Book Review

The Wheel of Time, book 5, The Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan

The next episode in the saga. This prolonged, soap-operatic storytelling is a genius way of creating a long series (over three books) The Prydain series was connected but episodic as was Harry Potter. And even though these individual books have goals met at the end, they’re not neatly tidied up at their endings. The cliffhangers are more obvious and designed to keep the reader following. Now the story is expanding from the compact beginnings in which everything and everyone was in their place. The White Tower was exactly where it was, doing what it was supposed to be doing. There was a Queen in Andor, barely touched on as far as development, but a safe and familiar anchor for a lot of the main characters. The original group was still together, and even when they weren’t it wasn’t hard to keep track of all of them in the same narrative. Min is only a supporting character thus far, so her absence from the third book was a gentle way of preparing the reader for a pattern that will necessarily follow as the resolution of the world becomes clearer. Even the main characters have to take turns now, much like I suspected early on. Everyone gets a turn in the spotlight while others are put on the back burner for a bit.

Absent from this book is Perrin, which is surprising but makes sense as the rest of the characters needed time to “catch up”. Loial, Verin, Alannah, Faile, and even Padan Fain and one of the more aggressive Whitecloaks don’t appear either because that part of the story had taken place on nearly the other side of the mainland mass. Perrin’s personal quest was also resolved in the last book. Naturally it’s temporary… a side quest so to speak … but it was a satisfying place to park that character at for a while so that the personal journeys of other characters could be followed in more detail. However, although he’s on the back burner, he’s not forgotten. In some of the wanderings through Tel'aran'rhiod Nyneve and Elayne visit Edmond’s Field to discover somebody building a house. I think I can confidently guess that Perrin, after having married Faile in the last book, is at least trying to put down roots back home as well as other vague indications that they’ve also had a child together. We’ll see.

So, who’s the star of this book then? This time I don’t think that Rand is the main attraction in this book even though it begins and ends with his story as always. Rand is completely over his denial phase now and he’s done whining about it for the most part. His part of the story isn’t about him having to accept any new burdens. Now he’s making serious efforts to learn how to command and lead intelligently. He’s no longer a boy, but a man and even Moiraine has little sway with him. In fact, she even begins to yield to his decisions in many cases. But, Rand begins this book having loose ends to tie up. After accepting his place as the Dragon Reborn and convincing the Aiel to follow him, or as many clans as could make it to the meeting place in time for him to claim his position as their Car'a'carn, the one clan that refused to follow him in spite of the evidence, the Shaido led by Couladin, didn’t just fall in line after the battle at the end. They instead decided to cross out of the Waste and attack Cairhein which the Aiel had a bad history with anyway. Rand’s plans to bring the Kingdoms together in peace to prepare for Tarmon Gai'don, the final world-breaking battle with the Dark One, must be put on hold. He tries to do the right thing by waiting for the other clans to join them so there’s no chance of fomenting another rogue clan like the Shaido, but ultimately there’s no time and he proceeds to go on to rescue Cairhein and establish the Aiel nation as an ally in spite of Couladin’s actions. Along the way Mat’s newly gifted ability to form winning battle strategies comes in handy. And although Mat makes one last attempt to separate himself from Rand’s destiny, he’s first drawn back in by the Wheel of Time and then ordered to stay by Rand himself. Cairhein is saved and now has an uneasy alliance with Tear, which Rand secured in the third book. His next plan is to confront one of the Forsaken, Sammael. He chose Sammael rather than Rhavin to keep the eyes of the other Forsaken off of Elayne who is daughter-heir to the Andor throne which Rhavin has been silently controlling as well as Queen Morgase for a while now. The queen breaks away from Rhavin’s hold and manages to stealthily sneak away, but to the rest of the world, it appears that Rhavin has killed her. So Rand ends by taking revenge for the death of Elayne’s mother, killing Rhavin and saving some of the other prominent characters from dying by use of the horrific Balefire which was foreshadowed at the beginning as having strange effects on time. As to the apparently permanent deaths at the end… I don’t know. This is my favorite genre and I’ve consumed enough of this sort of material to not trust that Lanfear, at least, is truly dead. As for the definite death of Rand’s teacher that he acquired in the last book - that one was a surprise. I thought he’d have more time with him to learn. But learning in a controlled environment isn’t a luxury afforded to these poor ta’veren.

The truth is that all the female characters feature more prominently in this book than the men, however I  wouldn’t even say that the deposed Amyrlin Seat, Siuan Sanche, is the main attraction of this book either even though we see more of her and Leane than ever before. On the run with Logain, Siuan, Leane, and Min find themselves in trouble, framed for crimes in a small village. They’re rescued by Queen Morgase’s former general and consort, Gareth Bryne, who governs the area and binds them to oaths of service in return. At the first opportunity they get, they run of course. Siuan knows that there’s a secret place that the Aes Sedai that weren’t a part of the coup to seize the White Tower would gather.  Gareth follows out of pride more than anything because nobody recognizes the former Amyrlin since she’s been stilled. Interesting twist: being cut off from the Power changes the ladies' facial features, but instead of looking older (since it’s been stated that most of them are much older than they look because of the Power) they end up looking much younger. Anyway this part of the story serves two purposes. First, that madness and a quick death are not the inevitable result of being stilled or gentled as long as the person has a purpose to focus on. Siuan subjects herself to the Aes Sedai’s unending condescension and humiliation while subtly manipulating them into the direction she would have led them if she was still the Amyrlin and keeping as much control of her life as she can. Second, this part of the story really validates the feelings of the other characters that don’t trust the Aes Sedai and haven’t since the first book. It was a validation I needed because, although I could see they all had agendas, I’d put them as a whole into the “wise mentor type”, supposing that even though there were a few bad eggs, they would all be steering the heroes in the right direction for the most part. But that’s not the case. Only a small number of them really understand the magnitude of Rand’s presence and what must be done to defeat the Dark One again. The rest, as impressive and even good as many of them are, are abominably arrogant and surprisingly ignorant of the big picture as well as closed minded and just as concerned with their power even though they’re not in league with Elaida and the Aes Sedai who overthrew the Tower. It gave the group some much needed depth. And now the readers can’t be entirely sure of where any of them stand, building excellent tension. Gareth finds the ladies after they get to Salidar and the Aes Sedai rope him into forming an army to help them to retake the White Tower. He's not as submissive to their want for control, but they come to an agreement using Siuan's oath to him partly as a bargaining chip since they think they control her now too. I can't wait to see how this plays out.

