Bona Fide: Weekly Roundup #46

Hello and welcome to issue #46 of my Weekly Roundup. This week again no real movie trailers. But I look forward to next week. Then I will watch 2012 in cinema. I will share my impressions in the next Roundup. And now enjoy reading.....

Bona Fide's Menu

Books

1. Shelf discovery of the week: Crime time part two - The Blackest Bird by Joel Rose
   
2. Book trailer: Under the Dome by Stephen King
3. Delivery of the week: The Silver Skull by Mark Chadbourn
   

Blogosphere

1. Bookmarks Competition
2. Update: My November Reading Challenge

Movies

1. Matrix and the silent movie area
   
2. The Open Road London (1927)
   

Xgifts

1. The Fencer trilogy by K. J.Parker

Quotes

1. German proverbs and "bait" quotes

Books

Crime time part two
This week we go back in time. And this time London is not our destination. Instead follow me to New York. The year 1841 and we open The Blackest Bird (2007) [US][UK], by Joel Rose.

"New York, the sweltering summer of 1841: Mary Rogers, a beautiful counter girl at a popular Manhattan tobacco shop, is found brutally murdered in the Hudson River. John Colt, scion of the firearm fortune, beats his publisher to death with a hatchet. And young Irish gang leader Tommy Coleman is accused of killing his daughter, his wife, and his wife's former lover. Charged with solving it all is High Constable Jacob Hays, the city's first detective. Capping a long and distinguished career, Hays's investigation will involve gang wars, grave robbers, and clues hidden in poems by that master of dark tales, Edgar Allan Poe.

With a multilayered plot and rich, terse prose, The Blackest Bird is both a gripping mystery and a convincing portrait of the New York underworld in its early days. At its heart is Hays' unlikely connection with Poe, who like many other men was in love with Mary Rogers. In its deeply textured world, full of bloodshed and duplicity, only a few innocent relationships — such as Hays' tender bond with his daughter — provide any comfort and hope." [Source]

Book trailer
Did you ever read a book by Stephen King? I must admit I didn't. But his latest book Under the Dome (2009, 457 p.) [US][UK], is on my list.

"On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester's Mills, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener's hand is severed as "the dome" comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when--or if--it will go away."

And the book trailer is a good one:


Delivery of the week
I can't resist. I need to buy books. This week I received a copy of one more intriguing fantasy novel. It is the first book in the Sword of Albion series: The Silver Skull (2009, 423 p.) [US][UK], by Mark Chadbourn. Just read the blurb:

"A DEVILISH PLOT TO ASSASSINATE THE QUEEN, A COLD WAR ENEMY HELL-BENT ON DESTROYING THE NATION, INCREDIBLE GADGETS, A RACE AGAINST TIME AROUND THE WORLD TO STOP THE ULTIMATE DOOMSDAY DEVICE...AND ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND'S GREATEST SPY!
Meet Will Swyfte -- adventurer, swordsman, rake, swashbuckler, wit, scholar and the greatest of Walsingham's new band of spies. His exploits against the forces of Philip of Spain have made him a national hero, lauded from Carlisle to Kent. Yet his associates can barely disguise their incredulity -- what is the point of a spy whose face and name is known across Europe?
But Swyfte's public image is a carefully-crafted facade to give the people of England something to believe in, and to allow them to sleep peacefully at night. It deflects attention from his real work -- and the true reason why Walsingham's spy network was established.
A Cold War seethes, and England remains under a state of threat. The forces of Faerie have been preying on humanity for millennia. Responsible for our myths and legends, of gods and fairies, dragons, griffins, devils, imps and every other supernatural menace that has haunted our dreams, this power in the darkness has seen humans as playthings to be tormented, hunted or eradicated.

But now England is fighting back!

Magical defences have been put in place by the Queen's sorcerer Dr John Dee, who is also a senior member of Walsingham's secret service and provides many of the bizarre gadgets utilised by the spies. Finally there is a balance of power. But the Cold War is threatening to turn hot at any moment...
Will now plays a constant game of deceit and death, holding back the Enemy's repeated incursions, dealing in a shadowy world of plots and counter-plots, deceptions, secrets, murder, where no one... and no thing...is quite what it seems." [Source]

Blogosphere

Bookmarks Competition
Are you a creative person? Do you like and use bookmarks? Do you like to win books? Would you like to combine your foible for bookmarks with your creativity and the opportunity to win books? Then youmust take part in The Book Depository Bookmarks Competition. Click the link or download the template directly. Still not convinced?

