Praetermancy: September 2024
Monthly Round-up
Note: None of the following links are affiliate links, though I have several on my site (specifically in Appendix N). These are just things that I love and want to see more people become fans of.
Introduction
Darkness encroaches
Pale Moonlight blesses her favored
All Hallows draws near
September is done, and October is here. Autumn is truly upon us. The nights grow longer, the leaves shift their colors, and the world drifts ever onward into the endless dark. It's a time for hauntings, for little creeping things, and for dread nightmares to walk the earth. But it's also a time of change. A time of transformation. The season shifts and reminds us that our time is short and best spent enjoying what little of it we have left. As you read these words I am in Ireland, enjoying time with my wife, and also getting my fill of the old world an it's fae lands. As such this edition of Praetermancy is going to be quite a bit shorter than usual. It's a time of change, and I find that change often consumes my time with a ravenous hunger.
Articles
Note: I goofed a little on my dates and had to reschedule some things. Sorry about that for anyone who was expecting my to follow my intended release schedule.
These were the articles I posted this month:
This was a really fun book to read and review. I liked it, and I think you will too!
Another excellent story, this one had quite a bit of traction on Reddit, and several people really enjoyed it. Shout out to u/Lieberkuhn who had some great thoughts on the Polyphemous/Nanashi connections!
Finally there was this post for the Laird Barron Readalong. I honestly haven’t had time to evaluate it as I am currently in Ireland at the time of posting, and about to catch my flight at time of writing.
Bibliomancy: What I read
I didn't get the chance to read as much as I would like this month, though it's also possible that I'll devour a ton of books during my honeymoon. (I got to read a lot more this month than I thought I would. Though the rest of this still stands.) Either way those will have to show up next time. It's been a month of Epic Fantasy and Horror. Actually it's been a year of Epic Fantasy and Horror but that's beside the point. Here is what I read this month:
Of Shadow and Sea by Will Wight
This is a solid book, but not one that I loved. The basic premise is Ninja's verses Cthulhu in the ashes of a dying empire. The character work is good, as is the pacing however the book is an expiramental piece, with another book telling the other half of the story. This leaves things feeling... out of place. Occasionally things will just happen and items of power will get introduced with no real setup or warning. It's solid and the world being developed may draw me back in at some point, but for the moment I'm not inclined to go back any time soon.
Shadows of the Apt Book 4: Salute the Dark by Adrian Tchaikovsky
An excellent book but also an odd one. Shadows of the Apt is an epic fantasy series that stars humans with bug powers at the start of a steampunk age. The first one was okay, the second one was good, the third was really good, and the fourth is... interesting.
For one thing, the cast of characters that has been built through the series is culled. I really don't have a better word for it than that. Half of the POV characters are killed off through the book. But for all of that, it doesn't feel like a blood bath. Instead of dipping into grimdark, Tchaikovsky aims for an early version of his tired optimism. It works. Somehow. And I don't have any real criticisms other than that the writing at times feels like an overview of what is happening rather than leaving me grounded in the moment.
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
An excellent Grimdark book with easy prose, likable characters and a fun new universe. The easiest way to describe it is "like Game of Thrones but faster and better paced" also with a lot fewer characters. I'm eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series which I will probably read in the coming months. ( I have a lot of fantasy to read this year you guys. I've got to fit all of Stormlight archive into this year. It's too much.)
Dresden Files Book 17.5: The Law by Jim Butcher
While I enjoyed the Law I must also admit that it isn't the best of the Dresden series. Still, it was fun seeing Dresden return to the PI style investigations of the earlier books. It feels like the last hurrah of normalcy for him and I'm fine with that. Still, I eagerly await the return of James Marsters. Butcher does a good job narrating his longstanding character, but he doesn't hit the spot in the same way. Anyone who can wait for another Dresden collection should, but for those who can't, it's good enough.
A Sorceress Comes To Call by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon)
This one was brilliant. Vernon has a gift for what I'll call "Cozy Horror" or "Horror-lite." On the one hand everything is whimsical and humorous and fun. On the other there is a very real exploration of an abusive relationship and power dynamics in a fantasy setting inspired by the likes of Jane Austen. It's wonderful, it's fun, it's sad, and it's horrifying. This would be a good horror book to hand to a young teen of either gender, though I suspect young women will enjoy it a little more.
Perdito Street Station by China Mieville.
How can I put this? Perdito Street Station is a brilliant novel, with a vibrant setting and interesting characters. I just hated it. There's no doubt in my mind that it's a masterpiece, but it's a masterpiece in the same way Moby Dick is a masterpiece: I read it once, it was kind of tedious, and I never want to read it again.
Perdito Street Station takes it's time, building atmosphere and describing the city in painstaking detail. And I do mean painstaking. The first chapter's first 7 paragraphs are dedicated to the decent of a basket down the side of a building. The good side of this detail is that the setting is vibrant enough for you to smell the city from the other side of the pages. The bad, is that any sense of pace is thrown out the window until halfway through the novel when the plot actually gets going. From there it doesn't slow down. This narrative whiplash is exhausting and I'm not here for it.
That said, it is still a masterpiece. I get why people love this book, and I imagine people will be talking about it far into the future. I just won't be one of them.
Bobiverse Book 5: Not Till We Are Lost by Dennis E. Taylor
A really good book. Possibly the best in the series. It's really a study in how to weave multiple plots over long periods of times. It's still a little hard to follow time, but that's more of a feature than a bug. I may wind up doing a review of this one. I'm not sure yet. I'll have to see how it sticks with me.