It's the younger ladies that steal the show in this installment. Although her part is relatively small this time, Egwene makes great progress. The story spoiled itself early on when one of her visions upon being tested at the White Tower showed a possible future in which she will be the Amyrlin Seat while Rand is at the height of power; so, a fairly close future. It hasn't seemed likely so far since she's been very acquiescent to Elayne's royal station, Nyneave's bossiness, and Moiraine's dominant presence so far. But she's the only one of the young protagonists that's still being actively taught and disciplined by Moiraine and the Aiel Wise Ones. The discipline and training makes her unafraid to be more authoritative with Elayne and especially with Nyneave, no longer yielding to her imperious attitude. She learns to be steady and more patient when dealing with Rand. She still lacks the emotional maturity needed to be a full Aes Sedai and take a cool command of situations, but that will probably change soon now that the real "wise mentor" character is gone.
Elayne as well begins to demonstrate independence from Nyneave's self-entitled leadership. She’d already displayed hints that she was much more open to learning and new experiences with the Wavedancers. And that ability to bend to the changing winds of their journey makes her more pliable in her group with Nyneve, Thom, and Juilin. Once they realize the Tower is compromised they must go on the run until Nyneave can remember the name of the place where the Aes Sedai would meet. Nyneve still gives orders as she sees it, but all of her orders are the result of her being left with no choice after Elayne and the others augment and change her orders to produce realistic instead of idealistic results. She’s not intimidated by Nyneave’s bad temper like Egwene had always been and, therefore, puts her own ideas forth with a commanding confidence. Elayne proposes dyeing their hair as a disguise. Elayne is more receptive to joining Valan Luca’s Menagerie to hide in plain sight while they travel. Elayne must deal with the subtle nuances of Galad’s character when Nyneave would have been more trusting. And we finally get to see some of Elayne’s power come to light. Since the beginning the Aes Sedai have acknowledged that Egwene, Nyneave, and Elayne possess immense strength in the True Power and could potentially be the most powerful Aes Sedai since ancient times. We’ve mostly seen Egwene’s journey in using her power and special gift in the world of dreams. Nyneave’s explosive, raw, and unregulated power has been touched on as well. And although Elayne has been remarkable, she’s not stood out yet. In this book she begins to tap into her abilities and realizes that she could use them to create. The series is littered with all kinds of channeling aids from ancient times. Moiraine’s personal project on the trek back from the Aiel waste was to ensure that a wagon load of ter’angreal was returned to the White Tower for study. They know how to use some of these objects, but nobody in the recent ages has ever created them. Elayne, although she’s not given a chance to yet, is certain that she can create a ter’angreal. In this case she thinks she can replicate an a’dam in their possession that they’re intending to return to the White Tower. She also bonds a Warder having only studied the concept. Her hidden talents will have practical uses as the story progress.

But, I think, this book really belongs to Nyneave. You have to laugh when you realize that the person who has complained the loudest about how the Aes Sedai want to control everyone, wants to control everyone in her own small circle … which is obvious from the first book.  And even though she’s been a self-appointed leader so far, most can see that she’s not a very good leader. She bullies and nags those around her until they give in just to shut her up. She only listens to other views when there’s no other choice but to abandon her own. She sets herself too rigidly in her goals. And her inability to bend ends up breaking her a little this time. In the best sense. It starts with a little humbling. She has to be grateful to the guys for having the wherewithal to know what they're doing in spite of what she orders them to do. They rescue her and Elayne from White Tower spies and help secure their place in the Menagerie. She then has to suffer having a "boss" like Luca who, though a boorish huckster, is also smitten with her. She takes refuge in the fact that she bested Moghedien in their showdown and continues to explore Tel'aran'rhiod with Brigitte Silverbow as her guide. Birgitte is a Hero of the Horn from another age that hasn't been reborn from Wheel of Time into this age yet. As they spy on Moghedien in the dream realm, things take a dark turn. Moghedien catches them and Birgitte sacrifices herself to save Nyneave. As a result, Brigitte is thrust into the waking world, fated to permanent extinction until Elayne bonds her to herself as her Warder. Nyneve's ensuing feelings of guilt cause her to lose confidence. Her decisions are shaky and, much to her chagrin, require a lot of help from Elayne, Thom, Juilin and some old Shienaran friends meet up with again. But she gets a second chance at Moghedien and she acquits herself expertly. She gains control of the Forsaken woman with an a'dam in Tel'aran'rhiod and uses her to travel to Camelyn and help Rand destroy Rhavin. She'll still have quite a lot to answer for since this happened in Salidar right under the noses of the Aes Sedai while secretly teaching Siuan how to use the ter'angreal ring that helps to navigate the realm of dreams. However, that arrangement itself marked some growth in her character as she matched her wits with Siuan's own controlling nature in a more measured fashion than her usual brow-beating method. She never lost her spirit but her failures enabled her to focus on new goals instead of wanting to take some unrealistic revenge on the Aes Sedai for upending her simple life in Two Rivers. Now she's focused on learning, not only to be a healer, but also training her audacity onto learning how to heal a person who has been stilled or gentled. Just as Elayne knows she can create ter'angreal, Nyneave knows she can reverse this fate worse than death for Power wielders. Now she'll have to learn how to channel without being angry. This book has left a lot to unpack.

Next up is Lord of Chaos. Nearly halfway through. What a ride. I still highly recommend for fantasy fans. 

Book Review

Patsy: The Life and Times of Patsy Cline, Margaret Jones
I don’t read a lot of non-fiction but when I do it’s mostly biographies. My discovery of Patsy Cline is recent-ish. I’ve heard her music all my life but it never really connected emotionally until a couple of years ago when I heard her cover of “You Belong To Me”. Suddenly the real beauty of her voice in other songs just started standing out when I heard them and she’s my current girl-crush. Of course, being a trendsetting musician, you know her life story would be filled with wild stories, but I wasn’t quite prepared for just how sad her life was as well in the build up to her tragic end. The problem with biographies as opposed to autobiographies, is finding one that isn't too skewed in favor of any particular fantasy of what a life must have been like. This book seems like it's been thoroughly researched and the interviews aren’t just hearsay stories from second hand sources. The personal accounts are from relatives and those who had the most intimate conversations with her, so the documented facts along with the impressions drawn about her character all line up to form a realistic portrait of Patsy’s life and career, both of which are comparatively short.  And with the forward being written by Loretta Lynn, I’m sure this is about as true of a telling of Patsy Cline’s life as one can get.

