And the list goes on....

Read:

Angel Sanctuary vol.19, Kaori Yuki

Castle of Crossed Destinies, Italo Calvino

Museum of Horror vol.1, Junji Ito

Creating:

A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns, Barbara Walker

Music:

The Runaway Found, the Veils

Grinderman, Nick Cave,Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey and Jim Sclavunos

***

And I just found out that Pink Martini is doing an in shop promotion next week!***CV

Troll Toll

Harrowing the Dragon, Patricia McKillip (308pp) A collection of short stories some of which have been printed in other anthologies. For the most part I enjoyed these shorts and had a pleasant revist with a variant on the Snow Queen. There is a short based on Romeo and Juliet told from the point of view of an investigating soldier after the suicides have been disovered; there is a Baba Yaga tale which was cute and a few stories such as The Stranger which I found forced but then there was The Witches of Junkett and a Troll and Two Roses (Troll Toll!) which made up for the weak spots. I could see Troll (with a little editing at the end) being performed as a monologue so easily.
**
Mortal Love, Elizabeth Hand (364pp) If you can imagine Algernon Swineburne as a hero, well, then you are halfway there with this book. Absinthe, crazed artists with a seriously surreal streak, more absinthe, Bloewdd, The Owl Service, lots of green, and why it might be better not to go home with someone you just met 'cause they might, you know, be an immortal primary source or an escapee from he local mad house down the moor are all present. The narrative style reminded me of Possession but more disjointed and less landscape oriented.
***
Snow-Walker, Catherine Fisher (505pp) I don't know why but I do seem to be reading an awful lot of Snow Queen stories lately. Snow-Walker which for some reason I had thought was set in Russia is in fact set in Norway. The America edition is actually the collected three volume series originally published in England and this explains why there seemed to be an inordinate amount of recapitualtion and a slight disjointedness in the narrative. However that minor hiccup aside each of the tales is a good read and reflects a different source: volume one The Snow Queen, volume two Beowolf, volume three East of the Sun and West of the Moon. They are based lightly on these tales and are definitely evolving quest stories. Snow-walker is the "youngest" feeling tale I have read so far of Ms. Fisher's work and I am curious how The Oracle Betrayed will be. I did like that Raven Wraiths. I wonder what would happen if they and the Crow Girls met?
****
One of the children learned today why rolling a skein of yarn into a ball is best done after carefully placing the skein around something before winding first. After an hour and a half he still had a tangle to sort out. At least it smelled pleasantly of oranges, as it had been dyed with Koolaid the previous week for our school auction :)
****
Oh and Angel Sanctuary, GodChild and Cain Saga (all the latest volumes are at the Powell's watrehouse! So I'm going to order them to have something to read on my way to Prom! If you're on the plane I'll be the one reading the book about angels being mean to each other and Gothic Lolitas loose in Victorian England poisoning people***CV

Review revue

Aaack. Book reviews due or I will be seriously behind.

xxxHolic, Clamp (185pp) I purchased this on impulse. It reminded me of a shop I used to patronise and which has since closed its doors. The premise is that a boy, named Watanuki Kimihiro, is mysteriously drawn into a shop in which wishes are granted for a fee. His wish being not to see the spirits which he has been able to see since always. His paymnet is service to the shop after which his wish will be granted. He becomes a lackey and so far this series has 14 volumes.
**
Vampire Knight, Matsuri Hino (192pp) Now don't get me wrong, I like a cute manga boy vampire as much as the next girl but this series has some issues to work out after which it could be just fine. My primary complaint is the continuous reccap at the beginning of every chapter. This is a collected work peoples. It is no longer in monthly format so there is no need to update the "just joined" every ten pages. Other than that it is a cute story. I wish the heroine wasn't quite so dippy. Adn taht school director? What is up with him? There is a vaguely Twilight feel to the interactions of the vampires and the female lead which is interesting. Volume 2 is due in April.
***
Saffron and Brimstone, Elizabeth Hand( 239pp) Oh look. A non manga book! A collection of stories in which muses are literally brought to life and what has been foretold regarding the west coast actually occurs. Tarot cards, butterfly girls, green men and Calypso; I'm looking forward to reading other works by this author.
****
Godchild vol.4, Kaori Yuki (190pp) Look it's a gothic Lolita who is a literal clone of Cain's dead cousin: And she wants Cain. OhNo! How will Riff rescue Cain if he has been bitten by one of her deadly pet spiders? Eeek! Will the organization Delilah take over London? And just what is Jizabel's secret that the Cardmaster now knows?
*****
Cain Saga vols. 1-3, Kaori Yuki (176-187pp) This is the background series explaining Cain's history. There is one more volume in this series yet to come out.
******
Angel Sanctuary vol.18, Kaori Yuki (196pp) Sara has changed and not for the better. She may really be with child. Lucifer (aka Kira) gets more handsome all the time though he is now in alliance with Rosiel who has become a living picture of Dorain Gray. The grand cross has been formed (at what price?) and the gates to heaven have been opened. Kato makes good on his promise. *Sniff* Only a few more volumes left til the end.
*******CV

Volume 18, where are you?

Yes this is what I'm waitng for. I think it rather represents all aspects of valentines day, don't you?
We got the roses, or at least the remnants
We got the dark handsome guy, why yes he does look a trifle anemic; and
We got the look that says, I only have eyes for you; or perhaps,

"I remembered the flowers: there was something else?"***CV

strange happenings

Cain Saga, vols 2 and 3, Kaori Yuki

GodChild vol. 4, Kaori Yuki

And Angel Sanctuary should be in stock in a week, yay! I also just received a notice that a Francis Yates book I've had on my wish list has been reissued so yay again.
**
Other than that this week has just been strange. People falling asleep on the bus, people coming in late due to sleeping in late. No one able to concentrate and there has been the scent of natural gas permeating my neighborhood for the past week.

Are these normal preValentines day symptoms or what? Perhaps the last oddness before Lent?***CV