Head on: A Novel of the Near Future By John Scalzi
This one was another really good book and it wound up being exactly what I needed. Fast paced, short, and well crafted. It's not quite as exciting as the first one, but it was still excellent.
Not a Speck of Light by Laird Barron
I'm still in the process of reading this one, but it will probably receive some kind of review, even if it is only a short one. Initial thoughts are that it looks really good, but I can't speak on much more than that. I'll probably have a more in-depth look next month when I do a re-read for the Read-along over on Reddit.
Dresden Files Book 8: Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher
Another one I'm still in the process of reading, but I've read it before and it's pretty good. Not the best of the Dresden Files, but up there. If you can you really should listen to this series rather than read it. James Marsters is fantastic.
There are probably a couple more that I'll read during my trip, but it's also possible that I will be either too busy or too tired. We'll have to see.
Ludus: What I've been playing
I didn't get to enjoy any videogames this month. Maybe next month I'll have the chance.
Cinemancy: What I've been Watching (Yes, I know that's terrible Latin.)
Bridgerton Seasons 2 & 3 - Netflix
I may wind up doing a writeup on these at some point. For the moment though, I have to say that while I have problems with the plot and pacing of the second and third seasons, the moment to moment writing remains incredible. The characters are well written, and overall I can recommend the show to anyone who enjoys regency era romances, and doesn't mind a little extra-historical flare.
Auguries: My Upcoming Projects
Schedule of Posts and Articles
These are the posts I plan on making this month. Hopefully my understanding of time has improved and I can actually post these on time.
Saturday October 5th - An Overview of Ultraviolet Grasslands (Might be delayed slightly as I’ll just be getting back from Scotland/Ireland)
Saturday October 12th - Exploring Scotland and Ireland (May get switched with the 19th depending on how long it takes me to write it out)
Saturday October 19th - An Overview of Wind Wraith by Lazy Lich (Shane Walshe) (May get switched with the October 12th writeup. It depends how long it takes me to write it out)
Friday October 25th Laird Barron Readalong 56: Nemesis
Thursday October 31 - October Edition of Praetermancy
Long Term Project Status
My Sword and Sorcery Novella The Last Vice: No updates other than a possible name change and an artist has been selected for the cover art.
My Short Story Campfire is sitting on a publishers desk awaiting rejection/acceptance. Hopefully acceptance. I likely won't have an update for a couple more months.
The Short Story I'm currently working on (Azathoth Station) needs a rewrite. I finished the first draft and realized that I'm following the wrong perspective. Hopefully that is ready to show alpha readers in October.
I was unable to get out any rules on the WWN project out this month. I'm hoping for next month. Unfortunately things got busy and I just wasn't able to work on them as much as I would like. We'll see how things go.
Auspices: Things I'm looking Forward to
Books
Due to the crazyness of last month I missed several releases that I was otherwise really looking forward too, so those are going to be added in here.
Sept. Releases
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T. J. Klune released on the 18th. The first one was witty and poignant, but it also left me wondering what more there was of the story to tell. Whatever story is told however, I'm sure it's going to be told well.
The Escher Man by T. R. Napper released on the 17th. This is an author that I absolutely adore and hope to one day write half as well as. The Escher Man is a loose continuation of the events of 36 streets from a different characters perspective.
Warlords of Wyrdwood by R. J. Barker released on the 10th. While I enjoyed the first book, I didn't love it. I'm hoping that this one kicks up the pacing a little bit while expanding on the strange nature of the wood.
Good Night, Sleep Tight by Brian Evanson released the 18th as well. I haven't read much of his work, just Song for the Unraveling of the World, but I do want to read more. So... I will.
October Releases
Cradle Books 7-9 by Will Wight are recieving the leatherbound book treatment on Kickstarter.
Bog Standard Isekai Book 2: Illusionist by Miles English releases on October 1st. The first book was a solid, fun book and I've already read the second one on Royal Road. I'm looking forward to reading it again here, in a more cleaned up format!
Absolution by Jeff Vandermeer releases October 22nd. I haven't had the chance to jump into this series yet, but I'm hoping to start it before the year is out. Maybe. Hopefully. There's a lot of books releasing between now and then okay?
TTRPGs
Raiders of the Forlorn God by Helwinter Forge of Wonders is an adventure that released in September that looks really good for the price.
Crown of Salt for Mork Borg by Tania Herrero wrapped up it's Kickstarter Campaign and I'm sorry to say that I just missed it. The production values look excellent and the art is fantastic. Really wish I could have backed this one. Still they plan on having files ready for release soon, so I can always pick it up later.
Turn it Off by Cloud Press is an horror adventure for Knave 2e inspired by The Lighthouse and H. P. Lovecraft. It looks really good and best of all it's FREE! Or at least it's Pay what you want.
Video Games
It's a slow month for videogames, but here are a couple of titles that I'm pleased to see release this month.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure Releases October 29th. While I haven't had the chance to play previous Life is Strange games, I want to, and this one looks interesting to me.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Releases October 31st and it looks good. I'm cautiously optomistic. I haven't loved a Dragon Age since Origins, but DA: Inquisition was a solid game, so I'm curious to see what happens with this one.
Movies & TV
There is only one thing I'm interested in watching that releases this month and that is Salem's Lot releasing on Max. Hopefully it's good. I had mixed feelings on the book (and King in general) but the trailer makes the movie look like it will be either really good, or really bad. I can't tell which.