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edenfallingMERRY CHRISTMAS! (and/or winter solstice holiday of your choice *grin*)
We had breakfast at 10am rather than 9am, since Vicky didn't want to get up at 8 to make scones. Fine by me -- I can always use an extra hour of sleep. We tried out some very nice jams made by a member of the Summit UU church -- one was blackberry with Calvados, while the other (which I liked better, honestly) was a nice, sharp gooseberry -- and then I took a shower while Mom and Vicky cleaned up the kitchen.
We opened presents at noonish. I got some things I was expecting (the framed version of the Cascadilla Creek picture I commissioned from Susan in August), some things I was not (an encyclopedia of symbols! Diana Wynne Jones's House of Many Ways! oolong tea!), and one gift that turned out to not quite work (a new winter coat), so it will be returned and I will get the cash equivalent instead on condition that I use said cash to buy clothes or other useful household products rather than entertainment, which is fair enough!
We will have turkey for dinner, probably around 5pm. Later, Susan and I plan to see The Princess and the Frog at the East Hannover theater (which, nearly a decade after it changed hands, I still call 'Sony' unless I am paying attention), while Dad, Mom, and Vicky go see A Single Man in Montclair.
Okay. That is everyday life stuff. On to Yuletide!
This year, I asked for The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay, The Acts of Caine series by Matthew Stover, Song for the Basilisk by Patricia McKillip, and Lucifer by Mike Carey, Peter Gross, et al.
I got TWO of those requests filled!
-----
First we have Ankhanan Justice: Caine's second Adventure isn't the sort of thing he expected.
The story is violent and brutal and I love it to itty bitty pieces. Also, you can tell that Caine is still new at the whole Acting thing; he keeps forgetting his Soliloquy, he meets Majesty for the first time, he is still nominally working for the Monastics, and so on. But despite his inexperience, he takes no more shit than he absolutely has to, and he pays back what he is forced to swallow, with interest. In the end, justice is served, more or less, and it is wonderful.
The story contains graphic depictions of violence and a fair amount of cursing (which is true to canon and to Caine), so keep that in mind when you read it.
-----
Second we have To Play the Picochet: While Sirina waits, she discovers that a disdained instrument has its own story to tell her.
The writer put Sirina back in the story. That alone would be worth reading. But ze also gets McKillip's tone -- the use of ashes in the opening lines is just gorgeous -- and the feel of strangeness always lurking behind and beneath and around everyday life. And! And there is music and magic and a really nifty OC -- the duchess in whose court Sirina serves as bard. There is serious discussion of how one would go about playing a picochet and the ways it differs from more conventional stringed instruments, which is absolutely wonderful. But mostly I am just squeeful over Sirina being a mother, and a former lover, and a musician, and still caring about Caladrius and Hollis while having her own rich and interesting life.
-----
The archive is very slow and overloaded at the moment, so I have not read any other stories yet. I will presumably get to that within the next few days, but right now I am giddy enough over these two that I am not in a huge hurry to go exploring.
We had breakfast at 10am rather than 9am, since Vicky didn't want to get up at 8 to make scones. Fine by me -- I can always use an extra hour of sleep. We tried out some very nice jams made by a member of the Summit UU church -- one was blackberry with Calvados, while the other (which I liked better, honestly) was a nice, sharp gooseberry -- and then I took a shower while Mom and Vicky cleaned up the kitchen.
We opened presents at noonish. I got some things I was expecting (the framed version of the Cascadilla Creek picture I commissioned from Susan in August), some things I was not (an encyclopedia of symbols! Diana Wynne Jones's House of Many Ways! oolong tea!), and one gift that turned out to not quite work (a new winter coat), so it will be returned and I will get the cash equivalent instead on condition that I use said cash to buy clothes or other useful household products rather than entertainment, which is fair enough!
We will have turkey for dinner, probably around 5pm. Later, Susan and I plan to see The Princess and the Frog at the East Hannover theater (which, nearly a decade after it changed hands, I still call 'Sony' unless I am paying attention), while Dad, Mom, and Vicky go see A Single Man in Montclair.
Okay. That is everyday life stuff. On to Yuletide!
This year, I asked for The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay, The Acts of Caine series by Matthew Stover, Song for the Basilisk by Patricia McKillip, and Lucifer by Mike Carey, Peter Gross, et al.
I got TWO of those requests filled!
-----
First we have Ankhanan Justice: Caine's second Adventure isn't the sort of thing he expected.
The story is violent and brutal and I love it to itty bitty pieces. Also, you can tell that Caine is still new at the whole Acting thing; he keeps forgetting his Soliloquy, he meets Majesty for the first time, he is still nominally working for the Monastics, and so on. But despite his inexperience, he takes no more shit than he absolutely has to, and he pays back what he is forced to swallow, with interest. In the end, justice is served, more or less, and it is wonderful.
The story contains graphic depictions of violence and a fair amount of cursing (which is true to canon and to Caine), so keep that in mind when you read it.
-----
Second we have To Play the Picochet: While Sirina waits, she discovers that a disdained instrument has its own story to tell her.
The writer put Sirina back in the story. That alone would be worth reading. But ze also gets McKillip's tone -- the use of ashes in the opening lines is just gorgeous -- and the feel of strangeness always lurking behind and beneath and around everyday life. And! And there is music and magic and a really nifty OC -- the duchess in whose court Sirina serves as bard. There is serious discussion of how one would go about playing a picochet and the ways it differs from more conventional stringed instruments, which is absolutely wonderful. But mostly I am just squeeful over Sirina being a mother, and a former lover, and a musician, and still caring about Caladrius and Hollis while having her own rich and interesting life.
-----
The archive is very slow and overloaded at the moment, so I have not read any other stories yet. I will presumably get to that within the next few days, but right now I am giddy enough over these two that I am not in a huge hurry to go exploring.