Her life and career were so short that it seems incredible that a person could find enough material to fill a book with 24 chapters. That brings me to my one and only criticism of the way this book was written. The author would take a deep dive into everyone that crossed Patsy’s path in life, filling space with their personal and professional histories. The closer they were to Patsy, the more justified it was, but sometimes it seemed like a lot of unnecessary rabbit chasing and a lot of inside baseball regarding the music industry that wasn’t always pertinent to this specific artist’s career. The fact is that Patsy Cline was a fast burning candle and it’s hard to slow it down even in documentary style. She was born Virginia Hensley and was called "Ginny" growing up. She took the name Patsy from her middle name, Patterson, and her self acknowledged naivety of the business end of the music industry. In the early chapters it’s essential to go back as far as her grandfather on her father’s side to uncover the patterns of choices she made in her life. Many bad. After her successful grandfather lost his fortunes her father, already an abusive alcoholic that had abandoned the children of his first wife, became an abusive father to Patsy and her mother. All the forms of abuse apply to one degree or another; physical, emotional, and sexual. She was pretty messed up by the time she was a teenager. But, you can see how it drove her to break away. She was always a good singer and she knew it, therefore choosing a career as a singer as her ticket out of her impoverished and unstable life. She remained close to her mother all her life, but the psychological trauma of her youth directed her actions and she allowed herself to become involved in a relationship with an early manager in return for his lackluster guidance.  But, this was back in the days that women could still get a bad reputation in a hurry for being a kept woman, so she married Gerald Cline to give off the appearance of a properly married woman. It never convinced anyone in her hometown of Winchester where she was continually snubbed as a whore even though for years it was just these two men that she was involved with. I’m old school enough to believe in marriage too, but empathetic enough to realize that this woman was desensitized to normal relationships and operating in survival mode, so even though I understand she was getting the negative attention she deserved, I also feel really bad for her. I also feel bad for the two men. Her first manager had real feelings for her which she didn’t return and it ruined his marriage. Gerald, I suppose, cared for her. But I don’t think either one of them thought of their marriage as anything more than a convenience. She had an abortion at this time with no knowledge of which man was the father, though everyone was told that it was a miscarriage. Yes, her life had many dark turns that I didn’t know about until I read this book. I could have been happy never having known a lot of this, but it’s a gamble you take when you decide to read up on your idols, mentors, favorite celebrities, historical icons, etc. After she landed her first hit song she dropped both of these men. Then she fell in love for real with Charlie Dick, a man that was just like her father – an abusive drunkard. And so the pattern continued. But she could give as good as she got, always pushing back and even fighting back physically when they fought. She wanted to try to make a normal life with him that she'd never had before, taking time away from her career to have the first of their two children.

She didn’t have much choice in the career aspect of this decision. She was beholden to a record contract that was 5 years overextended and choked off nearly all the money she could have been making from her first song, Walking After Midnight. It was a one-hit career destined to go nowhere. Maybe if her marriage had been everything she’d romanticized it to be, she wouldn’t have felt the need to get back into the entertainment industry and when she did almost four years later, she basically had to start over. She was getting better advice the second time around though and she balanced being booked on endless gigs with fighting with Charlie and doting on her mother, children and friends that she made on her way up. It wasn’t all tragedy during these years, and she forged bonds with other female singers that were breaking into the industry at a time when “girl singers” weren’t taken seriously as marketable in Country Music. To say she was a feminist fighting for equality wouldn’t be accurate though. She was just fighting for the credit she knew was due to her for her natural talent. She didn’t ask for special consideration, but played the game the way it was played back then and ended up kicking down the doors for other lady artists on the way. A lot of people would credit the affairs she had on the road after she started tracking successfully as an artist to a victory of female empowerment as well, but they were just the product of an unhappy marriage that she desperately wanted to work. And I still see it as sad in the context of the rest of her life rather than scandalous.

She got her comeback hit that launched her into real fame and a potential long term career in 1961 and in 1963 she died. It’s breathtaking how fast it all happened. Perhaps not for her though. She appeared to have an innate intuition that her life wouldn’t be a long one. She made out a last will and testament early in her successful years. The book shows a handwritten copy of the will that obviously wasn't made with legal advice, but thorough nonetheless. Convinced she wouldn’t live to see 30-years-old, one of her premonitions almost came true when she was in a near fatal car wreck at age 29. She survived with a scar across her forehead from where her scalp was pealed up. Once you know about it you can see the heavy makeup she used even in the black-and-white photos from 1962-3. She didn't want to stop recording and preforming for long enough to have something done about it though since her career was finally taking off, so she soldiered on even when Charlie hit her hard enough to open the scar up again. Eventually, she decided to take the time to get plastic surgery to fix the scar as well as divorce Charlie but she didn't live long enough. It turns out that she lived to see 30 but not 31. Her life ended because of her current manager fancying himself to be a pilot since a lot of musicians were buying and sometimes learning to fly their own planes to gigs to get around commercial traffic. He could fly but he wasn’t a great pilot especially for longer travel. He wasn’t rated for his instruments and in bad weather and was in a position of thinking that he was climbing in altitude when he was really nose-diving to the surface. Horrifying. I don’t describe it as well as the book.

She wasn't even at the pique of her career, really. She wasn't a songwriter, so her songs were picked by producers. And except for a few that had been written in real time by the likes of young song writers like Willie Nelson, many of the songs she released during her two hot years were covers of older songs that could easily cross over into the pop market, by design. The next project in speculation for her was an album of Broadway hits. And I'm sure she'd have crushed them. My husband and I often wonder whether or not the big voices of this era that died young would have found their way into the Outlaw Country music. It was compromised of musicians that marched to their own drums and didn't like being controlled by the corporate heads. Patsy hated the controlling aspect of the business and had already done regular touring with the Johnny Cash show being billed only second to Cash himself. I do think she would have collaborated with Cash and Jennings but also with Loretta Lynn who walked the line of controversy at times on her own. Even though she was rough and ran with the men, I think there would have been a fine pack of outlaw women with Patsy in the lead. Although she drank, and that mostly after her marriage to Charlie, I don't think she would have been carried too far away with the substance abuse after the preferred method speed, amphetamines, transitioned into cocaine. But I think she had an amazing career ahead of her with the potential to change the landscape of Country music like the other trailblazers that moved on from the Nashville Sound.

I enjoyed the book. If you like celebrity biographies, and emotionally intense biographies at that, this is a must have. The photos inside are nice finds and along with the drama, there are also a lot of heart warming stories of Patsy and her mother, step siblings, and close friends. It's amazing that she could still be such a loving person after a life that could make anyone bitter and angry. Even though she had a tragic life she wasn't a tragic figure by any means and that part, at least, is inspiring. Like other Country artists that lived hard, she was raised in church and would have undoubtedly found her way back in her late years and it's a shame she wasn't here long enough to see her life come full circle the way we got to see Johnny Cash and others straighten back out and find peace. This would be a good gift for any Patsy Cline fan. 

Book Review

The Shadow Rising, Wheel of Time book 4, Robert Jordan
*SPOILERS* because it's hard to review these books without them.

