The Oblong Office

Book 03/2025: Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

So I started reading this prequel of the Hunger Games trilogy right after finishing the legends of Prague. Sarah Andersen's book was more of an interlude. So no, I didn't finish this one in a little more than a month.

This is the story of Coriolanus Snow, known as the President of Panem and main antagonist of the original trilogy. Here, he is an 18-year old aspiring student at the Academy, trying to hide the fact that his family is basically poor now, ten years after the war. Along with 23 other students, he partcipates in the new mentor programm of the Hunger Games, with each tribute being assigned a mentor the Capitol. And he gets appointed to the one with the least chance of winning: the female tribute of District 12.

Obviously, there are several references to the original. It's the same world, after all. And this story is also about the Games themselves. In the original trilogy, they are mandatory to watch, the tributes get treated like royalty before the actual games, they can get supplies from supporters during the games, and the victors get to live in a special neighbourhood and become mentors for the next tributes. Here, they are treated worse than cattle - they arrive in freight cars and are dumped into a cage at the zoo. They are not supposed to be fed before or even during the games. The arena is less technically advanced and looks more like a run-down Olympic Games stadium. And so on.

So this book basically shows the evolution of both the games and Snow. We are inside his head all the time, though Collins doesn't use first-person narration here as she did with Katniss. It's third-person limited and written in simple past, whereas the trilogy was written in simple present. Which fits - it's the prequel, after all.

Personally, I'm usually trying to stay away from stories where the villain becomes the protagonist. Too often, it is meant to redeem them or maybe even "woobify" them (Aww, it's not his fault, he had a bad childhood!). Here, some of this is present - of course he wasn't always evil, and yes, he did receive some unfair treatment through others. But his inner asshole is allowed to shine through from the beginning until it becomes his outer self over the course of the narration. I can appreciate that.

Next up, a German book again for bedtime. But I'll also read a Shakespearean play soon for school, and I've started reading another book for commuting.

Book 02/2025: Sarah Andersen, Adulthood is a Myth Gift!

So this is the second comic book by Sarah Andersen that I've wished for (it was a birthday gift :)). And I just realized that the other book was also my second book of last year. Mhmmm.

Anyways, this book is again a collection full of her comic strips, mostly (but not exclusively) about how to navigate life as a woman in her early thirties, as a self-identified millenial. Unlike the other compilation, this one also contains a sort of mini autobiography of Andersen, about how she started doing comics, how she evolved as an artist, and about various experiences (good and bad) she made along the way. It was really interesting to read because I really only know her art. So it was good to learn more about the person behind the art that I enjoy so much.

I think this one is the latest instalment. There are still a few compilations I haven't gotten yet, so I might have to rectify that.

Book 01/2025: Magdalena Wagnerová, Sagen aus dem alten Prag (Sagas of old Prague)

This one was a fast one, because it's a collection of old sagas from the Czeck capital city of Prague. Obviously, Ms. Wagnerová didn't invent them, but she collected and published them here in this book. I bought it when I was in Prague last fall. Since I don't speak Czech, I bought a German version. It's also one of two books I bought there, the other one is in English and contains 77 legends.

The reason for the purchase was that I had participated in a guided ghost tour of the old town center, where the guide told several spooky stories, three of which I found in this book as well.

So Prague left a very good impression on me, it's a beautiful city rich with history, and these stories really spoke to me. These stories contain elements of horror as well as virtue. They are all in relation to certain places in Prague, which you can easily identify on a map in the book. Furthermore, Wagnerová embeds these stories within a historical context, which to me, a history teacher, felt very rewarding.

If you can, visit Prague for a few days. Even if guided tours are not your thing, there's a lot to explore on your own. It's a city full of history and mystery.

Book 06/2024: Tad Williams, Brothers of the Wind

So on the one hand, I managed to read as many books as last year. On the other hand, I didn't read more, as had been my plan (albeit not a very consistent one). Still, I am happy to have finished this prequel to the Memory, Sorrow & Thorn series before the end of the year. I would've liked to have finished it before Christmas, but life got in the way, as always.

