The Oblong Office

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 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 03/2024: ND Stevenson, Nimona

Another comic right after Sara Scribbles, but this time it's a graphic novel.

A couple years ago I saw the webcomic, and a few of my friends were huge fans, but I really didn't get into it. I don't know why, it just didn't vibe with me. Then last year, the Netflix movie came out, so I thought I should check it out. And I loved it. It is really awesome. Which is why I wanted to give the comic another chance and bought the book.

To be fair, the story is not the same, some background story about the three main characters - the shapeshifter Nimona, the villain Ballister Blackheart and the shining knight in armor Ambrosius Goldenloin - had been changed for the movie, and the story also plays out differently. Still, this time I enjoyed both the story and the characters. Maybe back then I just wasn't in the right mood to appreciate it?

Nimona, a girl and shapeshifter, comes to Ballister Blackheart to be his sidekick, even though she's far more powerful than him. Blackheart has a history with the Institution, the organization keeping the peace in the kingdom. He used to be a knight as well, but then he lost his arm in a jousting accident with Ambrosius, which destroyed his chances at a career at the Institution. He and Ambrosius are friends turned nemeses at the beginning of the story.

I'm not going into more details because spoilers. But if you liked the movie, please read the graphic novel. It's different, but still great.

Book 01/2024: Else Ury, Nesthäkchen und der Weltkrieg

Oh boy.This one needs some background explanation.

Else Ury was a Jewish German author who published a series of books covering the life of Annemarie Braun, from childhood to old age (the last book ends with her 50th wedding anniversary). The books were published between 1913 and 1925, and the first books were also quite topical on then current events.

I read these books as a child and pre-teen, and I got all nine. However, one day I learned that the original series consisted of ten books - the original fourth novel had been about World War I, and the depiction of patriotism and pro-war messaging was no longer acceptable after World War II, so it was censored. Also, the other nine books were modernised (linguistically, I assume) and shortened.

Because the books were published until 1925, Annemarie's story never ever covered the Third Reich. Which also made me want to learn more about Else Ury. As a Jewish author, she was first banned from writing books (you might remember the book burnings from history class), then her estate was seized. She was murdered in Auschwitz.

Which is why reading this book, which was published in German in 2014 (the English version came out in 2006) in the original Gothic type letters, was a bit jarring. The book is very pro-War, and Annemarie expresses her patriotism in numerous ways, and not all of them can be considered benign. I really can't stress enough that the novels were published years before the Nazis came into power, so I'm reading this with World War II in mind, which the author had no idea would threaten her future. It really wasn't a comfortable lecture.

On the one hand, you see Annemarie trying to do good things for the soldiers, like care packages with knitted gloves etc. to keep them warm. She's eleven years old at the start of the book (and the war), so some things can be explained away with naivité. For example, when her brother finds an East Prussian refugee baby without parents and brings him home, she wants to take care of it, but she views him as a living doll, and she's indidgnant and not at all understanding when he doesn't respond to her in a way she finds proper.

On the other hand, she also becomes hostile in her patriotism. First, she refuses to learn French, because it's the language of the enemy. Which is just stupid, even under patriotic terms, because then she wouldn't understand the enemy. But what made reading this book especially difficult was that for several chapters, Annemarie and her classmates bully a new student because she doesn't speak German: Vera grew up in East Prussia, she is German by heritage, but her mother died when she was young, and her father was always gone, so she never learned the language, because all the servants in her household spoke Polish. Not only does Annemarie ignore her completely, giving her the cold shoulder, but she also claims (without proof) that Vera is actually a spy, gets everyone in her class to ignore Vera as well. Furthermore, she says that anyone talking to Vera is a traitor, which means that nobody dares to befriend her.

To be fair, the omniscient narrator does chide Annemarie for her behaviour and makes it very clear that Annemarie is walking down the wrong path. However, there were so many points in the story where Annemarie could've ended the torment, but it only ends when Vera's father dies in the war, at which point Annemarie finally remembers that she has empathy, and that Vera deserves it. Really, Vera not snapping at all and easily forgiving her bully despite being tormented over months is the least believable part of the story.

In conclusion: I am glad I read it for closure. However, I realized two things: 1) I completely understand the reasons for taking it off the market after World War II, and 2) I need to check my revised books first, but I think this type of storytelling no longer works for me. I felt more annoyed than entertained, more angry than excited. This book (and maybe also the series) hasn't aged well.

I was browsing my journal looking for the last post I wrote about Terry Pratchett's The Truth and found out that almost exactly three years ago I've listened to the audiobook, just like today. And just like back then, I also make a double post, because today I also finished a booklet I bought in Iceland during my vacation there in summer.

