R. L. Stedman

Writer

Holiday Reads

Here’s to Escapist Media: Books, TV and Movies

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Escapist Media - Escape Rooms

Ever feel like relaxing on the couch and turning off the world? Yeah,me too.

This is my pick of escapist media-porn from 2021. Okay, so it’s not actually porn, but sometimes there is sex, or good looking bods. And there’s almost always action and adventure, because that’s my jam.

Here’s the list (in no particular order of) TV, Movies and Books. Enjoy!

1. TV Series

The Witcher

Henry Cavill in tight pants. Swords. Intelligent scripts, great characters, amazing world building. Humour. Oh, and Henry Cavill. There’s two seasons now. If you haven’t seen it yet, go and binge watch it immediately.

Warrior Nun

Great premise, the title tells you all you need to know! In this TV series you’ll find a secret order of warrior nuns, sworn to protect an angel’s halo. Here’s the description from Wikipedia: Ava Silva, a quadriplegic orphan, discovers she now has supernatural powers which force her to join an ancient order of warrior nuns. They shot the series in Spain, so the setting is gorgeous, and the plot speeds along with lots of satisfying twists. Second season coming soon.

The Foundation (TV Series)

This series is based on the Asimov series of the same name, but it’s a lot more interesting in than the book (yes, I actually said that). For a start, there are females in the plot, and the cast is diverse. The scope is epic, with a premise that the Galactic Empire is fading, and only the Foundation, a creation of psycho-historian Hari Seldon, can prevent the inevitable slide into chaos. The costumes are amazing, and there’s a good podcast that goes with it (only available on apple media, so sorry if you’re on android), but don’t listen to the podcast until you’ve watched the series, because: spoilers!

Resident Alien

A strange yet appealing series, staring Alan Tudyk (Wash, from Firefly), an alien sent to wipe out humanity who crash-lands on Earth before he can fulfil his mission. Able to shape change, he becomes the town’s pathologist. The story is about the moral dilemma of failing to complete his mission, solving murders, dealing with a nine-year-old boy who can see who he really is, while trying to blend into this strange, inexplicable world of the humans. It’s funny and thought-provoking, and great entertainment.

2. Movies

Dune

I’ve been a huge fan of Dune since I first read the series as a teenager. This movie doesn’t disappoint. True to the book (but not as good as, of course), Dune relays the tale of Paul, heir to the Atriedes dukedom, transported to the desert-planet of Dune. Dune, where Spice, the most valuable substance in the universe, is found. This epic, multilayered adventure is great watching, but it is only the first half of the novel. I’m looking forward to the second movie.

Free Guy

This is a great popcorn movie. Bright, funny, staring Ryan Reynolds as an NPC character in a game (I didn’t know the premise when I went to see it, which made it even funnier), who wants a better life for him and his friends. It’s not deep or meaningful (okay, it is, but only a bit), but it’s heaps of fun.

3. Books

I’ve had a dearth of reading this year. I’ve found it really hard to get my hands on books that are exciting, intelligent, not sexist, and funny. That’s why there’s only a few books here, which is a little embarrassing, because it looks like all I’ve done this year is watch TV. Although, thinking about it, that is pretty much true!

I’ve linked these books to their Amazon pages, so you can check them out for yourself.  Full disclosure: These links are affiliate links, so I may earn a (very tiny) commission if you click on them.

 

Kate Daniels series – by Illona Andrews.

Set in a futuristic fantasy Atlanta, Kate Daniels is a mercenary who fights monsters and saves the day. Oh, and falls in love with a hunky shape-changer. This is like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but better.

Find on Amazon here

Thorn Jack – Katherine Harbour

This YA gothic fantasy has a beautiful setting and intriguing characters. Serafina Sullivan, haunted by her sister’s suicide, moves to Fair Hollow, an old-moneyed town in upstate NY. At her new college she meets the enigmatic Jack, and the ageless, scarily beautiful Reiko. The book reads like a Tim Burton movie: lots of gothic vibes and extraordinary clothes. I loved it – I read it while in hospital, and it was a fantastic escape.

Find on Amazon here.

DreamScapes

Okay, so DreamScapes is my own book, but hey, I edited the final version of this short story collection this year, and fell in love with the stories all over again. I hadn’t read them for some time, so the re-reading became a welcome escape. My favorite story in this collection is Blessed Creature – a dark tale starring Jenny, a magic-worker with magical tattoos, a monobrow and serious mother-in-law issues.