At some point, I'm going to have to re-read the whole series uninterrupted from the beginning.(Duh. Every book reader does that with a compelling series and I've re-read several favorites.) But, I'm having a harder time with this series that seems to make re-reading not only desirable, but necessary. I finished this book back in January and not only have I only just started steadily into the fifth book, Fires of Heaven, within the last week (seven months later!), I've also not had any time to discuss this fourth entry. Having started these books at a point when I stopped having a lot of time on my hands to read, it's been slow going and you'd think a person would get lost in a long series like this, with days or weeks between snatches of reading one book to months between entire books.

However, one of the best parts of this series is that even though it's a big, complex world with a lot of characters - a lot of characters with new ones being added with each installment - and multiple story threads, it's written in a way that the reader never forgets what's going on. There are some gaps for me, but not as many as you might think thanks to the skillful writing. And it manages this without the recapping becoming too time consuming. It reminds me of the appreciation I have for classic soap opera writing. It's not just sequels to a singularly focused story but long-form storytelling that juggles very different stories within the world as they're weaved (no pun intended 😂) around the primary storyline. It's taken 4 books for the main character to fully accept his responsibility as the chosen one. It's taken 4 books for the main group to break out into separate groups. Well, they'd been in two distinct groups for a while, but they were all destined to end in the same places as essentially a whole unit in all the novels so far. It's taken 4 books to start to wrap up at least one loose end that needed to be addressed since the first book, as well as give direction to a couple of characters who hadn't really begun their character arcs yet. By doing it this way, it manages to stay busy (my goodness, busy... plot summaries can't do it justice) without leaving the readers behind or short changing secondary characters. After four books it's okay for the characters to separate in earnest for a while because we won't forget about them or what motivates them.

And it begins with a character that disappeared at the beginning of the previous book. Min was sent to report current events to the Amyrlin Seat and wasn't seen again. Neither was the Amyrlin for that matter. But this book, instead of opting for a prologue that propels the current main plot, elects to back up a bit and begin with Min reaching Tar Valon to tell the Amyrlin what's going on. And she only knows the current events as they were at the end of book two. This kind of sets up a theme for the rest of this book and likely the next two until everyone can get on the same page again. From this point on, the left hand will have no idea what the right hand is doing and in the case of Min and the Amyrlin, the consequences are devastating. Throughout the story it cuts back to them with Min becoming another kind of spy, searching for Black Ajah within the White Tower of Tar Valon and Siuan Sanche learning a little more of what went on at the Stone of Tear. What she learns is limited, but enough for her to feel confident in making a move that would have made Rand's task of uniting the many kingdoms much easier - support from the Aes Seadai. However, breathingly fast at the end, things take a turn for the worse as the Amyrlin is deposed in a coupe, stilled, and left on the run without being able to channel the One Power and with only Min, her second in command, Leane, also stilled from the Power, and a gentled false Dragon, Logain for help. The worst part is that none of the other characters know this has happened. Nor will they for the foreseeable future, as long as it took Min to turn up after the beginning of book three.

Rand still expects the Aes Sedai of Tar Valon will be behind him, although he sees it as a loss of his autonomy. So, he, in the main thrust of this book, decides to go to the homeland of his blood kindred to rally support from them since they aren't involved with the disputes and wars of the various kingdoms west of the Aiel Waste. And because they are fierce warriors who, in the distant past, nearly subdued the whole land west of their desert dwelling with only four of their twelve clans, he wishes to use their might to bring the other kingdoms under his banner. He doesn't go alone. Moraine stays with him, which he resents as always. Egwene is summoned along with one of the Aiel Spear Maidens to learn how to be a Dreamwalker with the Aiel Wise Ones, her own story continuing along side Rand's, yet separately for a while. Mat also accompanies them.

The character of Mat has been skirting the sides of the story up until now, only involved because he's drawn in by Rand's pull on the Wheel of Time, blessed and cursed with amazing good luck. This time he is given a reason to choose to follow Rand. His purpose isn't any more clearly defined at the end.. still a wild card... but his abilities finally catch up with Rand's and Perrin's, which will make him a pivotal figure in the end. First, he visits a powerful ter'angreal doorway from the Age of Legends that is found at the Stone. Rand and Moraine do too, but Mat's visit is all we get to see. He must ask questions of the reptilian race inside, but because of his bad temper he only finds out that if he doesn't follow Rand he'll die, cutting short his real destiny which is to marry the Daughter of the Nine Moons and make significant sacrifices to help save the world. Second, after he follows Rand into the Waste's mystical city of Rhuidean he steps into another ter'angreal doorway, twin of the one in Tear. Not understanding that the fox like race in this one bestows gifts rather than answers questions, he fumbles through it and manages to acquire the ability to speak fluently in the Ancient Tongue, the memories of his ancestors including intricate battle strategies, a strange spear, and a ter'angreal medallion that shields him from use of the One Power. I'm sure it'll all come him handy one day. What a tease.

Perrin, on the other hand, is able to tear himself away from Rand's party. After getting word that Whitecloaks are harassing people in Edmond's Field, he opts to go back home taking Loial, Faile, Verin, Alanna, and a few Aiel with him. The characters had been gone for a year now so their families were owed some explanation. The ever present thorn in the side of the heros, Padan Fain, has wormed his way into the Children of the Light under another name with the purpose of drawing Rand out by using the threat the Children pose to his family so he can kill him. Since the Children are so caught up in their own lust for power that they don't know an actual darkfriend when they see one, they let Fain lead this project. Not all of them are unaware of what Fain is though, and with help from those few, Fain begins letting Trollocs and Myrddraal into the Two Rivers area via the Way Gates so that the Whitecloaks can set up a protection racket while turning the local families against each other in effort to get information on Rand, Perrin, and Mat. By the time Perrin gets there. Fain has killed his entire family though it's believed that the Trollocs did it. To complicate matters, the Dark One has sent a Slayer into Tel'aran'rhiod to hunt Perrin in his wolf dreams. He is moving among them in the waking world as well under the guise of a fellow Hunter of the Horn. However, the end of this thread is a much needed win in contrast to the heartbreaking loss at the White Tower. Perrin, with the aid of Rand's and Mat's fathers, unites the people of Edmond's Field, teaches them to defend themselves, defeats the trollocs, unmasks and wounds his Slayer, drives away the Children of the Light and marries Faile. However, as with the fate of the Amyrlin, nobody will know about this victory for a while. It's a unique feature of the magic of this world that there's no way of quick communication as there is in other magic based stories. I love it when the rules of magic are unique to the series. This certainly makes things interesting.

