Sunday, July 29, 2018

cafe: Boubar / Nedlands / 28jul18

My wife and I are stuck in a cafe rut. We regularly go out for "coffee & cake" -- and, as often as not, to one of a small number of "familiar" cafes. It's time to spread ourselves. To drink coffee in a wider variety of cafes.

We pick a cafe theme: Hipster Cafes in the Perth Metro Area. Why that ? Because our son & his wife are creating a list of "hipster cafes" -- and have given me access to the list... An easy way to go beyond the few cafes that we already know and enjoy.

First cafe, first lesson: Check the opening hours before arriving at the door ! Second attempt, more success:

We are almost distracted by parking directly outside Baskin-Robbins. Icecream? asks my wife, plaintively. Coffee & cake, I reply firmly. We cross the road to Boubar.
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Boubar / Nedlands / 28 Jul 18

Our first impression is of an old, solid, closed door. Is this cafe open ? A sigh of relief as the door opens.

Inside seems small -- room for forty ? A cosy feel.

We cross the room, straight to the counter. I place our coffee order then we take a minute to check the cakes on offer. There are not many cakes, more savoury foods. We select a rosewater & pistachio cheesecake. Our order is written onto the glass top of the counter. Is this a sign of a "hipster" cafe ?

We are reminded of a meal -- forty years ago -- in a restaurant in Paris. There, our order was written on our own paper table-cloth. Before the invention of magic markers, I guess. (A French friend placed that order. I didn't know what she ordered. As we ate it, much of it was still a mystery. Mysterious French cuisine.)

We sit down -- selecting a comfy bench seat -- and look around. As yet, we are not sure what makes a cafe "hipster".

Solid brick interior walls, original plaster scraped off. Old, solid, wood & glass entry door, paint scraped off. A large picture of Astro Boy near the door, nice touch :-) Makes me think of old country cafe... except for Astro Boy. Except that old country cafes tend to be repainted rather than unpainted.

Coffee is good, not exceptional. (Admittedly, my tastebuds have suffered a recent upset and are not entirely dependable.) Temperature is on the cool side, ready to drink -- just as I like it. Ultimate coffee taste test (with my tastebud confusion): it tastes good right to the much cooler end.

The cheesecake is not one that we have seen before -- a plus, we like to try new cakes. It's in three layers: choc biscuit base (very thin), green pistachio middle, pink rosewater top. Topped with a smear of something and a scrap that may be dried strawberry. One of the layers includes coconut, which raises it in my estimation... Overall, an interesting texture with a mild and pleasant taste.
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As we walk out Deb says, That was nice, we could come here again. I agree. And I quickly develop a cafe rating system: 1=never again; 2=we could come here again, 3=wow! that was good.

Boubar rates a 2/3: good enough, pleasant enough, we could come here again.






Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
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"I've found that there's a reason for everything… I constantly make the wrong decisions." … Pardon my Planet
===


Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)


Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Cold Days / Jim Butcher

Cold Days
(Dresden Files # 14)
by Jim Butcher

young adult, fantasy

copyright 2012
read in July 2018

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

Have you ever read Asimov's Foundation books ? I read the first three -- "the" Foundation books -- and thought, Good fun, solid ending. Later, I read more in the series. And it just went on and on... There is a secret agency controlling the first Foundation. Behind this secret agency is an even more secret agency which controls the first secret agency. And behind that... well... each book discovers that the people "in control" are puppets for an even more secret group.

Absolutely ridiculous.

Butcher -- with his Dresden Files -- has a similar problem: how to find ever more powerful villains for the hero to battle. Dresden has -- so it seems -- battled his way to nearly the top of the power tree. (Sure, that's not all good news.) But now, who on Earth could possibly challenge him ?

The latest villains are -- spoiler alert -- from *outside* the Earth ! Possibly from outside the Universe, or from another dimension... or somewhere. Somewhere we have never before even heard of. Good grief ! What next ?!

On the other hand, this book is still a lot of fun. Comic book fun. With a hero who wants to be good, while he exterminates people and creatures who -- thank goodness -- are *not* good. (Actually, not many are "exterminated". Most villains are thrashed -- then left alive to come back in future books.)

The plot is as complex as the book series, with villains behind villains behind villains. There is also a supporting cast of thousands, so many that key battles are run off-stage, simply reported as "successful". Butcher has also -- in the spirit of controller behind controller -- explained a lot of past adventures as being part of the long-term plans of various controlling interests.

The main problem with all this complexity is... Do not make this book your first-ever taste of the Dresden Files !

Finally: Harry -- as the first-person story-teller -- seems to be getting very wordy. Those off-stage battles, for example, took many paragraphs to set up. Hmm... more words to set them up than to describe them. Perhaps saving the graphic battle descriptions for battles where the star is directly involved.

There are also several pages devoted to moral statements. Sure, they are fitted into the plot. Really, though, they are the author stating his values for the reader. Which is fine, all part of the pleasure of reading. And all part of the "young adult" genre... I guess.

Overall it's an enjoyable book. With too much dependence on previous books, too many characters who appear largely because they are entrenched in the series. And too ridiculous a set of villains -- and heroes -- to be taken seriously.

