Another slow month. Happy holidays and etc. The big thing that happened in December is that I found a single, simple solution for all the myriad problems I was having with a WIP– But I’m going to have to rewrite half of the scenes to implement it. Whoops.
Short stories:
I finished reading the A. J. Raffles stories. For months, I’ve been getting these delivered to my email inbox via Substack:
“The Field of Phillipi” by E. W. Hornung
I keep double-checking the Wikipedia page to make sure I’m almost done with Raffles stories. This one’s fine, and a departure from the usual. Raffles and Bunny return to their alma mater for a reunion.
“A Bad Night” by E. W. Hornung
Bunny is set to handle his first solo burglary, but makes a series of improbable decisions that upend the whole thing.
“A Trap to Catch a Cracksman” by E. W. Hornung
Bunny rushes to the rescue when he receives a strained phone call from Raffles, confessing that the man has attempted to rob an American boxer’s rental house and been caught in a trap.
“Spoils of Sacrilege” by E. W. Hornung
One of the better Raffles and Bunny stories. Intent on taking the lead for once, Bunny plans the burglary of his childhood home. But then, overcome with guilt, he secretly dumps the loot. Two left!
“The Raffles Relics” by E. W. Hornung
Nearing the end again. At the start of the Boer War, Raffles and Bunny learn of a Scotland Yard museum exhibit on Raffles’ heists. The exhibit clerk unknowingly says to Bunny’s face that he wasn’t worth mentioning in the exhibit, since he never did a thing without Raffles. Bunny’s feelings of inadequacy are a running theme throughout most of these stories, at times overpowering his adulation towards Raffles. Obviously, this story ends with Raffles heisting all his tools back, for sentimental reasons.
“The Last Word” by E. W. Hornung
The very last Raffles story. Nostalgia and grief are what pulled me to the finish line. I’m a big fan of those emotions. In a departure from the rest of the series, this one is written by the woman who almost married Bunny. After Raffles’s death, she reveals that he visited her to make amends for tricking Bunny into robbing her, even offering to give himself up. She also offers to rekindle her friendship with Bunny, ending the series on a hopeful note for his future.
“I’ll Miss Myself” by John Wiswell
AllOne is an app that lets you talk to versions of yourself from other universes. But of course it has an algorithm, to funnel you to the content “optimized” for “engagement.”
“And You And I” by Jenna Hanchey
A bittersweet story about a relationship that doesn’t happen, told through short scenes from universes where it did.
“The River Judge” by S. L. Huang
People in my writing circles have been talking about this one for months, so I made time to read it. This is a well-executed novelette about a girl whose shitty dad keeps murdering people at his hotel, making it so she has to help bury the bodies. The way the story approaches its central theme reminds me of feminist fantasy from the nineties, but with queer side characters added in, which is nice. Cannibalism, also. Feels weird typing this, but my social media strongly indicates that cannibalism is having a moment in fiction. Hopefully not also in real life.
“Year of Shrines” by Tessa Gratton
I very much enjoyed this one. A woman sets out to change her fate by creating one shrine a day for a whole year.
“Eight Wedding Rings from Unhappy Marriages” by Molly Tanzer
A writer ruminates on “The Crane’s Return of a Favor.”
This was a reread. Six abused priestesses, blessed with divine fire, free themselves from their cruel masters. Very well done.
“The Eleventh & Three-Quarters Hour” by Leslie What
Gabby is falling apart, literally.
A horrifying dystopia that slowly reveals that the enfleshed ‘AIs’ corporations have producing their materials are simply humans, surgically altered. Most AIs are born into and stay enslaved…but the process is a two-way street.
Novels:
The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle
The final Sherlock Holmes novel. The substack I’m subscribed to will have to start doing repeats, it seems. What’s interesting about this book is that half of it isn’t even about Sherlock Holmes. The second part instead follows a Pinkerton detective’s infiltration of an organized crime ring in the US. Holmes crossed paths with the man years later, after he fled to England. As a union guy, I wasn’t really onboard for a narrative about a heroic Pinkerton agent saving miners from the nefarious activities of a made-up gang. I read the whole thing anyway, because Doyle knows how to pace a narrative.
Comics:
Tiger, Tiger by Petra Erika Nordlund
I finally gave in and read this one. I’m super not into swashbucklers, but this comic is also about old gods, secret identities, and a runaway noble lady’s quest to uncover the mysteries of sea sponges. Exactly as fun as I’d heard.
