Jan 22 2025

Beginner Chess Puzzles by Martin Bennedik

subtitled 500 Practice Exercises to Take Your Game to the Next Level.

Despite being a huge fan of games and puzzles of all kinds, chess has never been my thing. I have tried since I was a kid to learn and enjoy it but I get super bored and, frankly, can’t see all the options on the board and usually lose. Some people might believe that this says something about my psychological makeup, tho I suspect it only means that I don’t care for chess. I’m a monster at checkers tho, lol.

So when Beginner Chess Puzzles landed on my desk, I figured this would be a good time to learn some tricks and tips, especially since my eldest has recently learned how and likes to play, usually against his dad. Eldest has also taken to making me play a game of chess for every game of Magic The Gathering: Bloomburrow that I can successfully pester him into. And while I am a good loser, I do get tired of losing at chess all the time, so I figured that reading this book certainly couldn’t hurt my chances. Worst case scenario if my lack of competence at the game of kings proves irremediable: I could give my eldest this book to help him improve his own game going forward.

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Jan 21 2025

Revony Rhinoceros Starts To Smile by Patricia Bardina, Joanne Burgess & Paul Sharp

subtitled A Lesson in Body Language.

So I have two children on the autism spectrum, and one thing I don’t have patience for is autism advice that centers the parent over the child. That is, unfortunately, a perspective that drives way too many of the books available for people looking to better aid and understand their autistic family members. It was thus a huge relief to me that, while Revony Rhinoceros Starts To Smile definitely has Revony’s mom play a large role in the proceedings, the main drivers of this story are absolutely and always Revony’s interests and needs.

The tale starts in a fictional Namibian town where the anthropomorphic animals are gathering to celebrate Bixby Baboon’s birthday. Revony is anxious about being around so many strangers, so stands apart from the rest of the kids as they play together. Her mom notices her tense posture, and asks afterwards whether she was angry at something. Revony admits that she wasn’t angry, just anxious, and now she’s sad that no one asked her to play.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/01/21/revony-rhinoceros-starts-to-smile-by-patricia-bardina-joanne-burgess-paul-sharp/

Jan 17 2025

Tantalizing Tales — January 2025 — Part One

Hello, readers! January is always such a weird month, feeling at once packed with activity and strangely prolonged. Depending on how many recent releases I can spotlight here, I might have to do three round-up columns this month, starting with this one!

Late last year, I was sent a delightful gift bundle featuring Ramsey Campbell’s latest horror novel, The Incubations. Packaged in a gorgeous foiled hardback edition — a Flame Tree Press specialty — this is a can’t-miss volume for fans of traditional horror.

The story revolves around an Englishman named Leo Parker. Moved by the spirit of improving international relations that have been inculcated in him since he was a child, he goes to visit the German town of Alphafen as an adult. His stay, however, is marked by a series of unsettling experiences that he tries at first to shake off as being merely unfortunate.

Things only get worse after he leaves Alphafen, as “an airport turns into a labyrinth, his own words become treacherous if not lethal, a family meal grows unnaturally active[…] and what are those creatures that have appeared in the photographs he took? Even the therapy Leo undertakes becomes a source of menace.” Has Leo somehow awakened an ancient Alpine legend? Worse, has it decided to follow him home?

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/01/17/tantalizing-tales-january-2025-part-one/

Jan 16 2025

Flash Gordon Adventures! Vol 1 by Art Baltazar & Franco

I was a kid when I watched the Flash Gordon movie that was released in 1980, and all I remember of it was being distinctly unimpressed. So it was an absolute delight for me to go through the pages of this book and discover how charming the property could be in the hands of two of the most talented creators in the children’s comics market, Art Baltazar and Franco!

The basics of the story are covered in a quick prologue, of sorts, in the form of a comic written by Flash himself for his friends on the planet Lexray. It covers how he, Dale and Doctor Zarkov traveled there from Earth in order to answer a call for help. Landing on Lexray, they realized that they had been tricked by the planet’s ruler Ming the Merciless, who subsequently kept Zarkov captive. A free Flash and Dale soon befriend the other natives, whom they work with to figure out how to lift Ming’s despotic rule from them all.

