Ranger’s Apprentice Series

by John Flanagan
Random House Australia

Towards the end of September, the first book in the series was being offered for $5. I bought books 1 & 2. It didn’t take long to read them.

Borders were selling the series at 3 books for the price of 2. I bought books 3-8. And just a week or so ago the ninth book was released. All 9 read now!! That ended the current 2 book story, so no loose ends.

The books can be found in the Child Fiction section of book shops. Don’t let that put you off, as the whole series has been a great read. Read in sequence to not miss anything.

John is an Australian writer, and here’s a description of book 1 to whet the appetite.

“Will is small for his age, but agile and energetic. All his life, he has dreamed of becoming a great knight like the father he never knew, so he is devastated when he is rejected as an apprentice to Castle Redmont’s Battleschool. Instead he is apprenticed to Halt, the mysterious Ranger whose uncanny ability to move unseen is thought to be the result of black magic. Reluctantly, Will learns to use a Ranger’s secret weapons: a bow and arrow, a mottled cloak and a stubborn little pony. It may not be the sword and battlehorse he longs for, but when Will and Halt set out on a desperate mission to prevent the assassination of the King, Will finds that a Ranger’s weapons are not so useless after all…”

Books 1-4 comprise the first adventure
Books 5-6 the second adventure
Book 7 is a prequel to 5
Book 8-9 complete the 4th adventure
Book 10 starting a new thread, is due out in Nov 2010

For more information, visit
www.rangersapprentice.com.au

Recommended reading for all ages

This is Me, Jack Vance

ISBN 978-1596062450 (Subterranean)
Hardback, 2009

This is Jack Vance’s biography. His journeys around the world. The people he meets. For much of his career, Vance has been one of the field’s most private writers, an author who preferred to let his work speak for him. this book has been released to coincide with the release of the tribute anthology “Songs of the Dying Earth”.

It is not a story about his works. Towards the end…
“I have been counseled .. to the general effect that since this is the autobiography of a writer I ought to say somthing about writing.” That takes all of 4 pages.

Jack was born in 1916 and led a pretty interesting life thru to 2009. He doesn’t write any more due to blindness. This biography being his only exception.

I gave up reading Jack Vance novels long ago. In my library I have:
- The Dragon Masters
- Emphyrio
- Showboat World
- The Dying Earth

None of which I retain memories of. Maybe I should read them again to remind myself of his writing style.

Jack vance most recent publications have been released through Subterranean Press.
www.subterraneanpress.com
Follow this link to see what’s available, and other reviews.

October Books

My last review was entered on 20th September. Have to catchup with my reviews because this is what I’ve read since:

John Flanagan
- Rangers Apprentice Series. Books 1-9

L.E. Modesitt Jr.
- The Imager Portfolio. Books 1-2

Jessica Hagy
- Indexed

September Reading (not yet reviewed)
Ian M. Banks
- Matter (A Culture Novel)

David Weber
- Safehold Series. Books 1-2

November Reading
I’m currently reading Jack Vance’s biography – interesting.
Other biographic tombs yet to be read include those about H. Beam Piper and Richard Matheson.

Too True

Peter Bakowski, poet

” My greatest extravagance is … buying books more quickly than I can read them”

Too true. Not the only person to have that problem ;)

Crytpic: Jack McDevitt

Cryptic
The Best Short Fiction of Jack McDevitt

ISBN 978-1596061958 (Subterranean)
Hardback, 2009

Amazingly, this is my first Jack McDevitt book. And it’s content is not something you come across much these days – pure science fiction. No fantasy here.

There are an interesting number of stories that deal with space exploration. The failure to find other space fairing races – are we alone!

One poignant tale deals with a time capsule. You now, those things you chuck a few things in, and marvel at when dug up again in 10, 20 or 50 years. Hopefully not as alarming as in the film “Knowing”.

