Just Finished Reading: Heroes by Valerio Massimo Manfredi (FP: 1994) [274pp] 

The War is finally over. After long years of conflict Troy has fallen and is burning. Eager to leave the Greeks know that the Gods will not approve of the killings and desecration of temples, the result of years of tension and disappointment. They are not wrong. The journey back home is cursed for many. Some will not make it back alive. Others are blown off course and spend years in far off lands complete with new unwanted adventure and loss. Others, the hero Diomedes among them, manage to complete their journeys only to find that their home has changed beyond recognition and that only death and betrayal await them. Knowing that his wife wants him dead and her lover to take the throne, Diomedes manages to convince part of his fleet to follow him to unknown lands and, eventually, to far off Hesperia to build a new city and begin a new life. Meanwhile, back in Greece Menelaus plots his revenge against his brother's wife while a deeper conspiracy begins to unfold. After years of war there will be no peace for the heroes of the Trojan Wars. 

I’ve read a few books by this author and this was one of his earlier works – his fourth book. I found it to be essentially a book of two parts. The primary tale was of Diomedes and his band of warriors wandering up and down Hesperia – which we know today as Italy – looking for a new home, fighting primitive tribes and coming to terms with their fates. I did find this rather pedestrian to be honest and very little seemed to happen. The second thread was, I thought, much more interesting – the intrigue and plotting back home in Greece involving Menelaus and others in revenge over the death of Agamemnon and the political machinations that followed from it. I enjoyed that a great deal and would have ranked this book highly if it had been the primary (or only!) plot line. 

A few other things interested me – the fact that Diomedes had an, almost fatal, encounter with a warrior wielding an IRON sword which made very short work of his BRONZE sword and armour! Another thing was the ‘true’ role of Helen in the Trojan War... I’d heard it before when reading other books on myths so it didn’t come as a huge surprise. In a previous work I learnt that there is no agreed upon ‘canon’ in Greek myths and there are MANY variations on a theme none of which is the ‘correct’ version. The myths we know these days are just one ‘agreed upon’ version. The BIG thing that I’d never come across before (which, to be honest, the author may have created out of whole cloth) was the ‘REAL’ reason for the war itself – which wasn’t what we had been led to believe. It was, taking into account the beliefs of the time, a creditable one. I’ll see if I can find reference to it elsewhere. 

Overall, this was a fair read. I was a little bored at times by the Diomedes story but the Menelaus plotline more than made up for it. An interesting look at a timeless story. Recommended and more to come from both this author and this Myth series. 

Translated from the Italian by Christine Feddersen-Manfredi

Happy Birthday: Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is a British musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two studio albums with the band, he released his debut solo studio album The Pleasure Principle in 1979, topping the UK Albums Chart. His commercial popularity peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s with hits including "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars" (both of which reached number one on the UK singles chart). Numan maintains a cult following. He has sold over 10 million records.

Numan is regarded as a pioneer of electronic music. He developed a signature sound consisting of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals, and is also known for his distinctive voice and androgynous "android" persona. He received an Ivor Novello Award, the Inspiration Award, from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors in 2017.

Just Finished Reading: Surveillance – A Very Short Introduction by David Lyon (FP: 2024) [127pp] 

Until very recently if a company wanted to spy on someone it would have to hire a private detective to physically keep an eye on them and follow them around to see what they did and who they met with. For governments around the world it was, of course, much easier using their much greater resources of police forces and the Secret Services, the reading of mail and the tapping of phonelines. But still it was both expensive and time consuming. If the object was a group of people the cost ballooned spectacularly. The idea of monitoring whole groups or, most ridiculously, the WHOLE population was a fantasy even within the most authoritarian governments. But then, as with much else, technology solved everything. Computers became powerful enough and sophisticated enough to monitor multiple phonelines simultaneously. Physical mail became electronic and MUCH easier to monitor. Websites logged exactly what people were doing and where they went next. Then came mobile phones and social media. Suddenly surveillance was everywhere and everyone began to feel that someone somewhere was keeping tabs on them – and they were right. 

Surveillance does certainly SEEM all pervasive these days, partially because it's at least partially true even in so-called free countries. CCTV cameras are ubiquitous and obvious (when you look for them) but they are not only ‘old tech’ but the very tip of the iceberg. Of course, the irony of today’s pervasive surveillance environment is that we do much of the work ourselves. Not only do we give copious amounts of personal data to companies for free – which they then sell on to others for a tidy profit – but many of us carry tracking devices (AKA our phones) around in our pockets and think nothing of it. On top of this we keep track of others – friends, celebrities – and even ourselves with fitness/health apps (which we then upload or share and the data is harvested and sold back to us). Our surveillance society didn’t just appear overnight and it wasn’t (mostly) imposed on us by evil others. WE built this and we choose to live here. 

