travel

Project Hail Mary and Artemis II

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Three weeks ago, I saw the movie Project Hail Mary in an IMAX theater. I started rereading the book by Andy Weir before watching the movie, and finished the book last week. During that time, I also spent many hours watching the Artemis II launch, voyage around the moon, and splashdown, with the NASA YouTube channel on my television.

It’s been a challenging month for news in general, but the news about Artemis II was awesome. Sometimes we need something big to watch, to hope, to cheer for. In a different way, and on a much smaller scale, Project Hail Mary, in both book and movie formats, has had a bit of the same effect on movie fans and science fiction readers. I was rereading the book to see what I remembered and what was changed in the movie. There have been many movie reviews and I won’t detail the differences from the book; but my experience was that both are thrilling, entertaining, moving, and inspiring. The lack of violence is also refreshing, and I wish more movies were like that. I have recently heard that Andy Weir’s second book, Artemis, set on a moon colony, is being adapted for film, as was the hugely popular The Martian. Project Hail Mary is the improbable story about Ryland Grace, a science teacher turned astronaut on an interstellar voyage to save the Earth when the Sun and all but one other star in our area start dimming.

I don’t have memories of earlier voyages to the moon, but I have watched movies and documentaries, and read memoirs and other books about the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions. It was wonderful to be able to track the four astronauts in real time on their journey, and I look forward to seeing many more of their photos and videos.

Brenda

The First Time I Saw Him

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The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave

If you read the 2021 bestselling thriller The Last Thing He Told Me, this sequel is a sure bet. A thriller/beach read that you can’t put down, it is sweet, tender, tense, anxious, and full of plot twists with an intensifying pace. Don’t start this at bedtime or you won’t get much sleep!

Hannah and stepdaughter Bailey are a team, along with Bailey’s grandfather Nicholas, who has not always done the right thing. Owen, Bailey’s dad, disappeared several years ago, to keep them safe. Hannah and Bailey go on a journey together, sudden but not unexpected. They learn that Bailey’s grandfather has died, and they are no longer safe. Going back and forth in time, we learn that Nicholas and Owen worked together to make contingency plans to protect Bailey. While this is a plot-driven novel, the settings really enhance the story, moving from the California coast to Miami, Hawaii, Paris, and the south of France. Love and loyalty are key here, along with figuring out who is trustworthy and when it’s time to move on. The love of family, the emotions of missing loved ones, and very appealing main characters make this memorable read well worth the thrill ride.   

Brenda

Turning to Birds

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Turning to Birds: The Power and Beauty of Noticing by Lili Taylor

Actor Lili Taylor, who lives in Brooklyn and upstate New York, has been a birder for about fifteen years. She took a break from work and started hearing, then seeing birds all around her. Most of her observations are in New York City or on location where she’s working, with a few trips just to bird, often in company with other birders.

Each chapter is an insightful essay about her experiences with a different species of bird, beginning with pigeons. Each type of bird features an illustration by Anna Koska. The book begins with Lili as a novice birder, eager to learn about and observe more birds in their natural habitats, from Brooklyn parks to Albuquerque and Santa Fe, with birding trips to northern Ohio and the Platte River in Nebraska to see sandhill cranes. Each chapter has just the right amount of description to make me feel as if I’m sharing her birding experience. Her writing about the sandhill cranes sent me to maps and online to see just where and when the cranes spend time on their great migration, as I’ve seen them in smaller numbers in Illinois and Indiana.

I only differ from Lili in my fondness for house sparrows, for which she has a strong dislike, as they are aggressive towards eastern bluebirds. Fair, but I don’t see any bluebirds in my area. A slightly melancholy essay is set in Lombard, Illinois, featuring swifts which roost in tall chimneys. Lili has turned her newfound love of birds into a passion, and now serves on the boards of three birding organizations. I really liked how birding made her feel alive and at home in new and temporary work locations.

Brenda

Costumes for Time Travelers

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Costumes for Time Travelers by A. R. Capetta

I really enjoyed this teen time travel fantasy. There is plenty of adventure and some romance. Calisto (they/them) is growing up in Pocket with three parents and siblings. One parent was a history professor in Australia, another was a priestess in ancient times, while the third parent is a Pocket native. Pocket has several moons and is a waypoint that most time travelers pass through. The travelers get new costumes for the next time period they’ll be visiting and have the cobblers resole their time boots. Calisto works in the costume shop with their grandmother Mena, a tailor. They design and sew costumes with a huge variety of fabrics for their customers. I really liked how the author makes costume design and sewing seem very cool.