In this case its’ been put away for a thousand years. Things like novels from popular 20th century authors, were stored in it – Bradbury, Clarke, Swanwick, Tiptree, etc. Wonders to set young minds to asking questions. Especially as man was still stuck in the solar system – external journeys have been put in the “too hard” basket. “To Hell with the Stars”

A few other stories, nearer our own time, deal with the fallout from retreating from space just as achievements are made. Just because we’ve ‘been there, done that’. It makes you think!

And as usual, a smattering of post disaster stories.

The last story “Time Travellers Never Die” seems to be an introduction to a novel of the same name, that is due for release in ACE Hardcover in Nov 2009.

38 Short stories – a great read

This Subterranean Press edition seems to be sold out. Grab a copy wherever you can.

http://jackmcdevitt.com

Where Are They Now: Apollo Astronauts

If you ever wanted to know what the Apollo Astronauts did after their flights, have a look at this New York Times slide show

Windows 7 Installed

Installed Windows 7 pro x64 RTM last weekend. Everything went smoothly, and I now have a dual boot setup with Vista Home Premium x86.

Just a couple of problems.

1. Outlook 2007 doesn’t always exit cleanly. It leaves the exe running in the background, preventing a trouble free windows shutdown.
2. Adobe CS3 wont activate because of “too many activations”. Need to deactivate previous installation first – that’s on the old drive that I can’t access any more due to cluster errors and stuffed registry. Did have an old Acronis backup, but so far that’s a nightmare to restore – will try again when time permitts.

So far, everything I’ve installed, that worked in Vista, works in Win7.

And, so far very impressed with Windows 7. Very fast. Installed it to an OCZ Vertex SSD. Never seen windows start up so fast. Internet access is fastest ever!!

Downloading the RTM iso was the slowest ever!! though, taking 12hrs -ish – maybe downloaded too soon after release.

Photowalk Part 1

North Terrace, Adelaide

This shot didn’t make the final 2, but afterwards I found the following gem hidden in the detail. Click the “Red Wall” image – beautiful!!

Red Wall

Worldwide Photo Walk

Yesterday (July 18th) I took part in the “Worldwide Photo Walk”. The Adelaide walk started from Plain Tree Drive, thru the Botanic Gardens, along North Terrace to King William Street, the Adelaide Festival Centre, the Torrens and on to the Cathedral pub in North Adelaide.

I took 143 pics on the SLR and 18  on the compact on the 2.5-3hr walk.

Somehow I have to select 2 or 3 for the Adelaide competition…  hard!

Will post a selection of the rest in the next few days.

worldwidephotowalk.com
worldwidephotowalk.com/adelaide-sa-au

The Catcher in the Rye

by J.D.Salinger
ISBN 978-0140237504
c 1946

This is the tale of Holden Caufield’s journey home at term break. It’s told in the “first person” from Holden’s perspective.

He’s been expelled and hopes to get home before his parents get the official letter.

He’s having a run of bad luck, and something in the past has left him jaded. He isn’t getting along with his teachers, and the school, tagging them as phony.

He comes from a privileged New York family (father is a lawyer). Cashed up with $100-ish he rents a hotel room and goes out for a night on the town. Naive in many respects, he is lucky to survive the experiences. I don’t think the story would be realistic in today’s New York.

The story is very well written. It is quite detailed, painting a rich canvas of life in the vicinity of Central Park.

A good read.

Strange, but I don’t remember reading it at school, so it’s my first read. Doesn’t enthuse me to read other works by the author.

I picked it up because Christopher Barzak’s novel “One For Sorrow” was said to be as timeless. Maybe..!! – jury is out! Both have some elements that do age – New York has changed since the 1940’s – Small town USA, today, has all these new technologies that can’t help but influence Barzak’s tale.

Barzak’s tale has some supernatural elements, whereas Salinger’s is a clean/direct/realistic narrative.

Read them both – make your own decision.

wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye
books by christopher-barzak