Erm......

Just Finished Reading: Aliens – Earth Hive by Steve Perry (FP: 1992) [277pp] 

Corporal Wilks had faced them before and lived. He was the closest thing they had to an expert on the Xenomorph. They knew how dangerous they were and, after the loss of another colony something had to be done about their menace – permanently. With their apparent home-world now discovered it was time for payback. Together with hand-picked teams of marines, they were doing to find out as much as they could about the species then nuke them from orbit – it was the only way to make sure. If only things were that simple. Unknown to the marines their commanding officer had other, additional, instructions. He was being paid – handsomely – to bring a xenomorph back, alive, by any means possible. Meanwhile a rival corporation had sent a kill-team to ensure that no one or nothing came back alive. Meanwhile, on Earth itself, a xenomorph queen was under investigation in a Top Security installation, isolated, secure, and in total secrecy... Until it wasn’t.... 

I’ve been meaning to read this set of books for some years now. I managed to pick up a few omnibus editions, and they’ve been sitting in a pile of books slowly turning into coal. As a HUGE fan of the sometimes-questionable franchise I knew that this would, or at least should, push most/all of my buttons. Unfortunately, it didn’t. Potentially it was going to be a good story – a slam dunk even. Colonial marines in full badass mode, LOTS of aliens on their (apparent) home world, BIG fight scenes etc... But some pretty poor writing and a questionable plot got in the way almost immediately. First there was ‘Wilks’ who was obviously a cut/paste Hicks from the Aliens movie – complete with young girl he had rescued from the destroyed colony they had been sent to... Then there was the ridiculous ‘love story’ element between Billie (the now grown-up girl survivor Wilks had rescued) and one of the marines... The fight scenes on the planet had their moments but never really got above average and there were FAR too many ‘callbacks’ to Aliens again. 

I think what made it worse for me (apart from the xenomorphs ‘psychic’ abilities) was the fact that there was a decent – indeed more than decent – story embedded in the barely average one! Whilst Wilks & Co where fighting on an alien world Earth was (slowly and then speedily) being overrun by Xenos. Even the brief bits we get of Terran forces trying to come to terms with that was MUCH better than the main ‘story’. Why the author couldn’t have focused on THAT aspect – especially considering the books bloody TITLE is beyond me. Not really recommended for Aliens or SF fans unless you are a completist. But as I already own the next few books (as well as being an eternal optimist) I will be reading more in the series. Oh, and I’m going to try to read more 21st century SF... Eventually... 

RIP: Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (14 September 1947 – 13 July 2026)

Happy Birthday: Yuliy Borisovich Briner (July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner, was a Russian and American actor. He was known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical The King and I (1951), for which he won two Tony Awards, and later an Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1956 film adaptation. He played the role 4,625 times on stage, and became known for his shaved head, which he maintained as a personal trademark long after adopting it for The King and I.

Considered one of the first Russian-American film stars, he was honored with a ceremony to put his handprints in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood in 1956. He also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

In 1956, Brynner received the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor for his portrayals of Rameses II in the Cecil B. DeMille epic The Ten Commandments and General Bounine in Anastasia. He was also well known as the gunman Chris Adams in The Magnificent Seven (1960) and its first sequel, Return of the Seven (1966). He had roles as the android "The Gunslinger" in Westworld (1973) and its sequel Futureworld (1976).

In addition to his film credits, he worked as a model and photographer, and wrote several books.

[One of my all-time favourite actors who starred in two of my all-time favourite films - The Magnificent 7 and Westworld.]

NAILED it...............

Just Finished Reading: The Race to the Future – An Adventure that Accelerated the Twentieth Century by Kassia St Clair (FP: 2023) [289pp] 

France, 1907. It all started as an idea to increase a newspapers circulation. The Parisian Le Martin would issue a challenge to any motor vehicle which could travel from Pekin (now Beijing) to Paris – the prize, world fame (and a trophy). After some initial problems, a little indifference and some well-placed scoffing at the possibility of such a thing, a total of 5 vehicles and crews signed up. Two, the favourites naturally, were a pair of French De Dion-Bouton motors with 10hp engines one of which was piloted by a famous French racing driver, another was a 15hp Spyker driven by an unknown who had managed to scam his way into the competition and one, a much more powerful 45hp Italia, was driven (and indeed financed) by an Italian prince – Prince Scipione Borghese. The outsider, although its driver firmly believed the opposite, was a tiny 3-wheel Contal Mototri producing an equally tiny 6hp. It was going to quite a trip running for 8,000 miles across mountains, desert, steppe with the hazards of flood, fire, bandits, an overly officious border guards. It was a test of both man and machine, of power, integrity, honour and technology. Advertised as a challenge as well as proof of a brighter future for the internal combustion engine it soon turned into a race for national pride and the triumph of western civilisation. 

