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/ 

Review for The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner Combined with an Original Article: Unique by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Review for The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner

Combined with an Original Article: Unique

by Karen S. Wiesner 

  Beware spoilers! 

Published in 2018, The Sisters of the Winter Wood is the debut novel of literary agent Rena Rossner, who lives in Israel. I really don't know how to categorize this unusual story. It's a blend of magic and reality, fantasy, folklore, cultural history (specifically Jewish mythology). As to whether it's young adult, I'm not certain. Both protagonists are teenage girls, but I don't know if the intention was for it to be read only by young adults. I was looking for a new audiobook and this one came up, promising to be something atmospheric and supernatural. It was both. The narrator, Ana Clements, was the perfect choice for this material, and I'd go so far as to say that no one else could have done it better. 

In this tale, 17-year-old Liba and her 14-year-old sister Laya live with their parents in a remote village. They've been raised in the forest in a very insular way by their Jewish father and converted-but-never-truly-accepted mother. When their parents are forced to leave the girls at home because the roads aren't safe in order to visit their dying grandfather, the sisters are thrust into secrets and discoveries they could never have imagined. Liba, like her father, has the ability to transform into a bear. Laya and her mother can become swans. Neither girl ever had a clue about this prior to their parents leaving. Overnight, the entire world changes for them as dark forces gather and the village is plunged into danger. 

In ways, I found it unfortunate that the author chose to reveal the shapeshifting abilities when the girls are teenagers. So much of this book was overwhelmed with the angst and ardor of two young, impressionable girls who long to explore their sensuality, despite the environment they were raised in. While I found the cultural aspects of the story intriguing, these characters were painted as good, responsible daughter (Liba) and stupid, flighty daughter (Laya). Combine that bland ordinary (in my opinion anyway) with the persecution of a people wherever they go, seemingly, and it strongly began to feel like there was a wider agenda being served up in this chill, supernatural setting. I was looking for the extraordinary, so for that reason, I found myself mildly disappointed when the tone of the story seemed to change to something much more mundane, like bigotry. 

Despite that, as the kiss of winter begins making itself known in my area of the world along with the promise of Thanksgiving and Christmas, like the unmistakable scent of cinnamon and pine needles in the air, I couldn't stop thinking about the deeper issues this story undergirds and makes haunting with its icy refrain. 

"UNIQUE" 

Liba and Laya live in a world that isn't all that different from the one you and I inhabit. That world and this one seems to want to put everyone in little boxes that may not fit and then persecute those deemed undesirable while they're there. Just like Dr. Seuss's Sneetches story, this is one of the things in this life that should never be. Inside those shackled boxes, we learn the horrors of judging, racism, prejudice, genocide… The list of monstrous behaviors is endless for those who see themselves as superior to all others, so much so that they commit atrocities on other human beings. When people begin to think of themselves as special--even chosen by God (why is it that so many madmen in the history of the world believe that?)--sometimes they view this as permission to do terrible things to others who they see as different from them. 

We all share similar origin--whatever color our skin is, whatever the culture or community or religion or gender we're raised in. We're also all born with a predetermined appearance (based on what our parents impart to us genetically), and there's very little we can actually do about what we're given in an external sense. Physical attractiveness is little more than subjectivity anyway. Two people will never agree on what makes anyone beautiful, so why are we so fixed on the outside shell of a human being? Frankly, it's all stupid. Make no mistake--the "ugly" and the "lovely" are both given these things at birth; no one chose them or can claim that they had anything to do with their own fortune or curse in that regard. While it's important to take care of ourselves so we're healthy and fit and as attractive as we can be externally, in truth we should simply be more accepting of each other's exterior appearance, our race, our culture--and our own--yet we're not! No generation ever really learns from this fatal flaw in our thinking that seems to be a factory reset from one age to the next. It's completely senseless how human beings create innate separations in classes, races, genders, and religions. What a celebration it could be if only we could rejoice over the differences that make each of us unique! 

It takes a tremendous amount of grace and character to accept our differences. Twice as much to accept others with the same equanimity! That's why it's so important to put the majority of our focus into what can be controlled, what can be changed, what can be built and bloomed and become--the internal aspect of who we are, the person inside, the being we want to be more than anything. That's where true beauty can be refined. The interesting part about that is that inner beauty can transform the outer shell. A person so remarkable and loving can be physically astounding, even if realistically the outer package may not suggest it can be so. True inner beauty is also the lasting part of a person's identity. Inner beauty transforms every aspect of our being, including our perspective of the world around us. 

I don't believe I'm unique in that I want to be remembered for the person I was in life, for inner beauty and goodness. That's all that really matters in the end. Those are lasting things that can live on even when I'm gone. We can actually make a mark on this world in that way. But it requires us to let go of vanity and accept who we are, where we come from and how we were raised, even what we look like. It requires not seeing ourselves as superior to all others and to instead see everyone as unique and worthwhile. 

