"The Country of the Blind and Other Stories" by Herbert George Wells

After I have finished with Anne Rice (whom I remember being much better than what actually is) I took a break from reading - which in my case means simply one day without book, just to clear up my head - I took a look upon my virtual library and decided to look up to something different, let's say to a genre that I don't usually visit. Not long ago I have read "Legends: Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy" which was a lovely collection of short stories written in Fantasy genre. It also inspired me to check out some more Fantasy writers, so I ended up over-dosing on George R. R. Martin and for no matter how exciting it was, for now I am just fine with swords and magicians. This collection also reminded me that I don't usually go for Science Fiction, perhaps because all that talk about Aliens, space ships and technological details puts me off - with notable exception of Frank Herbert's "Dune" I have not been specially interested in this genre. But I did my very serious research and found out several pretty famous titles so now I have another pile to check out and decided (in the spur of the moment) that now I'm going to read some serious Science Fiction. Maybe not too serious and too technical, because (just to play it safe) I started with father of Science Fiction, famous English writer Herbert George Wells who belongs to mostly 19th century so (I hoped) he wasn't too technical. 

Of course, I know H.G.Wells from before - in fact, one of the very first movies I saw in the cinema as a kid was darkly disturbing 1970s version of "The Island of Dr Moreau" which actually is horror story of the first order for any adult reader, not to mention a small child who was left traumatised for life. But since H.G.Wells is so well-known and legendary writer, he fell into group of those people I somehow got impression I was very familiar with where in fact I knew movie versions of his novels - I do have both "The Island of Dr Moreau" and "The Time Machine" (which I always loved) and this happened to be the whole extent of my knowledge. Just like with Jules Verne (another famous writer and visionary) Wells is someone I thought I know well, where in fact I can only name famous titles. So right now I decided to start my Science Fiction with him, as he basically started the genre. 

Science Fiction my foot - quickly I realised this is collection of short stories that have absolutely nothing to do with Science fiction, Wells simply compiled his earlier works published in various magazines and it is delightful in its own way but no Science Fiction. In his introduction, Wells explains that at certain point magazines seriously pursued and even encouraged the genre of short stories, which readers at the time loved and some famous writers in fact got their start this way - the whole tradition of short stories somehow declined and eventually almost disappeared with time, nowadays magazines mostly focus on short articles, photos of celebrities and colourful adverts but there was a time, long time ago when people actually read articles. I clearly remember the contest in my local paper, long time ago, where one of the stories haunted me long afterwards and in fact I recall its title to this day - it was "Školjka" (The Shell) but unfortunately I don't recall the author, it was about young village girl, innocent in her youth and as she finds a pretty, shiny thing on the floor, she assumes it is a shell so she proudly pins it on her - it turns out it was not a shell but a pin from a uniform of German soldier killed by her relatives and as Germans search the village for the killer, she was noticed on the window with her "shell" and quickly executed with the rest of her family. So this is what I always think about short stories - Wells basically agrees with me - they are little masterpieces meant to enjoy in a short span of time (waiting rooms, trains and such) where the story if its really inspired and imaginative stays with us much longer than we expected. It takes a special skill to create such little miniatures and I am right now deep in fantastic world of H.G.Wells though so far there is nothing remotely scientific about them, in what I have read so far he is firmly standing in the present time and describing everyday people around him, but he is truly good. It is also a welcome change of pace for me after reading all these history books and Anne Rice.

Another writer who became world famous for his short stories was Guy de Maupassant whom I definitely need to check out.