To be honest I picked this up because of its colourful cover and bought it because I thought it, at least in part, would cover the Italian ‘Futurists’ and their obsession with motor cars and speed – it didn't. However, this was FAR from disappointing, indeed it was a delight from beginning to end. Although primarily focused on the ‘race’ itself (and some of the odd-ball competitors) it also looked at the social and political conditions in China, Russia and Europe that the competitors travelled through on their way to Paris. Although there were many funny moments, I remember one in particular when they crossed the German/Russia border which (on BOTH sides) had “suspiciously well-maintained roads”. Honestly, this had me crying laughing especially knowing what was going to happen just 7 years later! Another feature I really liked was the interspersion of chapters on the development of the early car industry, the early processing of recently discovered oil in various places, the early focus on female drivers (apparently early cars for women were fitted with electric starters considered ‘too feminine’ for men who had to use crank handles), and the often-forgotten fact that internal combustion was only one of (and not always the most popular) choice for motor engines – the others being steam and electric. 

Despite not being (nor ever being) a ‘petrol head’, I really enjoyed this. Not only was it a detailed look at a long-forgotten event but it was FULL of fascinating details of the beginnings of a recognisable modern age. Definitely recommended, especially if you have any interest in early motoring, technology or racing. More to come...  

Oh.... I just LOVE the British...... [rotflmao] I *really* hope that he WINS!!!!!

Sorry... But this had me CRYING laughing..... 

Just Couldn’t Finish Reading: Cunning Women by Elizabeth Lee (FP: 2012) [365pp] 

Lancashire, 1620. Sarah Haworth lives with her family on the edge – the edge of the village, the edge of acceptability and on the edge of starvation. Forced to exist by any means necessary after the death of her father both Sarah and her mother use their knowledge to aid those who come in the night looking for relief from pain, from an unwanted pregnancy or an unwanted husband. But things are about to change. The local disgraced magistrate is leaving, and his replacement is on the constant lookout for troublemakers and problems. It’s only a matter of time before his baleful gaze turns in the direction of the remaining Haworth family. To add to their complicated lives, Sarah has formed a relationship with a local farmer’s son Daniel. Will this be the spark that ignites the villager's fury, or will Daniel be their saviour? Only time will tell. 

I had fairly high hopes for this going in. It was well written with a strong feeling for place and time, and the characterisation was pretty solid throughout... But, after around 140 pages I couldn’t bring myself to continue. Part of the problem I had was that the pacing was slightly better than glacial. There was a lot of character building (along with some world building) but little that I felt I could get my teeth into. There was a sense of menace, but it didn’t seem to go anywhere. But the biggest problem I had was the fact that this was essentially a teenage love story rather than the one I was expecting (and essentially what the blurb promised). There was SOME talk of magic, the Devil, spells and such but very much sprinkled in the gaps between the story of Sarah and Daniel. Personally (and it is just a quirky character trait on my part) I’m not a huge fan of the Romance genre – as you might have guessed by now. I don’t mind a romance element in a story. Afterall you can’t really expect realistic characters to be indifferent to each other especially where jeopardy is involved. Surviving a near-death experience might just result in feelings and even a slice of intimacy too... But what I don’t enjoy is when such things are the primary focus of the novel and the things I’m actually interested in are reduced (of necessity) to the background. So, whilst not a BAD book (as far as I could tell having abandoned it about one third through) this just wasn’t for me.  

Reading Plans for 2026 and Beyond- 6 Month Update 

Despite having plans and being reasonably well trained/experience in planning things (it was actually my JOB for the last 10+ years of my career) my READING plans each year are more... aspirations than actual PLANS. So, how am I doing in 2026? 

Following the Labels   

This is a bit more hit/miss and random so far this year. Although (obviously) some of the labels are getting ‘traffic’ others are still being politely ignored. I hope to address that a bit more consciously later in the year and AIM at getting as many as possible into double figures. 