Anyways, the story is set a thousand years before Tad Williams' most famous book series, of which I have been reading the sequel trilogy tetralogy, the third instalment of which is waiting to be read (possibly next year, but who knows?). The bare bones of the story are now a legend in the world of Osten Ard: Once upon a time, when the Sithi ruled the world, there were two brothers, Hakatri and Ineluki, who lived in Asu'a, which later became known as the Hayholt when the mortals took over. Ineluki famously became the Storm King, AKA the main villain of the MS&T series. What is known about Hakatri is that he died killing the black dragon Hedhohebhi.

So far, so true. But killing the dragon already happens in the second part of the novel, with three more parts following. So no, Hakatri didn't die immediately after killing the worm. Instead, the novel shows the aftermath of this encounter, mainly in terms of watching Hakatri suffering from his wounds and trying to find a cure. But even though this is the main focus of the plot, we learn much more than that. Not only do we get to see how the seeds for Ineluki's hatred towards the mortals are sown. We also learn more about the Tinukeda'ya, the third elven "race" that had come to Osten Ard feeling the destruction of the Garden. The story is told by Pamon Kes, Hakatri's loyal servant and member of the Tinukeda'ya, whose love and loyalty for his master and his master's family made him grow distant from his own roots.

Given that the next two instalments are called Into the Narrowdark and The Navigator's Children (AKA another term for the Tinukeda'ya), I suspect that this prequel not only serves to give more information on Hakatri - whose spirit(?) will play a role - but also on the Tinukeda'ya. And I appreciate Tad Williams doing this, because they had been somewhat neglected in the original series. The Tinukeda'ya were the servant race of the Sithi, both used and abused by Zida'ya and Hikkeda'ya alike.

So after reading this prequel I'm even more excited for the last two books set in Osten Ard (unless Williams plans another series...).

Book 05/2024: Diana Gabaldon, Outlander: Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone

Even though I read this book almost every evening, I progressed only slowly through this 1135 pages long novel. Since it's a big one, I didn't read it while commuting, so that's also a reason why it took me several months to finish.

I must say, Gabaldon was really not subtle when she fit the title with the story: Bees are everywhere, both literally and figuratively. Anyways, this is the latest instalment in Gabaldon's Outlander series, published in 2021. The story is set right in the middle of the War of Independence, between 1779 and 1781. Claire Jamie are trying to stay away from the actual fights as much as possible, but the war is coming closer and closer to them, far away from the major towns, in the hinterlands of North Carolina. Thanks to Brianna, who brought a history book by her other father, Frank Randall, with her from the future, they have more detailed information on what's to come. But not every detail is remembered, let alone recorded.

This is a good instalment, and I appreciate the multi perspectiveness of the all the novels since the second one. Gabaldon has been turning more and more major characters into narrators. This is a bonus here, because while Claire is "stuck" on Fraser's Ridge, other characters move around and get more information on the progress of the war, on battles and major developments of all the other characters who happen to not be with her. For example, Brianna and Roger travel first to Charles Town to meet with Fergus and his family. Then they move to Savannah, where Brianna meets with her half-brother William and Lord John, while Roger finds himself in the middle of the Revolutionary Army during the siege and battle of Savannah.

The main cast of characters has been expanded greatly over the past instalments, and I must admit that some names, which should have been familiar for me, had been lost in the meantime. So I was very grateful for the fan-made wikia articles which gave me a summarised overview on who was what and how they fit into the story. Nevertheless, I was surprised to still remember major plot points from the second and third novel, even though it's been so many years since I've read them, and I've only read them once. For example, Faith is brought up again, the stilborn first daughter of Jamie and Claire.

Anyways, I really liked this one, just the others. Next up, I'll return to another favorite series of mine: Brothers of the Wind by Tad Williams, a prequel novel for his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series. Let's hope that I get to finish it before the end of the year.