"To the transactional and self-interested mindset, politicians are largely indistinguishable other than on the basis of their personalities, and the platforms they espouse are usually irrelevant. All that matters is getting the candidate to do things you want - or to prevent them from doing things other people want." 

Tom Nichols, Our Own Worst Enemy - The Assault From Within on Modern Democracy.

Happy Birthday: Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the science fiction, crime, and historical drama genres, with an atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. He ranks among the highest-grossing directors and has received many accolades, including the BAFTA Fellowship for Lifetime Achievement in 2018, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003, and appointed a Knight Grand Cross by King Charles III in 2024.

An alumnus of the Royal College of Art in London, Scott began his career in television as a designer and director before moving into advertising as a director of commercials. He made his film directorial debut with The Duellists (1977) and gained wider recognition with his next film, Alien (1979). Though his films range widely in setting and period, they showcase memorable imagery of urban environments, spanning 2nd-century Rome in Gladiator (2000) and its 2024 sequel, 12th-century Jerusalem in Kingdom of Heaven (2005), medieval England in Robin Hood (2010), ancient Memphis in Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014), contemporary Mogadishu in Black Hawk Down (2001), and the futuristic cityscapes of Blade Runner (1982) and different planets in Alien, Prometheus (2012), The Martian (2015) and Alien: Covenant (2017).

Scott has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Directing for Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down. Gladiator won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and he received a nomination in the same category for The Martian. In 1995, both Scott and his brother Tony received a British Academy Film Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema. Scott's films Alien, Blade Runner and Thelma & Louise were each selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being considered "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In a 2004 BBC poll, Scott was ranked 10 on the list of most influential people in British culture. Scott also works in television, and has earned 10 Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He won twice, for Outstanding Television Film for the HBO film The Gathering Storm (2002) and for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special for the History Channel's Gettysburg (2011). He was Emmy-nominated for RKO 281 (1999), The Andromeda Strain (2008), and The Pillars of the Earth (2010).

Just Finished Reading: The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (FP: 1990) [254pp] 

Vietnam, 1968. He was a coward, pure and simple. Even with the Canadian border in sight he just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t leave. It would shame his family, shame his high school, shame his church, his town. There was only one thing he could do – accept the draft letter and report as ordered. He was going to Vietnam. As a basic grunt, humping through the jungles and paddy fields as part of Alpha company, he saw friends die from a sniper's bullet, a random mortar round fired into a field stinking of human shit, a booby-trapped artillery shell, from infection, from a self-inflicted wound. He watched as air support destroyed entire villages and helicopters picked up the dead and dying. He stopped being amazed by the fact that no matter the amount of ordnance they used, the bullets expended, the rockets fired or the grenades thrown, there was always more, more than you could count, more than you could imagine, more than you could carry.  

I’d heard of this author and some of his Vietnam novels – including this one – long before reading this. As a serving soldier in the infantry in that conflict he has, since his rotation back to the world, been writing about it ever since partially, he suspects, in order to remain sane. I was expecting this to be a novel so was a bit surprised that it turned out to be, sort of, a series of short stories or vignettes drawing on his personal experiences. There’s even an interesting discussion about the ‘reality’ of war stories and the question of whether you can actually tell the truth to those who haven’t experienced the surreal war experience first-hand. I’m sure that many of us have seen Vietnam war movies that seem more fantastical than real (compared to, say WW2 movies) - for example Apocalypse Now! - and its these, the author maintains, that get closest to the truth of things. The more believable, the more understandable, the story the less likely it is to have actually happened – and that’s before we get into the psychology of combat stress and false memories. Fascinating stuff. 

I think my favourite story was ‘Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong’. This was a story related to him by the Companies medic who was, briefly, working at an evacuation station deep in the jungle. It was an easy posting only interrupted by occasional helicopters carrying wounded who needed urgent medical attention prior to flying them to a full hospital. Inevitably the grunts were bored and wondered if it was possible to ‘sneak in’ a few local women. Some wise-guy suggested that the fly their girlfriends from back home instead – so one of them did just that. But things didn’t turn out quite as expected. After a few weeks 17-year-old Mary Anne Bell started asking questions – how things worked, what it was like out outside the wire, that sort of thing. So, equally bored, the grunts showed her how to field strip a M-16, set up a claymore anti-personal mine and how to shoot. Then, one day she simply disappeared – for 3 days no one saw her. When she did come back it was with a bunch of Green Berets who had taken her on patrol. Not only did she like it, she was good at it... I did laugh at that... 