Focused on what matters, build a life that has purpose and meaning. It will outlive you, I promise. You'll never regret that part, and it is what will give you joy, satisfaction, and ultimately contentment. The only person you have to give an accounting to while in this life is yourself. So be the inner person you want to be without shame or regret. It will reflect on the exterior. That is something no one can take away from you. 

Never mind the irony that I'm suggesting that you read The Sisters of the Winter Wood (a very Jewish story, at least on the surface) at this time of year--whether the Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday--when most hearts turn to being mindful of what we have. During this time, we seem to reflect more on the things that matter. To seeing the good in ourselves and in others, to being the hope, benevolence, and goodwill that we want to spread to all. Ultimately, this story I'm reviewing this week will make you realize the heart of what's important in life and the role each of us play in the outcome of good and evil. Our choices can impact everything in and around us. Be a change and influence for good. Be the goodwill and benevolence you want to see. Be unique. Above all, remember that the differences in each of us can become the very celebrations that make life worthwhile. 

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/

Shattered Glass

Elaine Bergstrom's richly detailed "vampire as alien" series begins with SHATTERED GLASS (1989), first published although not first in its internal chronology. In this novel and its prequels and sequels, she creates vampires of extraterrestrial origin but with such long-term residence on Earth that they consider this planet their home. Though clearly superior to Homo sapiens, most of them respect humanity. Like other more or less benign fictional vampires, Bergstrom's vampire clan, the Austras, balance their predation with service to the host species. The Austras contribute to humanity's long-term welfare through the products of their genius under the cover of their corporation, AustraGlass, whose creations in stained glass have adorned human architecture since the Middle Ages. Just as their empathic connection to their donors compensates for the blood they drink, their contributions to human culture balance (if not atone for) the killings some of them have committed over the centuries. Their weaknesses -- particularly their reproductive difficulties -- offset their superhuman powers. Not only do they take blood from human prey (as well as lower animals), they also need the human race to revitalize their gene pool. Austra females usually die in childbirth, typically producing twins or triplets. After her vampire nature is awakened by blood-sharing with Stephen Austra, Helen, the human-alien hybrid of SHATTERED GLASS, offers the promise of birth without inevitable sacrifice of the mother.

Stephen's twin, Charles, unlike his brother, feeds on pain and terror instead of the positive emotions that constitute the Austras' more usual nourishment. Charles yearns for death. Because these vampires' instinct for self-preservation makes them practically incapable of taking their own lives, Charles goes on a murderous rampage in the city where Stephen has settled, hoping to get his brother to kill him in the vampiric equivalent of "suicide by cop." Not surprisingly, to attract Stephen's attention he threatens Helen and her family.

Bergstrom's very sensual vampires exert an irresistible magnetism over human beings, especially when the vampires crave blood. Also, because they possess telepathy, they can shape their behavior to satisfy the human partner's inmost desires. Beyond sexual union, the Austras use telepathy to satisfy the human yearning to know the Other. For the reader, they fulfill in fantasy the otherwise unattainable wish to plumb the depths of another's mind. While drinking a human donor's blood (and sometimes even without blood-sharing), the vampire can share his or her memories with the donor in a reenactment so vivid it seems actually to be happening. Other novels in the series move backward in history or forward to Stephen and Helen's married life and the birth of their children, concluding with a book set in the near future, BEYOND SUNDOWN. Some short stories about the Austras have also been published, such as "The Ghost of St. Mark's" in THE TIME OF THE VAMPIRES, an anthology of historical vampire fiction, and "Ebb Tide" in the anthology VAMPIRES: DRACULA AND THE UNDEAD LEGIONS. I'm honored to mention that the latter, an outtake from SHATTERED GLASS, was originally published in the first issue of my fanzine, THE VAMPIRE'S CRYPT, back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. You can find links to information about the zine (all issues are available free on DropBox) on my website:

Carter's Crypt

Margaret L. Carter

{Put This One on Your TBR List} Sunrise on the Reaping (A Hunger Games Novel) by Suzanne Collins by Karen S. Wiesner

 

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Sunrise on the Reaping (A Hunger Games Novel) by Suzanne Collins

by Karen S. Wiesner 

  Beware spoilers! 

Read my previous review that contains a summary of the gist of this series here: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2024/02/karen-s-wiesner-hit-list-young-adult.html 

What fresh hell is President Snow about to unleash during the 50th Hunger Games, which took place 24 years before the events of the original The Hunger Games novels? Sunrise on the Reaping (A Hunger Games Novel) was released March 2025, another "prequel" to the dystopian series The Hunger Games. 