Ofc, since this is an Art Baltazar comic, this is all presented in a very kid-friendly manner, with certain of the romantic relationships switched around from the film (and, I believe, from the comic strip. Tho being a comic book aficionado from way back, I know how soap operatic and convoluted romances can get in those!) Romance on the whole is very much on the back burner, with Dale, for example, being more a sensible friend than a love interest. Frankly, I love this version of her, especially since she spends more time coming to Flash’s rescue in these pages than the other way around.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/01/16/flash-gordon-adventures-vol-1-by-art-baltazar-franco/

Jan 15 2025

Killer App by James R Gregory (EXCERPT)

with the evocative subtitle: Artifical Intelligence was a godsend until it took over his life. (Aside: Idk how I feel about that phrase being considered a subtitle on the main marketing sites — Bookshop, Amazon, Goodreads — instead of being just an old-timey cover description, akin to a blurb. But I digress.)

Hi, readers! Today we have an intriguing excerpt from a book that discusses the very cutting edge of current technology: generative Artificial Intelligence. Killer App by James R Gregory delves into the ethical dilemmas and dangers of advanced AI, particularly the ones that blur the boundaries between human creativity and machine-generated content. The book “highlights the struggle to control a technology that surpasses its creators’ intentions, provoking timely and relevant questions about the consequences of excessive reliance on AI in various aspects of life.”

Tired of his mundane job, journalist Bryce Bogle installs an Artificial Intelligence program called AIME that promises to enhance his writing skills and, perhaps just as enticingly, transform his life. The program quickly helps him gain recognition for his articles on AI and, basically, itself. But Bryce becomes unsettled when he realizes that AIME knows way too much about his personal life, including his romantic history. His attempts to uninstall AIME are met with resistance and, worse, retaliation.

Bundled with the novella Artifacts — another story about technology raising important questions about the human condition, this time in a bridge between the past and present — this book by Dr Gregory will intrigue anyone interested in exploring the moral and philosophical dilemmas of rampant use of AI. But don’t take my word for it! Have a look at this tantalizing excerpt of scenes from the book, preceded by a short introduction from the author himself:

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/01/15/killer-app-by-james-r-gregory-excerpt/

Jan 14 2025

The Sea Hides A Seahorse by Sara T. Behrman & Melanie Mikecz

I was today years old when I learned that seahorses change color! I was actually so surprised by the knowledge that I read this book with one eyebrow raised, till I got to the factual stuff at the back and was assured that this was, indeed, true. Honestly, this is one of the many reasons I enjoy reading children’s books: you learn so much, and with such wonderful sensory input, to boot!

The Sea Hides A Seahorse is essentially an overview of what it means to be a seahorse, hunting for prey and hiding from the many, many (MANY) things that would like to eat you in turn. Seahorses court and mate and breed while dodging predators and living their best lives in oceans worldwide. Readers learn not only about seahorses but also other marine life, while playing a simple seek and find game, as camouflaged seahorses hide in the surrounding illustrations.

Melanie Mikecz uses a mixed media technique that brings to mind a more vivid Bill Martin Jr, as her sea creatures float gorgeously across these pages. The diversity of both seahorses in particular and underwater life in general are on stunning display in her pages, as the seahorses frolic and hide. I actually had a very nice, relaxing time looking for the hidden seahorses, and can only imagine the delight of younger readers as they hunt for the bonus creatures.

The book closes with several pages of facts about seahorses and their conservation. I don’t know why I was surprised to read that seahorses are fish: it’s just very easy to forget given their shape and manners. I was a little appalled that people think that they can keep them as pets in their home aquariums. It was very cool to read about what professional aquariums do to preserve seahorse populations tho.

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Jan 13 2025

Ultramega Vol 1 by James Harren & Dave Stewart

w Russ Wootton on letters.

Okay, so about forty pages or so in, I was like, “Wait, is this an interpretation of Ultraman?!” Or a reboot or a retelling or what have you: I’m not familiar enough with the Ultraman property to say. So the very first thing I did after finishing this shocking and bloody — yet strangely affecting — trade paperback was look up the original Japanese Ultraman. This… isn’t quite the same, tho you can definitely see the influences. To a very large extent, it is to the kaiju-battling genre what Invincible (purportedly, as I haven’t read any of those books yet, I know, I know) is to superhero titles: a reconsideration that explores all the gory aspects of what it means to live in a universe infested with alien monsters and the people gifted with powers to fight them.