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Dear reader, once I wrapped my head around the fact that this, after all, perhaps won't be Science Fiction collection in a sense of space ships and aliens, it turned out to be very enjoyable read - some of his stories are truly magnificent and unforgettable in a sense that border on fantastic, they only seemingly happen to be in present time but is characters always live trough some unexpected, weird adventures. I thought he might have been influenced by H. P. Lovecraft but than I realised Lovecraft came after him (and was much darker). One of the stories I just read was titled "AEPYORNIS ISLAND" and it was truly excellent, about a man who found him stranded on a deserted island with a egg fossil from some ancient bird - egg somehow actually hatches and the man has to live with little bird that belongs to long disappeared species of animal that lived in completely different era. Two of them live alone of this island in harmony as long as the bird is small but as it grows and becomes dangerous, where eventually two of them compete for power - ancient bird is bigger and stronger, human much smaller and more dangerous for he is cunning and clever. Eventually there is inevitable end which I won't explain here, its truly excellent. So it IS very interesting and I actually can't wait to continue reading this - maybe it wasn't exactly what I expected but its thrilling read.

"The Witching Hour" by Anne Rice

"There is a house ... in New Orleans..."

It is an ancient mansion, completely covered by overgrown trees and garden that now hide what used to be a brilliant palace full of spark, elegance and style. Everything is in ruins, neglected, dark and foreboding, people passing by can only glimpse figure of old woman sitting in front porch, wearing enormous Emerald necklace. The whole town knows Mayfair family, their generations of strong-willed women and only one in each generation inherits this necklace, only one being the chosen one. There is a secret society of psychics, called Talamasca and their members have for centuries quietly and silently, from a careful distance following Mayfair women, from medieval times when they used to get burned as witches, to a present century when they amassed huge wealth and influence. Servants and informers talk about ghost in the house, a ghost that constantly follows, protects and assist Mayfair women trough the centuries. The youngest Mayfair was given to adoption on the day she was born - decision was made that the child must somehow get away from this house and family - but now young doctor Rowan Mayfair finds out that her biological mother has died and since her adoptive parents also passed away, there is nobody to stop her from going back to New Orleans for the funeral and to face the family she never knew, the huge house she inherited. Aware of her own special powers, Rowan knows nothing about the family - its up to the man she had saved from drowning (Michael Curry) to get in touch with Talamasca and finds out who Mayfairs actually are and what dangers might wait for Rowan once she arrives back to the place she was sent away from as a baby.

Along with Stephen King, Anne Rice is the only author that I had ever encountered who have a skill and power to keep me glued to the book from the very first page. With everybody else, I have to work my way trough to get in the mood but these two have special talent to grab my attention immediately. While King constantly keeps me on the edge with his horror and general creepiness, Rice is seductive enchantress weaving her web of atmospheric, gothic web and honestly I almost forgot how good she was. Years ago I remember loving her vampire novels but after a while she got caught up in similar style & stories, at least that was my impression - it happens to many successful authors (including Dan Brown) that both audience and publishers expect them to continue in a particular style and inevitably they start to repeat themselves. That is why you can clearly feel the excitement and freshness Anne Rice had when she changed the gears and left vampires behind to start something at least slightly different - its like she took a breath of fresh air and discovered the beauty of writing again.

I had actually read "The Witching hour" long time ago and promptly forgot the details - like with so many other books, I remember only the impression (which was very good and exciting) and that it has two sequels, but somehow I never got around to finish the trilogy so now, after reading three non-fiction history books in a row, I decided it is time for a break and let's enjoy some good fiction. It didn't bother me that I actually read this before - it felt like a completely new book anyway and I was thrilled with it so much for the sheer pleasure of changing the subjects. As much as I loved my history books, now it was time to look the other way and Rice occupied me so much that I found myself reading it long into the night and than again first thing in the morning, even before the work. One thing that I noticed now - the story is exciting and powerful as long as we are in present time, following Rowan, Michael and Talamasca but at certain point Rice makes a mistake: she slips back to the very first Mayfair/Talamasca connection which was centuries ago and somehow gets caught up in description of every and single generation up to now. Perhaps it wasn't her intention but the story suffers because we loose excitement and concentration for the main characters, as she goes on and on about various Mayfair women and at certain point you actually start to fidget and wonder will we ever go back to the main story or is this it, the saga about Mayfar family trough detailed description of each generation? It reminds me on those old relatives who would strangle you with stories about long gone family members and you just feel exhausted afterwards. So right now I am on the second part of the book but I quietly lost the initial enthusiasm because story went completely off the track and in fact I am still in 1920s (long way to go to the present times), probably this is why I never continued with sequels because I was afraid it would be more of the same. Pity, because it starts wonderfully and it might be one of my favourite Anne Rice novels if not for this strange change of focus. I really wish that at certain point the story returns to main characters again because so far I am deep into testimonies from servants, spies, nurses and nuns trough each century and it gets a bit tedious. 