Haymitch lives in District 12 with his poor but upbeat and commendable family--his mother and younger brother Sid. His best friend is Burdock Everdeen--Katniss and Prim's father and a distant cousin of Haymitch's girlfriend. Haymitch and Burdock's friendship isn't given a whole lot of on-screen time. Burdock's future wife Asterid March (mother of Katniss and Prim) is also mentioned in this novel. Haymitch illegally distills moonshine, kind of a foreshadowing of the drunk he's to become in the original series. The Second Quarter Quell has everyone anxious because, this year, twice as many tributes are to be selected from each district. Because he's put his name in the running to compete more times in order to improve his family's lot, he genuinely worries he'll be chosen. But if means helping and eventually saving his family and the girl he loves, Lenore Dove, he's willing. Though his name isn't originally drawn, a series of unfortunate events forces him to compete. Several familiar faces make appearances in this book, including Plutarch Heavensbee, Mags, Wiress, and Effie (and probably others I've forgotten between readings). 

Haymitch Abernathy was a favorite character of mine from the original trilogy. As a 16-year-old, he's brash, funny, charming, and a natural born leader who's willing to sacrifice whatever he has to in order to protect those he loves and cares about. His stand on the side of justice is without question--which isn't something that we might have believed when we were first introduced to him in the initial novel, The Hunger Games. Instead, we wondered there how this drunk could possibly have won the games in his time. Rather than trying to win, Haymitch does everything in his power to shut down The Hunger Games once and for all. Even when he repeatedly fails, he keeps trying. For that, President Snow punishes him and continues to do so until Haymitch is broken seemingly beyond repair. 

After the last release in this series, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, I was ready to be disappointed. I felt like that prequel posed far more questions than it actually answered, ones that I might never get illumination or closure on. I didn't purchase Sunrise on the Reaping when it first came out because I wasn't sure whether it was worth continuing to follow the series, but when I discovered it was available in audiobook from one of my library apps, I thought I should give it a listen. Fortunately, I believe Sunrise on the Reaping actually clarified a few things for me that cropped up in Ballad (more later on that). Jefferson White, an actor that a lot of people have no doubt heard of but I hadn't, narrated the audiobook. He has a very strange voice, and I worried I wouldn't enjoy his reading because of that, but he actually did a fantastic job and made the story both memorable and thrilling. 

I was very glad to witness Haymitch's side of the story, as well as to get a peek at the pasts' of other familiar characters from previous books. Haymitch's story was fully fleshed out and really made me understand who he was, where he came from, what he'd lost and all the vicious ways Snow destroyed him (no doubt under that psycho's misdirected heading of cruel to be kind), justifying Haymitch's broken and mostly-but-not-quite-defeated personality in the original books. 

Feel free to skip this paragraph if you're worried about spoilers: As I said, I left Ballad with more questions than answers about why President Snow became the monster he was. The author never made it entirely clear there how he could have been working to effect change and then turned back and became twice the son of hell he originally was. Because of the connections made in Haymitch's story, I feel I understand better what shaped Snow was Lucy Gray's betrayal (which was just bewilderingly confusing in Ballad). See my previous review about this for specifics. It seemed nearly the whole of that novel that Snow was beginning to turn around and realize that The Hunger Games had to be stopped at all cost. But, after Lucy Gray betrayed him (had she been working with the revolutionaries all along and made him believe she really loved him in order to turn him toward their plight?--that seems the only logical conclusion), he threw himself headlong into gaining revenge. From start to finish in this series, Snow never really learned the lessons taught by two wise men: "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves" (Confucius) and "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind". (Mahatma Gandhi) 

Haymitch, however, is cunning, clever, and compassionate--all the hallmarks of a hero. Throughout the first three books in this series, he played his role amazingly, making everyone believe he was nothing more than a lush who couldn't be counted on to lift his head from his latest bottle let alone be instrumental in a revolution. The epilogue is devoted to bridging the gap between the past Haymitch, Hunger Games 50th winner, and the drunkard who became Katniss's District 12 mentor. 

Oh, and the filming for this movie began in July 2025, set for a November 2026 release. Yes, I fully intend to watch it, though I think I will miss the fantastic Woody Harrelson playing Haymitch. Not logical on my part, since, of course he'd be far too old to play a 16-year-old. (Joseph Zada, another actor I've never heard of, will be doing that.) 

If you're a fan of The Hunger Games, this one is well worth your time. If you're not, don't delay. This series stands the test of time and keeps being compelling with each new installment. 

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/

Human Hibernation

The November issue of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC has a long article about a NASA project at the University of Pittsburgh, with the goal of making it possible for human beings to enter "a bearlike state of hibernation." Unfortunately, NG articles are behind a paywall, but here's an overview of the experiment on a different site:

Benefits of Sleeping in Space

The condition is "bearlike" in that subjects enter a period of torpor during which they can briefly awaken, unlike some rodents whose core body temperatures drop below freezing. The NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC article mentions a ground squirrel in a lab put into such a deep "sleep" it appeared dead, yet revived unharmed. The magazine contains a photo of a dormant squirrel obliviously held in a researcher's hands.

