So… we’ve been, collectively, sick for over a week now.  The boys first got whatever it is sometime around last weekend – brought home from daycare no doubt.  Then I got it Tuesday, and Jen the day after or so.  I missed two days of work and Jen missed one.  And we’re still feeling like shit.

The one good thing to come of it, for me, is the crazy ass dreams I have.

The first/worst night, when I slept on the couch in a shivering huddle, I “woke up” in the middle of the night to the sensation of my body exploding and reforming.  Suddenly everyone could do anything.  I could will myself not to be sick – and it lasted as long as I concentrated.   I could make anything, do anything, but mostly I didn’t because I was still huddled on the couch trying not to be sick.  I was vaguely aware of  everyone else in the world struggling with their newfound abilities as well.  It was very vivid.

Another night I dreamed of these mammoth shipwrecks piled across this lake, and how my dad had a giant ship.  At one point my grandpa & I were watching him swim from the top of a cliff.  Then a polar bear and 3 cubs attacked my dad, swimming below.  We watched him climb the cliff, trying to escape, but the bears climbed as well.  He scaled at least a hundred feet, just about to my grandpa & me – who couldn’t reach over the fence to help him for some reason (dreams) – then the bear smacked him and we watched him fall all the way back down.  Somehow he didn’t smack his head on a rock, and managed to swim down the river to a beach and escape.  I remember the feeling of terror that my dad was about to be eaten by a bear, then the sense of him falling, the sureness that the fall had split his head, then the relief that he was still alive and moving.  Note that my father was very fit in this dream!

Last night… I can’t remember most of it, but it was another waterfront dream.  At some point I was carrying a (heavy) orphan across town to check on some paperwork, then by the time I got back to the beach area (which was having some kind of emergency) I was DEAD tired from carrying this heavy kid around.  I remember a school bus careening off a cliff, I think because whatever the emergency was drove the driver to suicide.   Then these dudes cliff dove from WAY high into the river below to try and save people.  I remember wondering where the news crew (whose office was just down the road) was.

There were more, I’m sure.  And may be even more, as the end of whatever we have still seems a few days off.

Are urban fantasy covers “ruining” it?  Rendering it trashier?  And keep in mind I ask this as a writer of UF.

I put “ruining” in quotes because well,  it’s all relative isn’t it…?

So, am I getting at?
Well, let’s start with an illustration.  I picked out four books, somewhat at random, on my last trip into a leading bookstore.  Some of them are from the fantasy/sci-fi section, and some are from the romance section.  Can you guess which ones are which from the covers below (click for bigger version)?

Which are not like the others?

No, it’s not a trick question.  Well, at least on the most basic level or two.  Beyond that, sure, but then again that’s the point of my post isn’t it?  No, I’m not going to tell you the answer right off the bat – please post guesses in the comments – NO GOOGLING (or binging, etc.) please.

Now, I have nothing against any of these authors, I picked them specifically because I’ve never heard of them and can be an impartial jerk.

Oh right, what is my issue?  WELL.  They all look kinda like romance covers, don’t they?  The difference being most romance covers have some hot sweaty man meat on there too (but not all, as evidenced by the cover(s) above).

So, maybe the content of these books is fantasy/sci-fi (in the genre term, not the general – everything non-fiction is a fantasy in the generic) but the covers really look like they are trying to sell them as romances.  Which makes me wonder – who the fuck is the target audience for these covers?

Women?
Do female fantasy readers want to see their (theoretically) empowering heroines dolled up like sexmeat?  Remember, this is fantasy/sci-fi, not romance.

Men?
Point of clarity: If men want porn they’ll get porn.
If men want romance then uh, well, they won’t be in the F/SF section. I’d bet money that most men would be somewhat embarrassed to be seen reading a book with a cover like that.

Who then?
*shrugs*  You got me.  One thing I know is that it sends a definite signal about what these books are going to be like – they all seem to follow the Laurell K Hamilton model of awesome badass hot chic who is involved in passionate (“passionate” seems to be a keyword on the back covers) relationships.

