'Dark Father' Almost Finished

Well, it's taken plenty of hard work and several late nights this week but the version of 'Dark Father' I wanted to complete before my holiday is, as they say 'in the bag.' When I come back from Japan I'll have a good tidy up, spring clean a few troublesome areas, check the spelling and make sure no characters change sex, get different names or hop the species barrier, and then it'll be ready for its first test readings.

I'm off to Tokyo tomorrow so no updates for the next couple of weeks, but when I get back expect some interesting posts with photos. I might try to post from Tokyo but if that is problematic I'll wait until my return.

Iron Angel

Last night we went to the signing for Alan Campbell's new novel Iron Angel, follow up to the extremely good Scar Night. It was a quick affair, as Alan points out that he doesn't enjoy public speaking, but he read a brief snippet from the work and then set about pressing the flesh and signing copies.

I'm looking forward to reading this one after reading the short Lye Street which I commented on just a few short weeks ago.

I'll put up a review after I've read it.

****

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood is a reworking of the story of Odysseus but seen from the point of view of a dead Queen Penelope. It's a slight book, a fast read in 195 short pages, but she manages to convey the brutish and violent acts of the ancient Greek myths for what they are, namely complex, incestuous and verging ever so slightly into melodrama.
Unlike the myths, the characters have a real voice, with an internal monologue giving the queen an intelligent and sophisticated view on the world in which she is thrust via marriage to the scheming Odysseus, a man who she loves and tries to understand. His killing of her handmaids on his return from the Trojan War acts as the catalyst for the story with the handmaids acting as a deathly chorus line throughout the book.

I've also just finished The Black Book of Horror but I've promised a review to the BFS. I might be able to post one here after the next release of Prism.

****

Read this week:
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
The Black Book of Horror by Various