The ‘Knowledge Streams’   

The streams are doing reasonably OK – again mostly with unplanned additions at this point – but, especially with the US 250th (TODAY!) I’ll see if I can focus a bit more on USA:WTF and looking at the PRESENT (or would that be PRESIDENT) insanity later in the year. I might even make a bit of a splurge of US history/Politics in the run-up to Christmas/New Year [muses] 

Rolling the Dice   

I’m still rolling them dice after every completed book. I think I’ve added 3 extra reads this year. It’s good to add just a bit of randomness to my reading. 

Finishing/Progressing Series    

ZIP on this so far this year. With luck and a fair wind, I *might* manage to move forward with either the Dune or Foundation series. 

Classics and Re-Reads   

I’m still (slowly) working my way through the twin Classics boxsets and have even managed to sprinkle a few larger classics in there too. As predicted, I’ve also managed some Cyberpunk re-reads. More revisiting of ‘classic’ SF to come. 

Deep Dives   

Zero deep dives so far this year but I do have a few in the pipeline. It’s just finding a chunky enough slot to cram them into. They are, as always, from a wide variety of topics. I’ll see if I can fit in at least ONE by the end of the year. 

Ukraine and the Middle East   

I’ve managed ONE book on each this year but really want to do more. I have a deep dive (4 books) on the US & Iran that I’d like to get to and a stack of about 15 books on Ukraine. Maybe THIS year! 

BIG Project    

I’ve been planning a BIG (if somewhat silly) Project for this year – actually intended for LAST year – and the good news is that I’ve actually started it. First results will be in about 2 weeks. Just don’t get your hopes up TOO high...  

Coupling and more   

I’m definitely ‘coupling’ more and enjoying it. Much more of that to come plus a scattering of sandwiches. It’s fun going through my stacks and putting them together in odd little bunches... and then going back and putting some into slightly different bunches... 

Philosophy & Sci-Fi   

STILL haven’t managed any Philosophy reading but at least ONE will drop (probably) before New Year – maybe. I’m AIMING to read some modern (post-2000) Sci-Fi too but I don’t actually have that much to pick through. I’m rather out of touch with the genre these days. I’ll see what I can dig up. I’m also going to try to read at least one belief-based book before the end of the year (over and above one I’ve just finished). It’ll probably be something around Christianity, but I haven’t decided yet...  

As usual, if I actually get HALF of that done, I’ll be both pleased and more than a little amazed....  

Happy Birthday: Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three Tony Awards and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for four Academy Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards. He was awarded a Special Tony Award in 1975, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1991, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1995 and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2006.

Simon grew up in New York City during the Great Depression. His parents' financial difficulties affected their marriage, giving him a mostly unhappy and unstable childhood. He often took refuge in movie theaters, where he enjoyed watching early comedians like Charlie Chaplin. After graduating from high school and serving a few years in the Army Air Force Reserve, he began writing comedy scripts for radio programs and popular early television shows. Among the latter were Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows (where in 1950 he worked alongside other young writers including Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Larry Gelbart and Selma Diamond), and The Phil Silvers Show, which ran from 1955 to 1959.

His first produced play was Come Blow Your Horn (1961). It took him three years to complete and ran for 678 performances on Broadway. It was followed by two more successes, Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965). He won a Tony Award for the latter. It made him a national celebrity and "the hottest new playwright on Broadway". From the 1960s to the 1980s, he wrote for stage and screen; some of his screenplays were based on his own works for the stage. His style ranged from farce to romantic comedy to more serious dramatic comedy.

Overall, he garnered 17 Tony nominations and won three awards. In 1966, he had four successful productions running on Broadway at the same time, and in 1983, he became the first living playwright to have a New York theatre, the Neil Simon Theatre, named in his honor.

Erm.... It's SATURDAY. *Very* few people are @ work today. But enjoy your Independence... WE certainly are! 

Just Finished Reading: Riots and Rebels – Popular Protest in Britain from The Peasants’ Revolt to Extinction Rebellion by Nick Rennison (FP: 2025) [197pp] 

I’m still not 100% sure why exactly but I have long been interested in rebels and revolutionaries. It might well stem from growing up in the 1970’s when some (at least) of my History teachers were young radicals themselves. It's certainly where I first learned of Hereward the Wake, (possibly) Boudica and other famous English rebels and, of course, we had our fictional heroes such as Robin Hood. So, when I saw this slim volume laid out on a table in my Indie bookshop (next visit in August!) I snapped it up. I was not disappointed. 