Look.  Let me clue you in here “urban fantasy publishers”: fantasy has romance.  It does.  I enjoy a well written romantic subplot within the context of a fantasy novel.  However, once that romance (and its “passion”) becomes the central area of focus (by weight of words), I think you’re treading into romance land.  Now, this is probably a point of contention BUT, for me, there’s a somewhat clear break.  If 51% of your plot is “passionate”, in the romantic sense, then you’ve got a romance. Hell, that % could be even lower, 35%? I dunno.  My point is, just because something is set in a UF/F/SF setting, that shouldn’t guarantee the shelving in F.   I’m not saying any of the books above should be shelved in romance – again I have no idea what is inside – I’m just saying, they look like they should.

I’m rambling and probably not making my point well.  So I’ll continue.

Another thing I noticed is that UF by male authors seems to always have a guy in a trenchcoat on the cover (SHUT UP BETHANY!  I’ll do something else for the cover…or get rid of the jacket.  Goddamm trenchcoat zeitgeist.).  UF by female authors tends to have covers like…well, in the picture above.  Make of that what you will.

Oh.  And I’m still not convinced that UF should be shelved in F/SF.  Seeing the Twilight books shelved in the F/SF section in one store…I think it broke something deep inside.  OK, I know that’s technically different, because those should be shelved in the kid section.  But seriously, UF is blowing up like crazy lately you know?  I think it’s just about big enough for it’s own bed.  Right btw. horror & F/SF.

It should be obvious by now that I’m reading these two series in tandem.  The enjoyment I’m drawing from one helps me plod through brief sojourns with the other in the interim.  Almost like it’s WORK!

Small Favor (Dresden Files 10)
by: Jim Butcher

This series just keeps getting better.  The entanglement levels of the various A & B plots become less exercises in plot trickery and more natural outgrowths of the world, yada yada.

This one picks up the Nevernever plot that started off in Winter Knight with the first of his 3 favors for Mab – here she calls in the second.  Again, to aid her works out to his benefit, but at the same time you get the clear feeling that something much bigger is going on with the Nevernever crew  in the background.  I wonder how long until we start seeing whatever that something is?  It could be another angle to the Black Council plot – several clues here point that way… but they could be herrings of a sunburnt hue.

The Denarians plot also picks back up, looping around towards the overarching series plot, as well as seeding the feel with more warring factions.  The various factions and their relationships to each other  a lot of balls to juggle and Butcher is doing it surprisingly well.

Oh, and our resident hopeless romantic (in the sense of “can’t have a relationship that’s not serious) finally goes on a date.  With a much, much older woman.  I’m curious where this one is going, especially since Harry has so many secrets that this other person probably shouldn’t, technically, find out about – and he’s been a decent guy so far with telling secrets to people who need to know them.

OH.  And this thing that’s been foreshadowed for I don’t know how many books now (5?) finally happens.  It involves a sword.   In a good way.

The thing with the goats is entertaining.

I really can’t recommend this series enough for fans of fantasy, supernatural, etc.  Or just someone looking for a fun read.

PS. I miss Lash.

FOUR STARS

The Weird of the White Wolf (Elric 3)
by: Michael Moorcock

Somehow I’m still amused to open my drawer at work to grab my lunch & lunch reading and see the word MOORCOCK in giant letters.  Nothing wrong with a little juvenile amusement, I suppose.

Anyway, yeah, as I implied above, reading this series feels like homework.  It’s amazingly poorly written, plotted, etc. by modern standards, yet it’s an undeniable classic – probably more due to its role in pushing fantasy out there to the masses than presenting an engaging story.

NOW.  In time-period context though… I can see how it would have been much more engaging.  Still, to read it through modern eyes… it’s difficult not to haul out a red pen and start marking stuff up.  There are no characters here, only people moving along preset lines.   The main character however is, somewhat aware of this – one of the more interesting angles to the series.  He does some things pretty much at random, and his commentary indicates that he’s aware he’s not exactly in control of things.  And he’s seeking out the hidden meaning behind all of it, almost like a meta-novel about a character unconsciously trying to break the 4th wall.  Maybe I’m reading a little too much into it, but Moorcock (no matter how poorly written these books are)  is a damn smart guy, and had specific intentions writing things, and that may have been one.  Who knows.

I can see the allure of these books for young boys (I see lots of stuff written about how people fell in love with these as kids – maybe if I had read them then I would have the same nostalgic love for them that I have for Fred Saberhagen’s Sword books that certain people seem to think are crap).  They are not difficult to read.  Most characters, even if they are supposed to have complicated motivations, act simply and predictably.  The hero has a crazy magic sword.  There are only 180 pages.  Each book is generally broken into 3 parts – each relatively separate, making it even easier to read.