Despite being rather dry and academic at times this was still an interesting and informative look at the surveillance world we have created in the last 30 years or so. I actually liked the fact that the author looked beyond the usual idea of governments spying on us (which they do of course) to show how companies (not just Facebook) do the same or more and especially how WE, that is everyone, is at least partially complicit in that surveillance. Although little here was a revelation, I think it did help me to partially reset or reframe some of my thinking on the subject. More to come on the subject and more VSI books too... 

Happy World Book Day....! Go READ something.....

That's either probably fake.... Or possibly Australia..... [muses]

I'm guessing that the end-game could be a bit rough.....!

Just Finished Reading: Julia by Sandra Newman (FP: 2023) [384pp]  

Julia Worthing is a rebel born of rebels. But above everything else she is a survivor. She has survived the nuclear war, the Revolution and the purges that followed. She even betrayed her own mother so that she could live a few more months. She has survived the coming of Big Brother and she will keep on surviving day by day, month by month. Julia is also a sex criminal, a thief and a black marketer – whatever it takes. It was only when she became involved with Winston Smith that she knew her days were numbered. Smith was a romantic, a fool who believed that the Proles would save them and a thought criminal who aspired to being an intellectual. It was only a matter of time before the Thought Police caught them. Even so, Julia knew that she would survive. She would survive the arrest; she would survive the Ministry of Love and she would even survive Room 101 – or so she believed... 

I picked this up a while back and intended to read it ‘coupled’ with the original classic 1984. But circumstances, and my pitiful reading speed presently, determined otherwise. It was, as you might imagine, an interesting read – especially so after not long re-reading George Orwell’s most famous work. Not only do we see the events portrayed in 1984 from Julia’s point of view – indeed a few sections are word for word from the original – but we also get glimpses of a time when Big Brother was still consolidating power and when his grip on Ingsoc and Airstrip One had yet to be finalised. We also see slices of life outside of Smith’s experience, with the Proles (an interesting perspective in itself), with the Inner Party and within the Anti-Sex League. It was interesting to get a broader and more rounded picture of the world of 1984 with insights at how the three power blocks (Oceania, Eastasia and Eurasia) emerged after the war and how the actual war (or wars!) was going. 

Obviously drawn from the original text, the Blitz experience of London in WW2 and the later Stalinist regime in Russia this was more than a fair stab at expanding the world of 1984 into more modern times. It did indeed have a more modern feel to it – complete with mini-spy drones keeping a CLOSE eye on people and viewscreens that would be out of place hanging on the wall of a modern house today. Oddly the feel was rather less oppressive than the original which, I think, took something away from the narrative. I did find Julia too hopeful about her personal future (though not the future of Airstrip One) which kind of, almost, distracted from the point of the book. I also thought that the end was both a little too weak and a bit muddled for my liking. We do, however, spend some interesting times with some of the MAIN characters of the original (O’Brien was particularly interesting in this regard!). Whilst I did have a few (minor) niggles with it, I still thought that it was very much worth the read. Recommended if you’re interested in more from the world of 1984. 

'Singing Butler' painter Jack Vettriano dies aged 73

From the BBC

Scottish painter Jack Vettriano, best known for his painting The Singing Butler, has died at the age of 73. His publicist said the artist was found dead at his apartment in Nice, in the south of France, on Saturday. It is understood there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. Vettriano, who was born Jack Hoggan on 17 November 1951 in Methil, Fife, was a self-taught artist.

He left school at 16 years of age to become a mining engineer. For his 21st birthday, he was given a set of watercolour paints and, from then on, he spent much of his spare time teaching himself to paint. He drew inspiration from works at Kirkcaldy Galleries, studying paintings from artists such as Samuel Peploe and William McTaggart so intently that he feared arousing the suspicions of gallery staff. His breakthrough came in 1998 when he submitted two paintings to the Royal Scottish Academy's annual show and both sold on the first day, inspiring him to become a full-time artist. While often dismissed by critics, his works garnered international acclaim, leading to exhibitions in cities such as Edinburgh, London, Hong Kong, Johannesburg and New York.

His best-known work, The Singing Butler, sold at auction in 2004 for £744,800 - a Scottish record at the time. It depicts an elegant couple dancing on a storm-swept beach accompanied by their butler and maid. Among those who acquired Vettriano paintings were Jack Nicholson, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Tim Rice and Robbie Coltrane. His publicist said: "Jack Vettriano's passing marks the end of an era for contemporary Scottish art. "His evocative and timeless works will continue to captivate and inspire future generations."

RIP Jack!