Evil Wizards

   The Evil Wizard Smallbone has some competition in the evil department in this book by Delia Sherman.  But Nick, the runaway who takes refuge with the old, smelly, grumpy and wicked wizard, has to do some heavy duty sleuthing - and endless chores - to get to the bottom of Smallbone's dastardly behavior.

The setting is backwoods Maine where the coyotes are numerous and the wolves rule the forest - some on motorcycle.  The small village of Smallbone Cove depends on the evil wizard for their protection against, what, exactly?  Here is part of the mystery.  Another part is why so many of Smallbone Cove's residents look so similar and how some of the residents can be as old as they say they are. 

An odd mix of werepeople, selkie legends, the reversing of spells, and ancient badness come together in a delightful fantasy.  I loved the ending.  And I thoroughly enjoyed the ride there.  I also liked the smart alecky books that plague Nick as he searches for answers.  That boy is too curious.

Ibuprofin and a cool wet blindfold

In the last 48 hours I have read:

The Magic Mirror by Susan Hill Long;   (fairy tale style fantasy, pretty good) 3 1/2 stars

The Black Dragon : Mysterium #1 by Julian Sedgwick;  (rock 'em, sock 'em, fast-paced underworld crime novel set in Hong Kong to be continued, of course.) 3 stars

The Storyteller by Aaron Starmer; (last of what may be a psychological thriller trilogy, or it may be a study in mental illness, or alternative fiction.  This entry is good enough to read to the very end but I don't need to know what went before.) 3 stars

Swing Sideways by Nanci Turner Stevenson.  (friendship/family relationship novel.  I just finished this one and am tempted to say more.  Tragedy rears it's ugly tissue wielding head at the end.  Sigh.) 3 stars

Earlier this week, I finished As Brave as You by Jason Reynolds( No one has a terminal illness in this book.  YAY!!!!!  Two city boys spend the summer at the family farm with their dad's parents.  Family stuff, brother stuff, city boys in the country stuff and growing up stuff.) 3 1/2 stars

Mayday by Karen Harrington.  (Uncle dies.  Family flies to funeral.  Mom and son are in airplane accident.  Granddad is sick.  There you have it.)  3 1/2 stars

Oh and a little cozy mystery novella and I started an Aunt Dimity novel that I never read. 

My eyes hurt.

But let me say this.  I have decided that I will fight the urge to give any book that deals with C.A.N.C.E.R. more than 3 1/2 stars.  As a survivor, I am well and truly tired of books that use cancer to manipulate their readers.  The book better have me prostrate on the floor weeping; or feeling so uplifted I want to sing before I will give it 4 or 5 stars.  But, that's just me.

A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers & Sam Winston Book Trailer

Wookiee the Chew

I LOVE Winnie the Pooh - the REAL Winnie the Pooh.  I have read the books too many times to count and Milne's poems are the only ones that I can recite reliably.

And now I love Wookiee the Chew, an illustrative meme by artist James Hance.   When you visit Hance's website, you will see he likes to re-imagine EVERYTHING as Star Wars.  Why not?  Star Wars is as close to a religion as some people get.

Hance wrote a book about Wookiee the Chew and his friends and the website for that book is here .

I can't share any of the images - copyright and all that  - but when you see them, you will understand my infatuation.