Oldies But Goodies {Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review of Three Retold Fairytale Selections by T. Kingfisher by Karen S. Wiesner

Oldies But Goodies

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Book Review of Three Retold Fairytale Selections by T. Kingfisher

by Karen S. Wiesner 

Beware potential spoilers! 

 

I bought Nettle & Bone because I'm currently devouring just about everything with author T. Kingfisher's name on it. I didn't know what to expect, beyond that it was dark fantasy, though hardly what most people think of when it comes to a fairy tale. The back cover blurb tagline, "This isn't the kind of fairy tale where the princess marries a prince. It's the one where she kills him" pretty much says it all. Or at least I initially thought it did. I can't really say why it reminded me of The Hunger Games, but something about the heroine Marra in the first handful of pages struck that chord of "responsible heroine takes matters into her own hands" when everyone around her fails to act the way they should. 

In Nettle & Bone, Marra is the youngest of three princesses. She herself is as far from "princessly" as it gets. In order to provide safety for their kingdom, her parents agree to the political marriage of Marra's eldest sister Damia to Prince Vorling. Months later, Damia is dead and Kania, the middle sister, is now Vorling's wife. Marra is sent to a convent. Before long, it becomes clear that Kania is trying to stay pregnant in order to escape the abuses of her cruel husband. Marra and Kania's queen mother knows that her daughters are being abused by this prince, but she chooses the safety of the kingdom above that of her own children. Though it'd be easy to judge the woman on that basis, this story is set during a time when females--not even queens or princesses--had many, if any, options. It was a man's world, and submitting was usually the only real option. Few have Marra's bravery, let alone her willingness to act to right the wrongs she sees in the world around her. There's a curse on all children born in the prince's family, something Marra knows has to do with the godmother who blesses each at birth, and she begins to search for a way to save her sister. 

First, Marra seeks out a powerful gravewitch (also called a dust-wife) who can communicate with the dead. The lone wolf dust-wife gives her three impossible tasks, and, after Marra inconceivably manages the first two of them, the dust-wife gives herself over to joining her foolish quest in killing the prince. The two are joined by the dust-wife's chicken familiar and the sweet, if somewhat half-there, bonedog Marra resurrected. The dust-wife clearly didn't want to be part of a group, let alone a family, but this isn't something she can resist for long. Along the way, they recruit a disgraced knight named Fenris and Marra's own godmother Agnes. 

Nettle & Bone was, initially, written in a non-linear fashion. In the opening scene, Marra is crafting the bone dog. However, the narrative soon begins to circle back around to explaining how she got to that point. I found this very awkward and not terribly compelling. Also, it seemed odd and not entirely convincing to me that Marra started the book telling us she was going to kill the prince despite the fact that Kania hated her, and Marra had known this truth about her sister for most of her life. To start with a character intent on murder without a strong enough reason why took me a little time to swallow. At first, I thought Marra's motivation for acting came down to her realization that, if Kania was killed by the prince, as their eldest sister had been, then Marra would be next in line to take her place. She had to stop that at any cost. That meant killing the prince. However, even that wasn't the full reason. I was soon persuaded that, more often than not, sisters love each other--even when they claim the opposite. It didn't matter Kania's feelings for Marra, whether once upon a time or currently. Kania was being treated as if she was little more than a punching bag and a baby factory. Didn't her personal happiness and well-being matter, or only the collective whole that make up their kingdom? That struck me as a much better motivation than I'd first assumed drove Marra. 

Still, I wasn't enamored of the main character right away (similarly, the heroine in The Hunger Games took a very long time and two full readings of the series to really grown on me). Some fifty pages in, I began to wonder if this story was worth reading. It was around Chapter 7, when Marra and the dust-wife visited the goblin market and rescued Fenris, that I was stunned to acknowledge I could no longer put the book down. I'd gone from half-hearted reading to voraciously being glued to the pages. The appearance of noble and selfless Fenris made Marra somehow human, the way she hadn't quite seemed to be earlier, as she'd focused so single-mindedly on the path set before her. Not long after that, Marra's godmother Agnes joined the crew. She was so scatter-brained, hilarious, and interesting, I just loved her. Soon the reader learns that Agnes, as a magical fairy godmother, isn't just good at blessing newborns with good health, but she also has the power to just as easily curse any being and destroy lives in the process. Yet Agnes has made a deliberate choice not to use her power for evil. 

As lovably impatient and grouchy as the dust-wife feigns to be, she's becoming irresistibly drawn into this group as I myself was being hooked. Fenris described them as "Five of us. Five is a fist. Five is a hand on the enemy's throat." A fist includes a hand, and this is what holds people together as a family and in friendships in the physical sense. Along the path of their quest, this unit had become a family, and I wasn't ready to let them go when the story concluded. I want to see them all again, but the author claims a sequel isn't in the offing. Sigh. I hope that changes, but we'll have to see. 

I'm so glad I didn't stop reading this book that, admittedly, took too long to capture me--though, at least when it finally did, it was irrevocable. I urge everyone who liked The Hunger Games series or loves a fairy tale turned on its head to stick with this one, even if the beginning is a little tough to get through. It's well worth the effort. 

I believe this book is one of many that could be described as "reimagined and unconventional fairytales" by this author. I'm a huge fan of things like that (see my Woodcutter's Grim Series https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/woodcutters-grim-series.html). In trying to get a handle on some of the other books Kingfisher has written in this vein that include a reinterpretation of beloved fairytales, I came up with this list of her selections, arranged below on the basis of publication dates: 

The Seventh Bride ("Mr. Fox"/"The Robber Bridegroom", and other variants) 

Bryony and Roses ("Beauty and the Beast")

The Raven and the Reindeer ("The Snow Queen") 

Thornhedge ("Sleeping Beauty")

A Sorceress Comes to Call ("Goose Girl")

Hemlock & Silver ("Snow White")

In the case of Nettle & Bone, the story doesn't encompass any one specific fairytale--more of a subversion of everything that's been done rolled into one. 