Meanwhile, Nyneave and Elayne resume their search for the Black Ajah outside Tar Valon. They get a tip that they're situated in Tanchico in Tarabon, a city riddled with refugees and crime. Thom and Juilin respectively are sent along to help protect them. Along the way they book passage with another race of people, Atha'an Miere, the Sea Folk. Elayne learns Windfinding (helping to sail the ships faster by channeling water with the Power) from Jorin din Jubai White Wing, the ship's Windfinder. They also meet back up with the sea captain they'd dealt with in the second book after they reach their destination. They find the Black sisters, but more importantly they find a seal for the Dark One's prison and an artifact that would be dangerous to Rand - an a'dam that can enslave a male Power wielder like the a'dam the Seanchan used on Egwene in the second book. They also meet a Seanchan woman, Egeanin. After tempers cool Egeanin is disillusioned to learn the truth about Aes Sedai and her own people. The Seanchan had been enslaving women who could channel the Power for all this time but the only way it could work is if the woman controlling the a'dam could channel as well, and the women who can control the leash are kept ignorant of that fact. Upon this discovery and learning that the Aei Sedai and women who can channel aren't the subhuman creatures she'd been taught they were, she allies with them to help steal the male a'dam. This is a meeting that Egwene could have benefited from to help heal the trauma she'd been through as a damane. But, because of the breakdown in communications, I have a feeling that Egwene won't learn these facts about the Seanchan before she confronts another of their sul'dam one day. There's a twist, however, in this story arc when Nyneave ends up having to battle with one of the Forsaken one-on-one and she comes off the better in the fight showcasing her incredible power that she still can't control without anger.

But, there are other Forsaken hiding amongst a group of darkfriend peddlers traveling through the Aiel Waste as Rand pursues his goal of uniting the Aiel clans and leading them across the Dragonwall as his personal army. First he must go into Rhuidean, an abandoned city down in a vast hollow shrouded in clouds that serves as a proving ground for any Aiel man who is vying to be a clan chief. Going there means almost certain death, and they only become a clan chief if they can survive. After Mat discovers his doorway, Rand moves on to a forest of light pillars behind another man, Muradin, who is trying to become chief of the Shaido clan. The pillars take the men back in time to see the history of the Aiel people through the eyes of their ancestors, going back a generation further with each pillar of light. Rand learns that the Aiel were once pacifistic nomads akin to the Tuatha'an - the Tinkers... the pacifist gypsies from previous installments that wander through the lands in search of a lost song that will heal the world. Possibly the same song from the memories Rand experiences, in my opinion. Not only that, but the Aiel nomads were servants of the Aes Sedai after the Breaking of the World when the male Power wielders were driven mad. They had agreed to keep and protect the powerful ter'angreal, sa'angreal, and angreal objects in their travels, which explains why there was a pile of them down in the city, including Mat's doorway. Through the generations they stopped following the Way of the Leaf and became the aggressive, warring race that they are presently intensely proud of. Muradin, just ahead of Rand, can't accept the truth of the Aiel's origins and is driven insane unto death. Rand emerges the next morning marked with Dragons on his arms, confirming the Aiel's own prophecies regarding the Dragon Reborn. He is their Car'a'carn: the 'Chief of Chiefs' of the Aiel. The One Who Comes With the Dawn. There's resistance from the Shaido clan and their self-proclaimed leader, Couladin which causes a fight to break out after Rand reveals himself to the other clan chiefs. In the midst of that scuffle, another one of the Forsaken, Asmodean, who had been hiding as a gleeman with the peddlers takes this opportunity to try to steal lost san'greal objects that would make him more powerful than the Dark One. But Rand sensed his presence long ago and was waiting for him to come into the open. In their duel, Rand manages to cut him off from his connection to the Dark One and nearly gentles him before Lanfear shows up again. She'd been hiding as one of the peddler's companions. Convinced that Rand remembers his life as Lews Therin, the Dragon, she trys again to entice him claiming that he loved her as Therin. Seeing that Rand's intentions for Asmodean is to keep him prisoner so that he can learn how to properly channel the One Power, (women channelers can't teach men because their abilities are too different) Lanfear helps Rand by weaving a shield on him that will disable his raw power enough so that Rand can learn from him without being in danger. Her hope is to overthrow the Dark One with him and rule by his side; Lews Therin's side. He wants no part of it but he doesn't stop her since he needs Asmodean. It's a dangerous game he'll need to play, but finally, after 4 books, Rand can make real progress in his quest!  The reader can only hope everyone can get caught up with each other's activities before any more damage is done.

As of now, a short ways into the 5th book I can tell you, nobody is caught up yet and nobody knows the dangers that are lurking where they least expect and it's still a nail-biter! And I'm still loving and recommending this series whole-heartedly. It's not had a dissapointing turn yet like the Dwarves series had after the first trilogy. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Top Ten Harry Potter Opinions

The video is about the top ten things Harry Potter fans can't agree on.... So, just things that fans bicker over basically. 😊 I've never noticed any strong infighting among the HP fan base like there is in other franchises so I don't know how contentious these things actually are. But, I love a good debate. So, I'll put in my two sense. The topics aren't ranked so I'll go in the order they're discussed in the video. (Not stopping to translate in-world words and phrases. If you want to know just ask and I'll be happy to answer.) 

1. Barty Crouch Jr. was Hogwarts greatest DADA teacher. 

I'm going to go with "no" on this one. Since he was doing a near perfect imitation of Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody for the entire term, he was undeniably cool. And he did end up giving the students a boost in their defensive magic skills that affected their abilities in their various battles. But, as the video points out as an argument for the "no" side, Crouch Jr. was a lunatic who didn't realize that he wasn't doing the bad guys' side any favors by teaching them so thoroughly. And he taught them illegal, dark curses which, though done with what appeared to be a good intentions as part of his act, was still essentially the same thing that Amycus Carrow was doing in the 7th book. Lupin was the best. If he'd been able to retain the position he'd have had them caught up and plenty advanced in time for their O.W.L.s,  N.E.W.T.s,  and the final showdown with Voldemort .

2. Draco Malfoy didn't deserve his redemption arc.

Yes. Yes, he did deserve it. Absent of abuse and trauma, most children have some degree of cockiness and selfishness. Because they're children. Draco's cockiness was bolstered by the fact that his family was independently wealthy and benefited from many powerful political connections. Draco wasn't evil. He was a bully. Most bullies grow up to find a little humility. Adulthood is the great equalizer.. A lot of things change when we have to buy our own tires, so to speak. And the series itself even touches on that when fleshing out James Potter. Draco's humbling began earlier than adulthood when he realized that killing in cold blood wasn't something he could do no matter what he thought he believed and then discovering that his family's money and connections were worthless after seeing his once important father in a servile position under Voldemort. And unlike the video suggests I don't think Draco was trying to finally do the right thing by not exposing Harry at Malfoy Manor. I think he was terrified, disillusioned, and wanting nothing more to do with any of it. I think if he could have apparated to another country and gone into hiding with muggle-borns he would have done that after the end of the 6th book. Too bad be didn't pay any closer attention to his apparition lessons than Harry did. 