Find on Amazon here


Crown of Bones – A. K. Wilder

I stumbled onto Crown of Bones via the author’s twitter page, and man, I’m so pleased that I did. Crown of Bones is an epic YA(ish) fantasy, set in the world of Amarissa, where savants raise phantoms (creatures with magical powers), and non-savants are the underclass. The story follows Ash, non-savant scribe, sailor Kaylin with a secret past and Marcus, a prince and Ash’s best friend. It’s a fantastic read, full of excitement and danger, and I really loved the writing, especially how Wilder wrote in the first person for all three characters. The details of the world-building were outstanding and I highly recommend it. The second in the series is due Oct 22.

Find on Amazon here

What can I read on holiday? Here’s some great books for all ages.

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Three Great Holiday Reads

Are you looking for a great book to read on holiday? Well, I’ve just been on holiday! Lucky me 🙂

On this holiday I’ve discovered three AMAZING reads that I’d love to share with you. Here’s some of them:

Lies Sleeping – by Ben Aaronovitch

Lies Sleeping

The newest release from Doctor Who writer Ben Aaronovitch is out! Lies Sleeping is the most recent instalment in the Rivers of London series. If you’ve not yet discovered the Rivers of London, then lucky you, because you’re in for a treat. These stories, set mostly in London, follow the adventures of Peter Grant, Detective Constable and apprentice wizard. Although each story is a stand-alone, they do form a continuous adventure, so you’re best to start at the beginning and read right through if you can. More information on the Rivers of London series here: rlstedman.com/doctor-who

Ben Aaronovitch Peter Grant Series
All the lovely books

In Lies Sleeping, Peter is fighting the Faceless Man and his ex-copper friend, Lesley, to prevent the downfall of London. Will he be able to solve the clues and so prevent the end of the world as he knows it?

In the story we also learn more about the nature of Molly, the mysterious domestic servant at The Folly, the Wizard’s Headquarters in London (and never to be referred to as Hogwarts, because Hogwarts is fictional!). Of course, we see more of Beverley Brook, Peter’s girlfriend and part-time goddess, and discover the true story behind the nefarious Mr Punch.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading the Rivers of London: the characters are lively, funny and believable and each book is a gripping read. The settings are great, too – Peter always comments on the architecture or the scenery, so these books are better than a guidebook! I used to live on the Kennet Canal, which feeds into the Thames, so it’s a lot of fun to read about an area I know well.

To be honest, I didn’t find Lies Sleeping quite as good as the earlier books in the series – I do wonder if Aaronovitch is getting a little over Peter Grant. But still, it’s a great read, and full of the trademark Londonisms and snarky humor that sets this series apart. Highly recommended,  especially if you’re planning a visit to London.

Find Lies Sleeping on AMAZON: https://amzn.to/2SJ

Hyperion – by Dan Simmons

Hyperion

Hyperion is a stunning book! If you love epic science fiction, like Dune or Asimov’s Foundation Series, Hyperion is a must-read. Here’s the blurb from Amazon:

“On the world called Hyperion, beyond the reach of galactic law, waits a creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.” 

Hyperion tells the backstory of seven pilgrims who set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion and to the Shrike. Each pilgrim has had their own encounter with the Shrike, and each relays this in their own voice.

Hyperion is beautifully written, and the characters and action are unbelievably good. Like the best stories, Hyperion deals with the nature of evil, the evidence for God, and the reason for existence, all set against a backdrop of exceptionally gifted world-building.

I have a little quibble about the role of women in the story (I felt that most of the women in this story were there for sexual interest only) but whatever, Simmons is not the first sci-fi writer to relegate women from the action, and at least the book is amazing.

Part Canterbury Tales, part Keatsian epic (‘Hyperion’ is also a poem by John Keats), this is one of those stories you have to read again and again. It’s a classic (and I can’t believe I’ve only just heard about it!). My son told me about this book, which only goes to show that it is so worth getting your kids into science fiction.

Find Hyperion on AMAZON at: https://amzn.to/2SHRqWG

The Wizards of Once – Cressida Cowell

Wizards of Once

A new book by the author of How To Train Your Dragon, this is a fabulous fantasy story.

