Reviews and Comments

(Note: this review is about one of my many numerous re-reads of the book.)

"In a hole in the ground there lived ...", well, you probably know who.

A story that started out scribbled on the back of a piece of paper being marked by J.R.R. Tolkien has grown in the telling and now supports a whole mythology set out in the books "The Silmarillion" and "The Lord of the Rings" as well as a multi-billion dollar entertainment industry.

The story of Bilbo Baggins and how he got involved in a quest involving dwarves, a Wizard, elves, men, goblins, wargs (wolves) and, of course, a dragon, is set out in this tale that has been read multiple times by me.

The most important event in the book, almost trivial in its treatment (which it was, at the time) was the discovery of a seemingly innocuous magic ring by Bilbo deep in the mountains which was to have an impact well after the telling of this tale.

Light-hearted in tone, the story skips gaily from Bilbo's home at Bag End to Rivendell, from the Misty Mountains to Mirkwood, from the Elven King's halls to its final destination; the Lonely Mountain far to the east. It is there that things turn grim as Bilbo finally performs the tasks he was hired to do; to be a burglar.

A good tale and best considered as a stand-alone tale, rather than a 'prequel' to Tolkien's major work, "The Lord of the Rings".

If you want to know more, also consider reading "The Annotated Hobbit" by Douglas A. Anderson and the two volume "The History of The Hobbit" by John D. Rateliff.

An average issue with interesting stories by Alexander Glass and Gary Gibson at the start and end of the magazine.

• "Time's Own Gravity" by Alexander Glass: creatures are loose in the land; creatures that feed on time. And only one man can apparently stop them. But who is he, and does he have his own agenda and use for the creatures?

• "Soaring, the world on their shoulders" by Cécile Cristofari: in a country at war, one person is tasked with bringing to life a flying creature to aid in the war. But the person disagrees with the purpose and hides while the creature develops and hatches, looking for another way for it to be free.

• "A Distant Hum" by John K. Peck: a woman goes to a man to learn of a secret: that an apparently abandoned and disconnect weapons system in a city is still very much alive. And she has plans to use it for her own purposes.

• "Captured Dreams of the Dead Machine" by Daniel Bennett: in a future where a computer virus has devastated many systems, a man hunts down ancient film files that have survived. But his latest find may land him in trouble with raiders who prefer the present to the past.

• "Warsuit" by Gary Gibson: an interesting story of a scavenger in a war zone who, hiding from a hunting machine, hides in an abandoned combat suit that turns out to be still working and with the download personality of its former occupant. Through a series of arguments, we learn the background of the scavenger and also the suit and how they learn to act together to save one another.

A better than average issue with some interesting stories, and some chilling horror stories. I enjoyed those stories by Rudi Dornemann, Brian Trent, Charlie Hughes, Nick Wolven, Rajeev Prasad, Paul Tobin and Nick DiChario.

• "Starblind, Booklost, and Hearing the Songs of True Birds" by Rudi Dornemann: a tale of a man who is finally willing to do a task that would change the history of his city in order to save his brother.

• "The Song of Lost Voices" by Brian Trent: a tale of an archeological dig in Mongolia that turns suspicious when a military unit turns up nearby to start digging sand. We eventually learn why the sand is special, and is related to legends about the singing sands of Mongolia and the cryptid creatures that are claimed to haunt it.

• "Mycelium" by Beth Goder: a couple visit a small woodland Idol that gives gifts is mushrooms. It would take the girl's gift for finding lost things to eventually give the Idol what it is looking for in return for the mushrooms.

• "The Collection" by Charlie Hughes: what starts out as a story about visitors to a farm turns mysterious, dark and then horrifying as one boy begins playing and listening to insistent stories which are tied into the history of the farm wife mother who tried to save her from a prophecy.

• "The Garbage Girls" by Nick Wolven: a group of students follows a 'popular' girl into doing volunteer work at a refugee camp. While they are given manual tasks, they see an enhanced girl with an implant to suppress her emotions treating patients and grow envious of her. They come up with a plan to 'get back' at her by cutting off her implants, not knowing it would set in motion a desire in them to emulate her instead.

• "The Wild Son" by Rajeev Prasad: a village around a lake is 'blessed' by children born from their bodies. One son, born from the head of the father, proves to be a wild one, stealing and creating problems. The son yearns to be free of the job assigned to him by the village elders, and does so one day, becoming truly wild in the process.

