Just Finished Reading: The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle (FP: 1968) [292pp] 

It was an overheard conversation at it changed everything. Whilst hiding in her wood she listened in to two hunters passing through. One warned that hunting here was useless because the local wildlife had learnt to hide too well in emulation of the resident unicorn. His companion laughed heartily and explained the unicorns were a myth and even if they had existed (which he doubted) they had long vanished from the world of men. Both amused and irritated by the debate she couldn't help but wonder: was she the last unicorn? If so, what happened to the others? Did they leave to go elsewhere or did they, rather illogically, die – being immortal kind of squashed this idea. There was, she thought, only one way to find out. She would have to leave her sacred wood and venture out into the world and seek out others of her kind or at least find out what happened to them and what might, ultimately, happen to her. Her quest was about to begin... 

Despite this being a classic (although apparently 'lost' for some time) and despite being listed as one of the 100 greatest fantasy novels of all time, I had honestly never heard of it or the author. I think a big part of that is that Fantasy isn't exactly my favourite gene. I've dipped my toes in before (and even wiggled them a bit) but have never really 'dived in' - to extend the metaphor a little further. This book/author might be the start of turning that around because I totally LOVED it! 

I think part of that reaction was sheer surprise. For one thing the novel was really well written - simply beautifully. But it was much more than that. As usual I'll bang on about characterisation. The unicorn herself, as she progressed from understandable naivety to depressing knowledge, is very well drawn. Her companions on the quest likewise are a delight. The immortal (but only until his magic actually starts working properly) wizard Schmendrick was a particular favourite of mine throughout. He's fully accepting of how inept he is but at the same time knows with iron certainty that he CAN do great things given the right opportunity. 

The world building is superb. If you have had any experience of either Fantasy tales or Fairy tales, you'll fit right in. Layered on top of this is the VERY knowing humour that had me literally howling with laughter. We meet a bandit chief who composes songs about himself so that he'll become a part of the local folklore and, eventually he hopes, a myth (yet he doesn't believe that Robin Hood was ever a 'real' person). There is a local villager who, when asked to explain his actions – or actually inactions - responds with (I'm paraphrasing slightly here) the fact that he knows what a hero narrative looks like when he sees one. One other conversation almost floored me the way it fell. One of the other main characters asked why the prince in the spooky castle was 'so important'. The magician looked at her and said, "You've never been in a fairy tale before, have you?" MUCH laughing ensued as the magician clearly knew he was a character in a story and was happy to go along with it! 

This is the kind of book that you could read to your children at bedtime (I suggest for the over 7's as some of the ideas might simply fly over their heads otherwise and there are a few scary bits for the very young). Older children would, I think, not only get a LOT out of this but also get a lot out of re-reading it every 3-5 years. Each read, I think, would reveal more as they matured. But that doesn't mean that this is simply a well-written and enjoyable children's book. Nothing of the sort. This is one of those rare books that just about anyone can read and enjoy. All readers of all ages will get different things from it, but everyone will come away entertained, bedazzled and oddly comforted too. It is a tale of heroism, friendship, love, conviction, exploration and much, much more. Definitely a highlight of the year and DEFINITELY recommended even if you're not normally a Fantasy fan. More to come from this author. 

The VERY Best of Luck to Count Binface in today's By-Election in Clacton! Make You Vote COUNT! 

Just Finished Reading: The Last Gentleman of War – The Raider Exploits of the Cruiser Emden by R K Lochner (FP: 1979) [303pp] 

In 1914 the war drums, ever louder, could be heard all the way in China. It would only be a matter of time before Germany's Far East fleet was trapped in her home port and either starved into submission or destroyed by the Allies superior numbers. There was only one thing to do – leave port and strike at the superior enemy forces wherever they could be found. In order to do that the commander, Admiral Graf von Spee, wanted to keep his entire force together. One captain, Karl von Muller, asked is his ship Emden could be detached to operate independently. After some musing the Admiral agreed and the historic exploits of that ship began. In the coming months Commander Muller not only managed to evade the sweeps of British, French, Russian and Japanese warships but he also managed to sink thousands of tons of Allied cargo vessels, destroy an oil facility in Madras, raid Penang (an Allied port) sinking both a Russian and a French warship running the Allies a very merry chase for over 3 months without any access to port facilities or the possibility of resupply. What's more, all of the encounters with civilian vessels – both enemy and neutral resulted in not a single death or injury (except maybe to their pride) which was universally praised by all sides. 

But such a run of luck (and skill) cannot last forever. Deciding to attack and destroy an isolated British radio station and cut the international cables which met there, Commander Muller made a fatal mistake. Believing that the nearest Allied warship was at least 250 miles away he sent ashore a party of men to undertake the task at hand. Aware that a message had been sent out of a 'strange ship' in the harbour the German crew knew that they had to work fast. What they didn't realise was just HOW fast they needed to move. Unfortunately for the Emden a heavily escorted Allied troop convoy was only 50 miles away and a fast cruiser – the Australian HMAS Sydney – was dispatched to investigate. Sydney was a more modern, faster and more heavily armed vessel than Emden which quickly found that it was outgunned and could neither stand and fight nor successfully run from her bigger opponent. Within a few hours of the opening salvo Emden lay wrecked, beached on a carol reef surrounded by the dead and dying. It was over – or not... 

The landing party has seen part of the fight and had a decision to make. They could either hide on the island (unlikely) or stand and fight (suicide against a cruiser and any troops sent to follow up any offshore bombardment). Neither option found favour. There was only one alternative – escape and return to Germany, which would mean sailing from North Keeling island (located 1750 miles west of Australia in the Indian ocean) across the Indian ocean, to the Red Sea coastal area, across Arabia to Constantinople and from there, by train, finally to Germany itself. This is exactly what they accomplished with minimal casualties all round. Unsurprisingly they were treated like heroes on their return over a year later. 

I knew the early part of this story having read about Graf von Spee's fleet actions at Coronel and the Falklands (where his command was destroyed much to the relief of the Royal Navy). But I didn't know much detail (or just how heroic) the actions of Emden were. It's an amazing story, well told with lots of detail gleaned from the dairies and reports of those involved on all sides. I was particularly impressed by the logistical nightmare of keeping a ship in action that needed HUNDREDS of tons of coal on a regular basis just to keep going - never mind food and other items. I can definitely see why they shifted to oil ASAP! If you're interested in WW1 away from the mud, shells and gas of the Western Front this is definitely a recommended read for you and worth the effort of tracking down a copy. 

Translated from the German by Thea and Harry Lindauer.  

Happy Birthday: Terence Joseph Nation (8 August 1930 – 9 March 1997) was a Welsh screenwriter and novelist. Especially known for his work in British television science fiction, he created the Daleks and Davros for Doctor Who, as well as the series Survivors and Blake's 7.

Nation first made his name as a comedy writer before becoming a prolific writer for drama, working on many of the most popular British series of the 1960s and 1970s, such as The Avengers, The Baron, The Champions, Department S, The Persuaders! and The Saint. When Nation was commissioned to write The Daleks (1963) for Doctor Who, the villainous eponymous creatures established the series' early popularity. He later devised the recurring character of Davros in Genesis of the Daleks (1975). His series Survivors and Blake's 7 have been described as "much-loved cult TV classics".

In 1965, he and Dennis Spooner co-wrote the 12-part serial The Daleks' Master Plan, after which Nation, who still held the copyright to the Daleks, attempted to launch a Dalek spin-off TV series in the United States. Various other Dalek tie-in material appeared, including comic strips in the children's weekly TV Century 21 and annuals; such material was frequently credited to Nation, even when written by others. Over the next few years, appearances by the Daleks in Doctor Who became less frequent and were written by other authors (Whitaker wrote The Power of the Daleks (1966) and The Evil of the Daleks (1967), and Louis Marks wrote Day of the Daleks (1972)).

Following an eight-year absence from the series, Nation returned to writing for the Daleks on Doctor Who with the Third Doctor serials Planet of the Daleks (1973) and Death to the Daleks (1974). Producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks felt that the Dalek script Nation submitted for season 12 was too reminiscent of previous Dalek stories, and suggested that Nation rewrite the script to focus on the Daleks' origin. The resulting serial, Genesis of the Daleks, was voted the greatest Doctor Who story of all time by Doctor Who Magazine readers in 1998. In Genesis, Nation introduced the character of Davros, the creator of the Daleks, who went on to appear in further storylines. Nation also wrote two non-Dalek scripts for Doctor Who, The Keys of Marinus in 1964, which introduced the Voord, and The Android Invasion in 1975, which introduced the Kraals. Nation's final script for Doctor Who was Destiny of the Daleks, broadcast in 1979.

Having returned to writing for Doctor Who, the BBC commissioned Nation to create a new science-fiction drama series. First broadcast in 1975, Survivors is the post-apocalyptic story of the last humans on Earth after the world's population has been devastated by plague. Although the series was well received, Nation's creative vision conflicted with that of producer Terence Dudley, and the final two series were produced without Nation's involvement.

The production of Nation's next BBC creation, Blake's 7, experienced fewer problems. This series follows a group of criminals and political prisoners who are on the run from the evil "Terran Federation", piloting a stolen spaceship of unknown origin. Blake's 7 ran for four series from 1978 to 1981. Although Nation scripted the whole of the first series of Blake's 7, his creative influence subsequently declined in the following two series despite writing some key episodes, as script editor Chris Boucher exerted a greater influence on those seasons. Nation didn't write any episodes in the fourth series of Blake's 7. In the 1980s, Nation attempted, without success, to secure funding for a fifth series of Blake's 7.

[Terry Nation played a HUGE part in my teenage years not only in the creation of one of my all-time fave baddies in the Daleks - and as part of one of my all-time favourite TV shows in Dr Who - but also in 2 other series that I loved - Survivors and especially Blakes 7. So, a happy birthday indeed!]

Happy International Cat Day!

NEVER crossed my mind until I saw this..... [lol]