This was a rather strange read at times, as you might imagine with all things Vietnam related. But it was also a very good read. Generally, the stories were of a high quality – I think the worst one was ‘only’ reasonable – and gave a lot of insight into the Vietnam ‘experience’. It wasn’t always pleasant, as you should expect from the time and place, but it was always a page turner. Definitely recommended and more to come from this author and this region/war. 

The radio station I listen to, Classic FM, has just started playing Christmas music from Monday. So far it's just a sprinkling but before you know it it'll be wall to wall carols.... [lol]

Just Finished Reading: The Glass Wall – Lives on the Baltic Frontier by Max Egremont (FP: 2021) [263pp] 

I’ll be the first to admit that my ‘knowledge’ of the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania is confined to the fact that they gained their independence soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union and that some rather vicious battles were fought there towards to end of WW2 to slow the advance of Soviet forces into Germany. Thankfully, after reading this very good book, I’m a LOT less ignorant than before. 

This did take a little effort to ‘get into’ because of the authors style – not that his writing was bad, far from it. Maybe I was expecting a more rigid organisation – geographically or chronologically – rather than him essentially (with some exaggeration on my part) wandering around the region chatting to people and digging into the past of various buildings/monuments or areas. One big thing I did realise early one, is that the Baltic States have had FAR too much History happen to them than is usually warranted in a comparatively small region. The States have been occupied by one major Empire or other for the last 700 years, have been fought over, bargained with, and have had their culture shaped by other countries for generations. It is only now that they are really finding out exactly who they are. 

Heavily influenced by their two most powerful neighbours – Russia and, especially, Germany – it can feel (the author said more than once) that you’re travelling through one of those countries, from the languages you hear on the street to the architecture around every corner. Interviewing, or sometimes simply chatting, with locals throughout the region including serving military officers, teachers and librarians, Holocaust survivors, descendants of the previous ruling elites, returned exiles from all across the globe as well as random people on local buses, the reader gets a real sense both of the present situation, the cultural streams flowing through and the deep sense of history felt by its inhabitants. 

This was a really interesting read about a part of Europe I knew very little about. I’ll definitely be returning to the region when I can to dig deeper around some of its LONG and complex history. Definitely recommended for anyone interested in the zone – in the news quite a bit recently with their unwavering support for Ukraine and the threats aimed at them from Russia (which they are more than used to) - and for anyone thinking of visiting.   

Speaking of SF..... [lol]

Get to Know the SF Reader Tag (Tagged by Stephen over @ Reading Freely)

1- What is your sci-fi origin story? (How you came to read your first sci-fi novel) 

As I’ve said on multiple occasions now, when I was in my early teens sitting on the sofa presumably looking bored, a friend of my older brother’s had just arrived to see him. Seeing me he threw a book he was carrying into my lap and said “I think you’ll like this”. It was Triplanetary by E E ‘Dod’ Smith – a 1930’s space opera. I didn’t like it – I absolutely LOVED it and have never looked back. 

2- If you could be the hero in a sci-fi novel, who would be the author, and what’s one trope you’d insist be in the story? 

An Iain M Banks ‘Culture’ novel. A hard-assed sassy female assassin companion, so we could spend the book swapping quips and causing sparks with our unresolved sexual tension which we’d both play up to outrageously. 

3- What is a sci-fi you’ve read this year, that you want more people to read? 

The Dispossessed by Ursula K LeGuin 

4- What is your favourite sci-fi subgenre? What subgenre have you not read much from? 

My favourite sub-genre is probably Cyberpunk or Military SF. I’ve hardly read any comic SF and what I have I didn’t really like.  

5- Who is one of your auto-buy sci-fi authors? 

Difficult to say. A lot of the older authors are already on my shelves. I’m far too out of touch to auto-buy any new ones. 

6- How do you typically find sci-fi recommendations? 