 

Released in 2015, I was able to get the audiobook of Bryony and Roses from one of my library apps. Bryony and her sisters are just getting by after their merchant father's death. But when Bryony stumbles into what she thinks is an abandoned manor to escape a snow storm, she meets Beast, who could be a monster or her fate and future. This clever retelling had a lovely romance that was developed over time, through trials, and much shared experience. The story was very unpredictable, considering how well know the original is. I loved that. The characters were compelling and witty. I was rooting for them even after the dark secret the Beast hid was revealed.

 

Released in 2023, I listened to the audiobook of Thornhedge from the library app. The voice actor had a halting way of reading that was a bit annoying. Luckily the story was short (under four hours). In this reimagined version of Sleeping Beauty, an unconventional knight meets the caretaker of Thornhedge. Toadling is kind of a toad shapeshifter created by fairy magic. She makes it clear that, chivalry aside, waking the sleeping princess might just be the biggest mistake he'll ever make. Luckily, this knight isn't really what most people think of when they imagine a knight--but he is what Toadling longs for. The romance was subtle and sweet, and I enjoyed the author's unusual take on a favorite fairytale of mine. 

Kingfisher thrives at unique and unorthodox perspectives with riveting, fist to the gut twists that come out of nowhere. Nettle & Bone, in particular, would make an amazing film. If you're a fan of reimagined fantasy tales of romance and adventure, whatever you do, don't miss even one of these. I plan to review the rest of Kingfisher's reimagined fairytales when they become available through my library apps. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website and blog here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

My reflections on A WIZARD'S GUIDE TO DEFENSIVE BAKING, by T. Kingfisher, which Karen recently reviewed: The title alone is irresistible! This YA fantasy tale set in a secondary world is quite different in tone and content from Kingfisher’s superb adult horror novels. The only obvious similarity is that, like many of those books, this one is narrated in first person by a female character with a distinctive, witty voice.

Fourteen-year-old orphan Mona works in her aunt’s bakery. Mona’s baking talent encompasses more than mundane skills. In this world, many people have magical gifts, although more often small and specialized than big and flashy, and Mona can do amazing things with dough. She entertains customers by making gingerbread men dance. She keeps one long-lived animated gingerbread figure as a sort of pet. Her other mascot is a bucket of sentient sourdough starter named Bob. He lives in the basement because of his habit of eating animals that stray within his reach.

To recap briefly, as the story begins early one morning, Mona finds a dead girl on the bakery floor. Local law enforcement takes Mona into custody for questioning, and things get worse from there. Following her release after many hours, she’s attacked by ten-year-old Spindle, brother of the murdered girl. After Mona convinces him of her and her family’s innocence, the two of them team up to uncover the truth. A mysterious figure known as the Spring Green Man seems to be involved. Magic-users have been disappearing or dying. Aside from Mona herself, one of the few left in the city is Molly, a kindly but deranged woman whose gift is animating dead horses; she wanders around with a dried-up, nearly skeletal zombie horse. Meanwhile, their city-state is at war, and the authorities are cracking down on magical folk. In desperation, Mona and Spindle eventually sneak into the castle to appeal to the Duchess herself. As the plot thickens, Mona gets unwillingly involved in combat and discovers extraordinary uses for the baking magic she’s always seen as minor and ordinary. While fast-paced and entertaining, with moments of humor, this novel also delves into issues such as the nature of responsibility and heroism.

In common with other young protagonists in Kingfisher's fantasies, Mona considers her magical gifts trivial and unimpressive. Like her counterparts in (for example) MINOR MAGE and ILLUMINATIONS, she discovers her own true worth and surprisingly saves the day by making clever use of those modest abilities.

Margaret L. Carter

Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.

Wet Work

The first time I heard the term "wet work" was in the Clint Eastwood mountain-climbing-assassins themed movie, "The Eiger Sanction". I must watch that movie again.

This is not about that... but it is about warm liquid, deliberately spilled, with potentially lethal consequences.

The surprising thing is, no one wants to question the warming of waters because AI is too important, too profitable. AI is like the proverbial parson's nose; "good in parts".

To digress for a bit--although this may illustrate a point-- the meaning to be found on a certain search engine for the parson's nose is the absolute opposite of what I was taught. Of course, I firmly believe that I am correct. The so-called parson's nose is a disgusting, greasy, fatty, sometimes gristly bulge at the south end of a turkey or chicken, where the tail attaches to the bird's body.

It was far from a delicacy, say, in Jane Austen's time, and would be served to one of the lowest status persons at a well-to-do family table for a celebratory meal. Think Mr. Collins at Rosings. A parson who relied on the local landed gentry for his "living" (his job as parson or vicar), would be obsequious, and so, if asked how he was enjoying his disgusting poultry part, he would say, "Good in parts" and not mention that is also bad in parts.

The tradition in the British upper and upper-middle classes in Georgian and Regency times, was that the eldest son would inherit all the property and manage the estate, the second son would go into the military (army or navy), and if there were a third son, he would go into the clergy.

A third son might be a gentleman, but he would have no inherited money, and few prospects.

Back to the wet secret of AI: data centers, most of which have a heat problem, that is, an overheating problem. A typical data center is cooled using evaporative systems, requiring up to 5 million gallons of water every day.

This water is taken from lakes, rivers, groundwater wells, municipal water supplies. A tinfoil hat-wearer might wonder whether this is a a reason why tech-heavy parts of California have depleted lakes and dry fire hydrants. On the other hand, at least a couple of big tech titans are experimenting with data centers submerged in the sea. 