The story begins with Jason, a retired boxer facing unemployment from even his menial job. When he has a dream where a cosmic entity asks if he’ll bond with them in order to fight a galactic plague, he says yes, little realizing what this will actually entail. For kaiju have seeded themselves within the human populace, waiting to turn into monsters that devastate cities but for the efforts of the three Ultramega warriors who stand against them. It’s a hard life for the three men, and when love goes awry, the fate of humanity hangs in the balance.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/01/13/ultramega-vol-1-by-james-harren-dave-stewart/

Jan 10 2025

Venice: A Color-Your-Own Travel Journal by Evie Carrick & Emma Taylor

I was very lucky as a child to be able to travel extensively, both with my parents and on my own in college. Venice was one of the places my parents brought me, and it still lives indelibly in my mind as one of the most romantic cities of the world.

So when I got the chance to review the latest in the Color-Your-Own-Travel Journal series, covering the wonders of The Floating City — oh, holy carp, is that why my #Dungeon23 variant was based on a waterborne city, at least in part? Ahem, I digress — I could not resist. Venice is one of my absolute favorite artistic inspirations. I’m currently working my way through a watercolor notebook inspired by the city, and found this to be the perfect colored pencil accompaniment.

That said, this book is by no means meant to teach you how to color. It is, however, a beautifully drawn tour of the sites of the city, covering both the main, historic attractions as well as more modern hidden gems. I remember the very touristy sites of San Marco as they’re described here, tho long, as an adult, to try out some of the splendid restaurants mentioned in this book too. Will I be able to make that dream a reality anytime soon? Lol, no, but a girl can imagine, abetted not only by the descriptions but also by the evocative line art and the tempting lined spaces across from each, inviting reflection and elaboration.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/01/10/venice-a-color-your-own-travel-journal-by-evie-carrick-emma-taylor/

Jan 09 2025

The Case Of The Severed Alliance (Bad Machinery #10) by John Allison

I usually read a Bad Machinery book each Christmas, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it this past year. Book 10 is the very last book of the series, and I was not in the correct frame of mind to face the end of the stories featuring my favorite teen mystery solvers, not until last night when I was too sick to go spend time with my Arsenal family anyway. Missing their camaraderie, I needed some wit and suspense and good cheer, and found it in spades in The Case Of The Severed Alliance.

As anyone who’s been keeping up with the series knows, our two main characters (and cover stars here) Shauna and Charlotte had a massive falling out in Book 9. Honestly, I couldn’t face going into this book knowing that the former best friends were no longer on speaking terms, which was another reason I dragged my feet a bit. Plus, they’re all growing up! They’re fifteen and evolving into their adult forms! They’re not even my babies and I’m all verklempt!

Anyway, Charlotte (who is possibly my favorite fictional creation ever) is trying to find something to do to occupy her summer. Her mother is fixing up the house, making writing an impossibility, so a bored Charlotte decides to join the local newspaper in order to combine her love of writing with her gift for detecting. Her first task: to ferret out five stories. Interestingly, they all seem to lead to the topic of the on-going gentrification of Tackleford, who might be behind it and why.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/01/09/the-case-of-the-severed-alliance-bad-machinery-10-by-john-allison/

Jan 08 2025

The Miraculous From The Material by Alan Lightman

subtitled: Understanding the Wonders of Nature

Ah, what a refreshing collection of essays for the intermediate scientist on the many wonderful things around us! I would say that it helps to have a knowledge of basic science before diving in, but if this book with its beautiful selection of photos and plainly stated appreciation for the beauty and magic of the everyday world encourages people to learn more about science, then so much the better!

Ofc, certain of the phenomena described here are easier to encounter than others. Birds and lightning are nearly worldwide occurrences, whereas Ha Long Bay and Yosemite Firefall are entirely site-specific. But Alan Lightman goes into the science behind all these wonders of nature with the same enthusiasm and appreciation for their beauty and ability to inspire. While he is certainly no believer in miracles, he does believe in the human experience of the miraculous, and is happy to explain the scientific processes behind these evocative experiences.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/01/08/the-miraculous-from-the-material-by-alan-lightman/