"We're planning to print up to a million of the ten winning bookmarks. This competition is being sponsored by Thames and Hudson who have kindly donated over £1,000 worth of books that will be awarded to the winners too." [Source]

Closing date is December 31st 2009. Even I'm not artist I will take part because I like bookmarks and books.

My November Reading Challenge
On November 5th I posted about my November Reading Challenge. I think it is time to give an update after thirteen Days. I want to read seven books in November. So far I finished Ark (2009, 457 p.) [US][UK], by Stephen Baxter and Lamentation (2009, 405 p.) [US][UK], by Ken Scholes. The Stormcaller (2006, 493 p.) [US][UK], by Tom Loyd is nearly finished. Only 35 pages left. And I'm halfway through Colours In The Steel (1998, 503 p.) [US][UK], by K. J. Parker. That means I'm on a good way. I hope to review all these books.

Movies

Matrix and the silent movie area
Did you ever imagine how Matrix would look like in silent movie style? Here is one possibility. Just watch the video from Russian actor's group "Big Difference" (Bolshaya Raznitsa / Большая Разница). And once again a big thank you to the people of Steampunkopedia who find all this wonderful stuff.


The Open Road London (1927)
London is my favorite town. It is also the location of numerous books. I posted about The Magic of London and you find more in older issues of the Roundup. So I'm glad when I find short takes about former London. I like the following short movie because it is in color. Watch and marvel....



Xgifts

As I mentioned before I'm halfway through Colours In The Steel. And I'm intrigued. I definitely know that I want to read more books by K. J. Parker. I own the whole Fencer trilogy. But what's about you? For me it seems the Fencer trilogy is one of these underestimated series. You don't need to decide immediately. I will write and post a review of Colours In The Steel (1998, 503 p.) [US][UK], by K. J. Parker within this month.
"Perimadeia: the famed Triple City and the mercantile capital of the known world. Behind its allegedly impregnable walls, everything is available—including information that will allow its enemies to plan one of the most devastating sieges of all time. The man called upon to defend Perimadeia is Bardas Loredan, a fencer–at–law, weary of his work and the world. For Loredan is one of the surviving members of Maxen’s Pitchfork, the legendary band of soldiers who waged war on the Plains tribes, rendering an attack on Perimadeia impossible. Until now… But Loredan has problems of his own. In a city where court cases are settled by lawyers arguing with swords not words, enemies are all too easily made. And by winning one particular case, Loredan has unwittingly become the target of a young woman bent on revenge. The last thing he needs is the responsibility of saving a city." Source


The Belly of the Bow (1999, 448p.) [US][UK], by K. J. Parker is the second book of the Fencer trilogy. And Bardas Loredan is still the main character:
"The city of Perimadeia has fallen. Bardas Loredan, the man who was chosen to save it, is now on the Island—a recluse living in the mountains, away from his family, with only a young apprentice for company. His life as a fencer–at–law is over. Instead, Loredan spends his days perfecting the art of bow making. But his isolation will not last forever, and when the Island comes under attack, his skills as a soldier and leader are once again called into play. The second installment in The Fencer Trilogy, The Belly of the Bow firmly establishes K.J. Parker in the top rank of fantasy writers. " Source

The Proof House (2000, 602 p.) [US][UK], by K. J. Parker is the conclusion of the Fencer trilogy.

"After years spent in the saps under the defenses of the apparently impregnable city of Ap'Iscatoy, Bardas Loredan, sometimes fencer-at-law and betrayed defender of the famed Triple City, is suddenly hero of the Empire. His reward is a boring administrative job in a backwater, watching armor tested to destruction in the Proof House. But the fall of Ap'Iscatoy has opened up unexpected possibilities for the expansion of the Empire into the land of the Plains people, and Bardas Loredan is the one man Temrai the Great, King of the Plains tribes, fears the most…" [Source]

Quotes

"bait" quotes and more German proverbs. And again I used wikiqoute as my main source.

" Do not bite at the bait of pleasure till you know there is no hook beneath it."
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of US (1743 - 1826)

" When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain"
Mark Twain, American writer (1835 - 1910)

"* Wenn Gauner sich streiten, kommt die Wahrheit ans Licht.
Translation: When scoundrels argue, the truth is revealed.
Meaning: Secret or criminal acts can only be kept a secret as long as the perpetrators do not quarrel among themselves.”

" * Wenn der Reiter nichts taugt, ist das Pferd schuld.
Translation: If the horseman is bad, it's the horse's fault.
English equivalent: "A poor craftsman blames his tools.”