Fading Memories

By Astrid Lindgren
Reviewed by Boudewijn Rempt on February 26, 2003

My favourite Astrid Lindgren books (and one of my all-round favourites, for that) were those about Superdetective Blomkwist: Mästerdetektiven Blomkvist, Mästerdetektiven Blomkvist lever farligt and Kalle Blomkvist och Rasmus. Of course, my Swedish being what it is, I've never read these book in the original language, but rather in the praiseworthy translation by Rita Törnqvist-Verschuur. And now my daughters have reached the ripe ages of seven, seven and nine, I'm reading the stories to them.

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By Connie Willis
Reviewed by Boudewijn Rempt on February 26, 2003

We visited Denmark two years ago, and Lars Mathiesen, a friend from the CONLANG mailing list welcomed us at his Kopenhagen home. There, he lent us his copy of Bellwether for the train journey home. And a very enjoyable journey was had by us all.

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By John B. Nellist
Reviewed by Boudewijn Rempt on February 24, 2003

Achitecture is a hobby of mine. Or rather, I love good buildings, and I often need a handbook to help me design buildings for novels or roleplaying games. So when I happened upon this volume for the bargain price of f17,90 (original price 38s, online available for about $35,-), I snapped it up immediately.

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By Malik
Reviewed by Boudewijn Rempt on February 23, 2003

One of my favourite Dupuis series is Cupido. And not only mine; also of my daughters. Malik is a consummate artist who sketches his scenes with a lovely delicacy. As with Sammy, Cauvin is responsible for the scenarios, but Cupido albums contains several shorter stories and gags, and there's a fair chance of hitting upon one or two wonderful ones.

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By P.G. Wodehouse
Reviewed by Boudewijn Rempt on February 23, 2003

A collection of Wodehouse juvenilia, this. Excellent juvenilia, written with love and fun. But also redolent of the trappings of a market that no longer exists: the humorous mainstream magazine story.

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By Jean-Pol
Reviewed by Boudewijn Rempt on February 23, 2003

Right, so I've decided to add comics to Fading Memories, too. Or rather, bandes dessinees, to distinguish between the kind I like to read and superhero stuff, which I'm not interested in. I will write a notice only for albums I've just bought, since adding reviews on rereading would bandes dessinees would really cut into my reading time. If I've got five minutes, perhaps ten, I tend to grab a Sammy, a Melisande or a Cupido. I'll start with the latests Sammy. And no, I haven't got an advanced taste in bandes dessinees, either. Lotusbloem (or Poupee d'ivoire by Franz is about as sophisticated I can handle. I don't like the kind of bandes dessinees where the author uses the story as an excuse for graphically shoving unsuitable implements in cunts. And those are more common than someone who doesn't frequent comics shops would imagine.

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By P.G. Wodehouse
Reviewed by Boudewijn Rempt on February 13, 2003

Others, notably Dean Bagley, have said that Young Men in Spats is possible the best of the collections of Wodehouse shorts. I agree...

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By John Hargrave
Reviewed by Boudewijn Rempt on February 13, 2003

I've seen men, healthy, strong, hard-faced Irishmen, blown to shreds. I've helped to clear up the mess. I've trod on dead men's chests in the sand, and the ribs have bent in and the putrid gases of decay have burst through with a whhh-h-ff-f.

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By Nahed Selim
Reviewed by Boudewijn Rempt on February 12, 2003

A novel in letters -- written, not by the protagonist, but by her family, friends and her readers. And a book with an all too familiar, but none the less true, message. Perhaps it would have been better to write this book in Arabic, to make it possible for it to reach its audience.

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By Magdalen Nabb
Reviewed by Boudewijn Rempt on February 11, 2003

The most recent Magdalen Nabb I've read — though not the most recent, Magdalen Nabb is still writing, and Some Bitter Taste was published in january 2003. The Monster of Florence is the work of a matured author. It's no longer an easy murder mystery with a cute detective. It's terrifying.

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By Colin Kapp
Reviewed by Boudewijn Rempt on February 09, 2003

Years and years ago Irina and I chanced upon a large collection of fifties and sixties sf magazines. Asimov's, Astounding, New Worlds Science Fiction -- the works. And sometimes I pick one of them from the shelves to re-calibrate, as it were.

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By Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey
Reviewed by Irina Rempt on February 06, 2003

I've always been a sucker for epistolary novels since I read Daddy Long Legs as a teenager. A Woman of Independent Means is a very good one, covering a woman's life from fourth grade at about ten until her death at seventy-nine.

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By Magdalen Nabb
Reviewed by Boudewijn Rempt on February 05, 2003

Marshall Salvatore Guarnaccia is at his best with ordinary people and their ordinary problems. That's his job, after all. He likes it, and he likes doing his job in Florence. Which makes it a very frightening proposition to be investigating a murder (or a suicide) in the highest circles.

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By Flavius Vegetius Renatus
Reviewed by Boudewijn Rempt on February 04, 2003

I've already done a review of the text of Vegetius Epitoma Rei Militaris, so this is merely a review of the Dutch translation by Fik Meijer, Professor Oude Geschiedenis at the University of Amsterdam.

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By Boudewijn Rempt on Tuesday February 04, @04:57PM
Just a quick note to self: when Scholar of Magics by Caroline Stevermer is published, buy hardback ASAP. And the Dutch translation of Vegetius is great, but the Latin is readable, too.

I had the chance to read the manuscript of Caroline Stevermer's latest, Scholar of Magic, a more-or-less sequel to a College of Magics. I bought When the King Comes Home for Irina's birthday in 2002, not being aware at the time that this was the same Caroline who had written Sorcery and Cecilia, an old favourite of Irina's. When the King Comes Home is a perfectly balanced tale, and I'm going to re-read it again soon, but you can read a good review of it at Outside of a Dog. Soon we ordered everything that was still available from Amazon, and got a College of Magics, which tasted a lot like more. And A Scholar of Magics is more, but it's different, too. Better balanced, somehow, with perhaps better defined protagonists. Can't give it a full review until I've got the hardback, though, which I'm eagerly awaiting.

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