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The story finally reaches present time around the page 600.

It considerably slows down, testing reader's patience - at this point, after you have read chapter after chapter about every single generation of Mayfair women, now we are treated with extremely detailed (and quite unnecessary) description of every step Rowan and her lover made once they returned to New Orleans. Rowan and Michael eating. Rowan and Michael re-decorating the old house. Rowan and Michael driving the car. Rowan and Michael opening the window.Rowan and Michael preparing the wedding. And though its nice to see these two so much in love and enjoying each other's company, it does make you question whatever happened to this book? It started exciting, it started dark and dangerous and threatening and full of dark corners, where now we are reading about quite mundane, ordinary daily routine of two people who talk to each other chapter in and chapter out. "Don't worry, everything is going to be OK" "Oh but I feel something bad is going to happen" - this is my description of several chapters full of dialogues exactly like that. At the end, when the novel finishes as it does somewhere in limbo, I was honestly relieved and now I know exactly why I didn't bother with sequels. I really have to be in the mood to continue with other two books.

"1177 B.C. The Year Civilization Collapsed" by Eric H.Cline

"The economy of the Greece is in shambles. Internal rebellions have engulfed Libya, Syria and Egypt, with outsiders and foreign warriors fanning the flames. Turkey fears it will became involved, as does Israel. Jordan is crowded with refugees. Iran is bellicose and threatening, while Iraq is in turmoil."

Sounds familiar? Just as I expected and always used to say, there is nothing new under the sun, everything always happens in circles and what you just read is not a description of current political situation but rather a description of something that already happened long time ago, in fact around 1177 B.C. in the area we call Mediterranean - it was the end of Bronze Age and kingdoms were back than known under different names but they were in the very same spots we know today. Author Eric H. Cline explains in very interesting way all the known details and archeological discoveries about that times and how it came that all those kingdoms (that depended upon a certain natural resources from Middle East - it was Copper back than) eventually all fell down like pieces of Domino one after the other. It was catastrophe of huge proportions and the end of civilization back than, but new empires and new civilizations came after them.

One difficult thing for all the historians and archeologists researching this period is that countries and kingdoms were known under different names back than so with few exceptions (Egypt for example) most of these old names mean nothing to us today - the Hittites, the Mycenaeans, the Canaanites, the Cypriots - are known only from ancient documents and letters, others we can only guess. What they all have in common is certain diplomatic language (kings all wrote to each other as "dear brother" expecting support in wars, gifts, trophies and ships full of slaves), market connections where they all imported and exported products (vines, perfumes, swords, clothes, etc) and they all fell one after another when certain enemy fell on them - we know this enemy only by descriptions as "sea people" who burned, pillaged and destroyed city after city. Even mighty Egypt who fought back and pushed them back, never completely recovered from their attacks. What I found fascinating is how these ancient kingdoms behaved in exactly the same way our governments and politicians behave today - they used polite diplomacy first, then brutal force when necessary, even used embargo on certain kingdoms or islands who stepped out of line. Most of things in this book happened in twelve century B.C. and archeologists found the story in excavations of cities long burned and destroyed - we can only tell these places were completely erased and it was not earthquake but enemy who killed citizens and burned the palaces, but who did it, nobody can tell exactly. One after the other, kingdoms of Bronze age fell apart and it was the end of the world as Mediterraneans knew back than. We think the world is connected today but than again, so it was in twelve century B.C. with Middle East being the main resource of Copper and Tin  necessary for making Bronze weapons. It makes you wonder how much history repeats itself, our own times simply reflecting something that had happened already.