According to  Melissa DeSimone of Michigan Lake and Streams Association, diverting five million gallons of water a day might deplete water from farming (crop irrigation), recreation, and other community uses; it might lower the water table. Groundwater depletion can cause land subsidence, sinkholes, increased pumping costs, exhaust wells, worsened water quality.

So, that's a front end issue. Some data centers use water for cooling, and then return what is left (after evaporation) of the used water to rivers etc, but the water that is returned is warmer, which might harm cold-water fish and cause the growth of unsightly algae. 

Algae can clog fish gills, create toxins in the water, interfere with sunlight, remove oxygen from water, for instance.

There ought to be a compromise. Maybe everyman doesn't need AI for writing essays, music, stories, creating art, driving a car?

All the best,

Rowena Cherry 

SPACE SNARK™ 

https://www.spacesnark.com/

{Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review: Sworn Soldier Series by T. Kingfisher by Karen S. Wiesner

 

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Book Review: Sworn Soldier Series by T. Kingfisher

by Karen S. Wiesner 

This post contains my 200th

Alien Romances Blog book review!

 

Beware spoilers! 

Sometimes a reader experiences serendipity when she finds an unexpected treasure in an author who fills a hither-to-unknown empty space inside her. T. Kingfisher (the author's grownup--as opposed to "not written specifically for children"--pen name) is the pseudonym of Ursula Vernon, a versatile writer, illustrator, and artist. She came to my attention when I bought an immaculate (used) hardcover book by her called "What Feasts at Night"--without realizing it was the second in a series. The fact that it's a follow-up to an earlier novella was told within a short sentence on the back cover that read "set in the world of "What Moves the Dead". Elsewhere (aka, not on or in the book anywhere), it was described as a sequel to the aforementioned "Dead" book. Sigh! Would it kill publishers to make these things a little more obvious for struggling readers? Honestly, I sometimes think publishers don't really want to sell books. Apparently, it's not widely known that a book that's part of a series is a selling point! Mind you, the fact that this series is actually called "Sworn Soldier" was another thing I only found out on the author's website. This isn't indicated anywhere else useful. Note: When the third book in the series was released, there was finally a reference to it being part of a series on the back cover. 

In any case, I started reading "What Feasts at Night" only to realize a few chapters in--when the protagonist kept referring to an earlier incident the same characters had endured recently--that this must be part of something larger. Although I wasn't very far along, I decided to look up the author on my Libby library app and see what else Kingfisher had to offer. It was then I found out the truth about "What Feasts at Night" (and my faux pas in yet again! reading the second in a series before the first). At this point, I was introduced to an entire world of eclectic stories from this multi-award winning author that I, somehow, had never even heard of before.

Of particular note is that the main character in this series, Alex Easton, hails from a fictional country called Gallacia, where there are several sets of personal pronouns. In addition to the usual, there's a set specifically for religious affiliations (va/var) and another for soldiers (ka/kan), regardless of their sex at birth, among others. As this series is written in the first person from Alex's point of view, I read Book 2 without knowing whether the protagonist was male or female. Book 1 held the explanation that Alex is biologically female but doesn't identify as such (being a soldier, Alex prefers ka and kan). To make it easier in this review, as it was sometimes very difficult to understand exactly what was meant by certain made-up pronouns in the story, I'll always use the name "Alex" in reference to the main character. 

Since I read Book 2 first, I started to review the two books currently available (as of July 2025) in this series in reverse order. Alas, that didn't work well at all. I owned a physical copy of Book 2, but I couldn't find Book 1 anywhere via my library sources. Because I couldn't wait for it to become available at my very, very small brick and mortar library (I might be old and gray by that time), nor as an audiobook or an ebook via my Libby app, I broke down and purchased a brand-new paperback of "What Moves the Dead". Let's face it: I'd probably want to own a copy anyway. (Let's not talk about the fact that I purchased three of the author's other standalone novels at the same time as this one and will review them on this blog soon, nor the fact that I pre-ordered Book 3 of the Sworn Soldier series there and then.) 

"What Moves the Dead" was published July 2022. As an infectious "new spin on classic Gothic horror" (Booklist)--in this case Poe's wonderful "The Fall of the House of Usher"--I could hardly wait to read this one. I love the original and combining the elements of a very specific cause of Madeline's death in this new story in a familiar setting with suspicious fungi sounded brilliant to me. The first story took place around 1890. 

Side note: It's said that Poe's inspiration for "The Fall of the House of Usher" could have been inspired by two probable events: One took place at the Hezekiah Usher House, an actual place constructed in 1684 in downtown modern Boston, Massachusetts. A sailor and the young wife of the older owner were caught in a tryst by her husband and entombed on the very spot. Revenge served cold--and cruel, indeed! Two embracing skeletons were found in the cellar after it was torn down in 1830. Another inspiration could have been from Poe's mother Eliza's friends' Mr. and Mrs. Luke Usher, who took care of Edgar and her other two children while she was sick and eventually died. 

In "What Moves the Dead", retired soldier Alex gets a message from childhood friend Madeline Usher that she's dying. Upon arriving, Alex sees that the Ushers' crumbling ancestral home is surrounded by not only a dark, disturbing tarn (which is a small, steep-banked mountain lake or pool--I guess I never stopped to wonder what a tarn is myself, so, in case you didn't either, there you go) but strange breeds…fungus? Eww. Madeline's twin brother Roderick was once part of Alex's army company but has become nervous and frail in these years while caring for his sibling. Madeline is indeed sick and weird hair is growing on her arms. Other characters include an expert on mycelium, Eugenia Potter, along with a doctor from America, and Alex's army servant (and kind of a protective father figure) Angus. 

I loved everything about this tight (mild) horror, from the atmospheric setting to the witty, compelling characters to unique plot twists in a beloved tale. However (and this may be a spoiler so skip the rest of this paragraph if that bothers you), the author drastically changed Roderick's character in the end of this story. Instead of being a creepy and possibly incestuous madman, he becomes a selfless hero. Wow, I didn't see that coming!  