A BBC America wildlife series about mammals includes video of hibernating bats, in which a male is shown briefly emerging from dormancy to mate with a sleeping female, who doesn't wake up. What happened to consent? :)

NASA hopes hibernation-like torpor might make long voyages to Mars and beyond more feasible. In that condition, astronauts would use less energy, needing less food, water, and oxygen. Sleeping through much of the trip would minimize interpersonal friction, too. Unlike astronauts at low gravity and/or in confined quarters, as well as people forced to spend weeks or months in bed because of illness, hibernating animals don't lose bone density or muscle mass. They also avoid strokes and diabetes despite their accumulation of extra fat. If space travelers could go dormant that way, even if only part of the time, they could arrive at their destinations in better health.

At present, we're nowhere near the capability of voyaging to interplanetary or interstellar locations in the "cold sleep" familiar in science fiction. We don't have to wait for long-range interplanetary travel to reap benefits from human hibernation, though. Slowing body functions in cardiac, brain-injured, and stroke patients could stabilize them until treatment could be administered -- if techniques or drugs can be developed to induce that condition instantly without dangerous side effects.

The Wikipedia page on suspended animation touches upon effects of hypothermia in humans and experiments in induced hibernation:

Suspended Animation

If I had the metabolism of a bear, I would happily go to sleep the night of the first Sunday in Advent and stay that way until the return of Daylight Saving Time, waking only for the week from Christmas Eve through New Year's Eve. Missing the cold, dark months wouldn't bother me a bit.

Margaret L. Carter

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

Sell Me, Sell Me Lies

In the Middle Ages in Britain, if a baker sold underweight bread, he was punished, which is why we have the saying "a baker's dozen" which includes a 13th loaf. 

Nowadays, Data brokers seem to get away with selling inaccurate information about a property, a person, their contact information, and their associates. According to EFF, even "information" about your footwear preferences may be for sale.

As writers of fiction, we expect that readers know that they are paying for entertainment, not for strictly factual information. Not so with data brokers.

Who pays for garbage information? It is more serious than you might suppose.

For example, it is alleged that 90% of landlords use data brokers to make decisions about potential tenants, and this can have life-changing consequences for the tenant, and perhaps for the landlord.

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/PrivacyCon-2022-Kaplan-Mislove-Sapiezynski-Measuring-Biases-in-a-Data-Brokers-Coverage.pdf

There are all sorts of studies and statistics about the GIGO information that data brokers sell. (Garbage In, Garbage Out.) A 2022 study for the FTC found that 40% of data brokers' data was inaccurate. It got worse in 2023, when a report confirmed by NATO found that approximately half the data provided by brokers could be regarded as accurate.

Much of their information is incorrect, incomplete, based on "inferences". (The figure of speech is "alliteration", when multiple words begin with the same letter... unless a lot of words begin with "s" in which case, it is "sibilance".)

Inferences are what happens when algorithms are used to create information that may or may not be accurate. For example, if you look up "health benefits of cranberries", the algo might infer that you have a lot of UTIs. From that inference, they might arrive at other conclusions about the length of your urinary tract, the location of its opening. And more.

If you buy a lot of baby wet-wipes online, the algo might assume that you are a new parent, whereas you might simply like the superior butt-cleaning power of a wet wipe but not identify as a "Dude" wipe-user.

You might share internet service with several family members, and the data brokers might infer that all the associated phone numbers work for the head of household. This can be trying when a Democrat family member receives texts intended for a Republican family member.

Allegedly, all these lies are compounded because data brokers sell their lies to other data brokers, and so, lies breed like flies.

You can look yourself up, and find the names and ages of all manner of complete strangers who are alleged to be close personal friends. I'm guessing, but possibly your use of Facebook might have something to do with that. Apparently, a reporter looked herself up, and discovered that a good half of the information about her was untrue.

Maybe calling it a "good half" is irony -- if the difference between irony and sarcasm is that irony involves falsehoods or contradictions, and sarcasm is about something basically true but said in a hurtful way. Definitions change over time, and vary by country.

One problem for the automated collection of data is that several people have the same name. Apparently, there are at least three people named "Rowena Cherry". Two own or rent property in the Louisville KY area. One may live in California. One also owns property in Michigan.

No wonder, then, that a married, childless individual might be confused by data brokers with a single mother of multiple children. Such misinformation could indeed cause a landlord to believe that a tenant applicant was not being truthful on their application.

Ditto, perhaps, for a banker trying to decide whether to accept or reject a loan or mortgage or credit card application.

Why would you buy a product that might have a probability of being only 60% accurate at best? I know these companies do so: Progressive Insurance, T-Mobil, Political parties....  I know this because, through the postal service, I receive an alarming quantity of solicitations addressed to complete strangers. 

