Tales from the Hinterland by Melissa Albert

Tales from the Hinterland was quite enjoyable. I don't usually enjoy reading anthologies, but something about fairytales, especially these ones, is an exception. Each story had its own vibe and were mostly delightfully dark in the best ways. I really like the illustrations. The red and black prints are quite the vibe. Below are my little reviews of each story.

"The Door that Wasn’t There": Liked it. One of the ones told in the series, though perhaps with more detail? Still good.

"Hansa the Traveler": Huh, neat. I wouldn’t have guessed Hansa’s tale would go like that. The main books made it seem like she was eternally a child. But, I guess cycles and all that… I liked it a lot.

"The Clockwork Bride": Uhm… yeah that was pretty neat, until the end. I don’t think there was enough characterization of Arden as a free spirit to justify that, exactly. But hey, fairytale, right?

"Jenny and the Night Women": Well… that was.. disturbing and gross. There are reasons we don’t spoil children. I was also expecting more from The Night Women, or at least some explanation as to what they actually were... sadly disappointed, but I've got this image in my head of a cross between a vampire and a banshee with a bit of fairy thrown in, if that makes sense.

"The Skinned Maiden": Nice twist on the Selkie story. Delightfully macabre.

"Alice Three Times": Much the same as in the main books, though definitely more detailed. We also finally learn the end of Alice’s tale, which was neat.

"The House Under the Stairwell": Really enjoyed that one. Sort of a cross between a “Beauty and the Beast,” “Twelve Dancing Princesses,” and some sort of more wild folklore. Pretty neat.

"Ilsa Waits": Another tale told in the main series, though fleshed out wonderfully here. I found myself kind of wishing Mort by Terry Pratchett had been more like this, with Mort learning what it actually is to be Death.

"The Sea Cellar": This one was neat. Shades of “Bluebeard” and “The Little Mermaid.”

"The Mother and the Dagger": Lovely and creepy.

"Twice-Killed Catherine": Given the context of this story in the main books, I was really expecting Katherine to be much more blood-thirsty than she ends up being. I did like this one, though.

"Death and the Woodwife": Hmmm… interesting. Quite the chill Death, here. I’m really not certain how I feel about this one, though it does at least seem to have a happy ending.

Favorite Line

"From the port she watched the water smooth into glass and purl into lace and worry itself into great waves beyond the cove."

Kiss the Dead by Laurell K. Hamilton

Honestly, even more than taking a break with another book, Kiss the Dead is a breath of fresh air in this Anita Blake reread saga. Kiss the Dead focuses a lot more on Anita's work life and less on the continuing drama of her personal life. Make no mistake, that is definitely still there, but the main focus for a good half the book is on a case, which I very much like. I also like that this case takes place in St. Louis, so there's much less "dick measuring" going on with cops Anita hasn't worked with before, which is also very nice.

The only note I had written down was about Larry and Anita's morality argument. I liked it. Unfortunately, in a world of monsters, someone has to do the monstrous things to save lives from the actual monsters. This is later reflected in the conversation Anita has with Weiskopf. Vampires might essentially be human, but they're humans with supernatural abilities that need to be controlled and have built-in mechanisms for that. Otherwise, that's where Anita, Edward, and the rest of the new Preternatual Marshalls come in.

Speaking of Weiskopf, I think his (and his Master's) quest for freedom makes a lot of sense. I think that quest would also definitely appeal to the modern U.S. vampire. I also think there's not a lot of understanding on the part of those modern vampires as to why the power structures in-built into vampires exist in the first place or that they need to continue to exist. I am also very glad that Hamilton addresses this issue several times within the series and doesn't just do it once and then let it stand as precedence.

So, as for the personal-life aspects of Kiss the Dead... a reread does Asher zero favors. Knowing how his nonsense essentially turns out just makes me roll my eyes at every little thing he says. The last chapter (basically epilogue) posits that he won't do therapy, which he desperately needs, and knowing he continues along that vein... oi vey. I'm already very tired of it.

"The Cynric Problem"... I'm honestly not sure what to say about that. I've never been in a relationship with an age-gap, so I'm not sure how I'd feel about it, especially given how that relationship started. Honestly, talking about age-gap relationships in this day and age is a mine-field I don't feel particularly qualified to comment on. If it works between two consenting adults (which Sin and Anita are at this point) it works. The added complication of Sin just finding out how nerve-wracking it is to be dating a cop... also something I'm not at all qualified to comment on, let's be clear... yeah... Sin's young and it really does show.