"What Feasts as Night", published February 2024, has Alex returning home to Gallacia--presumably just after the events of Book 1--accompanied by Angus and Eugenia. Alex and Angus discover that the caretaker of the Alex's family hunting lodge has died. While the daughter points vehemently to a lung inflammation as the cause of death, villagers are convinced it was the work of a moroi, a creature that can take the form of a moth or a woman and steals its victims' breath by sitting on their chests. Like the first, this story was disquieting but not actually scary despite being touted as horror. That said, it was both cunning and clever with a main character that amused and thoroughly delighted me with unique observations and hilarious side comments. 

With 176 pages, the first in this series was a fairly long novella. The second came in at only 160, but both books had exactly what was needed, no more, no less. I've seldom read an author who doesn't waste the reader's time by making you care what's on a beloved character's grocery list or what they're eating for dinner. In literature, I don't want to be hit over the head with a lot of things I really don't need and perhaps don't even want to know about. Even a character I'm rooting for and therefore I'm invested in isn't someone I care to leave the parameters of legitimate plot development for. Is it fleshing out or really just unnecessary padding? Sometimes it's hard to know and, inevitably, I can't escape the sense that the author is feeling lethargic or particularly enamored with a character, so much so that fawning over his or her every word and deed becomes essential. "Oh, look at Brandon, eating that cheese. Isn't he wonderful?" I'm not the only one who commented on T. Kingfisher's finesse in bringing only what's needed to the table with this series. One reviewer described her writing this way: "every word…feels carefully chosen and deliberately arranged for maximum emotional impact." I also found that to be the case with the previous book I've reviewed of Kingfisher's, A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, though (or maybe I should say despite) that one was considerably longer at 320 pages.  

Book 3 in this series, "What Stalks the Deep", came out in hardcover on September 30, 2025. I started reading it immediately when it came. In this 172-page story that takes place two years after "What Moves the Dead", the doctor (Denton) from that  book  contacts Alex asking for help, which means visiting America--West Virginia specifically. Denton's cousin disappeared in an abandoned coal mine there, and the doctor is worried. Along with Angus, Alex gets over an aversion to America and weirdness because, once again, a sworn soldier has to do what a sworn soldier has to do. 

As with previous installments, this book was touted as horror when it was only mildly so. Instead, it was set within the environment of something creepy (a deep, dark, labyrinthine "cave") and one that I have a particular enchantment with, so I was immediately drawn into the story. But tension dissolved into more of stunned intrigue, as twist after twist kept me on edge and on a razor precipice of uncertainty. Not once did anything happen in a way that I could have expected. As usual, Kingfisher's trademark humor and suspense kept the pages turning rapidly. I really enjoyed learning more about the various deadly gases that can inhabit mine shafts. In the acknowledgements at the back of the book, the author said the idea for the story came from the works of Lovecraft. Rather than including a potential spoiler, I'll allow readers to figure out what she meant by that on their own. 

By the way, visit the author's website and really check out the covers of the books in this series. They're amazing! In the "What Feasts at Night" acknowledgements, the author says she's convinced the covers that "grace these books…made them as successful as they have been". Oh, it might be a bit more than that, but the designs certainly helped. I freely admit I purchased "What Feasts at Night" on the basis of its extraordinarily intriguing cover. Additionally, the author herself did the gorgeous endpaper art. Kingfisher as an author is the whole package. Trust me, you don't want to miss her work, this amazing series in particular. I hope more treasures set in this fascinating world are in the offing for the future.

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website and blog here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

Illuminations

From the review in my newsletter back when the book was first released, here's my take on T. Kingfisher's ILLUMINATIONS, reviewed by Karen last week. As she mentioned, this isn't a horror novel, like the books that made Kingfisher one of my new favorite authors, but an alternate-world fantasy for preteens (judging by the age of the protagonist, although readers of any age can enjoy it). It takes place in an alternate nineteenth-century Europe in which the French Revolution, or its local equivalent, seems to have succeeded better than in our history, for the whole continent uses the Revolutionary calendar with its renamed months and days. The heroine, Rosa, dwells in a city resembling Venice, with canals, a Dynast instead of a king, and mostly Italian-sounding names. An orphan, she lives with her eccentric but endearing extended family, one of the most distinguished lineages of illuminators. She’s practicing the art but so far hasn’t graduated to producing actual illuminations. Her favorite things to draw are radishes with fangs. Unfortunately, that image serves no useful purpose. There’s a massive reference tome listing all known illuminations, each of which must be drawn in precise, unvarying detail to be effective. Fanged radishes aren’t among them.

Against the background of a major civic project using illuminations to fix a long-term problem with the city’s sewage disposal, Rosa’s own trouble begins when she finds a mysterious box in the basement. She accidentally releases a creature imprisoned in the box, and a crow painted on the lid comes to life. His information about the history of the box and its connection to one of Rosa’s ancestors seems a bit shady, and he’s easily distracted by the urge to pilfer shiny objects. His insistence that she not tell the rest of the family about him gets her into trouble when the diminutive monster starts vandalizing their home workshop and the illuminations themselves. After the nuisance escalates into danger, though, the crow does come clean with the full truth at last. I don’t want to go into spoilery detail about the family’s fight against the malicious creature and its minions, so I’ll mention only that Rosa’s radishes play a surprising role. Meanwhile, the story nicely balances Rosa’s magical woes with her preteen-girl difficult relationship with her best friend, daughter of another important illuminator family, who’s just enough older than Rosa to start making real illuminations for clients. Like Kingfisher’s A WIZARD’S GUIDE TO DEFENSIVE BAKING, ILLUMINATIONS portrays a young heroine whose odd magical talent turns out to be of vital importance. As usual, Kingfisher writes the protagonist’s viewpoint in an irresistibly witty style.

