Faust: A Story in Nine Letters (The Russians) 2Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Faust: A Story in Nine Letters
Series: (The Russians)
Author: Ivan Turgenev
Translator: -----
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Classic
Pages: 57
Words: 16K

This novella turned my stomach. The main character sets about to seduce his married neighbor. Before it can be consummated though, she dies and the main character moves away and hides from it all.

Disgusting.

It still surprises me (even though it shouldn’t) at how evil mankind really is on just a general every day level. The MC wanted something, so he went after it, with no regard for anything or any thought if it was right or wrong. He was willing to destroy Vera’s married life with nary a thought of how it would affect her or everyone associated with her.

Now, maybe Turgenev wasn’t advocating this kind of behavior, but considering how he wrote this, he really wasn’t advocating against it either. There’s a way to write reprehensible characters and behaviors without dragging your readers down into that cesspit and Turgenev chose not write that way.

I came out of this novella feeling soiled and dirty. One more story like this from Turgenev and I’ll be done with him.

★★☆☆☆

From Wikipedia

In a series of letters to his friend Semyon Nikolayevich, Pavel Alexandrovich narrates the events that take place after returning to his childhood home in the Russian countryside, starting from June 1850. Returning after a nine year absence, he reflects on the changes in the house, the garden, and the people. While going through the house and looking at the book collection, he becomes engrossed in reading Goethe's Faust, which triggers memories of his student days.

The next day, Pavel encounters an old university classmate, Priimkov, who is now married to Vera Nikolaevna. He recalls meeting 16 year old Vera and her mother Mrs. Yelstova when he was spending a summer at his cousin's estate in the Perm Governorate back in the 1830s. Mrs. Yelstova had an obsession with protecting her daughter's imagination from any outside influences, going to great lengths to ensure Vera's innocence. He recounts his growing attachment to Vera and his desire to marry her, although her mother objected and didn't let it happen. The news of Vera's proximity rekindles his curiosity and decides to meet her at Priimkov's estate.

The narrator is surprised to see that Vera has hardly changed at age 28, despite having given birth to three children. Mrs. Yelstova had long since passed away but somehow, Vera had not deviated much from the manner in which she was raised. The conversation turns to the subject of literature, where the narrator learns that Vera Nikolaevna has never read novels, poems, or any form of fictional literature, even after her late mother removed all restrictions on Vera after her marriage. He offers to introduce her to literature, beginning with Goethe's Faust. For these readings, visits to Priimkov's estate become common across the next few months.

During their readings, the narrator observes Vera closely and is captivated by her reactions. At first the narrator denies his romantic interest in Vera however it becomes quite obvious that he is infatuated with her. He admits to kissing Vera's hand while reading Eugene Onegin, however Vera seems firm on her boundaries. Besides literature, the narrator discusses several topics with Vera, such as their dreams, Vera's Italian heritage, and her fear of ghosts.

By the end of August, the narrator finally admits to being in love with Vera, despite his age and despite her marriage to Priimkov. He struggles to keep his emotions in check. Semyon seems disturbed by this and suggests visiting the narrator. The narrator quickly writes to stop him from coming and assures him that he will be contain himself.

The final letter is dated March 1853, 2 years after the events of the past eight letters, sent from a different location. Since the last letter, Vera confessed her feelings for him, and they shared a secret kiss. Vera then asked him to meet her secretly near their garden gate, to which he agreed eagerly. However, on the appointed day, Vera didn't show up. Instead, he noticed activity at her house, with her family still awake. Deciding not to intrude, he left and tried to resume his normal life. He later learned that Vera had fallen seriously ill, suffering from an undiagnosed condition. She had claimed to see her mother's ghost in the garden, which seemed to trigger her illness. Vera passed away in less than two weeks from the day they were supposed to meet. In her delirium, she repeatedly mentioned "Faust" and referred to her mother as either Martha or Gretchen.

Following her funeral, the narrator left everything behind and settled in a remote wilderness, where he would spend the rest of his days, haunted by the guilt of being the cause of Vera's loss of innocence and her untimely death. He echoes the motto of renunciation from Goethe's Faust

• The Russians

• Leo Tolstoy

• Fyodor Dostoyevsky

• Ivan Turgenev

• Nikolai Gogol

The Upper Ranks Gather (Demon Slayer #12) 3.5Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Upper Ranks Gather
Series: Demon Slayer #12
Author: Koyoharu Gotouge
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 190
Words: 9K

Since Tanjiro broke his last sword, he has to get a new one. Only thing is, the guy who is supposed to be his swordsmith is a big baby and throws a tantrum. This forces Tanjiro to go to the village where the swordsmiths all live to get a new sword. He finds a new ally and finds an old sword. Also, two of the upper rank demons find the village and prepare to attack it.

This volume gave us more interactions with two of the Hashira (top tiered demon slayers), one the Love Hashira and the other the Mist Hashira. The love hashira is a ditzy busty girl and there was a lot of room for fanservice, which the manga-ka avoided. Good on him. I’ve noted before how he draws in such a manner as to “suggest” something without actually being suggestive or lewd. I do suspect that I will not be watching the anime on that account. One scene has the love hashira coming out of a hot springs buck naked, and it was fine. At the same time, he’s not being a prude. He’s showing good taste and discretion.