In the same place I find all of my recommendations – A combination of YouTube/TikTok, other Blogs, Amazon recommends, random places... 

7- What is one upcoming sci-fi release you’re looking forward to? 

No. FAR too out of touch with modern SF to even be aware of what's coming next/soon. 

8- What is one sci-fi misconception you’d like to lay to rest? 

Written SF is not the same as movie or TV SF – generally it's MUCH more diverse and generally MUCH better.  

9- If someone had never read a sci-fi book before and asked you to recommend the first 3 books that came to mind as places to start, what would your recommendations be? 

Short Stories, Similar things to what SF you like watching on TV/Movies, short(ish) novels.  

10- Who is the most recent sci-fi reading content creator you’ve come across that you’d like to shoutout? 

I’ve stumbled across Feral Historian who talks about all kinds of Sci-Fi. I don’t always agree with his political ‘take’ but he does make lots of interesting points about SF content. He’s well worth a visit. https://www.youtube.com/@feralhistorian/videos 

Happy Birthday: William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film Frankenstein (1931), his 82nd film, established him as a horror icon, and he reprised the role for the sequels Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). He also appeared as Imhotep in The Mummy (1932), and voiced the Grinch in, as well as narrating, the animated television special of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966), which won him a Grammy Award.

Aside from his numerous film roles (174 films), Karloff acted in many live stage plays and appeared on dozens of radio and television programs as well. For his contribution to film and television, Karloff was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 8 February 1960.

[Totally LOVED these early horror films (thanks DAD, AGAIN!) and probably watched Karloff strut his stuff hundreds of times growing up. Brilliant.] 

Just Finished Reading: I, Warbot – The Dawn of Artificially Intelligent Conflict by Kenneth Payne (FP: 2021) [256pp] 

Anyone who has been paying attention to the news has, no doubt, witnessed the explosive increase in drone use and drone power on the battlefield – not only in Ukraine but elsewhere across the world. Drones, it seems, are it. Coupled with drones are the use of highly sophisticated missiles and (quite possibly) even more sophisticated missile defences. It's all VERY impressive. The smart missiles gain their smarts from the ability to self-guide after launch and some can even pick a second target if they ‘realise’ the first target has been destroyed. Some missiles can even respond with counter measures if detected. What they can’t do, of course, is think. They can’t really ‘decide’ what to do – they're programmed with a set of instructions which essentially follow a ‘IF this THEN...’ structure. They respond to the environment, sure, but only in a very limited fashion. 

Drones, no matter how good they are, are by and large, human controlled, human directed and human deployed. Generally, their ‘intelligence’ without human involvement is almost non-existent. Yet they are, as we’ve seen time and time again on video feeds VERY combat effective. Because of this both anti-drone and especially anti-missile systems need to be VERY good and, most importantly, VERY quick. This means that humans can’t really be ‘in the loop’ - they can’t really be given the final authority to engage an incoming target. With as little as a few seconds to respond, humans are just too SLOW. Machines, aided with still rudimentary AI is much better suited to this sort of thing and can detect, confirm and launch a response in the time it takes a human to start to recognise a threat. With the way things are clearly going that’s a BIG problem. 

Enter AI (Artificial Intelligence) or at least the hopes, the hype, the advertised AI. Its proponents and manufacturers tell us, and their military customers, that AI can (at least ultimately) solve their very real problems – kind of set a thief to catch (or shoot down) a thief. The problem is, naturally, that putting AI into a weapon – especially a disposable/kamikaze one – is going to be a LOT easier that putting one into a system to defend against them. Again, this will mean removing or reducing the humans in the loop to save vital seconds but there’s a real problem that militaries all over the world are facing – AI isn’t really all that good despite the hype. We are a LONG LONG way from Terminators or SkyNet (thankfully). AI is good, often VERY good, in narrow clearly defined tasks but take it just a bit out of its comfort zone and it falls apart or simply stops ‘unsure’ how to proceed. Not exactly something you want to happen with a missile defence network during a shooting war. 