Margaret L. Carter

Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.

Dark and Dirty ... QR

I am naturally suspicious of certain things, such as the honesty of human cold callers who disregard the Do Not Call registry, or obvious recordings over the phone that expect me to believe that the caller is called Olivia and has a pressing interest in how my day is going.

Then, there are the pleasant-voiced male robot-callers who insist that---according to their files--you have been in a recent vehicle accident that wasn't your fault, and haven't been compensated.

If a recording is calling, they are recording your every word.

Just as the craze for "selfies" baffles me and arouses my suspicions, so does the madness of QR codes.  QR is for "Quick Response".Why does everyone promote them and have them? What is the purpose of taking a photographs of something you cannot read in order to avoid typing a url and knowing which website you are visiting?

What other information is hidden in that maze of rectangles? Who benefits? Are there cookies? When you photograph a QR code, what information do you share permanently? And with whom? 

Location, date, time... but your smart phone tells everyone that already. There must be more.

What if the QR code was put wherever it is by a cyber criminal, maybe stuck on top of a legitimate one. How would you know?

Once upon a time, Lily Tomlin's Ernestine the Telephone Operator was funny and resonated. Someone who wanted to get in touch with someone else spoke into the instrument, told the operator whom they wanted and the operator plugged a male attachment into a female receptor. One trusted that Ernestine did not put you through to the prosecution instead of the defense... assuming one wanted to consult a lawyer.

Now, one has no idea how you get through, or to where you got through.

If there was malware on the QR code, and by photographing it, you also downloaded something malicious, how would you know? Unless of course, it was ransomware. 

You might give a spoofed site your credit card or banking information, or membership details and contact list and saved passwords to an identity thief.

The fake page might charge you fees, and trick you into agreeing to pay, when your intention was to snag a freebie or a coupon and save money, or to order a pizza delivery.

Nicholas Davis  has advice on how to outsmart scammers, but there is effort involved.

To be utterly fanciful, you could also be innocently implicated in a crime, or framed for a crime.  If you happen to have unscrupulous rivals, some career-ending photographs could be inserted into your deleted files (which are usually never deleted entirely).

As with magic, there is always a cost for using it, and what seems fun and convenient may not be all that it seems.

All the best,

Rowena Cherry 

SPACE SNARK™ 

https://www.spacesnark.com/ 

EPIC Award winner, Friend of ePublishing for Crazy Tuesday   

Oldies But Goodies {Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review of Four Young Adult Children's Fantasy Selections by T. Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon by Karen S. Wiesner

Oldies But Goodies

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Book Review of Four Young Adult Children's Fantasy Selections by

T. Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon

by Karen S. Wiesner 

Beware: May contain unintended spoilers! 

 

Finding A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking was rapturous serendipity for me! T. Kingfisher (the pen name of Ursula Vernon) is a versatile author, illustrator, and artist. Unbelievably, I'd never heard of her before reading this book, despite all the awards she's won for her eclectic body of work. She came to my attention when I bought an immaculate (used) hardcover book by her called "What Feasts at Night" (which I'll review in the coming weeks). I wasn't very far along before I decided to look up the author on my Libby library app and see what else she had to offer. One of the few audiobooks of hers available immediately was something called A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking. Literally, this one had me at the title. 

In this 2020 young adult fantasy novel, a 14-year-old named Mona, who possesses a sly, dry wit and "bread magic", discovers a dead body in her aunt's bakery. It isn't long before she realizes those who possess magic in her town are being targeted. There are other wizards set in this unique fantasy world, but none quite like Mona. When she was younger, she'd created (accidentally in the first case) 1) a sourdough starter "familiar" that eats mice when it can't get flour (really, what bread eaters don't know won't kill them) and 2) animated gingerbread men for the customers to fawn over (move over Shrek's Gingy!). Little did Mona realize her most loyal gingerbread man would soon become the commander-in-chief of a gingerbread army Mona has to bake up in order to save the city from a corrupt wizard and his invading army. And that doesn't even get into having to concoct the right kind of shoes for doughboy golem soldiers. 

One of the selling points of this story for me was the realistic portrayal of those in power who shouldn't necessarily be. In this case, the ruler meant well and was willing to do anything to help her people. Also, the heroine is the last person who might be considered a champion. By virtue of the fact that she had the skills (though she didn't realize it at first, of course) and stepped up to use them, she was able to save the day. I'm probably in the minority as one with no interest in reading about a superhero flying in just in time to rescue the entire city. I tend to root for worthy underdogs, and Mona is appealingly that. 

 

Illuminations was a 2022 release. Ten-year-old Rosa comes from a family of illuminators who are the greatest magic painters in the city, but their fortunes have fallen on hard times. Rosa excels at painting fanged radishes. Unfortunately, this art doesn't seem particularly useful when their studio is known for paintings that keep the city safe and running smoothly. Wanting to find a way to be useful to her relatives, she instead accidently releases a vicious monster and then has to figure out how to put it back in the box she foolishly opened. 

I assume the author, who's also a skilled artist, wondered what it would be like for her work to come to life, just as authors wonder what it would be like to step into a world created within a story. This was a cute and very fun story with a hilarious, three-dimensional heroine searching for her place in the world she's been born into and wanting very badly to join with her own legitimate skill. 

 

I'm reviewing A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking and Illuminations along with Minor Mage. Though all three of these books have like covers, they aren't part of a series. They do, however, share a similar subject matter hinging on young adult protagonists that possess some form of magic they use to change their own world (and possibly the world at large, or at least their section of it). Also, of course, all the books in this trio are written in Ursula Vernon's pseudonym T. Kingfisher. A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking and Illuminations wonderfully lended themselves to audiobook "readings"--I'm not sure I would have enjoyed them quite as much as I did if I'd read them as ebooks or paperbacks. Both were available as audiobooks through my two library apps (either Libby or Hoopla); Minor Mage wasn't immediately accessible from either at the time I was writing this review. A month or so later, I managed to gain access to the ebook of Minor Mage. I wish I'd been able to get an audiobook copy. It would have been a bit easier to get through. This isn't saying Minor Mage is bad--not in the least. I just enjoyed the way the previous voice actors read Kingfisher's always off-the-cuff, fun stories so much, it was hard not to miss that aspect in my quiet, uninspired reading of it via ebook. 