Fawkes, a time savant, arrives in a dramatic fashion from the far future, where he had a mostly solitary upbringing. Calisto is shocked that Fawkes has only one outfit, and no home to return to. In a kaleidoscope of a story, Fawkes and Calisto time travel to the Elizabethan era where Fawkes is in one of Shakespeare’s plays. They also meet the Minotaur in Crete, and travel to Stanford University where Californians are worrying about Y2K and computers. Time wardens want to stop new time lines, and Fawkes and Calisto try to stop a time quake that may affect Calisto’s beloved Pocket, which is governed by a group of elders at their book club meetings. The romance is sweet, and the sense of place and time are vividly drawn, along with the costumes. I didn’t get any sense of how time travel actually works, and wasn’t sure if this was as much science fiction as it is fantasy, but definitely enjoyed the journey.

Brenda

The Queen Who Came in from the Cold

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The Queen Who Came in from the Cold: Her Majesty the Queen Investigates by S. J. Bennett

This book is the fifth mystery in one of my favorite series, featuring Queen Elizabeth II and her assistant private secretaries. This one is set in 1961, as Buckingham Palace is preparing for a state visit from the Kennedys. Before that, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip and their staff are going to Italy. I especially enjoyed the scenes set on the royal train and the royal yacht, HMY Britannia. A number of years ago I got to tour Britannia, now a floating museum in Edinburgh, and it was lovely to picture the family quarters while reading this mystery.

On the train, Sandra Pole, a temporary lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret, says that she saw a body flung into a pond from the train, but no one else saw anything, and is she a reliable witness? It may have been too dark for her to see much, at any rate. The Queen, along with her assistant private secretary, Joan McGraw, has some experience in solving crimes without taking any of the credit. Joan, a former codebreaker at Bletchley Park, does some investigating. A missing photographer, possibly connected to Princess Margaret’s new husband, could be the victim. But where to search? The Queen interviews a clergyman with a passion for trains and railways who has some useful information.

The Space Race and the Cold War come into play, as a possible defector was in contact with the missing photographer, and the Britannia may be involved. Scenes in Rome and Venice add to the story, and the pace and danger intensifies. While Joan is a fine sleuth, Queen Elizabeth is the star here, and it’s great fun to see her in the 1961 setting, and also while trying to keep secrets from Prince Philip, who is very supportive. We don’t see much of the Queen’s corgis here, but there is a very naughty chihuahua on board the train, and the Queen Mother makes an appearance. The previous book, A Death in Diamonds, is set in 1957, while the first three, beginning with The Windsor Knot, are set in 2016 and 2017.

Brenda

North to the Future

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North to the Future: An Offline Adventure Through the Changing Wilds of Alaska by Ben Weissenbach

Young journalist Ben Weissenbach, when not scrolling on his phone, is fascinated by Alaska. At 20, he spent the summer of 2019 with climate scientist and adventurer Roman Dial trekking across the eastern Brooks Range. During another trip to Alaska he experienced an Arctic winter fortnight on Kenji Yohikawa’s off-grid cabin near Fairbanks, tending to his reindeer. Ben also flew over part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with glaciologist Matt Nolan, occasionally dealing with smoke-filled skies.

The longest section of the book is about a hiking and pack rafting expedition in the Western Brooks Range in 2021, led by Roman Dial, studying the spread of spruce trees in the Arctic. Many adventures and misadventures are described, including encounters with wolves and grizzly bears, along with his struggle as to simply be present in the amazing expanse of Alaska. I very much enjoy the combination of real-life adventure, travel, science, and memoir, and look forward to reading what he’s up to next.

Brenda

Murder on the S.S. Cleopatra

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Murder on the S.S. Cleopatra by Sara Rosett

This historical mystery is the sequel to Murder Among the Pyramids, with a third book planned. In 1924, Blix Windway, an adventurous lady traveler, embarks on the Blue Lotus Line steamer S.S. Cleopatra for a cruise down the Nile, as does her new friend Hildy Honeycutt. Blix takes photos and gives lectures about her travels, occasionally funding her travel by working as a paid companion.

Blix has a small but charming cabin, while Hildy has a much larger one. Blix is startled to meet Rafe Briarcliff on board, the handsome but annoying man who shared some of her recent adventures in Cairo and at the pyramids. Rafe is travelling undercover, assessing the ship and crew for the Blue Lotus Line. Hildy gets a couple of anonymous threatening notes and reluctantly shares a big secret with Blix. They get to know the other travelers before a suspicious death, or possibly two, occurs.

The captain asks Mr. Briarcliff and Blix to interview all of the travelers in hopes that they can solve the mystery before the ship arrives at Luxor. The ship is described in just the right amount of detail, as are the travelers, crew, and their activities. Rosett really did her research on 1920s Egyptian tourism, but shares just enough of what she learned to enhance the mystery, not overwhelm it. Gossipy tidbits from a fictional newspaper begin each chapter. I read the deluxe trade paperback, which includes extras such as photographs of the main characters, the deck plan of the ship, and color illustrations of a blue lotus. I enjoyed this book just as much as Murder Among the Pyramids, and look forward to reading about Blix’s adventures in Luxor.

