Now I need to read this book. Who's the author?
bene_legionary
Searching for the daguerrotype of God
Leonard Woolf, the husband of Virginia Woolf. The book is on the Gutenberg Project: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60627
Suddenly, on the first secretary's desk, the telephone rang. Nikolai Alexandrovich instantly grabbed the receiver and, in a voice of profound respect, if not fear, responded, "Mikhailov speaking... Yes, I understand... We'll come right away."
[later, once they're spent 20 minutes in the caller's office and are about to depart]
"Do you have any requests, Comrades?" Joseph Vissarionovich asked.
Krasavchenko and Pchelintsev were in a state of profound paralysis and a pause hung over the office. I was not affected the same way. I experienced something different: an unprecedented enthusiasm. I wanted to hear words from the supreme commander-in-chief which were addressed specifically to me.
"Yes, Comrade Stalin, I have a request," I said softly. "We really need an English-Russian and Russian-English dictionary, with a grammar textbook as well. Because it's important to know your allies well, just like your enemies!"
"Well said, Comrade Pavlichenko." The leader of the world proletariat smiled. "You will receive the books. From me personally."
-----
Nearing the latter part of Lady Death. It has been an interesting read, with many moments that are far enough outside of the ordinary to make one consider what they would have done in a similar situation. Typically, these have involved episodes on the front lines - or in no man's land or behind the enemy lines - at Odessa or Sevastopol, literal life-or-death situations. But despite taking place in an office, this was nonetheless another. How would you react if you had twenty or thirty minutes' notice that you were about to meet with your country's leader? What if that leader were like Joseph Stalin, an absolute ruler with a reputation for ruthlessness and capriciousness?
The author is likeable as well. Her penchant for saying things directly, yet with some flair, aids both the events and the retelling of them. Her disdain for the "book-scribbler's guild" and the inaccuracy of Soviet propogandists is clear, sometimes even to those very propogandists. Although she'll ponder whether her arguments with the Battalion Commander and bluntness with the Military Commissar may have cost her a promotion, her subordinates trust her plans completely, and her honesty with the Major-General - someone who seems to genuinely want to know what the challenges on the ground are, so he can better address them - works in her favor. She acknowledges her luck - most prominently, that none of her injuries were fatal, and that one was well-timed enough to lead to an evacuation from Sevastopol - but is a consummate professional, with the fate of an enemy in her sights never relying on luck.
[later, once they're spent 20 minutes in the caller's office and are about to depart]
"Do you have any requests, Comrades?" Joseph Vissarionovich asked.
Krasavchenko and Pchelintsev were in a state of profound paralysis and a pause hung over the office. I was not affected the same way. I experienced something different: an unprecedented enthusiasm. I wanted to hear words from the supreme commander-in-chief which were addressed specifically to me.
"Yes, Comrade Stalin, I have a request," I said softly. "We really need an English-Russian and Russian-English dictionary, with a grammar textbook as well. Because it's important to know your allies well, just like your enemies!"
"Well said, Comrade Pavlichenko." The leader of the world proletariat smiled. "You will receive the books. From me personally."
-----
Nearing the latter part of Lady Death. It has been an interesting read, with many moments that are far enough outside of the ordinary to make one consider what they would have done in a similar situation. Typically, these have involved episodes on the front lines - or in no man's land or behind the enemy lines - at Odessa or Sevastopol, literal life-or-death situations. But despite taking place in an office, this was nonetheless another. How would you react if you had twenty or thirty minutes' notice that you were about to meet with your country's leader? What if that leader were like Joseph Stalin, an absolute ruler with a reputation for ruthlessness and capriciousness?
The author is likeable as well. Her penchant for saying things directly, yet with some flair, aids both the events and the retelling of them. Her disdain for the "book-scribbler's guild" and the inaccuracy of Soviet propogandists is clear, sometimes even to those very propogandists. Although she'll ponder whether her arguments with the Battalion Commander and bluntness with the Military Commissar may have cost her a promotion, her subordinates trust her plans completely, and her honesty with the Major-General - someone who seems to genuinely want to know what the challenges on the ground are, so he can better address them - works in her favor. She acknowledges her luck - most prominently, that none of her injuries were fatal, and that one was well-timed enough to lead to an evacuation from Sevastopol - but is a consummate professional, with the fate of an enemy in her sights never relying on luck.