• "The Dark at the Edge of the Stage" by James L. Sutter: a down-and-out musician enters a dead end guitar shop and ends up playing a guitar that would change his life.

• "The Monster I Found in Third Grade" by Paul Tobin: a kid at a school is strangely influential over his classmates and teacher. And while they are out and playing in the snow, he hears a voice from the ground, asking to be fed. What happens next is a chilling tale of listening to instructions and influencing your peers.

• "Ceremonials" by Robert Levy: a disturbing story about a group of girls at a summer camp who discover a strange tree in a wood. The girls are being harassed by boys. One night, the girls had enough and, with encouragement from the tree, take revenge on the boys violently.

• "We Are Flying" by Alexandra Munck: a way to access past lives is discovered. The discoverer finds herself constantly in interaction with one person throughout time and seeks him out in the present.

• "Trapping Fairies" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman: a short short story about catching and tagging fey creatures during a migration. But one fey creature proves hard to tag and gives the tagger a magical punishment.

• "Ciccio and the Wood Sprite" by Nick DiChario: a boy frees a wood sprite from a net. In return, the wood sprite grants him a wish. Time passed unexpectedly for the boy and when he returns to his village, he encounters a disaster that only his wish, phrased in a certain way, can save the ones he loves.

An average issue that starts with an unusual tour through a library by David Gerrold with other interesting tales by Marc Laidlaw and Angie Peng, a fun piece by Brian Trent featuring some Greek Gods and a dog, and a long fairy-tale like story by Leah Cypess that shows that fairies may not have the best interests of the people at heart when they give blessings.

• "The Shadows of Alexandrium" by David Gerrold: a guide leads a tour group through an ever expanding location that holds a record of realities. But then a new section of the location opens up and, in leading the group into it, discovers it may not be as it seems, and it is now up to him (or her) to lead them back to safety from the shadows of imaginations.

• "Weeper" by Marc Laidlaw: in his continuing tales of a man with the hand of a golem, and a golem with the hand of the man, this tale concentrates more on their fellow companion, a pregnant lady, and their discovery of a visitor from the upper regions forced to land by the actions of poachers. Her kindness to the visitor would be repaid, but in an unexpectedly violent way.

• "Do AIs Dream of Perfect Games?" by Angie Peng: what starts out as an impulsive decision by a fan to ensure her baseball idol would play a perfect game of baseball turns into a question of free will and decision-making when her choice comes to the attention of an 'entity' who have been making decisions affecting the universe based on our actions.

• "Of Them All" by Leah Cypess: a fascinating story about two sisters, both blessed (or cursed) by the fairies that live in their father's kingdom. The Prince of a neighbouring subject land pays them a visit and ends up winning the hand of one of the princesses, setting up a tale of conflict and jealousy between the two sisters that grows more complicated when the Prince's brother gets involved. The tale gets an extra twist when the sisters start to realize that their blessings from the fairies may not be for their benefit, but is part of a conflict between the fairies and other magical creatures that inhabit the neighbouring land. In the end, the sisters want no part of it and just want to live their own lives in their own ways.

• "The Martian Water War: Notes Found in an Airlock" by Peter Gleick: a story consisting of diary excepts, it tells the story of a conflict between the various colonies on Mars over water and its aftermath.

• "Little and Less" by Ashley Blooms: set in an undetermined future where ecological disaster has overtaken the world, it tells the story of a girl who catches and tries to save animals in her vicinity. But when she discovers a woman and her child nearby, she plans a rather gruesome plot to 'catch' and 'save' them for herself.

• "My Name Was Tom" by Tim Powers: set on a strange ship that consists of endless levels of compartments, it tells the story of a person who goes off in search of the legendary control deck of the ship and in the process meets a group of people who rather live on the outside of the ship rather than in its compartments. The destination and purpose of the ship is hinted at, but it's the strange journey of the man which is the centre of the story.

• "The Cry of Evening Birds" by James Sallis: a short short story about a time when changes to a person can be requested. In this case, the changes are to erase a painful memory from a person's life.

• "The Dog and the Ferryman" by Brian Trent: an interesting variation on Greek legends. Charon, the ferryman of the Underworld, discovers that only a dog (no humans) is waiting to be ferried to the Underworld. Figuring out how the dog ended up there, and why humans are no longer appearing in the Underworld after dying, would require Charon to venture into the world of the living and discover what life has to offer.

• "This World Is Made for Monsters" by M. Rickert: a short story about an alien spaceship landing in a farmer's field and the aftermath of the neighbourly encounter.