I suppose it is also worth pointing out that this was one of the (or the?) earliest anti-heroes in fantasy.

Only for the die-hard, or the fantasy reader curious about his roots – of which I am both.

TWO STARS

Proven Guilty (Dresden Files #8)
by: Jim Butcher

I think I mentioned in my last review how the series had hit another roadmark with the last book, and it’s good to see that Butcher hasn’t slipped on the quality level yet.  I wasn’t particularly intrigued by the main plot’s setting – a horror convention under attack from movie monsters – but the rest of the story pulled me in.

In a way, this is a sequel to Winter Knight, as it deals heavily with the Faerie of Butcher’s  world: a minor alliance between two enemies, a brief visit with Dresden’s stepmother (we find out a little of what’s happened to her) and series portents of bad things to come from the Winter side of things.

The war between the White Council (Hah!  I typed “white tower” first… man, that next Wheel of Time book can’t come fast enough!)  & the vampires continues, and heavy losses are taken on the good guys side.  From this angle we also gets some more hints about the traitor – nothing definitive yet BUT it seems that it the guilty party was pretty laid out near the end.  Of course there’s nothing to say it’s not a red herring (but not a red heron, those are damn hard to catch!), or misdirection from beasties within the plot.   Then again, it seems like the best option as far as a source of conflict goes… so we’ll see.

We also check back in with the Carpenters, get a lot of background on Charity in particular and pick up another regular cast member.  Little bits and clues about whatever Thomas is up to, but nothing concrete yet.  I’m pretty sure the next book is about him… one of the next two anyway.

So yeah, if you like the  others blah blah, it’s still keeping up the quality, pushing towards greatness.

FOUR STARS

The Sailor on the Seas of Fate
by: Michael Moorcock

On the other hand – a classic.  Not to mention I scored a 1976 1st edition for $2.50.  Seriously?  Hey, I’m not gonna complain.  I wish old Philip Dick stuff was this cheap though.  Man.  I guess if they ever make an Elric movie…

Alright so wow this continues to be an education in pulp fantasy.  I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more in 6th or 7th grade, as wow was shit basic.  It’s hard to even call it a book, as there’s not really one plot that runs through the whole thing – it’s basically 3 separate stories about Elric.  The uniting factor is that they all involve being on a boat in water… or something, and the end of one leads him directly to the beginning of the other.  Except that he can’t really remember the first two?  Or can he?

The characterization is so thin you’d be hard pressed to hit it with a stream of urine.  Things move so fast that what would seriously take an entire 400 page modern fantasy novel happens in 60 pages.  It’s kind of crazy: Elric goes somewhere and fights some shit, then crazy shit happens with merging personalities aaaaaaand we’re done.

The world itself is interesting, but still a bit vague.  I’d appreciate one of those now-ubiquitous world maps that usually occupy the first few pages of any current fantasy.  So, I can’t call it “good” by modern standards, and the “entertainment” value is just not the same – I’m enjoying it more as an example of bygone days than as an actual novel.  Still, the world is peripherally compelling; I definitely want to know what’s up with the champion incarnations and the whole lords of law v. chaos thing.  So, of course I’ll keep reading.  Besides, it’s not like it takes me more than a few lunch breaks to finish one of these.

If you’re into retro, direct as hell, fantasy, you might enjoy this.  But, in that case, odds are you’ve already read these books.

TWO STARS

So, here’s the pile I’ve got to start off my year.  Albeit not in pile form.  I assume you can do the mental rotations and stacking, should you require that format to be suitably amused.

Except for that book on the far left (Sorceror’s Apprentice.  I only paid a $1 for it…and may finish it someday), I’m excited about reading the rest.