“Once there were Wizards, who were Magic, and Warriors, who were not. And there were Witches, too, who wove evil magic: the kind of magic that kills larks and brings only darkness. But Witches were all killed by the Warriors – or so it is thought. Until Xar, son of the King of Wizards and Wish, daughter of the Warrior Queen collide in the wildwood … And magic is changed forever.”

Wizards of Once is probably aimed at competent middle grade readers around 9 – 13 years, but I totally enjoyed it, much to my nephew’s amusement! 🙂

Cowell is a fantastic author: the story rips along, and the characters are beautifully drawn (literally, as the book is illustrated by Cowell herself). Wizards of Once felt like Diana Wynne Jones crossed with Roald Dahl and flavoured with a little bit of Alan Garner. Anyone who enjoys English-based fantasy will love this story.

I’ve not listened to the Audio version, but it might be worth checking the audio edition, if only because David Tennant (aka Doctor Who) is the narrator.

Find The Wizards of Once on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/2Fi40Ir

Books to Read if You Love Downton Abbey

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Countess at Downton Abbey

Do you love period dramas that are absolutely BRIMMING over with romance?

If you love Downton Abbey: Here’s some books you’re guaranteed to love!

 

A Room With A View

I know, I’ve talked about this book before. For good reason: it’s gorgeous.

A Room With a View is my favourite E. M. Forster work. The book is about Lucy, an upper-middle class young woman embarking on her first trip to Italy. Lucy is disappointed when she fails to gain a room with a view in the pensione; a widower with a son offers her his room — and thus her adventure begins.

The story about tolerance and love, and hence ‘A Room With A View’ is also about how the character’s own views change. A Room With a View is a really easy read, but don’t be fooled by how easy a read it is; it took Forster nearly ten years to construct this small masterpiece. As a writer, I don’t find this at all strange. Simplicity is hard.

Why is it a great read? Partly because of Lucy’s transformation, but mostly because of the characters: Mr Beebe, the parson; Freddy, Lucy’s “unpromising” brother and Charlotte Bartlett, Lucy’s cousin.

The 1985 movie by Marchant-Ivory won 3 Oscars and is fabulous viewing, particularly Maggie Smith, who gives Charlotte Bartlett more depth than even Forster managed.  The score, featuring Kiri te Kanawa, is simply stunning.

Forster later wrote a satirical piece, called “A View Without A Room” as a postscript to this work.

The Remains of The Day

Like Downton Abbey, The Remains of the Day is set in a large country house in the years before World War Two, where a butler, Mr Stevens, and housekeeper, Miss Kenton, work together to ensure the comfort of Lord Darlington.

Mr Stevens is reluctant to admit his feelings for Miss Kenton and buries himself in his work of service. Only later does Stevens realise that perhaps this loyalty was misplaced; perhaps his days have passed, as have the days of the country houses.

The Remains of the Day won the Man Booker, but don’t let that put you off (!) — it’s a lovely read, especially if you like slower-paced period dramas.

The novel was made into a brilliant movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, and their nuanced performances make the story come alive. I watched the movie first — its one of those rare creations that almost (not quite, but almost) better than the movie!

Brideshead Revisited

Brideshead Revisited is a tale of love: the love of the protagonist, Charles Ryder, for an upper class family, the Fyltes. He falls in love with the oldest son, Sebastian, but then there’s the sister, Julia … but mostly, the house Brideshead, is what he loves.

Brideshead Revisited is told from the perspective of Charles, beginning when he’s billeted at Brideshead as a soldier in WW2, so the novel is gripped by a sense of nostalgia and loss. The story deals with the homosexuality of Sebastian, what it’s like to be a Catholic in an Anglican society (the Fyltes are Catholic), but mostly it’s about the end of a privileged lifestyle.

Personally, Brideshead Revisited is my least favourite of these novels, although it’s probably the best retelling of the era, and possibly the most autobiographical. It was made into a television series in the 1970s. I remember this series as being staggeringly popular, but to me it seemed inordinately long!

Jeeves and Wooster

Jeeves and Wooster Box set

A series by P. G. Wodehouse, the Jeeves and Wooster novels feature the all-knowing valet Jeeves and his inept-but-harmless upper-class employer, Bertie Wooster.  Wooster narrates over ten novels in a charmingly ignorant fashion, using pre-war slang; language that fits beautifully in the early Downton Abbey series.

The Jeeves novels are basically situational comedy. Wooster tumbles from complicated scrape to complicated scrape, requiring rescuing by Jeeves.

