in Gehenna or nearby, and those are just the ones sitting close to one another and easy to spot. Anyway, a first Wendig for me!

Always cruel to stop reading a book when the hero is in the worst possible fix…but getting back to this novel later won’t change the no doubt explosive finale.

This is turning into a favourite - style and story both.

I am really enjoying this. I don’t want to malign the 1940s film too much until I do a re-watch, but my memory is telling me they took much of what makes this a layered, sophisticated Horror story with complex underpinnings, and simply ripped it all that out, to make a simplistic movie version.

Vague memories of the old film version mean that I have a bit of an edge in figuring out what is actually going on in this book...but I have to be a little careful when it comes to assumptions. Movies can change things...or, wait...was there not a final twist that upset the first reveal? Whatever I think I know, this has been creepy fun, so far.

I’m starving for the explanations for all this, but I suspect they don’t come at the 72 % mark. Maybe he’ll throw me a frickin’ bone, soon - a teaser. I doubt it. Rrrrrr…!

So, it's...it's The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun meets The Boys from Brazil, in The Years of Rice and Salt. Or...which part of that is a trick? I'm all a-fluster over this one.

Is this his strangest??

I’ve seen the film, but not for a while. I’ll likely revisit it, after the book.

I think it’ll be fun.

I think the subconscious is busy, even when conscious me doesn’t click until late. In other words, how did I just happen to pick two novels in a row with moth wings on the cover? Anyway, the Intro to The Girl in the Golden Atom suggested all other Ray Cummings works were kind of rubbish, but I’m gonna take a chance. (Actually, I revisited him already, due to part of a serial by him in Perry Rhodan 76-80.)

He wrote Black Water Lilies, which is my favourite Mystery novel ever, or else it’s tied with The False Inspectorb Dew by Lovesey. Or they’re One and Two, depending on whether I can tolerate a tie for best Mystery. Anyway, others by him have also been fabulous, so I always keep my eye out for a new Bussi translation.

Seems like it's going to be a winner. I don't read a lot of books like this, so it's a nice change from my usual choices.

I’ll probably make time to finish it tonight. It’s not emerging as my favourite Capek novel, or close. I like things about it…but it has been hijacked by melodramatic lovey-dovey “darling, darling” stuff (much like Insatiability).