I’ve got (from left to right):

• the finale to a classic fantasy series – Hammer of the Sun – which I’ve kind of been putting off because it reads a little slow (closer to Tolkien’s style than current fantasy) but I’m still looking forward to the read.
• a new Neal Stephenson – Anathem -  which is pushing high 900s page wise…so I think I’ll hold off on that one.  But, still it’s Neal Stephenson!  And it does sound quite interesting, I’m just as excited about something of that size as I would have been 10 years ago.
• a new fantasy series – His Majesty’s Dragon – which I’ve seen before but… I needed something extra to push me into picking it up.  Jim Butcher (Dresden Files writer) mentioned it as the one current fantasy book people should read…or something like that, so I figured what the hell, I’ll at least try the 1st volume.
• classic fantasy for when I feel like just plowing through something in a few hours – the Elric stuff – this series has been on my list for so long it’s nice to be finally getting to it.  Plus, I’ve read a lot more pulp sci-fi from this era (70s) than I have fantasy, so it’s nice to see the other side of the coin.
• the remaining Dresden Files books – that are available in paperback anyway. There’s another currently in HC, but hopefully by the time I finish this pile it’s available in paperback.  Of course, that will mean the new HC is out and then the waiting starts (finally – ie I’ll be all caught up on the series).
• Some US history – American Colonies & American Slavery, American Freedom – two books I picked up off this list here of books “that would allow an interested but non-expert reader to “understand America.” I’ve been putting off my foray into this country’s history for so long, and I had no idea where to start, so I was quite pleased to find this list…linked from another post elsewhere I’m sure.  I suspect I’ll get to the others eventually as well.
• a science-ish book – The Evolution of God – A book that’s always looked interesting, and been on my list for a while.
• an oddity – Crabgrass Frontiers – a history, I guess.  This was referred somewhere in an interesting blog or comment, I can’t recall.  It’s about Chicago and suburbanization in the US.  Could be interesting….

Dead Beat (Dresden Files #7)
by: Jim Butcher

I wish I’d written this review closer to the time when I finished, as I had some rather strong opinions about it at that point ….aaannnnnd I pretty much can’t remember them right now.   Still, it’s time to move this downstairs, so the spice… err review must flow!

I think I twittered something about it being a “game changer” for the series…trying to remember.. OK, I think I’ve got it!

Well, first off, it seems to mark the point where the books all grow by about 100-150 pages (seems to be consistent, judging by the books that follow it).  So that must mean something right?

But no, the “game changer” had to do with a plot aspect that I won’t spoil for you, but that I think is a really nice progression into Harry’s (the protagonist, surname “Dresden”, hence the “Dresden Files”) mental struggle with what makes “good” and “bad” magic.  Or something like that, I’m butchering it just trying to explain it.  Let’s try a different track:  in some books, the character is clearly straddling a light/dark line and does things that some might consider evil for the better good (see: The Punisher), in others the protagonist does things that would only be viewed as evil in a certain, poorly informed light (Spider-Man, most heroes) – and this is where Harry falls.  He’s firmly on the side of the angels (except I suspect he doesn’t like angels much).  Everything he does has noble intentions, defending the weak, etc.

There’s a couple running subplots about temptation and various “dark forces” Harry has been forced to use over the years to get out of particularly sticky situation – none in themselves particularly bad, but all together well, maybe….  Annnnnnyway so he gets backed into a convincing corner in this volume, and (literally) his only way out is to do something somewhat surprising.

Honestly, I was going into the volume expecting to be kind of tedious, and suspecting the formula would just be starting to show it’s age, but Butcher injects just enough newness, and two decent twists (character wise) to take the series up to some kind of “next level”.

I think I’m going to have to give this

FOUR STARS

and hope the new goodness carries on into following volumes.

Note: I hope Butcher has an endgame in sight.  I can see pieces of what it should be – and indeed, it feels like when he wraps those up, he’ll have to end the series.  So, we’ll hope and see. I hate it when things run past their expiration date and careen dangerously into ruin.

and it’s not even flash-crap tastic!
It does use Adobe Air for the basic client interface, which I’ve found to run poorly on my monster of a laptop  – especially when a web browser is open (and visible – this is critical apparently) at the same time – but this is really minor.

If you enjoyed the pvp aspect of Warcraft III, I think you’ll like this.
If you especially enjoyed the hero-centric portion of WC3 pvp, I think you will really like this game:

League of Legends

Evidently the whole thing is based on a Warcraft 3 mod (hence being so similar….) which is evidently “the shit” and “hugely popular”.  I think it’s called Defense of the Ancients.

It’s online only, pvp only – although your pvp opponents CAN be bots, you don’t have to play against real people, but it is set up the same way.  So, if that’s not your boat, then hey, let that shit float on by.  Or somesuch jazz.