• "The Fairy Egg" R.S. Benedict: an uncomfortable tale of a couple barely making a living. To earn more money, the woman sells eggs, including unusual ones that she calls fairy eggs. The man, on the other hand, seems to live in a world of conspiracy theories around women and food. When the woman falls ill, it starts a cycle of possession by the man, feeding strange food to her in an attempt to 'cure' and 'detoxify' her. It would all end badly or well, depending on your reading of the story.

The Bodleian Libraries put up a Tolkien exhibition in 2018 and this book was released as a companion book to the exhibition. For those who went (and those, like me, who didn't or couldn't), the book is the best way of looking at what the exhibition featured, namely the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

The book starts with a series of introductions covering Tolkien's life, his relationship with the famous group, the Inklings (which includes C.S. Lewis), his concept of the Faerie (as opposed to Fairies), his invention of the Elvish languages, his fascinating with the mythology of the Northern world and, finally, his artistic side.

The rest of the book looks at the various items featured in the exhibition, along with an explanation. Chapter One looks at various letters Tolkien received from his readers. Chapter Two features photos, letters and items from his childhood. Chapter Three looks at his student days and includes photos of his activities and friends, including his beloved Edith Bratt. Chapter Four features various watercolours and drawings he did of the land of Faerie and other places.

Chapter Five features notes and sketches he did while working on his unfinished book, "The Silmarillion" (on the world of the Elves). Chapter Six looks at items in his study, featuring his working desk, sketches and several of his fascinating 'Father Christmas' letters.

Chapter Eight looks at the sketches, drawings, maps and notes he wrote while working on "The Hobbit". Chapter Nine covers "The Lord of the Rings" and Chapter Ten covers the various maps he and his son, Christopher, worked on while working out the geography of Middle Earth.

For those who enjoyed the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, the exhibition would be a must-see event. For those who couldn't see it (and even for those who did), this book is a good companion to the exhibition. The only downside to the book is the photo reproductions of some items featured. Due to their age, some writings and sketches have become faint and, while the book does it's best, some of it is unreadable without closer examination of the actual item. Otherwise, an enjoyable book to read and see how life might have been for Tolkien while he was working on his famous Legendarium.

An excellent book about the adventures of Kiki, a young witch who is coming of age, and her cat, Jiji, as they move to a new town, hoping to fit in and become an accepted part of the town. Through an unexpected meeting, she makes her first impromptu delivery and decides to put to good use her skills in flying on a broomstick by providing a delivery service.

Through episodic adventures, the book gradually shows Kiki becoming used to making deliveries, learning about how to fit in with the people of the town and even making a difference as her abilities as a witch that flies allows her to do some jobs in rather strange ways. And in the end, we see how Kiki discovers that she has really found her place in the town while remaining true to herself, even as she misses being with her family.

Most people may be familiar with the Studio Ghibli version of the story (based on the book). While similar in tone (a journey of discovery), there are differences in the adventures Kiki has, but presents the same conclusions. The book (and the film) are equally enjoyable to read and watch.

An interesting 'fable' based on the idea that in the past, two great civilizations arose among the ants and dinosaurs that rose to incredible heights before hubris and desperation to save the environment (and stop a 'doomsday device') bought it all crashing down.

The premise of the story is that at the beginning, the dinosaurs were fairly intelligent, but their size and inability to handle tiny work crippled their abilities. At the other end, ants are collectively intelligent, but their small size hampers their ability to shape the world. The two would come together through an accidental meeting between a dinosaur with dental problems and ants looking for a quick meal. From there, both civilizations would rise up in greatness together, with the dinosaurs doing the heavy lifting and the ants doing the fine handy work holding technology together.

But all is not well, as a religious rift cause them to go to a war of attrition with one another. When it ends and peace is restored, their restored civilizations would go on to use more of the Earth resources, until the ants plead with the dinosaurs to rein in their consumption or risk ecological collapse. This causes another brief war but in the subsequent détente, the ants put forward a plan to stop the dinosaurs once and for all: not knowing that the dinosaurs already have another plan of their own.

On the face of it, the situation sounds a bit ridiculous and over the top, especially with the descriptions of huge transport vessels and buildings required to house dinosaurs which are much bigger than us. The ability of the ants also seen incredible, especially in the field of micro engineering and surgery.

But what drives the story forward is the story of two contrasting civilizations that somehow work together to achieve even greater heights before it all comes tumbling down. The humour of the situations also comes through in the translation, making it accessible to an English audience.

