Bits & Bobs

[dc]

One of the things which made Eastercon go very smoothly for me was not having to worry too much about what I ate. I did have to be wary of anything with too much fibre, which to be honest isn't that difficult in a hotel like that, but I picked up some lactase pills in Birmingham and made good use of them over the weekend. It made a huge difference to how well I felt over the course of the weekend, since getting completely lactose-free food in a hotel is not usually easy. This is something I shall do again at future cons.

I think I mentioned before that Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London was a good read, urban fantasy with a very well-presented London sense of humour (in particular, he's nailed the way policemen talk, it's beautifully done); the sequel, Moon Over Soho, is just as good. Can't wait for the next book in the series, which I think should be published in November, if I recall correctly.

I am not sure whether I should be excited or nervous about the discovery that a film of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is in the works. On the whole, I think nervous, especially since it's apparently going to star George Clooney (I am assuming as Napoleon Solo, though I don't know for sure; wonder who would be Ilya Kuryakin...).

Back to books, and another rather good read is S.M. Stirling's The Peshawar Lancers. It's 2025, and a dastardly plot is under way to destabilise the British Raj... which is ruled from Delhi. In this world, a cometary impact took out chunks of the northern hemisphere and caused major climatic upsets. The Raj is the major power in the world, its main competitors Greater Nippon and a deeply unpleasant Russian Empire. France outre-mer is a potential ally. There's no real surprises in the way the story is resolved, it is pretty much a straightforward, old-fashioned adventure with no pretensions to being deeply thought provoking, but it is well-told (in particular, the action sequences are well-done). Plus, analytical engines and dirigibles!

There's just been an ad on TV mentioning a luxury weekend break in a converted jail... I don't think I've eaten any strange mushrooms...

Comments

[banhe.livejournal.com]

I'm not so much on the luxury hotels, but one of the nicest places I've ever stayed was a Communist-era secret police cell-block that'd been converted into a hostel. That totally counts, right? Mind you, there they kept the history in mind, and I'm not *quite* sure I can see a hotel doing that...

[tanngrisnir.livejournal.com]

I've always thought hostels reminiscent of Communist-era cell-blocks. ;-)

BTW, I sent you a text, just in case you're having problems with your phone...

[banhe.livejournal.com]

Not dignifying that comment with an answer, O denizen of expensive hotels that you are ;-)

And I've answered your text now.

[tanngrisnir.livejournal.com]

I didn't say that that was a deal-breaker... ;)

(Expensive hotels! Ha! Recently been a habitué of Travelodges.)

This 21st Century communication thing, it could catch on...