The gameplay is pretty basic at its core:

• Two teams, 5 players, each player controls a hero
• Heroes have 4 activated powers (things you click) and 1 passive (it’s always on).  They can “power up” one power each time they gain a level (hero levels max out at 18).
• You control your hero and your hero only
• Heroes can wear equipment that affects their stats.
• Equipment is purchased with gold, which accrues slowly over time, or which is gained from getting the “last hit” (ie killing blow) on an enemy minion or hero.
• The computer controls the “base” and non-hero units, and controls them pretty much exactly the same every time – the minion (as the non-hero units) and turrets (base defense things that do heavy damage) AI behavior is part of the strategy.  You KNOW what they will do, so you play around that.
• The goal is to destroy the enemy’s base.  To do that you usually need to destroy a number of their towers.
• That’s it.

So yeah, pretty basic gameplay, but it is lots of fun.  Lots of options as far as how to spec (choose your powers) your character, and what equipment to use.  Not to mention how to play with your various teammates and against certain enemies.  There are at least 30 hero options right now, and a ton of equipment as well.

It’s totally free to download and play, forever basically (until they run out of money or the servers get shut down, etc.).  You earn points for wins or losses that can be spent in the store to unlock new heroes, or add funky little options (minor stat tweaks) to your base hero thing (ie it applies to whatever hero you use).

THE CATCHES:

• You start with no heroes.  There are 10 “free” heroes that you can choose for a game, but they rotate every week or so, so if there’s a hero you really like, you’ll need to unlock that hero with points (either bought with real cash money money, or with points earned from playing games: ~60 for a loss, ~100 for a win).
• You need (sorta) little rune things as you level your account up that affect your stats in minor ways, and those things cost points too – these can only be purchased with the points from playing games though (a VERY nice touch IMHO).

So, not real serious catches at all are they?

The only thing you can’t unlock with game wins is skins – ways to make your avatar look different, palette/color swaps basically.  They have no functional effect on the game.

If do feel like sending them some money (and it seems like they deserve at least some, the game is a ton of fun to play) and you want to get a good deal as far as time/money investment goes, you can pick up their Digital Collector’s Pack for $30. It comes with heroes and 1 skin – unless you are very good & have a lot of free time, I think it would take several weeks to unlock all those heroes, so it’s worth it from that angle.  BUT STILL – there is no pressure, you do not need to buy anything. If you keep playing, win or lose, you will eventually be able to unlock all those heroes.  It would take about ~60wins for the most expensive heroes, 4 for the cheapest – and expensive does not mean “better” – usually those have the potential to be quite good, but require extra skill to play).

A game lasts a minimum of 10 minutes (no rewards for a shorter game), and can run upwards of 40 so.  Winners get extra points for a fast win and losers get extra for a slow loss.

The characters are all pretty unique, well designed, and some are quirky/cute as hell – one of my favorites is Amumu “the sad mummy” (pictured above).  I still suck with him early game, but I really enjoy him late game (level 10+).

Sounds simple, but tons of nuance, lots of fun.  VERY engaging – you cannot afford to just sit around, or you will fall  behind.  The developers did a great job here.  I recommend at least checking it out, if you are into pvp strategy gaming or anything like that – it’s not like it costs you anything.

I’d say play at least until level 5 – there is a lot to learn & the more I do the more fun it is.  Also, try as many heroes as you can – not only to find the ones you like – also to find out how to play against the others.

UPDATE:  They’ve added a pretty sweet referral rewards program.

SO, if this review convinces you to try the game, please sign up and create your account through this link – I’d really appreciate it.

Basically, every 3 people that you refer who make it to level 10 (about a week or two of playing) will net the referrer a nice in game reward.

I read a bought a few more books last year than I did cds…what can I say, they are 1/3 the price and oh, right, books are awesome.

I don’t have the energy to manually link to the reviews – I probably reviewed most of them.  For the sake of having a link to brandish, here’s one to everything I categorized a book review – which only goes back to last year for some reason.

So let’s see… fantasy series, sci-fi series, random history books, writing books, and one literary fiction.  Go figure.

I think the list is chronological, any kind of implied ranking would take entirely too much time, so that’s not the case.  I was thinking I actually read more than this, but I guess not?  Or maybe I re-read stuff.  Meh! Onward and pageward.