These issues, and much more besides, are intelligently discussed in this fascinating book. The author certainly knows his way around the topic, not only from the military hardware side of things along with the tactical and strategic implications of such, but also AI research, breakthroughs in understanding the human brain, Game Theory, and the Philosophy of Mind. It was, for ME at least [grin], highly engaging. About the only ‘fault’ I could find – and it certainly wasn’t a fault of the author – is that despite its recent publication the pace of drone, missile and robot development has already made some observations in the book increasingly obsolete. But, that’s the danger of reading books, which take an appreciable time to become published (even in my hardback edition), on such topics. Taking this caveat into account this is still a very good accounting of the recent impact of AI on military technology and thinking both at the tactical and strategic level. Military AI is here to stay and will become ever more powerful and more deeply integrated into military forces across the world. I was particularly interested in the ‘half-way house’ of human-machine teams (such as the loyal wingman programme adding drones to aircraft to enhance their combined effectiveness) which are called Centaurs! How funky is that! Definitely recommended for science, technology and warfare geeks out there.  

Happy World Philosophy Day..!

From Wiki: Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak (18 August 1921 – 1 August 1943), also known as Lilya, was a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II. Historians' estimates for her total victories range from thirteen to fourteen solo victories and four to five shared kills in her 66 combat sorties. In about two years of operations, she was the first female fighter pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft, the first of two female fighter pilots who have earned the title of fighter ace and the holder of the record for the greatest number of kills by a female fighter pilot. She was shot down near Orel during the Battle of Kursk as she attacked a formation of German aircraft.

I've JUST passed 1.5 MILLION page views over night..... COOL.....!!!

That's not just 'some woman'.... That's Xena: Warrior Princess! OF COURSE she's happier with a sword in her hand! Duh!

Just Finished Reading: Blood and Chrysanthemums by Nancy Baker (FP: 1994) [282pp] 

Even after 6 months Ardeth Alexander was still getting used to being dead, or undead or whatever the hell it was. Certainly none of her pop-culture references helped much. Not going out in the daylight was pretty obvious and she liked the fact that she was both faster and stronger than before despite not looking it. She really liked the fact that she didn’t have to kill people to just ‘get by’. The whole drinking people dry thing was just a myth. She could just sip a bit and tell them to forget the encounter. A half day later they’d be fine – probably. She could even ‘get by’ on animal blood. Sure, it tasted like shit but sometimes it was just easier. Her ‘maker’, Dimitri Rozokov, wasn’t much help in the whole “how do I live as a vampire” thing. Despite the fact he was 500 years old he wasn’t all that introspective on the subject – odd for a Russian. It didn’t help that he had only recently woken up from a century long nap and was struggling to adapt to the late-20th century. But they both had bigger fish to fry... The organisation that had capture Rozokov and, admittedly inadvertently, ‘turned’ Ardeth might still be out there looking for them – despite the fire and the carnage of their escape. There was definitely someone (or something?) seeking them. Why, they could only guess. Was it someone else looking for the secrets of immortality or something completely different? Was it friend, foe or something else entirely? Did they really want to find out? Did they really have a choice? Maybe, just maybe, the encounter could even provide both of them with some answers... 

This is my first return to the vampire genre for SEVEN years! I can hardly believe it. I used to be SO into the whole vamp thing. One of the (many) things I liked about it was the variety of interpretations surrounding the core ideas. This was another one where the vampires were immune to holy water, crosses and actually anything Christian/religious but could be harmed by ultrasonic blasts... One thing that I did find most intriguing was the fact that they had little idea of where they came from or indeed (for one in particular) what exactly they were. In this ‘universe’ they are vanishingly rare creatures and are a world or two away from the vampire houses etc that seem to populate most of the genre today. Their biggest problems – apart from sunlight – seem to be long-distance travel, accumulating enough money to ‘live’ and the constant fear of being discovered.  

This is actually the middle book of a trilogy (all out of print I think) but missing out on the first book wasn’t a huge issue. Early on there was a 3-4 page ‘flashback’ that explained much that had happened previously and a sprinkling of other information throughout. The writing was pretty solid, all of the characters were well formed and I liked Ardeth quite a bit. I’ll definitely be keeping a look out for the other books and will scoop them up if I come across them. A more than reasonable vampire tale and recommended if you can source a copy. 