This mail causes me to wonder if I am the victim of identity theft or home title theft. I write "Return to Sender" or "Not At This Address",  which is the proper thing to do, but the same senders don't stop, which worries me even more. It is also bad for the environment owing to all the destroyed trees, wasted paper, wasted dye, wasted energy.

Apparently, the USPS makes around $15 billion dollars a year from junk mail, and the average household received between 20 - 40 pounds of junk mail (marketing mail or bulk business mail) every year.

Conclusion: the selling of lies is too profitable to stop.

All the best,

Rowena Cherry

Oldies But Goodies {Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review Subseries 3: The Tawny Man Trilogy (The Realm of the Elderlings) by Robin Hobb by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Oldies But Goodies

{Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review

Subseries 3: The Tawny Man Trilogy (The Realm of the Elderlings)

by Robin Hobb

by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Be aware that there may be spoilers in this review. Also, reading my previous appraisals will foster understanding about certain facts about this umbrella series that are required to make sense of things included in this particular review. 

In an attempt to spend less money on books that half the time I don't even enjoy, early in 2025, I figured out how to check out ebooks from the app my local library uses for this purpose. Utilizing Libby, I can check out ebooks and audiobooks. Unfortunately, the selection of material is limited. A lot of the books I like to read aren't available on it, but I was glad to see that most of Robin Hobb's titles are available. It's just a lot of waiting when I "place a hold" and patiently endure the, at times lengthy, delay in it becoming available for me to read. 

Robin Hobb is the author of The Realm of the Elderlings. Within this umbrella series, she's written five "miniseries" and numerous short stories. In previous Alien Romances Blog reviews, I covered The Inheritance & Other Stories, which contains a couple Realm of the Elderlings offerings. I also reviewed the first two trilogies within this series, The Farseer and The LiveShip Traders trilogies, along with two miscellaneous novellas in the series, "The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince" and "Words Like Coins". 

The Farseer Trilogy was focused on Fitz, the illegitimate son of Prince Chivalry of the royal line presiding over the Six Duchies. In that first subset, we learned something of the Elderlings (including dragons) and their ancient cities and settlements around the world, especially in the Rain Wilds. In the second subseries, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, we moved away from the royal Farseer lineage and problems within the nobility to focus on "liveships", which are the outer cocoons of sea serpents that were in the process of transforming into a dragon. These logs were buried in the destroyed city of the Elderlings in the Rain Wilds and found by traders who excavated the ruins for valuable, magical artifacts. 

The Tawny Man Trilogy includes the following novels:

Fool's Errand, Book 1 (2001)

The Golden Fool, Book 2 (2002)

Fool's Fate, Book 3 (2003) 

Once again, we return to Fitz from the first Elderlings subseries, The Farseer Trilogy. He's now in his mid-thirties. It's been fifteen years since the events of Farseer. The events of all previous stories that I mentioned above reviewing before play into each of these stories in a wonderfully cohesive and illuminating way that I really enjoyed. I felt like I was pulling threads from different tapestries until they began to fit into one. The author is to be lauded in how she meshed her subseries seamlessly, at least for the most part. 

As a preface to this review, in this series there are two "magical" talents: With the Skill, a person can reach out to another's mind, no matter how far away, and read thoughts and influence thinking and behavior. An even older magic is the Wit, in which humans feel such a kinship with animals, they share thoughts and behaviors, sometimes becoming so bonded that they themselves become little more than beasts. The strength of the bond can also lead to performing powerful attacks. The Wit is looked upon with scorn and fear by most humans. 

In the first book of the trilogy, Fool's Errand, Fitz is living a quiet life in the middle of nowhere with his wolf Nighteyes, to whom he's Wit-bonded, and a foundling son he's adopted as his own named Hap. 

In The Tawny Man, few know Fitz as anyone but Tom Badgerlock. Most believe FitzChivalry of the royal line to be dead. The man who taught Fitz as an assassin, Chade, visits Tom. In previous stories, Fitz conceived with the queen as King Verity used his body for the purpose of providing an heir to the throne. Their son has shown signs of being both Witted and possessing the Skill. Prince Dutiful is untutored and there are few if any teachers of both abilities in the current climate. At Chade's request that Tom teach Dutiful, Tom protests that his knowledge of both of these powers is incomplete and erratic. Chade also tells Tom of the unrest among the Witted in the land. The rebels call themselves the Piebalds. (The story of Piebald origins is told in "The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince", a favorite of mine in this series.) 