"Ripper Street: Season One"

Another recommendation and lo & behold, from the very first minute I not only loved this one but suddenly realized what was so wrong with the previous TV series: this is British TV show. Which means that "The Killing" had this particular cookie cutter, mass-produced feel to it - we have seen shows like this time and time again, another crime, another detective search but this one is European production so it has completely distinguishing quality.

First of all, it is a period piece set in Victorian London - precisely in poorest slums of East London bursting with immigrants, criminals, beggars, prostitutes and what was basically a twilight society. Everybody wears historical costumes, which gives a show a decisive, unreal feeling so even though we are dealing with crime & murders, we are in the world of Charles Dickens and not CSI forensics. Police detectives wear old-fashioned, bushy moustaches and sideburns, ladies are buried under the layers of Victorian clothes (hats, petticoats, gloves), children run around with bare feet. Yes, it is crime story - hence the title, hinting at the most famous murderer of the day, Jack the Ripper - but most of the time Jack the Ripper is just mentioned as a threat and not really part of the story. Each episode had different story and what connects them are three main characters (police detectives) and their wives/girlfriends that we see each time. It is almost unspoken but the main character here is East London itself, from the very beginning one of the very poorest areas of town, place of nasty smelling and low paid jobs, poverty, orphans, place where locals often took justice in their own hands, the part of town where aristocrats and high society (like Oscar Wilde) went only for fun & adventure (just like in 1920s wealthy New Yorkers visited nightclubs in Harlem for kick of forbidden fruit). This time I am not disturbed by neither crime or violence because it is not realistic and everything is set in particular historical period, perfectly re-created and fascinating to watch. Of course it makes you wonder what kind of live you would live in society like these - classes were so sharply divided that majority of people worshipped every penny and would (and were) commit any crime for it. The sheer abundance of everything we have today - food, clothing, comforts of all sorts - were beyond the reach of people back than, who struggled to survive in overcrowded town. Fascinating.

"The Killing: Season One"

This is something recommended by my colleagues and boy, did I had hard time with this TV serial.

I found it so dark, gloomy, unpleasant and altogether heavy that it became a chore rather than a pleasure - after all, we watch TV serials not for the sake of sadomasochism but because we are interested - well in this case I really did NOT enjoy it at all and each time had to force myself to watch another episode, at the end I just wanted to get over with it and be done.

Considering the honest excitement of my young work colleagues who were following it night after night, I actually asked myself what's wrong with me - apparently they loved it - and to be absolutely honest to myself, it might be that at my age I had already seen too many TV serials with similar themes: female detective, forensics digging under the fingernails of the victim (young girl, of course), thousands of suspects where each and one of them is hiding some secret, soap bubbles growing on and on and on. This is American version of celebrated Danish original but I can only focus on what I got here - American version - and not that actors or even scripts are bad, on contrary, acting was very strong (specially grieving parents, family and school friends of a victim) however at this point it seems I am a bit over the whole idea of crime-as-entertainment , I simply dislike watching another TV show where people cry, suffer, kill each other and detectives dig under someone's fingernails, I have seen too many of those and had enough of them. There is a point where I just don't find it neither entertaining nor amusing and don't want this to be my choice of how to spend evening - friends tease me that I had mellowed with age beyond recognition and it might be so, I rather think it has to do with conscious decision not to accept whatever just because it has been served in media. There is so much violence and brutality everywhere, served as entertainment that I need to keep it away from me - honestly I don't think its even healthy to watch too many of shows like these - besides, we have already seen story like this covered many years ago in "Twin Peaks" where everything was focused on murder of a young girl. So my conclusion is, this can only be exciting to my much younger colleagues who don't know better. I managed to go trough the first season - very reluctantly - forcing myself each time to go and watch another episode where someone cries and rain constantly pours, not a trace of sunny skies in this series. As I finished the last episode, I sighed in relief and won't even think about continuing with second season.

"Sulla Tua Bocca Lo Dirò" by Mina (2009)

Spiritual twin to earlier "Dalla Terra" album by Mina, where great Italian singer recorded music with religious material from centuries ago, this one focuses on classical composers and opera repertoire. In fact, Giacomo Puccini is represented with five songs so it was almost "Mina canta Puccini" and it makes one wonder why she didn't simply focus on what is obviously her favorite classical composer. 