In the 2019 Minor Mage, 12-year-old Oliver only knows three spells that he taught himself. His training was sporadic and dicey, to say the least, as his predecessor was very old and decidedly senile and had taken to wearing underwear on his head in his final days. Nevertheless, after the former mage passed a few years ago, the village has mainly accepted Oliver as their community magician. Oliver's managed to find what he needs in books to perform the tasks required of him in the time since then. However, when rain isn't forthcoming at a critical point in the season, he's called upon to fetch rain from the Rainblade Mountains. This is certainly nothing he's had to deal with before and he hasn't received the slightest bit of training in this regard from his mentor. Accompanied by his snarky armadillo familiar (who also has a few point of view scenes), he sets off, hoping he can find a way to do what his duty requires of him, with all those in the village counting on him. No pressure, right? Naturally, the journey is fraught with dangers and unforeseen challenges like ghuls (zombies) and bandits for one with very little practical knowledge of magic combined with frequent self-doubt. 

Along the way, Oliver meets up with a bard mage with the questionable ability to make harps (and the occasional fiddle) from the bones of murder victims. While he's actually had a few grieving people request his services in order to discover who murdered their loved one, even those lacking forethought soon regret it once they're forced to endure the screaming, shrieking harp seeking justice for crimes endured in life. Not surprisingly, Trebastian has few friends and is almost always chased out of every town with pitchforks and threats. Before long, Trebastian becomes Oliver's companion and, later, an unexpected friend. 

Kingfisher's trademark blend of heartfelt humor and grave predicaments buoy every page of this book. As in the previous stories in this set, the underlying theme is that heroism is about much more than possessing extraordinary supernatural powers. Instead, it's in the choices, creativity, determination, and moral fiber of the ones wielding, perhaps, less than spectacular gifts. 

 

Another story written under T. Kingfisher's real name, Ursula Vernon, Castle Hangnail, was instantly obtainable as an audiobook, and it fit the basic motif of this review with a young adult magic user as the protagonist. I suppose Castle Hangnail is intended for children (that assessment is directly from the author on her website) because of the author's amazing illustrations filling the pages. At a whopping 372 pages, it's not what I'd generally consider a children's book. It is, gratefully, presented in the same loquacious, verbose writing style that I've come to love from this author's protagonists. This book would appeal to young adults (8 to 12 years is the recommendation though most reading kids, including those younger, would also be smitten). Like with Shriek, I can't imagine adults enjoying it just as much. 

Twelve-year-old Molly is a witch and she needs a job. Castle Hangnail requires a wicked witch, and, though the staff at the castle is uncertain that polite Molly is right for the job, they agree to give her a shot. What a hoot this story is! When I was very young, my favorite author was Ruth Chew. I loved all her good, useful witch stories. I wish Castle Hangnail had been available then. I would have adored this unique, merry, tongue-in-cheek story with a lively cast of characters you can't help but love and champion. Though the audiobook was fantastic, I did miss seeing Vernon's own amazing illustrations accompanying the story, which I previewed on a book distributor's site. Oh, and there were rumors that Disney with Ellen DeGeneres might be making this into a movie, but I couldn't find any follow-up on the initial announcement. The first thing I was reminded of when I started listening to Castle Hangnail were the Hotel Transylvania movies. Like those, this would make a hilarious, not-necessarily-just-for-kids film. 

~*~

All four of these stories were nothing less than nonstop delight. The voice actors for the first two and Castle Hangnail were exemplary, adding so much to the reading, in retrospect it would have been unimaginable to partake without their talent. It only took me a couple days to finish the audiobooks because I didn't want to turn them off. The ebook of Minor Mage wasn't quite as easy to get through yet proved to be extremely enjoyable. 

You certainly don't need to be a child or young adult to enjoy these entertaining, incredibly well written, and engaging, character-driven adventures. As I hadn't, I doubt too many will have read anything else quite like these irresistible tales. So, that about does it--sign me up! I'm a fan of this author and artist regardless of what the genre is. I expect to post many more reviews of T. Kingfisher (and Ursula Vernon's) selections in the future. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website and blog here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

The Lady of the Shroud

Everybody knows about Bram Stoker’s DRACULA (1897). Few vampire fans, however, much less general readers, are familiar with what might be called Stoker’s “other vampire novel,” THE LADY OF THE SHROUD (1909). Actually (no big spoiler), it’s not a genuine vampire story, but a plot based on a hoax. The hero doesn’t discover the truth until well into the book, though. This novel is an adventure tale with more similarities to THE PRISONER OF ZENDA (1894) than DRACULA. A wealthy Englishman unexpectedly leaves his fortune to his world-traveling nephew, Rupert Sent Leger. As a condition of the inheritance, Rupert has to live in a castle in a tiny Balkan country called the Land of the Blue Mountains. The novel follows the typical plot of a Ruritanian romance, in which a dashing foreign hero (English or sometimes American) saves the realm and falls in love with the princess. It's obvious, however, that Stoker also drew on his research for DRACULA in composing this tale.