Chade leaves after Tom refuses to train the prince, and later the Fool (who has remade himself in many ways, shapes and forms in his appearances in the series, becoming known in this trilogy as The Tawny Man, Lord Golden) visits him. In previous trilogies within the series, the question of the Fool's identity was revealed to be ever-changing. The Fool worked as an actual "fool" at court in Buckkeep for the king in the first subseries. In the second, he was a she, the carver Amber in Bingtown. I'd wondered in my review of the previous subseries The Liveship Traders Trilogy how/when this anomaly was revealed. Now I know it's in The Tawny Man Trilogy that the facts behind this situation come to life. The Fool is much more than any have previously suspected--a being called a White Prophet whose purpose is to set the world on a better path. As such, this creature invents and reinvents itself in order to serve its impetus. The Catalyst is the one who makes the changes, and that one is Fitz. The Fool reveals in this book that he doesn't believe he's fulfilled his destiny correctly--during the time he was Amber, he went awry and therefore warped all that came afterward. 

In Fool's Errand, Prince Dutiful is believed to have been kidnapped by Piebalds. In truth, Dutiful has been enslaved by a Witted Woman who died and forced her essence into an unwilling cat. Lord Golden and Tom, appearing as his servant, must rescue Prince Dutiful--possibly from himself. 

In The Golden Fool, Book 2, Tom intends to return to court and train Prince Dutiful with the intention of forming a coterie of Skill users. The group will include Dutiful, Lord Golden and Chade, along with the disabled servant of Chade's named Thick. Fitz's daughter with Molly, Nettle, also possesses the Skill, and she reaches out to Tom against the will of the person she believes to be her father--Burrich (from the first trilogy), who's now married to Fitz's love Molly and they have a Skilled son together named Swift. Additionally, a Witted coterie is in the works as the scourge against this magic is being actively turned over. The kingdom wants to show that Wit is a talent instead of a distrusted curse to fear. 

In this story, the Fool reveals his deepest feelings to Tom, believing him to be his beloved. But Tom can't accept this, and a schism forms between them. There's also a thread about the princess of the Out Islands potentially marrying Prince Dutiful to establish an alliance between their people, thus reunited the Six Duchies. However, she requires that, to win her hand, he must bring her the head of the dragon IceFyre, who's trapped beneath the ice on the isle of Aslevjal. The Golden Fool has foretold that he'll die there trying to stop this fate from happening. 

The trilogy concludes with Fool's Fate. Tom makes an effort to steal away by ship with the coteries to go to the Out Islands and give the princess what she needs to accept Dutiful's troth. Tom wants to prevent the Fool's death at all cost, but fate isn't so easily thwarted. The Fool joins them despite their scheming, and together the Witted and Skilled coteries attempt to free IceFyre from its prison. However, another White Prophet would see the dragon killed in order to prevent the Fool's prophecy that dragons would return to the world from being fulfilled. Though the Fool is destined to die during all these events, Tom refuses to allow it and intends to do everything in his power to save them both. 

While I enjoyed it, I concluded this subseries feeling a bit unsure what the purpose of it was. More than anything else, The Tawny Man Trilogy seems to be little more than an extremely long bridge (very close to 5000 pages!)--from the previous subseries to the next. You get to see events that happened before play out in the present here and, yes, familiar characters move along toward future events. Mind you, this isn't so much as a complaint as a comment that left me a bit baffled. Tom is a complex character, and I didn't always understand him. Also, in a tiny way, the whole plotline about the Fool's androgynous nature as a prophet that's reinvented itself over the course of perhaps centuries struck me as a little far-fetched and convenient to the plot in this subseries. Finally, apparently unlike, say, the council of wizards in The Lord of the Rings, White Prophets in this series don't work together and in fact can actively work against each other to see their own ends fulfilled. Who or what's guiding all that is anybody's guess. I'm not sure how or even if that'll play out further in the next subseries. 

As an aside, the ebook version of Fool's Errand was over 1,300 pages. It took me 7 hours and 19 minutes to read it. I was surprised I enjoyed reading an ebook, though it was annoying to drag my iPad around everywhere so I could snatch a few minutes here and there to read. It's also frustrating because I have crappy internet and sometimes I couldn't get the app to load the book so I could read when I wanted to. You never have that problem with a paperback. But I also didn't spend $30-$75 on purchasing the three books either used or new. There are trade-offs when reading traditionally or electronically, I'm learning. 

In any case, I enjoyed this trilogy, though it was a good 3000 pages too long for me. I was eager to see the evolution of the characters as well as the world The Realm of the Elderlings is set expanded. For whatever reason, I didn't feel quite as exhausted reading this third subseries as I did those that came before. I believe the ebook medium had a lot to do with that. But I also didn't enjoy this subseries in the Realm of the Elderlings as much as the last one I read. While I do want to get started on the fourth subseries, The Rain Wilds Chronicles, which has four books instead of just three, and is set in the city of the ancient Elderlings, I do need another break before I turn to those paperbacks I own. I suspect that final subseries will at last include everything I've been looking forward to so eagerly since I found this amazing series. 

