The Writer at War

A Writer at War: Vasily Grossman with the Red Army, 1941-1945 (2005)

Edited and translated by Antony Beever and Luba Vinogradova

This is a mostly incoherent, and therefore mostly incomprehensible, book about WWII.

Maybe the fault lies in the translation, but I suspect that the problems run much deeper than that.

There is no question that Vasily Grossman was severely traumatized by the war (his own family was massacred by the Nazis).

Grossman got into trouble with the Stalinists because he wanted to tell the truth about the war. Soviet officials tried to destroy every copy of the manuscript for this book, but one was smuggled out and eventually published.

I would rate this book as not worth reading with one possible exception. If there is someone who has never learned a thing about the Hitler-Stalin conflict in WWII, this book will convey just how horrible it was for everyone involved.

Ancient Life

The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life (2006) by Tim Haines and Paul Chambers

This is an outstanding survey of fascinating creatures from the Cambrian to the Pleistocene.

It contains gorgeous full color “photographs” (based on artists conceptions) and very interesting speculations about behaviors.

This book would be on my short list for a coffee table book.

Among the most interesting entries are:

Anomalocaris (the world’s first super predator)

Cameraceras (the largest carnivore in the Ordovician) [looks like a cousin to Cthulhu]

Brontoscorpio (the biggest scorpion of all time)

Meganeura (an eagle sized dragonfly)

Andrewsarchus (the largest carnivorous land mammal)

Carcharodon megalodon (a whale-killing shark)

Witch Finder

Witch Finder (2005) by C.L. Werner

This novel is set in the Warhammer universe.

Mathias Thulmann battles against undead, skaven, and a deadly chaos plague.

This is the second novel in a series.

Rivers of Time

Rivers of Time (1993) by L. Sprague DeCamp

This book is a collection of short stories describing “The Adventures of Reginald Rivers, Time Traveller Extraordinaire!”

These are classic prehistoric safari stories, including, but not limited to, hunting dinosaurs with an elephant gun.

Dark Adeptus

Dark Adeptus (2006) by Ben Counter

The author’s mother should have named him Bean. But I guess Ben is close enough. Heh.

This novel is set in the Warhammer 40k universe.

Justicar Alaric and the Grey Knights deal with a moral threat to the Imperium.

They are aided by Magos Antigonus, a most impressive character that just refuses to give up.

No victims here, only protagonists.

Straight Silver

Straight Silver (2002) by Dan Abnett

A Gaunt’s Ghosts Novel set in the Warhammer 40k universe

The regiment gets thrown into a WWI style meatgrinder featuring trench warfare and artillery duels.

If you are looking for a novel where the good guys suffer and the bad guys prosper, this one is for you.

Blues Party

New Millennium Blues Party (2000)

20 tracks/blues

This CD features an eclectic mix including Eric Clapton, Robert Cray (the supercomputer guy?), Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, and many others.

If I were going to pick blues for the new millennium, it would have been a lot different mix than this one, but that it part of what makes it interesting.

Including Bad to the Bone by Thorogood and the Destroyers is odd. Ditto for Runaway by Bonnie Raitt.

Including Tuff Enuff by The Fabulous Thunderbirds goes beyond just odd.

Definitely worth listening to, more than once.