A Book Review, an Award & ROWdate 1-22

Hi everyone! It was a fantastic week and there is a ton of stuff on the plate to share. First up is a review of one of the three fiction titles I’m reading this cycle. Following that is a bit ‘o information on an award I received this week and of course, the ROWupdate anchors the program.

Review of “This Immortal” by Roger Zelazny

Published in 1966, “This Immortal” shared the Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year with Dune. Yep, this 216 page book stood shoulder-to-shoulder with an epic. The story is set on an alternate and future Earth, devastated by a nuclear holocaust and kept alive as a museum by the alien Vegan species. The hero is Conrad Nimikos, Minister of Culture, Arts and Monuments, but trust me, this is not your typical museum director, he is the highest ranking person on Earth. He is also hundreds of years old (at least), a virtual immortal protector of Earth and humanity.

For a history and archeology buff like myself the book was a fun read. The setting moves from the Greek Isles to the Pyramids to a grove of Satyrs and beyond. Zelazny paints a world where the potential for humans to pass into the night is as strong as the need to ensure that they do not. Our culture, as a species, is a beautiful one filled with rich diversity and well worth fighting to preserve.

The story line moves along smoothly with well-developed characters, intrigue, political machinations (both human and alien) and interesting twists. There were a few spots that felt forced but the overall flow of the story, not to mention the travelogue quality of the settings, makes up for it. I’d recommend “This Immortal” if you’re looking for a fun read with aliens, supernatural beings, mutants and a good story built around why preserving our human heritage is worth the fight.

And now a message from the Award Department…

The fabulous Shea MacLeod bestowed me with a Kreative Blogger award over the past week. Shea is a great friend and blogger who finds the smexy (yes, that is a word…don’t look it up *grin*). Shea is a member of the Indie Eclective and writer of the Sunwalker Series and Dragon Warrior series; everything’s better with dragons. I agree.

I’m supposed to give ten facts about me that you may not know. Here they are:

1) I’m 6’4″ (hard to tell that in my pic)

2) I’m a trained singer, classical and jazz bass voice. Yep, I can totally sound like Barry White.

3) My senior year in high school I was selected to both the All-State Madrigal and Jazz choirs. I couldn’t do both and so accepted Dorothy Paige Turner’s vote and grooved the Jazz.

4) I have watched every episode of Deadliest Catch and dream of one day getting to spend a season on a crab boat in the Berings Sea. As research for a book, not to crab, I am not nearly in good enough shape to do that job.

5) I have traveled to 45 states but never been out of the United States. This is something I plan to change in the coming years. England, Italy, Turkey and Japan are at the top of the list.

6) I know 1000 recipes for pork chops, including one that uses Mr. G’s potato chips. Amazing what one learns during their bachelor years.

7) I have, on occasion, participated in archeological spotting projects that use volunteers pouring over satellite images to find sites for field workers. I haven’t found anything spectacular yet, but its only a matter of time.

8) For those that think I never sleep, I do. Four to five hours a day. As I tell those that know me “I’ve never been skilled at sleeping.”

9) I was once hit in the throat by a June Bug while going eighty on a motorcycle. Although I no longer ride the memories live on.

10) I collect dragon statues, big ones, small ones, glass and ceramic. My collection is modest but there is a story for every one of them.

And now to pass the award on to five lucky folk:

1) Mary Jo Gibson of This Write Life for bringing fantastic museum, antiquities and art reviews that inspire stories.

2) August McLaughlin for in-depth articles focused around our health and continued well-being.

3) Lynn Kelley for providing a range of posts from parenting advice to how to make a leather breastplate.

4) Ellie Soderstrom for having the widest variety of interesting and entertaining posts of any blogger out there.

5) Gloria Oliver for covering everything from movie reviews to virtual travel in the gaming world to conventions, photography and more.

Congrats! You all are fantastic *smile*

Without further adieu, the ROW update.

– 7k of fiction per week. Yep, got it and more. Have to say I’m loving this and by the end of the year you all will be seeing me in “print”, finally *grin*.

– Turn in WWBC assignments on time. This is on hiatus currently due to schedules but should be moving forward soon.

– Treadmill for 30 minutes 5 times a week. I walked six times this week bringing my Marcia Richards health challenge to 24 of 32 walks. I have 8 to do over the next 9 days to complete the challenge and no worries.

– Read 3 fiction books during the round. The review up top is for the first. I also completed the second one, High Crusade by Poul Anderson and will review that next week. I’ll be starting the Tiger Warrior by David Gibbons later today.

– Keep up sponsor duties. All good there.

Hope you all had a great week.

Peaceful Journeys!