Clearly, we Brits are a feisty and rebellious lot! Putting aside the usual regular dynastic conflicts that punctuate Britain’s bloody history the author concentrates on rebellions and uprisings from the ‘lower orders’ of society kicking off with the Peasants Revolt (1381) led by Wat Tyler [another rebel learnt about in school] and Jack Cade’s rebellion (1450) [ditto] before moving onto the rather tumultuous Tudor period. 

Even a cursory knowledge of the Tudors will point you towards THE cause of the numerous rebellions/uprisings of that fascinating period of British history – religion. As the country moved from Catholicism to Protestantism, back again and then back AGAIN its hardly surprising the number of people who suffered from ecclesiastical whiplash (to say nothing about stake burning!). Some of the uprisings I was familiar with [school AGAIN] such as the Pilgrimage of Grace (1536) and Kett’s Rebellion (1549) but a few of them, covered by the author, had obviously passed me by (there only SO much rebellion you can cover in a few school years of history). 

Naturally, one of my favourite periods for such activities is the Civil Wars of the 17th century. I’m a BIG fan of both the Levellers and the Diggers and will be reading more about both later. I’m somewhat familiar with the political debates within the New Model Army (some of which were very modern and very radical for the time) but I was unaware of groups such as the Fifth Monarchy Men nor of the Bowdy House Riots of 1668 which sound interesting to say the least! 

Upheaval in the 18th and 19th centuries revolved around increasing mechanisation (Go Luddites!) and the results of rapid social and economic change. The focus though of the 19th century was on the struggle for increased Rights and especially the Right to Vote. The Chartists definitely need some of my attention going forward. Generally, my knowledge gets increasingly sketchy before the mid-19th century which is something I need to address! 

Of course, the 20th century was hardly a time of calm – even putting to one side both World Wars! We had the Suffragettes (definitely a terrorist organisation), the unrest following demobilisation after the Great War, the General Strike of 1926, the Battle of George Square in Glasgow (tanks on the streets!), the Invergordon Mutiny (1931), the infamous Battle of Cable Street (1936), the Jarrow hunger march (also 1936), various race riots in the 1950’s, anti-Vietnam protests in the 60’s, anti-Nazi protests/riots in the 70’s, Greenham Common and anti-nuclear protests in the 1980’s (I was there for some of those demonstrations) and, of course, the Poll Tax riots during the Thatcher premiership (I saw the aftermath of some of that when I worked in central London in the late 1980’s. 

Phew...! Yup, LOTS of upheaval over MANY years. Never a dull moment as they say! I was impressed by how much the author covered and by how many new incidents I discovered to find out more about – I forgot to mention the Peterloo Massacre and the Tolpuddle martyrs!! (more of which later). This was a fun and fast read and was especially interesting considering the present protests and rioting both here are elsewhere. It's always good to put things into historical perspective. Definitely recommended for anyone interested in our turbulent past – and probable future! 

Welcome to July - We Made It! I hope that you're enjoying the weather where you are (as much as you *can*) and are also enjoying this Summer of Pop Culture here @ SaLT. MUCH more to come...... 

Just saw this interesting Met Office weather chart comparing the 'classic' heatwave of 1976 to what we've just been hit by. I remember the Summer of '76 very well as it was around the time I took my 'O' levels. I'm 'planning' to read up about '76 later in the year for a bit of nostalgia... [lol]

Just Finished Reading: The Art of Dying by Ambrose Parry (FP: 2019) [406pp] 

Edinburgh, 1849. Will Raven is back in Scotland. After a year in Europe and now a newly minted MD, he’s looking to a bright, or at least brighter, future. The only fly in the ointment he can see is Sarah Fisher. When he left for the Continent, she was a housemaid in Dr Simpson’s house and, although they were close, he couldn’t see a way forward at that time without putting his career in jeopardy. With Dr Simpson on a call, he asked after Sarah and his heart fell – in the intervening 12 months she had married, not only married but married well, to another doctor. Still working in Dr Simpson’s house as his assistant the two were inevitably thrown together on a daily basis. But bigger issues needed both of their attentions. Sarah’s new husband was ill, very much so, and a new disease seems to be sweeping Edinburgh leaving a trial of bodies behind it. Raven is convinced that uncovering the origin of this strange malady could make his reputation. Sarah is not so sure and is convinced of a much more mundane if disturbing possibility – that one person is responsible to the growing death toll, not as an unknown carrier of a new disease but as a killer, one who dispatches men, women and children with equally chilling efficiency. Worse the killer, whoever they are, is a woman... 