Like DRACULA, THE LADY OF THE SHROUD has an epistolary narrative structure. It begins with a magazine story about an apparition of a coffin-like boat bearing a woman in a shroud. Most of the book consists of entries from Rupert’s journal, supplemented by letters and other documents. Once settled in the castle, formerly the home of the voivode (ruler) of the country, Rupert receives a visit from a woman of unearthly beauty “wrapped in white graveclothes saturated with water.” In addition to the shroud she wears, other factors such the chill of her skin, her need to be helped over the threshold of his room, and her insistence on fleeing at cockcrow lead him to seriously entertain the possibility that she may be a vampire. During the day he explores an ancient church nearby and finds her in the crypt, lying in a glass-topped coffin like a vampiric Snow White. Because of his many extraordinary experiences in exotic parts of the world, Rupert, like Van Helsing, has an open mind about the preternatural and occult. But unlike any of the characters in DRACULA, Rupert speculates whether the lady, if a vampire, could be redeemed and restored to life. That idea never comes up in the earlier book, where vampires are demonically evil by definition.

The lady turns out to be the voivodin (princess) of the Land of the Blue Mountains, carrying out the vampire masquerade for protection from her enemies. Having fallen into a cataleptic trance (a phenomenon that scholars have often cited as one hypothetical source of vampire beliefs), she had been pronounced dead and interred, a mistake she uses to her advantage. Rupert, of course, saves both the voivodin and her nation, rescuing his beloved and her father from Turkish kidnappers. THE LADY OF THE SHROUD has the distinction of possibly including the first fictional portrayal of aircraft combat, only six years after the Wright Brothers’ first flight.

Although lesser known than DRACULA, this novel and Stoker’s tale of a mummified Egyptian princess trying to return to life, THE JEWEL OF SEVEN STARS (1903), both hold up well as thrilling stories still worth a read today.

Margaret L. Carter

Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.

Inadmissible Truths

Writers should never admit it if they base a character on a particular actor or actress, or use frame-by-frame viewing of parts of a movie to inspire a description of facial expressions, gestures, fights, lovemaking, and so forth.

There are copyright reasons for not admitting such truths, if truths they are.

I remember a movie in which a hiring decision of a young woman was made based on the contents of her handbag. According to A.I. the movie might have been "Greta" from 2018, but I don't think that's the one because if I were inspired to add life to a character based on the contents of his pockets, that would have had to have been before 2005.

What about patterns of life? Pattern of life is more to do with surveillance and all round creepiness than character building... unless on is crafting something Clancyish. An analyst character might very well want to document the habits of a subject or his community in order to predict likely future behavior, or else to identify anomalous activities that might indicate when a misdeed occurred in the past or might be imminent.

For instance, it is possible for a dedicated reviewer of data to ask, "Show me everyone who goes to a golf range" or "Show me everyone who has suddenly started to visit a golf range."

Again, one would not want to admit to doing the following, but if so inclined for character-building, one could pay as little as a dollar to a data broker and receive a report that might contain voting records, court appearances addresses, phone numbers (not that you would want those), religious affiliations, social media presence, family members, friends, work colleagues, interests, gym memberships, and more.

Or, one could read obituaries.

Most people these days go everywhere with a tracking device in their pocket, purse or in one hand. They use this tracking device to shop; price check; schedule appointments, subscriptions, reservations; call friends and family; play games; report scam robocalls or texts; look up some esoteric information for your work-of-fiction-in-progress; download apps....

Advertisers use this data to try to sell your something that you have already bought, which does not say much for the quality of the product! Law enforcement can also use it. So might head hunters, potential employers, bankers, loan sharks, landlords, insurance companies, political campaigns, and more. 

Use one of the more famous advertising/search engines and look up your own name. You might discover that you are the most interesting pattern for a character in your own next book.

All the best,

Rowena Cherry 

SPACE SNARK™ 

https://www.spacesnark.com/  

https://www.rowenacherry.com

Oldies But Goodies {Put This One on Your TBR List} Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Oldies But Goodies

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey

by Karen S. Wiesner 

 

Beware potential spoilers! 

The world was a very different place when Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey was published in 1946. This was a children's novel, not a picture book with questionably well-done art accompanied by a sprinkling of words across the pages. Miss Hickory has 128 pages, 24,000 words. Back then, children were often read to by other people, usually parents. No doubt, many of these books were far beyond the child's own reading level yet the stories were perfectly understandable to them. The current suggested age for this book is 8 to 12, which boggles my mind a bit, and not simply because I can't imagine too many kids these days picking up a complex book like this. Additionally, back then stories like this one seemed to have a higher purpose than simply entertaining readers. 

Miss Hickory was one of the very first books I ever read on my own as a child. With a protagonist who's a living doll made from a forked apple tree twig and a hickory nut for a head, her story was magical to me. Miss Hickory lived in a luxurious corncob house made by her owner Ann. Miss Hickory is used to being spoiled, but now things are changing. Ann is going away, and selfish Squirrel has decided he likes Miss Hickory's comfy house for his own winter home. Crow helps her find a nest where she can live out the winter, but she'll need to be clever and courageous to survive. The author and her husband lived on a farm with an apple orchard, and she drew inspiration for this story from there. 

When I reread this enchanting story again recently, it was to the realization about just how prickly and hard-headed (sorry) Miss Hickory is. She likes to instruct people how best to live their lives but accepting help from others always leaves her irritated. And sometimes she misses out on wonderful things because of her stubbornness. Hilariously, she also likes be very feminine, and we find several chapters with Miss Hickory being a fashionista by making herself new and beautiful clothing out of things like maple leaves and grass and cherry blossoms. I found it interesting that Miss Hickory took the existence of God for granted. There's a Christmas miracle to be seen, but she misses it because she's too pigheaded to listen to anything Squirrel has to say. Does she learn her lesson through the many chapters in which she and her friends live out their lives on the farm? I'm not sure. But she does learn a lot about herself--her own origin, for one. 

This story was told very strangely. Most of the chapters were from Miss Hickory's point of view, which made sense, as this is the compilation of her adventures during the seasons. However, sometimes we're put into the perspective of another (usually animal) character for no other reason I can fathom other than that the author felt she'd started a story with that particular character and needed closure before going back to Miss Hickory. 