3. Harry Potter was kind of a wieny. 

In my review of the 5th book I said in response to the complaints that the protagonist seemed too self absorbed that those who thought that don't remember what it's like to be 15 and angry. I'm one of the people who argues in favor of considering the pressure he's under. Having the responsibility of being a Chosen One is enough to make anyone self-conscious, especially when they're young. I think, in fairness, when you look at how he handled the situations thrown at him, his internal courage is on display all the time. Always under a microscope but never losing his cool. The second and fourth books set the best examples. Also, he was called out on a lot of his brooding behavior towards his friends in the 5th book. He may not have been as attentive of a friend since his plate was pretty full, but he always put them first when making the hard decisions. 

4. Harry and Hermione should have been a couple. 

I fall into the "no" camp on this one. However, I'm somewhat sympathetic to the "yes" side. Ultimately, it's "no" for me because Harry is a hero and his love interest should be enamored with him to a certain degree. Ginny always adored him and grew to be his equal without losing that admiration for him. Hermione, on the other hand, never saw him as anything but an equal. Even a curiosity at the beginning. Their friendship was built on  mutually beneficial contention. Besides, Ron was raised with a domineering mother (in the best sense) and needed a strong woman to yank a knot in his tail now and then. Not unlike the way Molly kept Arthur in line when he was a little too interested in talking about his illegal flying car with the twins instead of upbraiding them about stealing it. That being said, I understand why this is a popular idea. Ginny's character was underdeveloped in the books. She wasn't even in Harry's greater circle of friends until the 5th one, so I can see how their relationship seemed to come out of nowhere. It was a little jarring, even for me. Then the movies turned Ron from a more complex and useful character in the books into a third-wheel, dead-weight buffoon along with adding romantic chemistry between Harry and Hermione that didn't exist in the books for no real reason except to satisfy the fans that liked to ship them together. It ends up being confusing for someone who is only a casual fan. Some argue that Rowling herself said she should have made them a couple but that was only after the books were completed and probably after a lot of protests from fans that would have preferred it that way. But I think she was smart to go with her first instinct and shouldn't question it. 

5. Sirius Black was a poor godfather to Harry. 

There only seems to be two anwers here. Either: Yes, he was a poor godfather because he used poor judgement and didn't try to see Harry more often. Or: No, he was still a good godfather because his poor judgement and inability to see Harry wasn't his fault. My answer is: Good thing he didn't HAVE to be Harry's godfather. He was named Harry's godfather when Harry was born but a newborn baby wasn't the center of his life. His best mates and the first war was. So when one of his friends betrayed him and had him sent to Azkaban to be mentally and emotionally violated by dementors for 12 years, it was only his knowledge of his own innocence that kept him from being driven insane. He escaped to save Harry but with no expectations from him due to his presumed guilt. Vengeance on Wormtail and possibly his own death in the process would have been good enough for him and at least as good as trying to convince a godchild he never met of his innocence. But the yeses and noes are both right in this case. If he'd been able serve as a surrogate parent to Harry after the 3rd book like he wanted to, he still wouldn't have used very good judgement after the years of damage and unresolved losses of friends and years. He would have needed a lot of therapy first. But, as things turned out he was just one of many adult influences around Harry. He did the right thing by not contacting him too much while he was on the lam. But, after he was in a safe place he was still in a sort of prison, so his his judgement was compromised by his feelings of uselessness compounded with the PTSD and even Harry knew it. He knew Sirius looked at him as though he had his best friend James back again and didn't take his advice to heart like he would a godparent. Otherwise, he wouldn't have so quickly dismissed the most useful thing Sirius gave him - the two way mirror. 

6. Neville Longbottom should have been the Chosen One.

I mean, they're not wrong! One of my favorite parts of the series was finding out that Neville could have been the Chosen One except that it was Voldemort who chose his own bane. He was a half-blood himself so obsessed with blood purity that he chose the boy that came from a muggle-born witch thinking he'd be a bigger threat. And that's why it's best that it was Harry. It was the extra kick in the head Voldemort deserved. Could have been Neville but still should have been Harry. And Neville got to prove his heroism too in the end. Really it was a win-win.

7. Dumbledore should have killed Tom riddle as a child. 

Oh come on, seriously? Must be the same line of reasoning that states that if time travel was real, then we should go back and kill Hitler as a child. Apart from the atrocity of killing a child, the answer is always "no" to this is because Hitler wasn't the only one who believed what he did. There was a network of people around him that also believed as he did. If he didn't survive to adulthood, someone else would have filled that void and history wouldn't have been much different. The same goes for a fictional Dark Lord, even though the magical world is greatly simplified from real life.

8. Albus Dumbledore was more evil than good.

Ah yes, the clarion call of deconstructionists everywhere. Good doesn't really exist because if it did then evil would have consequences. So, even good is technically evil, therefore we can't judge. So naturally, if a hero is realistically flawed then he isn't actually good. Does that about sum it up? Dumbledore was definitely more good than evil. He had a dark past that he paid dearly high prices for. But he had the opportunity to spend the majority of his life doing good things, promoting good ideals, and working for good causes, and he and he took that opportunity. Did he have underlying flaws that caused him to make bad calls even during his good years? Yes. They caused his own mortal wound. But, just because nobody is perfect doesn't mean that goodness is impossible or unattainable. As for raising Harry up as a lamb for the slaughter, let's face it, after all the time and research he put into it, he probably knew that the killing curse from Voldemort wouldn't work as expected but he couldn't tell anyone that because it would have spoiled the protective charm the action would initiate. He was a leader with a lot of responsibility that had to take great risks to himself and others while making the hard decisions. Sometimes that makes leaders seem cold and inhuman at times. And Harry had to start behaving that way too after Dobby died and he finally grew up enough to take on the full responsibility Dumbledore left to him. Dumbledore was good and he arranged for the good to succeed after he was dead making him more good than evil 

9. Severus Snape was a hero.

Okay, I'll admit this one is a little tricky. There are a lot of very valid reasons to make the claim that he was not a hero. I think it all boils down to how forgiving you are. I won't go into dissecting whether or not his feelings for Lily Evans Potter were really love or just an unhealthy obsession. I'll accept that he loved her. Were his feelings for her alone enough to ascribe the designation of "hero" to him? Because that seemed to be his only motivation. It's hard to grant a redemption arc to a character that's only there because he has to be. He was a terrible person and he never grew to be anything but a terrible person. He despised Harry and despised his own role as one of Harry's guardians. But he stayed the course. He made a choice to ally himself with the good guys and stuck with that choice for 17 years and even took the substantial risk of being a double agent. Why did he feel like he had to? He didn't actually have to participate. Someone else in his place may have even chosen suicide. It's not like Lily could come back to forgive him. And he couldn't forgive Harry for being James Potter's son. But, he mostly couldn't forgive himself and despised himself more than Harry. His guilt from the part he played in Lily's death was likely his driving motivation. Does that excuse him from being a horrible person? No, but I'm not entirely sure he was as horrible as he came off, or even wanted to be. First, because he did choose to do the right thing and fight for the right side. Secondly, because in the memory we see of him talking to the painting of Phineas Nigellus, he puts the former Headmaster in check for calling Hermione a mud-blood. So, clearly enough of a change had occurred that he could have become a better person. My read on the character is that he couldn't hate himself enough to punish himself for Lily's death and he needed everyone else in his world to hate him too. So, he either consciously or subconsciously made it happen. Yet he died keeping his word. He's probably not the textbook definition of a hero but he's a hero to all the people who will never be able to climb up out of their depression, yet continue to live and fight through life anyway. 