The cellophane is excellent - orchestration, arrangements and backing musicians are very tastefully done, everything lead by maestro Gianni Ferrio who approaches this music with sensitivity and respect, without ever sliding into easy-listening. And the idea is not half bad, if you take it as concept that arias from opera could also be sung as a melancholic ballads instead of full blown showpieces they were originally written as. Black-and-white video clips from 1960s are testimony that way back, several decades ago, Mina used to sing Puccini this way as a part of her now-classic TV shows, she would sing aria of Mimi from "La bohème" not as operatic coloratura but as a slowed-down sentimental ballad and it worked, since she was young singer in a full control of strong voice. 

Unfortunately this album came a little too late. At this point Mina was 69 and even if the spirit is here, the voice is not anymore. I understand the age eventually ravages every instrument but her voice is now a shadow of its previous glory and its impossible to listen this (frankly, very brave and ambitious) recording without noticing that sheer will, charisma and focus can not hide the fact it all sounds seriously lifeless. She still holds impossibly long notes in "Mi parlavi adagio" (famous as instrumental piece by Albinoni) and even somehow manages "Nessun dorma" but the effect is depressing since behind all this pretty music and angelic orchestration, it is the sad, shaky voice that once used to be glorious. As always, she choses some English language bits (always the oddest, most eccentric and unsuccessful parts of her discography) and her take on Gershwin brothers is well, one of my least favorites ever. This is a rare example of the whole album where the cover picture and backing musicians/arrangements are actually best part of the package, lady herself was obviously brave enough to attempt this but she should understand that it actually doesn't sound good anymore. Album like this should have been recorded several decades ago, not as a sad farewell. The cover suggest ever-young diva but it all suggest Norma Desmond to me. 

"America's Hidden History" by Kenneth C.Davis

As you can see, I enjoyed previous book so much that I decided to continue with Kenneth C.Davis some more. 

This particular book covers the period of some three hundred years, from the arrival of Christopher Columbus to start of American Revolution - what author does here, since he has more space to focus on particular time, he unearths several lesser-known stories and creates chapters out of them.

It starts with arrival of Columbus who brought pigs with him (a gift from Spanish queen Isabela) to feed his sailors, well the very same pigs brought germs and microbes with them that eventually spread all over the new world and created greatest, unintended epidemics that killed millions of Native Americans who had no immunity to these diseases. (I couldn't help but remembering that in a Muslim religion, these animals were always considered "dirty" and "forbidden" ). From there, author follows the interesting and mostly forgotten characters from American history and gives them proper spotlight and understanding about the atmosphere, the times and politics of the times. I knew about Anne Hatchinson but was not familiar with stories about Hannah Dustin and Mary Rowlandson, both early heroines of their times. There is a whole chapter about young inexperienced country bumpkin who grew up to be George Washington (and circumstances that formed his character and personality), the story about famous Boston's "Tea party", its aftermath and consequences (once the city port was isolated and blocked by royal degree from king George III, other American colonies started to ship food and supplies to Bostonians in a rare show of solidarity which resulted in a feeling of unity amongst colonies against rule from England) and right now I am at the chapter about Benedict Arnold. 

What is really interesting here, besides obvious curiosity about people and stories mostly long forgotten is the explanation how it came to be that American colonists, who were perhaps just few generations divided from old world and who still had family connections to the other side of Atlantic, started to feel resentment about distant government, harsh taxes and overall abuse from aristocratic circles back home  who in most of the cases have done nothing to actually create this new world. Two opposite fractions - loyalists and patriots - were created and the atmosphere was ripe for some drastic change, at the point where revolution and eventually independence became the only logical conclusion. Author explains all of this in a very interesting way so what could have been a dry history lesson again becomes exciting read - Kenneth C.Davis truly loves history and it shows in his passion, excitement and style. I could read his books forever.