This is a second book in the Fisher and Raven series. I enjoyed the first book a great deal with its mix of medical mystery and a great feeling for the time and place where the events transpire. Despite looking forward to future works it's taken me an age to catch up – as, no doubt it will, for the next books! I was, actually, slightly less impressed by the second book. Part of that was that I thought it was a little slow at times with a little too emphasis on the European ‘backstory’ which, despite being quite interesting, didn’t add a whole lot to the narrative (I couldn’t help thinking that the European angle might have been the author’s initial idea for the whole book but that the publishers wanted the focus to be back in Edinburgh – just my thoughts...). The other thing that slightly irritated me – despite agreeing with every word – was the preaching about the position of women at that time and the hurdles (essentially Great Wall of China sized) stopping them – and Sarah in particular – from progressing as they could if they had been born male. I’ve LONG held the belief that human civilisations across the planet and since the dawn of time could have progressed much further and much faster if half of their population hadn’t been sidelined, under-educated and dismissed as nothing more than vessels to fill with babies. That being said, the *odd* mention of Sarah’s frustrations would have been enough. 

OK, back to what I LIKED about the book. As I had expected both the characterisation (yes, THAT again) was very good and I liked the way that Will Raven’s character developed throughout the novel. He certainly learnt a lot between these covers and not all of it medical. Sarah is an excellent character and I’m looking forward to her progressing as a medical professional in a VERY male dominated environment – both inside and outside the hospital. The secondary characters were well drawn and even the criminal elements managed to be sympathetic ones. One of the MOST interesting was the killer herself. I really liked the way that we spent quite a bit of time inside her head to understand the WHY of what she ended up doing. This didn’t justify the deaths, but we at least got an insight into HOW her mind became so twisted. That was interesting if, at times, rather creepy. 

Overall, despite a few (rather minor) niggles, this was a fun pager-turner. I very much like that fact that the ‘detectives’ are in fact medics rather than the police. I also very much liked the forensic side of things – just emerging as an actual profession – with its emphasis on science as a means to actually PROVE who did what with what method. Oh, one final thing... I did that the impressions that the authors took a particular delight in getting Will Raven splashed with various bodily fluids much to his annoyance and embarrassment. Some readers might want to skip over those bits. Recommended and more to come.

[Highest page count of the year so far: 406pp][+5pp]

The Last 10 Books (I added to my Wish List) - June 2026 

I ordered a book off my Wish List last week and almost before I realised it had added three more to it. This happens a LOT, at least to me. One of the things that prompts such behaviour is, of course, the ‘useful’ feature of “people who bought/viewed this also bought/viewed” which leads me down a book adding rabbit hole powered by the surge of a sudden tsunami. The other major gateway drug to book adding is the growing number of BookTubers that regularly show up on my feed. Most of their videos don’t cause me to go on an adding frenzy, but some... oh my.... Only one recently added book was from another source. I had just re-watched the classic 1964 movie Zulu (which I remember watching at the cinema bit COULDN’T have been IN 1964 as I don’t think my dad would’ve taken a FOUR-year-old to see it!) which go me wondering about the real battle... So, the new additions are: 

Zulu Rising: The Epic Story of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift by Ian Knight 

Ricochet: Guns, Greed, and the American Way of Violence by Mike McIntire 

Hinterlands: Journeys through Europe’s Unfinished Frontiers by Hannah Lucinda Smith 

Stolen Revolution: Betrayal and Hope in Modern Iran by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Yeganeh Torbati 

The August Coup: The Destruction of the Soviet Union and the Making of New Russia 1985-1991 by Robert Service 

1873: The First Great Depression and the Making of the Modern World by Liaquat Ahamed 

Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight 

Stealing Hitler's Rocket: The Incredible Mission to Smuggle a V-2 Rocket Out of Nazi-Occupied Europe to Britain by Guy Walters 

Pearl Harbor: Japan's Greatest Disaster by Mark Stille 

Alexander: God, King, Man by Edmund Richardson 

It's the usual history heavy mix but still a fair range of subject areas. But, as usual, I’ve ZERO idea when I’ll get around to actually reading them – if I ever do... But that’s all part of the fun.