The Fifth Book of Lost Swords: Coinspinner’s Story (Swords)    Fred Saberhagen
The Sixth Book of Lost Swords: Mindsword’s Story (6th Book of Lost Swords)    Fred Saberhagen
A History of Ethiopia    Harold G. Marcus
The Dreaming Void (The Void Trilogy, Book 1)    Peter F. Hamilton
Split Infinity    Piers Anthony
Blue Adept    Piers Anthony
Juxtaposition (Apprentice Adept (Paperback))    Piers Anthony
A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 4)    George R. R. Martin
The Temporal Void (Void Trilogy)    Peter F. Hamilton
On Writing    Stephen King
Foucault’s Pendulum    Umberto Eco
Warbreaker    Brandon Sanderson
Elantris    Brandon Sanderson
Crooked Little Vein: A Novel    Warren Ellis
Emissaries from the Dead (Andrea Cort, Book 1)    Adam-Troy Castro
The Third Claw of God (Andrea Cort Novels)    Adam-troy Castro
The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 1)    Patrick Rothfuss
The Gathering Storm (Wheel of Time)    Robert Jordan
The Anvil of Ice: The Winter of the World    Michael Scott Rohan
Michael Moorcock: Death Is No Obstacle    Michael Moorcock
Writing the Breakout Novel    Donald Maass
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print    Renni Browne
Recursion Tony Ballantyne
Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1)    Jim Butcher
Elric of Melnibone    Michael Moorcock
Fool Moon (The Dresden Files, Book 2)    Jim Butcher
Grave Peril (The Dresden Files, Book 3)    Jim Butcher
The Forge in the Forest: The Winter of the World (The Winter of the world, book 2)    Michael Scott Rohan
Summer Knight (Dresden Files, book 4) Jim Butcher
Death Masks (Dresden Files, book 5) Jim Butcher

(Dresden Files books 4 & 5)
both by: Jim Butcher

I read these on the trip but couldn’t get the time to post a review.  Trying to do so before I forget much more of them (yes, I do forget books *that* fast).

I’m just going to cluster them together, since the series is basically one big, long book anyway.

In both cases Butcher continues his trend of stacking the deck against our perpetually harried protagonist, then shooting the deck up with Meth and lighting it on fire.  I always got the sense of “Wow, really?  Overkill?” but, not in a bad way surprisingly.  The majority of the building tension and additional drama seemed to flow organically from the established story – for the most part, nothing came out of nowhere.  Although… it does seem like he’s picking up the habit of just flat out starting each book with two main plots, which has the potential to be annoying.  However, everything always dovetails well and both plots are usually equally engaging so, no harm no foul – yet.

There are a metric ton of plots and potential plots running through the series now, and I’m curious if Butcher has any endgame in site (I have a vague sense of what it would involve), or is planning on making this an indefinite series.  I think, as long as he can avoid the pitfalls of formula, it could work as the latter.  Don’t get me wrong, his various formulas are visible, but not distracting or trite – yet.  Don’t know why I’m so paranoid… just hate to see a good thing ruined I guess.

Summer Knight is basically our introduction to the Fae/fairie/etc. of Butcher’s Earth.  We get a little more background on Harry’s ties to the Nevernever and his fairy godmother comes off looking not quite as horrible as she has in previous books.  She may actually be looking out for him… duh duh dah!  Based on the way the plots are shuffling about across the series so far, I’m sure that will rear it’s head in another book or three.

THREE AND THREE QUARTER STARS

Death Masks primarily concerns the fallout from book 3 (Grave Peril): the vampire vs. White Council war & the status of Harry’s potentially lost love, Susan the (now) almost (SPOILER), and the other two Knights of the Cross.  Plot A concerns the Knights of the Cross and a group of their ancient enemies (uber demons & their possessed hosts), Plot B concerns the vampire war, subplot A involves the theft of the Shroud of Turin (which leads back to plot A) and subplot B concerns the return of Susan and her status (which leads back to plot B) – yeah, lot’s of balls in the air.  From this book onward I think it’s going to be a trend, as Blood Rites (book 6) followed a similar pattern.  Hopefully Butcher won’t turn it into formula, but we’ll see.