But yeah... Kiss the Dead is definitely more up my alley in terms of being much less frustrating than other entries into the Anita Blake canon have been lately. I'm not sure if I have a fully renewed interest, but this one definitely felt better than others. 

 

Bonus Short Second Review

Mort was enjoyable. I do like the “Death takes a holiday” type stories. This one was a bit more complicated than others tend to be. That said, I really just don’t think I’m cut out for Discworld. I gave it a good try, but it’s just not for me. 

Netflix's The Sandman

 A Semi-Spoilery Series Overview

Overall, The Sandman is a fantastic show. The casting was spot on. The music is awesome. The story lines were engaging. Highly recommend watching if you are any kind of fantasy fan. Or heck, even if you're not. It's a fun ride.

I have been a fan of Neil Gaiman's work ever since I first read Neverwhere at some point in my teens. I haven't had a chance to read The Sandman comics, but they have been on my radar and my reading list for years. I'm not sure how good of an adaptation this show is, but it's definitely worth a watch on its own merits.

So, being a fan of Gaiman's and comics (mostly the shows and movies based on them, to be completely honest) in general, I had at least a passing familiarity with some of the characters going into The Sandman. I kind of vaguely knew about Dream and was far more familiar with Death from some cosplay stuff and images I'd seen floating around online. I had watched the first couple episodes of Lucifer when they first came out, but never got into the show. Honestly, I was most familiar with Constantine from the Keanu Reeves movie, the Constantine TV show, and a smattering of DC's animated content. I thought all these roles were filled wonderfully by the actors in The Sandman. My favorites were Constantine (I am a big fan of Jenna Coleman's) and Death. I thought Dream was actually kind of vampiric in the ways he was styled. Very much reminded me of Stephanie Meyer's Edward Cullen (specifically Robert Pattinson's portrayal) and, at one point, Anne Rice's Lestat. Probably his paleness and that popped collar coat he had going on.

Other characters I enjoyed were Lucienne, Gault, and Fiddler's Green. I pegged Fiddler's Green from the moment he showed up. After all, you can't just have Stephen Fry playing some eccentric recluse. I quite liked Unity Kincaid. Honestly, I could take or leave the BnB crew. They were all bits of eccentric flavor that mostly served to showcase Rose's powers. Patton Oswald as Matthew was a delight.

The first big story line was fun. I always enjoy the quests to find missing items of importance. That said, in comparison to the second story line of the season, it fades into the background. I very much enjoyed seeing Jenna Coleman play Constantine. That episode was pretty awesome, honestly. It was nice to see some of the power behind Dream's tools. David Thewlis' character really needed some actual therapy, in my opinion, rather than to just be locked up. I'm also not sure how that diner ended up in a semi-time loop sort of thing. I just didn't feel like it was well explained or really conveyed as to what was going on. Also not sure what I would have done better so... yeah. It was probably my personal low point.

I thought the Rose Walker story line was much more interesting. I liked the concept of the Dream Vortex, though the explanation as to "What's it for/Why's it happen" was definitely rushed and just kind of dumped on the viewer by Fiddler's Green. The serial killers were delightful characters, ya know, once you put aside the whole serial killer thing. The Corinthian was an interesting villain, even if I didn't find him at all terrifying. Honestly, Jed's foster care situation was much worse. That's probably due to my personal awareness of how true to life Jed's situation was. The foster care system in the US is VERY broken and this kind of thing actually happens to people so... yeah... Jed's whole thing with his foster parents was more terrifying than The Corinthian. On a brighter note, I hope we get to see what happens with Lyta's baby.

My favorite episode is definitely episode 6: The Sound of Her Wings. I enjoyed getting Death's perspective on humanity and the meetings with Hob. This was also the episode where Dream's look made me go "Lestat" at one point even though he resembles none of the actors who've played that character previously. My boyfriend really enjoyed episode 4: Hope in Hell. The battle of wits between Dream and Lucifer was definitely a highlight.

So yeah, definitely go give The Sandman a watch if you haven't already.