Violent, yes. Serious, no. Still good fun.






Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
===

"I've found that there's a reason for everything… I constantly make the wrong decisions." … Pardon my Planet

===


Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)



Saturday, July 21, 2018

Battlemage / Stephen Aryan

Battlemage (Age of Darkness #1)
by Stephen Aryan

fantasy

copyright 2015
read in July 2018

rated 7/10: well worth reading

Well worth reading. Sympathetic characters. Incredible levels of blood and gore.

Fantasy seems -- at least in the books that I read -- to be shifting to more graphic descriptions of death by mediaeval weapons. Realistic ? probably. Necessary ? not for my enjoyment. This is a comment rather than a criticism. The violence is ridiculously extreme --  yet an essential part of the plot. Just very graphic.

There are several interesting ideas in this book. The gods, for example, are believable, with motives which are easily understood in human terms -- yet they are clearly gods.

Aside: If I understand correctly, the powers of this book's gods are based on number of worshippers. The same idea as in Pratchett's books. And it seems, to me, to be a valid idea.

As the end of the book approached I was wondering, What will be left for books two and three ?! Until I realised that this book is far more standalone than I expected. An absolute conclusion to this story -- yet I am left wanting to read more... and can see the possibility of more. Excellent !

Don't get too attached to any one character, they may not survive. Don't read this book if you are squeamish. Nevertheless, the overall feeling of the book is positive.

I enjoyed this book. Including the occasional points where standard fantasy tropes are ignored... or improved upon.

Good enough to make me want to read the next book in the series.







Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
===

"I've found that there's a reason for everything… I constantly make the wrong decisions." … Pardon my Planet

===


Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)



Annihilation / Jeff VanderMeer

Annihilation
(Southern Reach 1 of 3)
by Jeff VanderMeer

horror

copyright 2014
read in July 2018

rated 5/10: readable but only is there's nothing else

I've only read a couple of Lovecraft short stories but I can see the similarity. There's the mysterious feeling of impending horror. The trembling fear of the protagonists. Then the final fearful flight -- with no actual conclusion.

If I had bought just this book, I would be annoyed. It's a first chapter, an introduction, with no other point. Except -- presumably -- to introduce the next two books. With luck, the next two books will go somewhere. This book -- by itself -- is pointless. Easy to read, mysterious to the point of unbelievable. I read to the end only because I already have books two and three.

I think it may be trying to be science fiction. It could be fantasy. I suspect that the author -- like Lovecraft -- is trying for horror. I'm not sure, because there is no hint of the causes or reality of the story's setting.






Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
===

"I've found that there's a reason for everything… I constantly make the wrong decisions." … Pardon my Planet

===


Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)



Wednesday, July 11, 2018

The Sapphire Rose / David Eddings

The Sapphire Rose
(Elenium 3 of 3)
by David Eddings

fantasy

copyright 1991
read in July 2018

rated 6/10: read to pass the time... but also see below

It's one thing to have heroes who are tough and in control. In Rose, the heroes are tough and controlling. From being assertive, they have become bullies.

This story is a boys' own adventure, with a mother-figure for guidance and a little girl for the oh-so-sweet minor character needing constant protection. Despite the fact that this little girl can obviously look after herself.

The gods are -- except for immortality and super-powers -- very human. That adds an interesting dimension to the book. Though it makes me wonder why anyone would worship any of these gods. Except for the evil god: worship him and there are all sorts of benefits, as long as you also like evil.

Interestingly, the "one god" of the main characters does nothing, never appears, is mentioned only once -- as being fairly useless. Yet the heroes worship him and (so they claim) follow him. Or Him. Even the evil good is "Him" with a capital H.

The first two books of this trilogy have a lot or words -- details of daily interactions -- which add very little to the plot, just adding to our knowledge of the characters. This third book has the same verbiage. This time the words are less characterisation, more reminders of the various characters.

Remember how Maxwell Smart can get a laugh simply by repeating, Missed by that much !? A lot of this book is that same catchphrase-like repetition, except not so funny.

Still, it's an entertaining book. Light, violent, easy to read. Though the verbiage is less distraction and more tedium.

Not as good as the previous two books. Worth reading for its conclusion of the overall story.
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06jul23:
Well good grief. I gave up reading -- before I even realised that I had read this book before.
This is what I thought this time:
Tough guys with swords. Clanking and creaking in their armour as they slaughter anyone who gets between them and their fight for right.
There's also the token priestess who rolls her eyes at all the violence.
The story is set in a complex world which is barely explained. Or perhaps I just missed a lot that I could not be bothered memorising... there are too many characters and places to be bothered following.

Just read it as a simple story. Hero is good. His friends are good. anyone they kill is bad.

I admit that I missed book two. Missed as in, did not read. there are enough hints about what happened, I won't look for that book.
This book is good solid fantasy, read it for mindless enjoyment. It does not thrill. It's almost boring and somewhat stupid. With challenges which are solved by decapitation.







Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
===

"I've found that there's a reason for everything… I constantly make the wrong decisions." … Pardon my Planet

===


Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)