Anyway, the series continues to be enjoyable page turners, and I highly recommend them to anyone interested in the nascent Urban Fantasy (sub?) genre,  or just looking for a good, but not too heavy, read.  I don’t think I’ve spent more than two days on any of the books, some only a day – they run in the 300s pagecount wise, but those pages demand to be turned.

THREE AND THREE QUARTER STARS

…we’re home!

(Pretend I’m posting this at 6am on Sunday the 3rd).

So.  Yeah, our (mini) epic (for us) road trip has come and gone, and we survived.  Thrived maybe?  Even?  Too much? Yeah, probably.  But we did ok.

We left at about 8:45pm for the trip down & arrived in Sac around 7am I think.  We stopped a few times to feed the little one and cleanse the plumbing, but no meal stops or anything.  I drove to Redding(ish) then Jen took over from there and I tried to pass out in the back seat.  I don’t think the moon was out, because I remember driving in near pitch blackness a lot of the way, and being unable to see most of the scenery (some of which we saw on the way back in the almost full moon light).

The southern half of the 5 in Oregon (miles 170->0ish) are obnoxious to drive.  Up and down, over and over again, ears popping and never quite unpopping, in and out of thick fog banks…hella meh.  But totally doable.

The first hundred fifty or so miles into Cali are kind of annoying too – lots of downhill, some uphill, and not many places to stop.  I’m sure this part of the drive is beautiful in the sunlight though – but we were having none of that!!

The kids did pretty good.  M woke up angry and ate a few times on the way down, but slept really well almost the whole way back – he got upset every time we stopped for gas, but fell back asleep quickly enough.  Z slept most of the way down, after falling asleep late.  On the way back he did the same, but woke up and snacked from 3-4am ish.  He was so out of it, but adorable of course.

For the trip back, we hit the freeway at about 830pm and got home around 5:15am – not bad eh?  Jen drove all the way to uhh… Ashland I think, then I took the last half.  Unfortunately the back of the van was 2x as full as the first trip, so she wasn’t able to sleep back there much.

We got to spend lots of time with pretty much all the family we wanted to see – but more importantly, so did the kids.  Z learned “grandma” and “grandpa” and used them correctly by the time we left – and M even said his first word (which my mom & some other family got to hear, it was very cool).  The boys grew so much in just 10 days it was crazy.  Not physically but, you know, they each picked up noticeable new tricks, mannerisms, vocabulary, whatever.  It was a lot of work wrangling them for all those days, but also quite awesome to have that time to spend with them.

We also got to visit some old friends I hadn’t seen in a decade, and some that we check in on every few years.  We spend a day at the sunny beach… in December.  I miss that part of California, that’s for sure (the weather, duh!) – but not much else.  Driving more than half the length of California twice (not personally, but you know, being in the car, blah blah), the main sense I had was just the sense that I knew this was no longer my home.  I enjoyed it for the things I liked, but didn’t feel particularly drawn to get all misty eyed or anything.

The kids got entirely too many presents, resulting in the aforementioned packed-ass back of the van, and  (I suspect) a thorough re-organization and re-evaluation of their toys & clothes – time to throw stuff out!

What else?  Oh, camera.  Our sweet camera stopped working randomly at my mom’s house.  So we dashed out to grab a new one and wound up with a “Canon Powershot SD950 IS” (I think that’s it, I’ll double check tonight) – basically an updated version of the SD750 that just broke.  I highly recommend it to other Canon lovers (there are at least two that read this blog…) – it’s a worthy replacement and decent upgrade to the SD750.

Oh – the note.  When we stopped briefly to visit some friends in Santa Barbara, someone left a note on our windshield saying we were blocking their driveway.  I really don’t think we were, unless they drive a hummer or something.  I left room.  Whiners!  Whatever, better than a ticket :).

The new van drove great, I thought.  Nothing broke, nothing sounded funny, no fluids ran out, etc.  Although now it’s about 2000 miles overdue on the 3000 mile checkup.  Heh.  Gotta schedule that.

Too much happened to go into much detail, but it was a great trip.  Maybe we’ll even do it again in another two years.   Maybe the kids will be mellow enough to do it in the daytime so we can finally see the scenery.   Then again, maybe we won’t be in Portland by then.

One can dream.

[edit 1: Speaking of, here's my favorite photo from the trip, click to embiggen.]

[edit 2:  Yeesh. 967 miles from Portland to Santa Barbara, says this map.]