Book 04/2023: Terry Pratchett, The Truth

I've started listening to stories, podcasts etc. during commute, because this school year I have to drive to Kempen once a week for an IT course. It takes at least 70 minutes to drive there and also back again, which is why I want to listen to more than "just" music. This is the first audiobook I listened to while driving.
I actually don't much more to add to my take from three years ago (> link). Except that I'm pretty sure that the audiobook version either doesn't cover the complete novel or I my copy is faulty. Because there's a scene in the novel which is ostensibly missing in the audiobook version, namely the one where William has a conversation with other tenants in his home, and when one of them says "Well, you know what they say...", he jumps at him and asks him something along the lines of "No, I don't! Who are 'they'?" I remember missing that segment three years ago as well. Can it really be that I was just not paying attention to this particular segment twice? Or it's actually missing, either only in my copy or in general?

Book 05/2023: Grayson del Faro, The Sagas And Shit. Icelandic Literature Crudely Abridged

This one is a small book written in English by an American author and sold in Iceland. The artist, Elín Elísabet Einarsdóttir, is an Icelandic native from Reykjavic. The publishing house, Forlagid, is also from Iceland, and since I've bought it in Iceland as well I assume that this is an Icelandish product and not an American trying to profit off another country's cultural heritage.

Anyways, this is basically a collection of the most famous Icelandic sagas, but told in modern day English, with a modern day commentary. Also, the author uses quite the foul language. They are also heavily summarised.
So for me this was interesting and entertaining. But obviously, if you have a more serious interest in the sagas (in Icelandic or in a faithful translation), this is not for you.

Book 02/2023: Agatha Christie, The Mousetrap

So this is an audiobook that I listened to this week on commute (I'm commuting longer distances by car these days). Originally, Agatha Christie wrote this story as a 20-minute long radio play for Queen Mary's because she wished for a Christie play on her birthday. This play was turned into a short murder mystery and then into a theater play, which has been running continuously since 1952, only once interrupted by the COVID pandemic. The audiobook I've listened to is based on the written story, I must assume.

It's a classic murder mystery by Agatha Christie. Set in "the present" (i.e. most likely late 1940's), the story is centered around the young married couple Molly and Giles Ralston, though their family name has been changed in the German version to Davies for some reason. She has inherited an old large estate (Monkswell Manor), and they've decided to run it as a guesthouse. It is winter, when their first three guests arrive, plus a stranger whose car had been overturned in a snowdrift. The snow means that we are dealing with a locked-in murder mystery here.

Actually, the first murder had already happened before the arrival of the guests - a woman in London had been found dead. And it looks like the murderer had gone to Monkswell Manor in order to murder again, in which they actually succeed.

I don't want to say more, since crime stories are particularly allergic to spoilers. I must admit that I had different suspects in mind and was surprised by the actual killer, though in hindsight I did see the hints. Kudos to Ms. Christie. Even though she created so many murder mystery tropes that are very familiar nowadays, she still surprised me.

The audiobook was read by Oliver Kalkofe, who did a good job giving all the characters different voices. I thought he only liked Edgar Wallace, but apparently, the grande dame herself is also on his list of favourite murder mystery authors.

Book 11/2022: Lindsay Ellis, Axiom's End

So it took me almost half a year to finish this novel. But it's not because I didn't like it. I was just too busy playing games. Seriously. Usually I read a chapter or a least a few pages of a book when I go to bed, but in the past months I spent this time playing games on my phone instead. Also, I don't read any books during commuting. I do have a magazine in my backpack, though.

Anyways, here's Axiom's End, Lindsay Ellis' debut novel. Or technically, it's her second, the first one being Awoken which she had written together with Antonella Serra and Elisa Hansen as "Serra Elinsen", and with crowd support from the internet. But this is her first individual novel, and it's the first installment of a trilogy - I received the second one, Truth of the Divine as a Santa Claus gift this week (guess which one i'll be reading next?!).

Axiom's End is centered around Cora Sabino, daughter of infamous whistleblower Nils Ortega (a Julian Assange stand-in), who wants to have nothing to do with her father, but who gets dragged into an alien conspiracy because of this connection. She becomes an indispensable asset for communicating between the aliens and the US government. Over the course of the story, she develops a sometimes tenuous, sometimes affectionate relationship with one of the aliens, Ampersand.

What's fascinating about this book is that the aliens in question are more alien than the humanoid versions we usually get. Not just the optics, but also in terms of behavior and ethics. Ampersand and the others truly feel different from humans.

Even if it took me a couple months to read this book, I still recommend it. My personal issues with reading in general at the moment says nothing about the quality of Lindsay Ellis' writing.

Book 09/2022: Xiran Jay Zhao, Iron Widow

I started reading this book while commuting, but I've had summer break since the last week of June, so I read most of it at home.

This is the debut novel by Xiran Jay Zhao, an author and YouTube vlogger, whom I first heard of with their takedown of the live action Mulan movie. This was also their very first YouTube video, period.