The mist hashera is a total jerk. He’s the kind of guy that would inhabit the Warhammer 40K world and while part of the Empire of Man fighting demons, would be just as bad as the demons. He’s the cure, but he’s as bad if not worse than the disease. Of course Tanjiro tries to befriend him and fight him and succeeds at neither. We’ll see what the future holds for them. I hope the mist hashira dies because he’s alienated everyone around him, that’s what he deserves.

We also get an extended scene between the main bad guy demon and his upper rank demons. Man, he treats them like total dirt. I hope he gets his too. He more than deserves it.

For some reason, this just felt very filler’ish, even though I can’t actually point to anything that would make that so. I guess maybe because it was mainly about Tanjiro recovering after his last battle? Slow, that would be a better word than filler.

★★★✬☆

From Wikipedia

"The Upper Ranks Gather"

"Someone's Dream"

"Go to the Village!"

"A Secret"

"Hello, Tokito"

"Yoriichi Type Zero"

"Kotetsu"

"Something Came Out"

"Enemy Attack"

After recovering from the previous battle, Tanjiro departs to the village of Swordsmiths to have his sword restored. Once there, he discovers an ancient, but well crafted old sword that his personal swordsmith, Haganezuka decides to reforge for him. Meanwhile, Hantengu and Gyokko, two of the Upper Ranks, discover the location of the village and prepare to attack it.

Veruchia (Dumarest #8) 3.5Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Veruchia
Series: Dumarest #8
Author: EC Tubb
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 159
Words: 46K

This was a good adventure story. Earl makes a quick exit from one planet where he was looking for clues to Earth’s location and in the process got the attention of somebody bad. He runs for another and because he used up all his money, has to go fight in the arena against giant killer chickens. From the description in the book, I think they were more raptor like than dragon like as shown on the cover. That wasn’t glossed over, but was the actual introduction for him to meet Veruchia. The fight was well described and I enjoyed it.

The owner of the planet dies (of poison) and the guy who thinks he has things all locked up (and he’s directed by the cyclans) must contest with Veruchia about who is to become the ruler of the planet. It all comes down to who was the captain of the starship when the colonists first landed hundreds of years ago. The ship has been lost and Veruchia has been hellbent on finding it before this, but now her very life depends on it.

There was a lot of water action in this. The spaceship ends up being on a continental shelf and Earl uses the ability of the mind control thingy that his ring has given him to use a kraken to bring the ship back to the surface. Obviously, there is a lot more than just that, but that’s the gist. Lots of underwater monsters to contend with as well as sea-quakes.

Earl and Veruchia over come all and she becomes the owner. She asks Earl to stay with her as her consort, and to my complete surprise, agrees. There’s nothing on the planet to help him in his quest, so in essence he’s giving up his quest to be with this woman. I thought he should have done that a LONG time ago. Sadly, since there are many more books in this series, I know something will happen between books to propel him onward in the next book. Not really looking forward to that, to be honest. Earl needs to learn to be content with what he has.

Once again, really liked this cover. And as a bonus, there’s no spacesuit bubble helmet :-D

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher & Bookstooge
Earl Dumarest, trans-galactic soldier of fortune, is still seeking his birthplace, the fabled planet Earth.
On the distant, decadent planet Dradea, he meets the mysterious, mutant woman Veruchia. She selected him from the gladiators’ arena to become her servant. . . and more.
Soon, Dumarest discovers that she too is engaged in a quest – and that the fate of her planet hangs in the balance. Fascinated, compelled, he agrees to help her.
But then he must face bizarre perils which make the gladiatorial arena seem a haven of safety.

Veruchia completes her quest, becomes ruler of her world and Earl decides to settle down with her and stay on the planet and give up his quest for Earth.

• All of My “Dumarest” Reviews

The Finality Problem (Warlock Holmes #5) 5Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Finality Problem
Series: Warlock Holmes #5
Author: Gabriel Denning
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy Parody
Pages: 248
Words: 96K

This book is analogous to Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, as that was the book where Doyle “killed” off Holmes, only to bring him back years later and write three more books worth of stories about him. In this book Warlock takes the plunge over Reichenbach Falls with Moriarty, who has possessed Watson’s wife Mary.

I knew going into this that this was how things ended AND that this was written back in late 2020. With no new published Warlock Holmes book since. I thought I might be upset about that. I wasn’t, not one tiny bit. It fit perfectly as the parody that this series is and if we don’t get any more Warlock Holmes books, I will be disappointed, but not devastated; nor will it set me off on a rant and make me castigate myself for ever reading the first book. I already plan on re-reading this series at some point; I had that much fun with it.

I had two little niggles with this book, which I think need airing. First, the relationship between John and Mary. I know that Denning really mocks everything in this series, but I found it extremely hard to stomach his mocking marriage that way. They HATE each other but because of “magic” have to be with each other. It’s the very definition of a toxic relationship and I hated it. The second was Watson’s continued blathering about the end of the world due to a demon invasion/apocalypse. He’s gone on about that ever since the first book, but I’ve seen zero evidence of it. Just because demons exist doesn’t mean that without Warlock our dimension will be invaded. The world survived until Warlock was born after all. So there you go, two niggles. And I won’t even charge you a nickle!