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

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

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

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

Peace Is Relative

My husband and I are in the process of reading the Richard Bolitho series, by Alexander Kent, starring an officer in the British Navy from the late 18th century through the Napoleonic wars. It's reminiscent of both Horatio Hornblower and the "Master and Commander" series. Now that we've reached the War of 1812 in our reading (a side event in the Napoleonic era, from the British viewpoint), I'm reminded of the alleged "long peace" of the nineteenth century. It's defined as having lasted for the hundred years between the final defeat of Napoleon in 1815 and the outbreak of World War I.

I keep wondering, though, why this era qualifies as one of "peace" even from the British perspective. Over that period, they participated in several armed conflicts, including the Opium Wars in China, the Crimean War, the Boer Wars, and two Anglo-Afghan wars. And if we consider other nations, we note the Franco-Prussian War as well as wars between France and Austria and between Austria and Prussia. In the Asian sphere, Japan went to war against Russia and China. Not having ever studied the military history of the period, I'm sure there are others I'm not aware of.

In the twentieth century, the period from 1945 -- the end of World War II -- and the present is also referred to as a "long peace." Again, it's so designated because no global war has occurred since the "big one" at mid-century. We've fought proxy wars such as those in Korea and Vietnam, though, and it's unlikely the millions of people who've suffered in local conflicts over the past eight decades would call those years "peaceful."

However, by objective measures we're nevertheless living in the least violent period of history. Psychologist Steven Pinker (author of HOW THE MIND WORKS, THE LANGUAGE INSTINCT, THE STUFF OF THOUGHT, etc.) documents this proposition in exhaustive detail, with statistics, in THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE. Contrary to popular beliefs held in the past, preindustrial, tribal groups don't typically live in Edenic peace. Their per capita rate of death by violence tends to be far higher than in civilized societies. Two factors spawn the opposite belief: (1) the raw numbers of deaths involved; (2) our instant access to global news, making us acutely aware of those deaths.

Also, as C. S. Lewis points out, the death rate remains the same in every time and place -- 100 percent, one per person. If we catch ourselves thinking we live in uniquely terrible times, we might reflect on Lewis's remarks in an essay addressing anxieties about the threat of nuclear war:

"In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. 'How are we to live in an atomic age?' I am tempted to reply: 'Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.' . . . . In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together."

Margaret L. Carter

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

I'm In Love With My Car.... ?

I'm not in love with my car in the way that Queen was in love with a car. It's not about the speed, the gears, the grease guns and so forth for me. 

It's about the freedom, and to some extent, the privacy.

Well, I have an older car, and I like what I can hear in it. I can borrow free CDs  (or do I mean DVDs?) from the library and listen to audio books in the player in the dashboard.  I have free FM and AM radio and can listen to free local stations for rock music, new, even some weather alerts. The only price I "pay" is that I have to listen to advertisements, but I am not going "there" today.

Why on earth am I talking about terrestrial cars in an alien romance blog? Because I talk about copyright, and creativity, the arts, and the use of English, and English writing skills.

By the way, I saw something interesting on an E.F.F. mailing recently. That is, the Electronic Freedom Foundation. Allegedly, some police are using generative AI to write their reports. Apparently, lots can go wrong with that. You think?

The generative report is based on the sound track captured by body-worn camera audio. So it could be worse. Speak clearly, distinctly, loudly and avoid using words with multiple meanings, I assume. Avoid sarcasm. "Yes, sir, No, sir..." and hold the "three bags full, sir."

So, if you are stopped in your car, give some thought to what you can do in case the generative AI gets too creative. E.F.F. writer Matthew Guariglia has some guidelines, and suggestions about filing a request to discover whether AI was used to write the report about your encounter. There are bills in Utah and California to require police to retain the first drafts of their reports, to show which parts were written by the police officer, and which were written by AI.

Sources: 
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/10/victory-california-requires-transparency-ai-police-reports?utm_source=effector

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/07/effs-guide-getting-records-about-axons-ai-generated-police-reports

I don't miss satellite subscription services such as On Star, and Sirius (and it drives me up the proverbial wall that they want to pronounce their name "serious"... why name yourself after the Dog Star, if you want to be taken seriously? Apart from the cleverness, of course.)

There is a similar word, "Epoch", that seems to be routinely enunciated at "epic". Try not to say either to a police offer wearing a body camera.

What set me off on this mental trek was an article that I cannot credit, by Nic Anderson, an author whom I cannot credit with a link, because if I do, this blog post will be squelched. 

His article is searchable, and describes how American automakers aspire to curate what you hear in your car. His first words are: "Imagine starting your car and realizing that what you hear --or can't hear--has already been decided for you." If you clip and paste that quote, the wonders of Google (and I mean that most sincerely) will take you to the source.

It sounds like a "brave new world", doesn't it? Why would automakers want to do that? Why wouldn't they want a driver to listen to FM radio, for example? Or to Apple CarPlay or the Android equivalent? 