A collection of fantasy tales full of spirit (and spirits) featuring legends and folk tales from Southeast Asia. Those who have grown up hearing tales of 'pontianak' and other local spirits may enjoy the modern twist the author has given to them. Others, hearing them for the first time, may be puzzled by how the spirits interact with humans until the context is made clear from the stories.

• The First Witch of Damansara: the death of a grandmother (considered a witch) brings back a granddaughter to Malaysia, where she discovers some strange going-on centred around the funeral arrangements. A visit by the grandmother's ghost would change things for the better.

• The Guest: a girl picks up a cat for companionship. Only later do we learn the girl can work spells through smells, and she is aware of, and can influence people through their smell.

• The Fish Bowl: a girl being stressed out over studies and exams gets her wishes fulfilled by a koi fish. But each wish leads to the desire for more, only to cause more difficulties until there is only one thing left she can wish for.

• First National Forum on the Position of Minorities in Malaysia: at a forum about minorities, a little known minority makes its presence known and rekindles a relationship.

• Odette: the niece of a demanding and bullying uncle yearns to be free of him, yet continue to stay at his house, whom she has grown fond of. Little would she know, the house also has plans for her and her uncle.

• The House of Aunts: the usual girl meets boy, and they like each other story. Only here, the girl is a 'pontianak' and stays with her dead aunts and grandmas who frown on their relationship, in this tale that has horror, comedy and touching scenes.

• Balik Kampung: a dead woman returns to the world of the living during the Hungry Ghost month. Despite not remembering how she died, she wants to go home. But a chance meeting with a medium who reveal how she died.

• One-Day Travelcard for Fairyland: overseas teenagers in an English boarding school have to fight off a sudden invasion of fairies.

• 起狮, 行礼 (Rising Lion—The Lion Bows): a lion dance troop gives a performance at an English hotel. But they have a sideline business in dealing with ghosts, but this ghost at the hotel is one they have never experienced before.

• 七星鼓 (Seven Star Drum): a boy who sees ghosts and is scared of them gets a revelation about then after an encounter with a lion dance troop and their more than real lion, and realizes he does not have to be scared of them any more.

• The Mystery of the Suet Swain: a Malaysian girl is being courted by a mysterious suitor on campus. It would need some serious investigation by her friend to figure out just who, or what, is interested in her.

• Prudence and the Dragon: a dragon and other magical things appear in London. The dragon is, of course, after a maiden. But the maiden he chooses turns out to be a rather unassuming girl who can't understand why a dragon would be interested in her, or even why he is her boyfriend.

• The Perseverance of Angela’s Past Life: set after the events in "Prudence and the Dragon", this one has the maiden's friend being 'split' into two: one in the present, one from the past. Resolving and bringing the two back together would require a reckoning with the past self.

• If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again: An interesting story about an imugi, an earth-bound creature who makes several attempts to ascend to heaven and become a dragon. But it is always bought back to earth by humans who see it and proclaim it to be an imugi, not a dragon. When its latest attempt is thwarted by a selfie taking woman, the imugi decides enough is enough and sets out to find the woman and devour her. But at the last moment, the imugi, disguised as a heavenly angel, becomes fascinated by the woman instead and strikes up a long term relationship with her. As time passes, it begins to forget it is an imugi and deepens their relationship. But in the end, it reveals its true self to her, and she urges it to try to become a dragon one last time.

• The Earth Spirit’s Favorite Anecdote: an earth spirit needs permission from a forest spirit to stay on its land. But she keeps getting 'maybe tomorrow' answers, until one day she decides not to wait any more, setting in motion more spirits and emotions from the forest spirit.

• Monkey King, Faerie Queen: on an adventure the Monkey King world have in the land of the Faerie Queen, as they don't get along with each other.

• Liyana: a touching story of a girl born from a fruit and who lives a good life with her family. But the day has come when a sacrifice has to be made to give peace to a grandmother also born from a fruit, and it is now time to say goodbye to her.

• The Terra-cotta Bride: in a Chinese afterlife, a young dead girl is 'married' to another man. As she adjusts to the household, another bride appears: not a human one, but one made of terra-cotta. Tensions would rise as the purpose of the new bride becomes clearer, and it would involve defying the authorities of Hell and a possible rebirth into a new life.

• The Four Generations of Chang E: a tale of immigrating to a new land, as told in the form of Chang E going to the moon and trying to fit in with life on the moon among the moon rabbits.