Jeeves and Wooster were incredibly popular characters, and the series influenced a number of British comedy writers: you can see aspects of Wodehouse in Blackadder and Monty Python, and Bertie Wooster and the sapient Jeeves have starred in a number of television shows.

(If you watch this clip you’ll see Downton Abbey in the background!)

Love in a Cold Climate

Love in a Cold Climate

I have to confess: I’ve not read Love in a Cold Climate yet, despite it being on my TBR pile for ages!

Written in 1949 by Nancy Mitford, the story narrates the adventures of Polly Hampton and her love for her paedophilic uncle (nicknamed “Boy”). The story was a huge best seller and is still popular today.

Love in a Cold Climate takes place in similar settings and characters to Downton Abbey, and as Mitford moved in these circles (she was a contemporary and friend of Evelyn Waugh) the settings are authentic.

Mitford’s story is as interesting as her fictional romances; one of the notorious Mitford sisters, she was probably the least political of the set. The Times described them as: “Diana the Fascist, Jessica the Communist, Unity the Hitler-lover, Nancy the Novelist and Deborah the Duchess.”

Love in a Cold Climate (I wonder if its title was the reason for Love in a Time of Cholera) was made into a number of mini series. Here’s a clip of the 1982 version, staring a very young-looking Judi Dench.

The Larnachs


The Larnachs

Unlike the other books in this blog post, The Larnachs isn’t set in England; the events in this story take place very close to my house – in Dunedin, New Zealand.

I’ve included The Larnachs in this list as the setting is similar in many ways to Downton Abbey, and there are similar themes of changing morality, wealth, privilege and class. However, unlike Downton, the events in this story actually happened.

William Larnach, a self-made millionaire, was a politician in colonial New Zealand. After the death of his first two wives he married Constance de Bathe Brandon, daughter of a well-to-do aristocratic family. William and Constance moved to Larnach’s new-built castle near Dunedin, where Constance met and fell in love with William’s oldest son, Dougie.

This is a sensitively-told story of a doomed love triangle. Marshall is a very empathetic writer, and sets the scene of this troubled family with compassion.

The story ends tragically, but the beautiful castle Larnach built has survived.

You can visit it today – we do, frequently. There’s supposed to be a ghost there, but we’ve never seen it!

 

I hope you enjoyed this list.

I know it’s not exhaustive; there’s plenty of other wonderful stories out there. Feel free to recommend your favourites in the comments!

 

3 Intriguing Books That Made Great Holiday Reading

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What to Read on Holiday?

fairytale book
Image source

The big problem with holidays is: what to read? You need something chunky enough to occupy the airport layover but with sufficient pacing to hold keep your attention at a thousand feet. I got lucky on a recent trip and found three great books that did both.

Here they are, in order of reading (I’ve included links to the Amazon pages of these books, in case you want to try an extract for yourself).

  1. A City of Mirrors
  2. The Sudden Appearance of Hope
  3. The Bridge to Lucy Dunn

About My Holiday:

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you’ll see I’ve just been to Australia. The trip was a fascinating mix of bizarre and sublime – from an Elvis competition to humpback whales! (I’ll probably blog later on this unlikely combination.)

Each of these books definitely added to my holiday experience, partly because of the themes they tackled, but also because when you have a good book, how can you be bored?

A City of Mirrors

Holiday reading - Mirrors

A City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin

This is the third and final novel in The Passage Series (The Passage, The Twelve  ).

The Passage Series is set in a dystopian future, where a people have been transformed into bat-like vampires; only a few true humans remain.

So far so tropish.

But what sets The Passage apart from others in the genre is the sheer quality of Cronin’s writing, his fascinating characters and the underlying tone of the desparation. The books are long, but they’re very digestable.

A City of Mirrors is, I think, the best in the trilogy. Mirrors follows Amy, the girl from nowhere and we learn about her ability to move through time. There’s more of Alicia too, which I always like (being partial to sword-carrying red-haired heroines!) but mostly the story follows Peter Jaxom and Sara Mitchell.

Peter and Sara believe that the virals have been vanquished. But they forgot about Zero, the oldest and the worst of the Twelve, and Zero never went away – he’s just been waiting.

What’s to like: as with the other books in the series, the writing is very good; at times, it’s brilliant. The story is compelling, the characters interesting and there’s enough tension to keep you reading.