10. Books vs. Movies

This is absurd.. 😂 😂 Of course, the books are better. Even people who aren't HP fans know the books are always better. But does that mean that the movies were bad? Oh my, no. The movies did a great job especially considering all the material that had to be condensed. Cutting, splicing, and additions are bound to happen. Some of the decisions worked well. At least as many worked as didn't. And the casting was good enough to make up for what was missing. I'd like to think that everyone who thinks the books are better also have that sort of appreciation for the movies.

https://youtu.be/gOJ0YE1qwuA

Book Review

The Dragon Reborn, book 3 of the Wheel of Time series, Robert Jordan

Just as I thought I was seeing a pattern in the first two, this one does something different. Of course, as long of a series as it is, it's obviously going to take a lot of turns. The pattern I observed in the first two books was that the characters would begin heading to one place and end up in another. But the wheel weaves as it will, and this third book took a different turn. Like the next combination of footwork in a dance or the next movement of a music composition. This time everyone ends up in the destination they were headed to from the start, though some of them don't choose it right away at first. It kicks off with Rand as always. He rashly accepts that he's the Dragon Reborn, though he still only half believes it, and decides to "skip ahead" a few steps according to the prophecies that he's been trying to understand, as one might do on a suicide mission. Which specific order events should unfold in isn't clear to anyone, but he knows that the Dragon is supposed to be the only one that can retrieve and wield a powerful, sa'angreal sword - Callandor - in Tear, so he rushes off alone one night. He doesn't wait for Moraine's counsel as he, like so many others, still don't trust the Aes Sedai. But, that's the most of Rand's involvement until the end. After he leaves the focus turns to his small party of supporters that must follow him to protect him and fight beside him. The unintentional manipulation that his mere presence has on everything woven into the Wheel of Time makes him easy to track via the emotional turmoil he unknowingly leaves behind in the cities he travels through. They learn that members of The Forsaken are rising to positions of power in the most important cities and that one has likely set himself up in charge of Tear. So there's an overarching threat to be dealt with, although it's back-burner.

One prediction I got right was that, even though Rand is the most important one, all of the Two Rivers characters would have their own moments in the spotlight and this book is more about taking the time to flesh out Rand's friends, Perrin and Mat a little. Perrin is learning how to leverage his telepathic connection with the wolves without altogether losing his humanity. He's still not comfortable with it, but he is able to communicate in his dreams with one of wolves, Hopper, that died in the first book. He also befriends an Aiel warrior and is more accepting than Mat and others that Rand's heritage lies in the Aiel Waste and that an alliance with these otherwise feared and hated people is a necessity. In addition, Perrin is given a lady friend, Zarine, a hunter-of-the-Horn who prefers to go by "Faile" which means hawk, which also lines up with Min's vision of a hawk on his shoulder. He wants no part of Min's visions or Zarine, of course, but bonds with the young woman anyway and it helps to balance out the cast since three of the main women are in love with Rand, also per Min's visions.

As for Mat he is finally at death's door after the second book. He's taken to Tar Valon and healed of the influence of the dagger from Shadar Logoth. Healed from the directly evil influence anyway. But he's a changed man. His fighting skills are sharpened and his luck with gambling has heightened considerably. He doesn't have "powers" like the vast majority of the other characters do, but his change of luck is undoubtedly a consequence of his involvement with the knife and as magical in its nature as the talents of his peers. Will his luck betray him before the end? Remains to be seen. His personality is still a wild card. In his selfish, survival impulses, he wants nothing more to do with any of his friends, though it pains him, and to get away from the path they all seem destined to follow. But he ultimately can't abandon them entirely as he ends up choosing the go to Tear to try to stop an assassination plot against the Daughter Heir of Andor, Elayne. Along the way he also can't resist the temptation to keep testing his newfound good fortunes. Thom makes another appearance, flitting in and out of the story as one of the very best exposition characters ever. This time he throws in with Mat on his journey since he is practiced in the art of political intrigue.

And the ladies aren't forgotten either. Min doesn't get much time in this installment. She's packed off pretty quickly to report Rand's flight to the Amyrlin. But Egwene, Elayne, and Nynaeve are sent on their own quest. Framed as deserters from the White Tower in the previous novel, they are first displayed as being punished and ostracized for their actions so the Amyrlin can cover up sending them on a mission - to track down Liandrin and the rest of the Black Ajah - the evil sisters of the Tower that serve The Dark One and whose existence is publicly denied. All roads lead to Tear since Rand's move on Callandor was anticipated. So, they set out with hot tempered and arrogant Nynaeve taking the lead as always, Egwene butting heads with her, and the Andorian princess being the peace maker between the two of them. But Egwene was always the more open minded and her concerns about Nynaeve's aggressive disposition start to come to the foreground and find some validation as we see her beginning to mature and really embrace becoming an Aes Sedai. Something that Nynaeve's prideful personality has no intention of doing just yet. Egwene's special nature is also uncovered. She has the rare talent to prophecy with dreams (which are different from Min's visions) and to move within the realm of dreams. There's much more emphasis put on the realm of dreams in this book. Previously, The Dark One was shown as manipulating the three men through dreams that could physically harm them, but it was a one-sided view of that phenomenon. Now we see Egwene and Perrin are both are able to navigate through their dreams to overhear real conversations and take actions with physical consequences if they're unable to in the physical world. Each of them "checks in" on Rand throughout the story as they exercise their new abilities although they can't help or deter him since Ba'alzamon continually torments his dreams while he travels, to the point that Rand can't distinguish between the enemy's deceptions and the genuine outreach of his friends. The women also encounter and befriend female Aiel warriors and explore the cultural differences of the roles of women in their respective societies on their journey. In Tear they're betrayed, captured, and put in the hands of some of the Black Ajah. This is where Egwene's dreaming powers really come into play. They didn't need Mat's help, really. But his contribution to their rescue is noted and appreciated. I think that's a lot of the reason I've fallen for these books. They confront the beautiful and natural balance of men and women in the world that society has corrupted and tried to shame out of existence.