Finished Lady Death prior to the end of the year. Unexpectedly, Comrade Stalin made an another appearance in-person. I learned how to interpret visits by the NKVD, whether they mean you are going to the gulag or not. If they ask you to remove your holstered pistol, you're about to be arrested. If they don't object to your carrying a firearm, you are not about to be arrested. Useful knowledge in Soviet Russia.
Next up is likely The Clouds Roads by Martha Wells. I am a fan of her Murderbot series, but haven't read this series.
Next up is likely The Clouds Roads by Martha Wells. I am a fan of her Murderbot series, but haven't read this series.
Please tell how that is.
Nearing the end of the paradoxa of mr. Pond. The Ring of Lovers was actually a decent story, and imo the second best up to now - but sadly so far away from the first story in the collection.
Still, a nice idea, and a clever title.
Still, a nice idea, and a clever title.
Smellincoffee
Trekkie At Large
Just finished Curbing Traffic, on the costs of car-fixated infrastructure to people's lives and cities. About to start In Search of Zarathustra, on the history (and influence, I hope) of Zoroastrianism.
Darsnan
Emperor
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2007
- Messages
- 1,218
Dan Simmons Hyperion. I'm on the tale of the 4th pilgrim currently. Interesting juxtapositions between the pilgrims tales and their journey to the Time Tombs. To segue a bit I met Dan Simmons at the I-CON sci-fi festival at Stony Brook NY in April of 1991. I think he was supposed to give a speech, but Harlan Ellison jumped in and went on a ten minute rant about how Simmons was getting screwed by the publishers over the contract he had to sign for the upcoming books in the Hyperion series.
D
D
EnglishEdward
Deity
Last week I finished reading another Time Riders book:
The Eternal War
by
Alex Scarrow
In it a time travel accident startled a pair of horses pulling a cart loaded
with beer in 1831 New Orleans which ran over and killed Abe Lincoln.
The civil war occurred, but a different POTUS did not declare for Emancipation.
The confederacy announced it was reviewing the institution of slavery with a view
to its reform, that convinced the British to join the South, the French joined the North.
And the war was still going 100 years later with the north and south now being puppets
to France and Britain with the American states merely supplying the cannon fodder.
An enjoyable read, although it contained a few logical holes e.g. assuming the
same people existed today in both universities albeit with different livelihoods.
The Eternal War
by
Alex Scarrow
In it a time travel accident startled a pair of horses pulling a cart loaded
with beer in 1831 New Orleans which ran over and killed Abe Lincoln.
The civil war occurred, but a different POTUS did not declare for Emancipation.
The confederacy announced it was reviewing the institution of slavery with a view
to its reform, that convinced the British to join the South, the French joined the North.
And the war was still going 100 years later with the north and south now being puppets
to France and Britain with the American states merely supplying the cannon fodder.
An enjoyable read, although it contained a few logical holes e.g. assuming the
same people existed today in both universities albeit with different livelihoods.
Smellincoffee
Trekkie At Large
Started reading Butts: A Backstory, but it's not as compelling as I figured it would be. Baby don't got back.
A YA alternate-history series about teenage time travellers? That does sound quite interesting, providing it doesn't succumb to the usual pressure to focus exclusively on events of "mass-market" appeal, such as the US Civil War and World War II.
Bonyduck Campersang
Deity
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2022
- Messages
- 2,983
Sounds like the title for a whimsical erotica
Smellincoffee
Trekkie At Large
Ah, if only. It's a mix of topics -- a little science of the butt, a little bit on how hard it is for women to shop for clothes because of said butts, some 'intersectional history of the Victorian butt', etc.
EgonSpengler
Deity
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2014
- Messages
- 11,790
One of the chapters out of the whimsical erotica anthology, Butts: A Backstory.
Incidentally, Denis Villeneuve is supposedly working on a movie adaptation.
Bonyduck Campersang
Deity
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2022
- Messages
- 2,983
Ouch. Sounds like a pain in the arse. Too late to back down once you've started it, I guess
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