The novel is set in a futuristic world the culture of which is coded traditionally Chinese. In this world, humanity lives in Huaxia behind a Great Wall, because it is under constant attack by aliens named Hunduns. To fight them, they have learned to craft Chrysalises, which are basically giant fighters formed like animals. Each Chrysalis is piloted by a male pilot and a female concubine, whose life force supports the pilot and gives him better control of the Chrysalis. Many of the concubines die in the process, which is marketed as a "noble sacrifice".

Enter Wu Zetian, the main character modelled after the actual, historical and only female Emperor of China. She wants to avenge her sister's death at the hands of a pilot, so she offers herself up as a concubine in order to kill him. She becomes an Iron Widow, a person who technically shouldn't exist. And she continues to upset the world.

This story was terrific and very engaging to read. There's one thing that I would've preferred if it had been handled differently, but I cannot say this without giving away a plotpoint. Also, I suppose this point was historically accurate, so it does make sense why Zhao wrote it that way. Still, not a fan. The overall experience was great, though, and I highly recommend it.

Book 07/2022: Mats Schönauer & Moritz Tschermak, Ohne Rücksicht auf Verluste. Wie BILD mit Angst und Hass die Gesellschaft spaltet.

The book title is so long that the literal English translation doesn't fit into the subject line: "Without Regard For Losses. How BILD Divides Society With Fear And Hatred".

BILD is a German tabloid newspaper as well as online magazine as well as a TV show. It is infamous for its excessive use of inflammatory speech, its loud headlines, and the ruthlessness with which its reporters pursue stories and twist them to fit into a certain narrative. They antagonize both (perceived) perpetrators and victims. Nuance and subtlety don't exist in this world.

The authors have been spending the last few years correcting and fact checking this medium and published their findings in their blog bildblog.de. I've been following this blog even before these two got on board (the original founders have moved on but are still busy writing articles about BILD and other media). This book covers many, many instances of BILD crossing lines and actively hurting people (migrants, women, muslims, poor people, justices, politicians, students, leftists,...), and a few of them I still remember from the blog. But there was so. much. more.

One person is focussed on in particular, and that is (then still but now former) editor-in-chief Julian Reichelt. BILD has always been controversial and has disregarded morals since its beginning. But it had grown considerably harsher under Reichelt's leadership. Since the publication of the book, he has been let go from his position in the aftermath of a scandal involving consensual sexual relationships at work and promoting these women without actual qualification. Also, the work atmosphere was apparently quite harsh as well.

To be honest, I bought this book mainly because I wanted to support the authors who do valuable work shining a light on all the cruelty committed by this medium. And even though I am quite familiar with BILD and its ways, I was still shocked by some of the things detailed in this book. So as much as I didn't find any joy in this book, I am still glad I read it.

Book 05/2022: Rebecca Gablé, Teufelskrone

After The Company of Death, this is the second bedtime book I've finished this year. The other three on this list were read on my way to work.

This is the latest novel in Gablé's Waringham Saga, but it works as a prequel, set one and a half centuries before the first book. That one dealt with the death of Edward III. and the conflict that arose afterwards which ended with Richard II. being disposed of and replaced by his cousin Henry IV. This one also portrays a power struggle within the royal Plantaganet family, namely the conflict between Richard I. and his brother and successor John (so far the only English king by this name). But that's only the first third of the novel. The rest is about John's reign, which was certainly eventful and led not only to England losing the Normandy, but also to the open rebellion of the Barons, which led to John signing the Magna Carta in 1215. It was only "active" for a few weeks and wasn't installed again until years after his death. But still, it was a major milestone in English as well as European history - binding a king to a constitution, granting his subjects certain unalienable rights. At least the noble subjects. Peasants didn't have any such luck. Yet.

The Waringhams are brought into this conflict because of two brothers: Guillaume, the elder, is a close confidant and great admirer of King Richard. Yvain, the main character, is the second son and finds himself drawn towars John, another second* son. He learns that being close to the king has its perks, but also carries great risk. John is a volatile person, prone to violent outbursts and excessive consumption of alcohol, but also smart and with military prowress. He loves and fears him at the same time.

I enjoyed reading this book. I liked all the main characters, and I could empathize with their decisions. John might be an exception here, but I don't count him as a main character. As always, Gablé's stories are dominated by the main character's close relationship to the king or queen or other members of the royal family, but the characters also do have lives of their own.

I wonder if Gablé plans to close the gap between Yvain and Robin. There are several more generations to cover, and John's son Henry III. ruled for quite a long time (not surprising, he was crowned king at the age of nine). There's also Edward I. and Edward II. before getting back to Edward III. One and a half centuries are a long time for several Waringham generations, that's all I'm saying.


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*Second surviving son, that is. He was actually the last child of eight by Henry II. and Alienor of Aquitaine.