It ends with Rand claiming the sword and another confrontation between Rand and who he believes to be Shai'tan. But since The Dark One still doesn't have a body to inhabit, the fight was done by proxy. There's still a long way to go before he can finally face the final battle. They speculate that the unidentifiable corpse left behind belonged to one of the Forsaken called Ishamael. I thought that was an interesting choice since they were building him up to be one of the worst of the bunch. But, it was just speculation after all. I've read too much fantasy fiction to believe it just yet.

Anyway I don't know if you can tell, but I'm still just loving these books and I still would recommend them highly and I can't wait to get through the next one! 

Dark Shadows review

(Originally posted on Facebook back in early January but it deserves to be on my blog too. 😊) 

My first year back on days after 7 years on nights has been wonderful. Hectic and busier than I thought, but wonderful all the same. To celebrate being back on days we decided to watch through our Dark Shadows collection again. The original series, aired 1966-1971. We don't have the first year. Our collection starts at the introduction of Barnabas Collins and runs to the end of the series. It took almost all of this year to watch it, only watching some episodes at night during the week and skipping weekends. We finished just before Christmas. I've been meaning to write my "review" for a little over a week now. The last time we watched through it was when Todd started working days again after 7 years of nights. So, it's been a while. After all, it's not like the 26 (approx) episode seasons of a weekly TV show that averages 7 seasons. It's a five-episode-a-week soap opera for nearly 5 years (episodes # 210 through #1245 in our set! ), so it takes a lot longer to re-watch and shouldn't be done too much cuz it would ruin the experience. But every time we do re-watch it we notice different things because enough time has passed to forget the finer details.

This time around I was noticing a lot of really terrible editing cuts. Dark Shadows was filmed "live on tape" which means they didn't get do-overs on their scenes unless something went terribly wrong. So, you see a lot of boom mics, cameras, teleprompters, and people running around where they shouldn't be along with botched lines, random coughing from off stage, and other noises and shadows. That's part of the fun of watching this old show. I even read that the set caught fire off camera during one scene that they did not cut away from, and if you listened, you could hear them rushing to put it out. And we did hear it this time. It made me wonder what must have happened to warrant those terrible cuts I was noticing on this pass. Probably fits of hysterical laughter or frustrated cussing.. 😂 We also noticed this time around, to great hilarity, that almost every new character brought on mispronounced Collinsport, Collinwood and sometimes even the name Collins... They all kept adding a "g" - Collingwood. Collingsport. Collings. I was amazed and stunned that every new actor got it wrong in their first episode or two. All the way through to the final year when everyone should have known what they were auditioning for by then since it had gained quite a cult following. Such a strange quirk.

We also realized exactly why the show ran out of steam this time. We all know why it caught fire. It was on its way to cancelation so they brought in a vampire for tickles and grins and he ended up becoming the tragic hero that saved the show. But why was it on the brink of cancelation in the first place? It's because it started out as a soap opera in a haunted house environment. There was some vague, spooky tension. But mostly it was standard soap fare - love affairs, blackmail, revenge. Barnabas was brought in to do a brief retelling of Dracula and was intended to be staked by the main heroine. But after the ratings popped and the fan mail started pour in, the show exploded into literary fan fiction. Dracula, Frankenstein, The Turn of the Screw, Wolfman, Jekyll and Hyde. Smatterings of Edgar Allan Poe references - The Premature Burial, The Cask of Amontillado, The Tell-Tale Heart. All retold to the rhythm of prolonged soap writing. There were some original ideas too, or at least they must have been taken from more obscure supernatural stories because I've tried to research them and haven't found much. And after they worked time traveling into it, they had no limits. The pique of the series, I believe, was the 1897 Quentin Collins storyline, airing around episodes 670- 850. It had morphed from something resembling The Turn of the Screw into a Picture of Dorian Grey phase, concluding in a battle with a powerful modern mage type of character called Count Petofi who got his power from a disembodied hand. The character may have been inspired by the Count St. Germain. Everyone was at their best at this point. Writers and actors. And it stayed strong as long as the vampire was there to lead the stories.

But Jonathan Frid was tired of being the vampire in the last year. So they effectively ended the current 1971 timeline and went into an alternate 1841 timeline where Barnabas was never a vampire and Frid played Barnabas' normal, average-man, son Bramwell. They had a spooky story going on in the backdrop about a haunted room in the big house, but it was totally back burner to the love triangles, murder mysteries, and discovering the parentage of the adopted child in the family.  So, alas, it ended the same way it started as - a soap opera in a haunted house. It's true, they were running out of classic supernatural stories to remake, but losing the vampire lead character and leaning on gothic romance that wasn't much different than other soap material probably had a lot to do with its rapid decline and end.

But all in all, I liked a lot of things more this time around. I had a better sense of appreciation for the way most of the actors sold their characters and the way the writers handled them. They all had a thankless job to keep up with the break-neck pace of filming and script memorization. I wonder what we'll notice the next time we watch it through in 10 years or so..

Book Review

Radio's Greatest of All Time, Rush Limbaugh, Katherine Limbaugh, David Limbaugh 

It's not a book of straight-up, political philosophy like his best sellers from the early 90's or story books like the Rush Revere series he and Katherine co-authoured. And it's not memoirs. It's a selection of their favorite and/or most memorable transcripts from the Rush Limbaugh Show sorted by chapter heading, as well as private moments that Katherine recorded of him speaking to include in this book, accented with comments from those who knew him and pictures of his life, family, and viewers. It's a great follow up to James Golden's (Bo Snerdly's) tribute book of interviews and personal experiences with Rush, "Rush on the Radio", that he published not long after his death. A lot of these transcripts I remember and a lot of them I don't since they were broadcast before I started listening, or during years I couldn't tune in often. But they're all familiar because Rush's message, like his beliefs and values, never changed or altered in over 30 years. And they're not pages and pages of entire shows. Just highlighted passages from monologues, brief conversations with callers, banter with the staff that worked on the other side of the glass, updates on charitable causes, and other snippets of his life apart from politics talking about sports, cigars, or his pets. Even a passage needling his own audience - the "stick to the issues crowd" that would get very irritated when his talk was diverted from politics to football, television shows he liked, etc. Really, it's a great cross section of the program over the three-plus decades for people that have never listened. I definitely recommend it to anyone who was afraid to listen. It's hard for an average listener like me to summarize or explain the nuances. It's something you had to hear for yourself. Or, read for yourself, a small percentage of, now that he's gone. For those who were long time listeners it's a must have just as a wonderful trip down memory lane, an affirmation of our core values, and some really neat pictures from Rush in his youth to Elton John at his wedding to Kathrine, to his receiving the Medal of Freedom award. 

Do check it out.