Freedom and Whisky Gang Thegither

Happy Burns Night interweb. I'm quite a fan of Burns Night (I'm all for celebrations that involve non standard meats - which is pretty much limited to Burns Night; apparently eating hearts on February 14th isn't a thing), and at least acknowledge it most years.  This is the first time that I've noticed it going a bit mainstream, what with steak with haggis sauce at 'Spoons and 2-4-1 Irn-bru in Aldi. Viva offal and whisky.

I finally made it out to the Horniman Museum.  It's been one of those places that I've heard bits and bobs about but never anything concrete.  It sounded like some kind of mythical museum full of animals in jars and tribal masks (I've phrased that badly - the animals were not wearing tribal masks - that would be ridiculous) - which seemed just weird enough. Turns out it wasn't just hype, but a big house full of nkondi in suburban nowhere - a more impressive collection than a lot of the national museums that I've been to.

I had an unusually high number of hits following my last post. I can't help thinking it's because I used the word "Gaiaphage". FYI I've finished the story of the FAYZ now. A thoroughly enjoyable read, although something didn't sit quite right - I think it's that I didn't really like any of the characters. It was almost like they were written to appeal to a younger audience - and that can't be right, surely?

Gaiaphage Abnegation

Happy New Year peoples.

It's that time of year where no one really does anything due to that tinsel-faced doofus making us spend money on baubles.  I've mainly been using January to catch up on dystopian teen fiction - I say that as though that's different to normal. Anyway:

Gone by Michael Grant
I'd heard the basic premise - anyone over the age of fifteen disappears - but I was completely unprepared for the superpowers bit. Or the talking coyote bit. Or the green-glowing, uranium demon bit. Once I'd got my suspension of disbelief around that nonsense though, found the whole thing thoroughly enjoyable. Just need to source Light to find out how it all ends.

Divergent by Veronica Roth
Most of these dystopian YA things can have their premise summed up fairly easily (e.g. Lord of the Flies meets X-Men - which is the official redaction of the Gone series), not so Divergent.  By the time you're done trying to explain the concept you've bored yourself, let alone anyone else that may have started out listening.  The trailers for the first film are doing the rounds now and it looks all shiny, but I can't help but fear that the film will be terrible. Just mawkish teenage petulance. Again, thoroughly enjoyed the first two books, bring on the endgame.