What’s annoying: There’s the largest info-dump in the world, where Zero reveals his life history in one enormously long sequence. Goes on for aaages, and most of it you can pretty much skim. Some characters could be interesting but we never really know them (like Pim, who’s deaf and dumb). Also, the print version is enormous – just on 600 pages. Stupidly, I brought the print version and ended up carrying a brick around in my suitcase. If you’re getting it for a holiday read, definitely get the e-version!

Best quote:
‘The world was real and you were in it, a brief part but still a part, and if you were lucky, and maybe even if you weren’t, the things you’d done for love would be remembered.’

The Sudden Appearance of Hope

Holiday Reading - Hope

The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North

I love Claire North’s writing – her other books Touch and The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August were enthralling, intriguing sci-fi/fantasy mixed with thriller action. Technically (speaking as a writer here) this is hard to achieve – when writing sci-fi you need to explain the world, but a thriller has to be fast-paced to be, well, thrilling. North manages this difficult challenge brilliantly.

You can read more about Touch and Harry August in an earlier blog post here.

Like Touch and Harry August, The Sudden Appearance of Hope features a protagonist with an unusual ability: Hope Arden is totally forgettable. No one remembers her, not her parents, her friends, or her lovers. She’s therefore an extremely successful thief. And borderline suicidal. Enter Perfection, an app promising users a perfect life, a terrorist named Byron and suddenly Hope becomes the key to a new, extremely valuable technology.

Like Mirrors, Hope is a long book, so if you’re reading it on holiday, definitely get the e-version.

What’s to like: Like North’s other works, the pacing is superb. All three of us – husband and teenage son – raced through this book! The ideas unpacked by the story are truly compelling: What is perfection? How much does software understand? What are we, if no-one remembers us? What is memory?

What’s annoying: There are a lot of bullet points and lists. Sometimes this is interesting, sometimes not so much. Hope describes the technology developed by Perfection as a threat to the species – but I never understood how. And finally, the way Hope jets around the world merrily on stolen passports really annoyed me.

It’s not the passports that strain belief (although I don’t think they’re quite as easy to steal as North makes out, but hey, it’s fiction) but the absence of jet lag. I’ve done enough long haul flights to know how crippled you feel on arrival.

Oh yes, and the part where Hope does her own physiotherapy. That whole chapter (I’m a physiotherapist by training) was really a WTF read. Totally unbelievable. My son goes ‘oh mum, it was fine’! So if you’re a physio, just skip that chapter.

Best quote:

“Truth: sometimes a murderer cannot be found. Truth: sometimes your children are taken and you are left behind. Truth: poverty is a prison. Truth: disease and age come to us all.”

The Bridge to Lucy Dunne

Holiday Reading - Lucy Dunne

The Bridge to Lucy Dunne by Exurb1a

My son introduced me to this work. Exurb1a is a youtuber (I’ve not watched his videos but I sure want to now).

The Bridge to Lucy Dunne is a short-story collection of fantasy and speculative sci-fi. They’re easy to read and very well-written. Some are very short, others are in multiparts. Some are written like an interview transcript, others as diaries,  others as a fable.

Like The Sudden Disappearance of Hope, the stories in Lucy Dunne discuss deep issues: who are we, why are we here, what is God, what is time? But also they’re entertaining and because they’re all so different you can’t really predict what’s coming next.

I think books like The Bridge to Lucy Dunne represent an exciting new wave of platform agnostic narratives: youtube, book, gaming.

What’s to like: The shortness of the stories! Seriously, after reading two massive books it was a relief to dive into a quick read. I enjoyed the diversity of the story structures. But mostly, I enjoyed the ideas behind the stories. My favourite was VASE, about a device that removes your awareness of thought. Without conscious thought, what are we? No depression, but no rapture. And yet, does this make us more or less human?

(A digression: I was listening to this really surreal interview with Thomas Thwaites (GoatMan: How I took a Holiday from Being Human) – some concepts in VASE are real.

Listen to the interview here: Acting the Goat )

What’s annoying: Some of the stories (The Rite, The Flowers) were a little predictable. And some of the more complex issues, like VASE, might be more suited to a deeper structure, like a novella.

Best Quote:
“When cameras were invented plenty of people thought they stole the soul of anyone they took a picture of. There’s always a brief period of hysteria when a new technology comes around.”

Over to you.

Feel free to share. Any book discoveries you’d recommend? What holiday reads have you found?