It doesn't seem to be an ethically-driven move to protect the copyrights of musicians and songwriters. Could it be a move similar to Amazon making its own content for Prime TV?

Does GM have a garage band or two?

Is it about bending minds, or about subscription models, to make more money? Or, is it about customer retention? Or all of the above? 

Nic has some thoughts and a to do list for listeners.

All the best,

Rowena Cherry 

SPACE SNARK™ 

https://www.spacesnark.com/  

https://www.rowenacherry.com

EPIC Award winner, Friend of ePublishing for Crazy Tuesday   

{Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review: The Graceview Patient by Caitlin Starling by Karen S. Wiesner

 

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Book Review: The Graceview Patient by Caitlin Starling

by Karen S. Wiesner 

   Beware spoilers! 

Caitlin Starling's previous new release, The Starving Saints, garnered a lukewarm, undeniably disappointed review from me (see

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2025/08/put-this-one-on-your-tbr-list-book.html) here on the Alien Romances Blog. As a result, I decided to hold off on purchasing the hardcover of The Graceview Patient, released October 14, 2025, despite that she's written some of my favorite novels (The Luminous Dead and The Death of Jane Lawrence--also reviewed on this blog and accessible with a search). While waiting for the paperback release, the audiobook version became available on one of my library apps so I borrowed it immediately. 

In The Graceview Patient, we're set up with what sounds like an absolutely irresistible horror scenario that was described in promotion as "Misery meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers". Okay, well, more so the latter than the former definitely got me drooling. Margaret has a rare autoimmune condition that wrecks any chance of her living a normal life. Without a cure, she's barely making it day by day until she's offered a spot in an experimental medical trial that's fully paid for. She'll be forced to live at Graceview Memorial Hospital full-time and subjecting herself to a treatment that will all but kill her. The fact that she has no one to go through it with her (apparently she's alienated every single person she considered relative or friend) doesn't initially bother her too much. The man in charge of all this, Adam, is charming in a way that Margaret has no willpower to resist. As the trial progresses, she begins exploring the hospital and finds something that only becomes increasingly more sinister the longer her trial goes on.

I'm not gonna lie to you: The early chapters of this book were absolutely brutal--so boring, it was almost painful to force myself to continue. In part it may have been done in this seemingly innocuous way in order to throw the reader off. But I have to comment on two aspects of this: 1) The audiobook was recorded at such a low volume that, even with my speaker hooked up and at full volume, I could barely hear it, and 2) the audiobook narrator had a voice all but designed to put a listener to sleep. I realized later that the intention was to come off sounding like the patient who progressively becomes sicker and sicker. She captured that in spades. Despite that there was a reason the narrator read this book the way she did, it was still difficult to endure. If it hadn't been a Caitlin Starling book, I might not have continued with it all the way through. I am glad I did, though, but the narrator choice did skew my initial perceptions of the story. Do I believe that the ebook or paperback would have been any better? No. I'm almost certain I would have struggled even more with those formats than this one. This book was written like a dry textbook. Only when you were too far into the net to back out did it become exciting and suspenseful. At all times, though, it was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. At no point did that cringing let up. 

One further complaint: All throughout the story, the author sprinkled in what could only be perceived as annoying "tell the story before I tell the story" injections, such as things like "maybe I should have been afraid or suspicious by that but I wasn't". If you don't believe you can set up a horror story well enough to be frightening when the time comes, this is the method you'd attempt to make it so. I register a full poo-poo on such a weak and unprofessional delivery system! I was taught early on as an author to never do that, and I agree with the advice wholeheartedly. 

All these issues aside, you have to read this full-on horror story! I can't imagine a single person alive not being anguished at the thought of being sick beyond cure, desperate to find any hope at all, and taking a risk however perilous that might lead to life--a risk that never would have been an option until that point. I can promise you that, once you've read The Graceview Patient, you'll never go near a medical facility without wondering what you're getting yourself in for, without being justifiably a little afraid. Do an internet search for "what bacteria/virus/infection is prominent in healthcare settings" and read some of the articles that come up. Do you know there's actually an acronym for contracting an infection that wasn't present at the time of admission while you're receiving medical treatment (HCAI)? Apparently, some believe that medical centers should be completely "restarted" every decade or so, as it's the only way to really avoid HCAI. I didn't delve too deeply into HCAI in large part because I really don't want to know. There's enough horror in life these days without adding to it with a million "what ifs". 

The Graceview Patient sneaks up on you. You'll probably start out bored (as I certainly was) and, before you know it, you're canceling your next doctor's appointment because…you know, you're really not as sick as you thought you were. It does a psychological number on you, maybe permanently. You'll never look at health, hospitals, or experimental trials the same way again, let alone what constitutes sentience, what should be allowed to live and thrive… While this recommendation comes with quite a few disclaimers, if you like horror--especially the real-life-this-could-actually-happen!!! kind--you won't want to miss this one. 

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/