The Last 10 Movies – November 2024 Edition 

Well, that was quick. TEN movies already... That might (partially) explain why my book review pile is at rock bottom. I have been trying to watch the James Bond films that dropped recently on Prime, but it looks like a bunch of them are going soon. Presumably they’ll be back at some point so I can continue. As previously I’ve also been dipping into OLD SF movies to feed a small bit of my ongoing desire to launch back into Sci-Fi reading. Hopefully that’ll be happening a bit more NEXT year. Anyway – MOVIES: 

Stargate: The Ark of Truth (2008) 

One of the movies used to finish the run of the TV series. I’d seen parts of it before on YouTube and wasn’t overly impressed overall. One more movie to come (I think). 

Dr No (1962) 

The first Bond film (although not the first book) with Sean Connery [my 2nd fave Bond I think]. Set the tone for all subsequent films with womanising secret agent beating back the forces of chaos with fists, guns and quips. Reasonable. 

Dark Star (1974) 

This definitely had the feel of a student project – except the student was John Carpenter. Based around a spaceship crew tasked with destroying rogue planets who have been away from civilisation for FAR too long and are seriously in need of relief. Had a real Vietnam war vibe. STRANGE but fun in places. 

From Russia With Love (1963) 

The second Bond film. This time (mostly) based in Turkey and on a train. Involved rather a convoluted plot to kill Bond. Some nice set pieces. Reasonable. 

Total Recall (1990) 

One of my favourite Arnie flics of the period. This stands up quite well despite its age. Being a PK Dick story it's both weird and philosophically interesting. Is it real or is it Memorex? Oh, and Rachel Ticotin really reminded me of my Uni ‘girlfriend’ - it was probably the hairdo... 

Goldfinger (1964) 

The third Bond film and, I think, one of the best of the early ones. A decently tight plot with some good ideas. Plus, it had the laser scene and the classic line ‘No, I expect you to die...’. 

Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) 

Arguably the best of the Terminator franchise with Arnie sent back in time to PROTECT John Connor this time whilst fighting off the liquid alloy upgrade. Some very nice set-pieces and LOTS of fun explosions. 

Thunderball (1965) 

The fourth Bond film based around the theft of a British nuclear bomber (complete with two nukes). A slow start but reasonable once it got going. It did make me realise just how many women tend to DIE around Bond though... 

Dark Angel (1990) - AKA ‘I Come In Peace’. 

Cop buddy film with Dolph Lundgren hunting down an alien drug-dealer on the streets of Houston. I’d actually forgotten just how BAD this movie was. Terrible acting and very silly plot.  

The Secret Life of Pets (2016) 

By the numbers animation about a group of pets from an apartment block who go on a quest to rescue two of their friends. Some nice/funny moments but uninspired overall. 

Happy Birthday: Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed radio, theatre, film, and television.

Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" and "one of the most accomplished actors of the century". A lifetime member of the Actors Studio, he won an Emmy, was the first male actor to win the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, and was nominated for two Academy Awards.

Meredith established himself as a leading man in Hollywood with critically acclaimed performances as Mio Romagna in Winterset (1936), George Milton in Of Mice and Men (1939), and Ernie Pyle in The Story of G.I. Joe (1945).

Meredith was known later in his career for his appearances on The Twilight Zone and for portraying The Penguin in the 1960s TV series Batman and boxing trainer Mickey Goldmill in the Rocky film series. For his performances in The Day of the Locust (1975) and Rocky (1976), he received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He later appeared in the comedy Foul Play (1978) and the fantasy film Clash of the Titans (1981). He narrated numerous films and documentaries during his long career.

Just Finished Reading: The Unthinkable – Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why by Amanda Ripley (FP: 2008/2009) [229pp] 

When tragedy strikes why do some walk away when others die? Is it the luck of the draw? Is it just because they happened to be sitting next to the emergency exit or had popped out for a breath of fresh air during a fire? Or the fact that they went to the bathroom moments before the shooting started? Or is it something more and can that something be learnt? This is the heart of the authors investigation. 