Once again, being familiar with the Sherlock Holmes canon will help your enjoyment of these stories tremendously. Each story IS amusing on its own, but if you know the original, you can see how Denning has twisted things and that makes it just that much more amusing. I suspect you have to have a particular kind of humor to appreciate it though. I definitely have that.

Finally, I’d like to thank Mogsy (again) for introducing me to this series. If it weren’t for her, I’d never have heard of this nor would I have had the inclination to try these. I had so much fun that I am extremely thankful for that intersection on the bookish highway. Here is her review of The Finality Problem. At the end of her review she has links to all her reviews of the previous books, if you are interested. I too have included links to my previous reviews down below.

★★★★★

From the Publisher

The famous duo has been split! Watson has been banished from Holmes's company. Despite the interference of his horrible wife, Mary, Watson tirelessly insinuates himself into every magical adventure he can. Together, he and Holmes face a man with a twisted... everything, some very questionable juice-drinking Germans, Garrideb the Devourer and the estimable Irene Adler. Yet, nothing can prepare them for Moriarty's new form and the terrible moment they must face their Finality Problem at the edge of the Reichenbach Falls.

• A Study in Brimstone (Book 1)

• The Hell-Hound of the Baskervilles (Book 2)

• My Grave Ritual (Book 3)

• The Sign of Nine (Book 4)

Ghost Ship - MTG 4E

 

Regenerate is a mechanic (game ability) wherein a player can pay the cost (in this case, three blue mana) and at the end of his turn, if his creature was going to die, it won't. It will be on the field of battle, ready to go again. Which fits with the theme of a ghost ship perfectly. Can't kill it, and it just keeps coming back.

But another reason I've been posting these cards and looking back is because it brings into stark contrast the power creep that has happened over the years. This is an expensive card in terms of mana (4 to cast it and then 3 dedicated blue to regenerate it) and by today's standards, it is completely unplayable. That is just sad because Magic's game play was predicated on the idea of new cards being thoughtfully created to synergize with ALL of the old cards and not to simply replace them. Wizards of the Coast hasn't done that. They have simply increased the power of cards and decreased costs because that is an easier way to sell cards than to come up with good, well balanced cards. It takes time and money to do Magic cards right and Hasbro (Wizards of the Coasts' alcoholic abusive stepdad) is only interested in pimping Magic out for the money it can bring in every 3 months.

The Book Titles Tag

 I found these lists at Emma's site. The idea is to answer each question with the title of a book you read from the previous year. Emma did this with just her 2024 list. I was tempted to just use ALL of my titles from 2000 to now, but much like an expert gamer, wanted to make this just a bit harder on myself. So I too am limiting my answers to 2024. Unless it gets really hard, in which case I'll use a cheat code, just like I use to do in Heretic and Hexen ;-)

– When I was younger I was  Vainglorious
– People might be surprised to discover that I am  an Alpha
– I will never be  The Gambler
– At the end of a long day I need  a Pound of Flesh
– Right now I’m feeling Triumphant
– Someday I want to (be)  Human and Demon
– At a party you’d find me  (wishing I could) Bar the Doors
– I’ve never (seen) Mrs Pollifax on Safari
– I really don’t enjoy  Champagne for One
– In my next life I want (to be) The Ronin

– If you could go anywhere, where would you go:  Sanditon
– Your favorite form of transportation:  Pyramids
– Your best friend is  Mostly Harmless
– You and your friends are  Dead Men Walking
– What’s the weather like:  Under Twin Suns
– Favorite time of day:  Making Love Last Forever
– If your life was Weaponized
– What is life to you:  Might as well be Dead
– Your fear:  Betrayal
– What is the best advice you have to give:  Spies!
– Thought for the Day:  If It Bleeds...
– How I would like to die:  Trading Blows at Close Quarters
– My soul’s present condition:  Crisis of Faith

I began the day with Wishes
On my way to work, I saw The Sign of Nine
and walked by The Web of Spider
to avoid the Neuromancer
but I made sure to stop at The Watsons
In the office, my boss said, A Man Lay Dead
and sent me to research My Grave Ritual
At lunch with Mary Poppins in the Park
I noticed Doctor Syn on the High Seas
under (the) False Flag
then went back to my desk, a Lethal Agent
Later, on the journey home, I bought The Book of Cthulhu
because I have The Weapon from Beyond
Then settling down for the evening, I picked up The Killer's Payoff
and studied  The Amulet
before saying goodnight to The Hellhound of the Baskerville's

Holy smokes, that was tough! I'd recommend each section as tag for anybody else. Unless you're as tough as Emma and me.
*cracks knuckles
Have at it folks! ;-)

[Journal] Maya Angelou: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

 

I'd never heard of this person or that phrase. Turns out she was an author and it is a title of her most famous work.

I just like it because it's all yellow and gold. It is a very rich looking cover. Not much else to say really. Of course, given my recent slowdown in journaling, it will probably be quite some time before I ever get to this.