Brenda

Six Weeks by the Sea

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Six Weeks by the Sea by Paula Byrne

In 1801, Jane Austen, her parents, and sister Cassandra moved from the vicarage at Steventon to the city of Bath. Jane was upset at the news, and later at the loss of her piano. At 25, Jane is not yet a published author. She agrees to the move only after her parents promise a seaside holiday every summer.

This novel tells the story of that first summer by the sea, at Sidmouth. Author Paula Byrne, a biographer, wondered if Jane had ever been in love, as she wrote of it so wittily. In Sidmouth, Byrne introduces two suitors and a young biracial girl to the Austen family. Jane uses her connections to help find a foster home for the little girl, and has hopes of a possible romance between her favorite brother, Captain Frank Austen, and Martha Lloyd, the best friend of Jane and sister Cassie.

The holiday is full of seaside walks, dips in the sea, assemblies, a play, and plenty of tea and cocoa. Jane writes whenever she has time, but doesn’t share her work with anyone outside the family except Martha. The reader knows that Jane Austen never marries, so will not expect a traditional happy ever after. Jane Austen is also featured in a mystery series by Stephanie Barron, is which Jane is an amateur sleuth, and has another potential suitor, but it’s set a few years after this novel. The first book in that series is Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor. This was quite an enjoyable read, and is suggested for Anglophiles as well as Janeites.

Brenda

Outlandish

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Outlandish: Walking Europe’s Unlikely Landscapes by Nick Hunt

I enjoyed reading this combination of hiking memoir, geography, nature, history, culture and more. In 2019 Nick, a British travel writer, hikes through arctic tundra to visit two tiny glaciers, in Scotland. Wintry weather makes the hikes quite challenging. But maybe he’ll see the Gray Man, or reindeer.

Next, he travels to Poland and Belarus to walk through parts of the Białowieża rainforest, which is threatened by logging and road building like so many forests, as well as disease. Bison and wolves might be glimpsed here. The border area is quite militarized, yet Nick feels the urge to stray from the paths. Sometimes he camps in a tent during his adventures, other times in motels or guest houses.

In Spain, Nick travels thru the Tabernas desert, made of rock, not sand, during the 2nd hottest summer on record. The desert is near the Mar de Plástico, the Plastic Sea, which is made of polytunnels where more than half of the fruit and vegetables sold in Europe are grown. Many of the workers are migrants from Northern and Saharan Africa who endure sauna-like conditions. In the Spanish desert, many western movies were filmed, and there is still entertainment styled after the wild west. Nick finds the light dazzling, and while having stored several days of water at his camp in a slot canyon, has to remind himself to return each day before running too low on water. Ibex are frequently spotted on the heights of the canyon walls.

The final adventure is on Hungary’s grassland Steppe, almost completely flat, except for ancient burial mounds. He sees native horses, wallowing water buffalo, and miles and miles of grassland. A festival of Europeans and Asians of the grasslands celebrates horses, unusual alcoholic drinks, and even remembrances of Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan.

Vivid writing, great armchair travel writing, and thoughtful explorations of places that are remnants of the past, and how changing climates affect them. A memorable read.

Brenda

The Witch Roads

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The Witch Roads by Kate Elliott

Elen is a deputy courier, delivering messages to small towns and settlements along the same route each month. For part of the month, she’s back home in Orledder Halt, with her teen nephew Kem. Elen can detect and root out new irruptions of Spore. This time Kem is accompanying her on the route, to see if he also wants to be a courier. His Declaration Day is just around the corner. Kem’s mother Aoving died two years ago during an avalanche, while working as a midwife at the Heart Temple. The avalanche has cut Orledder Halt off from travel to the north, except for a secret pathway through the hills and across a canyon.

Two groups of important travelers arrive in Orledder Halt. From one, Kem learns that his father is a lord. The second group includes Prince Gevulin, who’s heading north. Kem, considering being a Warden, joins Prince Gevulin’s group, as does Elen, who knows the hazardous route. Kem is angry with Elen for keeping secrets from him, even after his mother’s death. A guardian statue’s spirit, or haunt, secretly joins the group. Elen has the lowest status of the group and often has to sleep and eat separately from the others. But a simple bed and a full belly remind Elen of the hungry years when Ao and El, orphaned child atoners, were always in danger of the Spore until their daring escape.

This is a memorable journey through an amazing world with many dangers, wonders, and not-quite-human beings. The land is so ancient that much of its history has become myth. Elen and the haunt have some very interesting conversations. I eagerly await Elen and Kem’s further adventures. Epic fantasy readers will likely enjoy this duology, to be concluded this November with The Nameless Roads. The author has two dozen other fantasy works, which I don’t think I’ve read, but look forward to sampling.

Brenda