Although the majority of the examples and interviews in these pages are US based, there’s a lot of general knowledge and advice throughout this intriguing book. Covering 9/11, a diplomatic hostage incident in South America, a stampede in Mecca, a fire at a club in Beverly Hills, the shooting at Virgina Tech and much besides the author shows what people do, how the human brain reacts to dangerous surprises and why such reactions – often (ironically) hardwired for survival – could determine life or death. Following the initial shock there is often a period of disbelief: this isn’t happening or why is this happening to me? Getting stuck there will, all too often, get you killed. Once disbelief has been banished the question is: what next? Strangely the most common reaction is to do nothing, to wait for direction or rescue. This too could get you killed. Once moving on to doing ‘something’, what exactly do you do? Again, the standard reaction is to see what others are doing. There is, often, safety in numbers – but it can also result in argument, discussion, group think and, again, death. What needs to be done is a quick analysis of what happened, where it leaves you and how to get out. So, where are your exits? Do you know how to get to the fire escape? Can you (or indeed should you) break that window? Do you know if it’s safe to open that door? Do you take anything with you? Do you help others? Surprisingly numerous studies have shown that people hardly ever panic but are actually very polite, will wait their turn and help others who are struggling. Which, ironically, can make evacuations take much longer than the buildings or aircrafts designers anticipated. 

This is an often fascinating and surprisingly multilayered look at how people react in ‘unthinkable’ situations. The author interviewed survivors asking them what they did, what they saw other people do (some of whom didn’t make it) and what they assigned their survival to. She also spoke to experts in the field to get their take on things including those who study the human brain to see why some people panic, some freeze and some take charge. I’m not sure if (as per the tag-line on my copy) that this book might save your life someday, but it does give a LOT of good advice and observations. One of my favourites is the idea of what to do after you check into a hotel. After you’ve dropped your bags in your room, you leave, find the nearest fire exit and follow it to reception discovering exactly where it goes and if there are any problems en route. Now THAT could indeed save your life! A very interesting read and definitely recommended. 

Just Finished Reading: The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa (FP: 2021) [244pp] 

After enjoying the authors previous novel – The Travelling Cat Chronicles – I was looking forward to her next work. I was not disappointed. Rather than a novel, this was a selection of short stories featuring cats (obviously) and how they affected their owners during a change or crisis in their lives. Oddly (at least in my mind) almost all, if not actually all, the cats in question were strays picked up by various characters in various ways. Whether that’s a standard way to have a cat in your life – in Japan or elsewhere – I don’t know. My last cat arrived in a roundabout way, via the landlady of a friend's girlfriend... 

Off to a great start with ‘The Goodbye Cat’ a story told from the point of view of Kota, a new cat in the Sakuraba family who is ‘promised’ to go to Heaven if he lives long enough and fills out the correct forms. Both funny and quite sad. ‘Bringing Up Baby’ might have been my favourite tale if it wasn’t for two later ones. It told of a socially inept husband of a long-suffering wife who despaired of him ever being able to cope with their new baby – until he finds a kitten in a discarded pizza box and adopts it. Looking after such a small and needy creature (Spin, the cat that is!) turns him into the husband and father she most needed. A very heart-warming story. 'Cat Island' was a bit of a mystical one revolving around a young boy coming to terms with his father's second wife helped by an old woman who is much more than she seems to be. 

The last two in the collection were a surprise. At first, I thought ‘Finding Hachi’ was an earlier draft of Travelling Cat, but it turned out to be an expansion of the novels plot where we learned more about the main characters first cat and his early family tragedy. In ‘Life is Not Always Kind’, the final story, we learn even more about the background of the Travelling Cat’s main character Satoru Miyawaki and his second cat Nana. I was really pleased to be immersed in that lovely narrative again.

Not only are these stories bound to be loved by anyone who is remotely a fan of felines they also give lots of little insights into Japanese culture which is fascinating in its own right. The author has a real eye for life's daily drama too. 

One additional thing that I loved about this book was that each story was preceded by an excellent drawing of a cat by someone who both clearly knew and loved cats. You can see the quality of his work on the cover too. The artist’s name is Yukata Murakami and you’ll be seeing examples of some of his work in future. I’m already looking forward to the author's next book which, as far as I can tell, is a series of short stories based around train travel. Highly recommended although the more sensitive might need a tissue or two ready. 

Translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel.