Author Archives: James - Page 16
Elf Mischief 2018 part 2
Following on from Elf Mischief part 1 here are some more of the things that Alfie and Timmy have been up to while they have been here in December 2018. I'll post a third part of Elf Mischief on Christmas Eve to capture whatever else those naughty elves get up Elf Mischief cont'd. Elf Milk On Friday morning we discovered that an Elf had decided that milk tasted better blue. This upset Lucy so much that I didn't manage to get a picture before the blue milk was poured down the Elf Protest On Sunday 9th December Lucy spent the day moving presents about. She looked at every present under the Christmas tree and inspected it. This got the elves worried, and they enlisted the toys to help them. In particular there were a number of tiny placards made. These…
Elf Mischief 2018 part 1
Our house is home to more than one naughty elf. Every December for the last few years there has been Elf Mischief. Here are some of the things they have got up to so far this December. Elf Mischief On the first night, leading to the morning of 1 December, the elves sneaked in and put the advent calendars in black bin bags to hide them from the children. I didn't get any photos of it though. Elf Sweety Fest The elves spent the night of 1-2 December bingeing on sweeties. I wasn't quite quick enough to get the pile of sweetie wrappers, but you can still see the evidence of sherbet! As elf mischief goes this is pretty minor, but you don't want to go too strong on the first few nights of December. Pants on the Tree Elf…
On not blogging
I've not written much since I was in hospital. I found it harder to concentrate when I was recuperating. I also think that I might have gone back to work a little sooner than was ideal. I did manage to publish a couple of posts about my hospital stay, and there's a third one in draft that I didn't manage to finish. I don't think that's anything to do with having been unwell. I've not lost enthusiasm, but I do seem to have a lot of things going on. It's been the same at work. I had been writing one and a bit blog posts a week for work before I was off. In two months I've managed three. Writer's block? I haven't got writer's block. I've just run out of time to write things. I've worked a fair number…
Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch [Book Review]
Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch My rating: 5 of 5 stars I really enjoyed Lies Sleeping, and liked the multiple meanings inferable from the title. Lies Sleeping continues and expands on the Peter Grant story, for one thing PC Grant is now a Detective Constable. Lies Sleeping represents a watershed in the development of the universe, setting it up for more and bigger stories. The Folly is getting bigger and better organised. We see some of the liaison officers, that merely tolerated Peter and magic, accepting that it's not going away and treating Peter as one of the family. Lies Sleeping There are several key parts of the world that are explored and deepened. There is the nature of magic, keeping with Peter Grant's penchant for experimental approach and attempts to document how and why. There's what happened to practitioners…
Over a God’s Dead Body by Joel Spriggs [Book Review]
Over a God's Dead Body by Joel Spriggs My rating: 5 of 5 stars Over a God's Dead Body is the best urban fantasy story I've read this year. There's a cracking flow to the narrative and some superb imagery. As well as being a grittily realistic there are also laugh out loud moments. It's a hard mix to pull off, but Joel Spriggs manages it really well in Over a God's Dead Body. Over a God's Dead Body The story has an American Gods feel to it, mixed with the human observation that Terry Pratchett has in his discworld series. The basis of the story is that Loki has been enslaved by an Egyptian god and is obliged to steal the dead body of another god. Being Loki he isn't being entirely straight, and is doing his best to…