Though Squirrel plucks off and takes a bite of Miss Hickory's head (too scary for modern readers in both words and illustration? probably)--his character is suitably drawn with all the complexity needed for readers to find him endearing despite his actions. He's an animal designed for storing up food for himself, yet he can't seem to remember where he's hidden all his nuts from one minute to the next, let alone over the course of a long, harsh winter. And, frankly, wouldn't he much rather just eat it now? Of course he would! It's easy to root for all of these lovable, fully-fleshed out characters. Though the chapters play out in a seemingly random fashion, the story does actually reach full circle by the end. 

I'd be remiss not to mention the lovely illustrations done by Ruth Chrisman Gannett. I found out they were done by a process called lithography, which is a really archaic (though there are still people who do it) means of photocopying something. Apparently, the artist has to be very careful while drawing on the stone (or similar material) as there are no second chances with this method. Either it's drawn right the very first time--or as close as possible--or a whole lot of time, effort, and materials will be wasted. Find out more about the art of this here https://jerwoodvisualarts.org/art-techniques-and-materials-glossary/lithography/ and be sure to watch some YouTube videos of it actually being done. I found it fascinating. Too much work, definitely, but still intriguing as a precursor to modern-day photocopying. 

Inspired by the incredible artwork in Miss Hickory, I couldn't help wanting to do some sketches from the book myself, which were all done by black and white lithography (although color is possible with the method). I even did one in color, though only the cover of the book has color in the first edition. Does anyone else want an apple now, too? <grin>

  

Miss Hickory Black & White Sketch and Colored Pencil Rendering by @Karen Wiesner

 

Miss Hickory's Corncob House by @Karen Wiesner 

If you do an internet search with the words "Miss Hickory illustrations", you'll see some of Gannett's original designs, including one of Squirrel holding Miss Hickory's still scolding head just before he takes a bite of it. Never fear, Miss Hickory may end up headless, but she's also "heedless, happy" that way. Clearly, her head had been holding her back. 

Children and adults alike will find a timeless, magical world to explore in this well-deserving Newbery Medal Winner. The lesson to be learned (as all these old books had some kind of moral to impart, which I heartily approve) is not to hold yourself back from who you're meant to be--not with the promise of comfort nor with the hurtle of fear of the unknown. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website and blog here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog and her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

Thanksgiving

Happy American Thanksgiving!

On this holiday, many families tend to cling to their traditions. Although my husband, in general, is an adventurous cook, on Thanksgiving our menu never deviates from turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green peas (with butter-sauteed mushrooms), biscuits, and pumpkin pie.

The family of one of our sons, on the other hand, isn't much into turkey dinners. They serve meals that some others might consider a bit far out for the occasion, such as sushi.

This year we're breaking with custom in that we're not cooking dinner at home, with only the two of us in the house now. We've accepted an invitation to dine with one of our other sons. He has promised us leftovers to take home, a major factor in our decision whether not to prepare our own feast. We'll see how it works out.

For several decades, Thanksgiving weekend meant the Darkover con, later renamed ChessieCon, north of Baltimore. Meeting with like-minded fans was one of the high points of the year for me. Alas, the first live gathering after COVID had such disappointing attendance the con committe decided it would be more fitting to let the tradition die a dignified death rather than try to drag it out for a few more years. I miss it. On the other hand, I don't miss the frenzy of rushing around on the day after Thanksgiving to get on the freeway for an hour's drive. It's kind of nice to have a relaxing post-feast-day weekend (and not have to skip the first Sunday of Advent at our church).

Warm holiday wishes to all --

Margaret L. Carter

Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.

Samizdat -- Say What?

What is a "right"? From whence do rights come?

A Briton might look back to the enduring clauses from the Magna Carta that promise:

“No free man shall be seized, imprisoned, dispossessed, outlawed, exiled or ruined in any way, nor in any way proceeded against, except by the lawful judgement of his peers and the law of the land. 
“To.... no one will we deny or delay right or justice.”

https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/originsofparliament/birthofparliament/overview/magnacarta/magnacartaclauses/

An American might refer to the Declaration of Independence and the assertion that certain rights are endowed by the Creator, and include Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript

Many overlook "the pursuit" part, and infer that everyone has the right to happiness, however they define "happiness".  Their happiness might require your work, or free access to your property without a contract, without your consent, and without compensation to you.

Cornell Law says: 

"A right is a power or privilege held by the general public, usually as the result of a constitution, statute, regulation, or judicial precedent. Legal rights are enforceable by legal institutions and can be invoked in courts of law."

Cornell discusses rights as legal claims, for instance when two parties enter into a contract, as a result of which, the payor has the right to expect a service, or performance, or goods, and if the vendor defaults, the payor can bring an action at law.

Then, there is Samizdat, which is a Soviet era theory that is it justified for citizens to disobey various laws in the interests of "free speech" or "learning", or perhaps the continuation of an alternative culture.

See "Civil Disobedience of Copyright..." by E.F.F. in which the writer gives the impression of excusing copyright infringement in order that students and scholars have --gratis and without paying the authors or publishers-- the books they need.

The assumption of an alleged book pirate seems to be that it is human nature to share knowledge, and therefore, any author should not object when others appropriate and disseminate any author's written work without the author's consent or compensation to the author.

They go on to suggest that for authors and publishers to set a price on a published work is a global human rights problem. A human right???

This is not far from "information wants to be free".

E.F.F. shares information about how alleged pirates get around copyright law through alleged Russian sites, for those who wish to take the chance. In my experience, course books at schools and universities can be rented, or bought second hand and sold on afterwards.

All the best,

Rowena Cherry 

SPACE SNARK™

https://www.spacesnark.com/