Books I've read in 2018 - part IV

So this is what I read previously:
Isaac Asimov           - I robot
Michael Chrichton          - Dragon Teeth
Svetlana Alexijevitsj  - Zinkjongens (Zinky boys)
Dan Abnett           - First and only

Alex Boogers           - Onder een hemel van sproeten
Ian F.W. Beckett
and John Pimlott          - Counter insturgendy. Lessons from history
Dan Abnett           - Ghostmaker
William R. Forstchen - One second after
William R. Forstchne - One year after

Black Library Celebration 2018
Neil Gaiman - Norse mythology
Dan Abnett - Necropolis
Dan Abnett - Honour guard
Jay Kristoff - Nevernight
Japke-D Bouma - Ga lekker zelf in je kracht staan
Jake Arnott - The fatal tree

And here is what I thought of them: Part I , Part II , Part III

R.W. Chambers - The king in yellowIf you are wondering where H.P. Lovecraft got his inspiration for the Necronomicon (the non-existent book that's referred to in many of his stories) from...well it's at least partly from R. W. Chambers' series of tales collected in The king in yellow. Chambers series of stories regularly refer to or are centered around the non-existent book of The king in yellow. If you like weird, dark tales centered around a mysterious book that drives its readers mad, this might be for your. I think I bought it for 5€.

Isaac Asimov - Foundation
Isaac Asimov - Foundation and Empire
I asked a friend which so-called classics written by Asimov I should read. He suggested I'd read the Foundation series. I've finished the first two. I was nót disappointed. Asimov delivered on his fame. He creates a very cool universe in the far future of mankind with enough science, space battles, cool technology and unique twists to keep any sci-fi fan entertained. ('ve got Second Foundation and Foundation's Edge lined up for next year).

Jules Verne - Around the world in 80 days.
I've watched the movie a bunch of times and knew the general story, but never actually read the book before. If you are in a similar position...don't think, oh I know the story, nevermind. Read it. It's a fast paced story worth your time. It surprised me on at least one turn where I thought...this wouldn't be written today in this way or the hero would lose his status as hero completely.

Philip K. Dick - Do androids dream of electric sheep
I probably watched Bladerunner a couple of times way back when (I always forget too fast..)...but I never read the book. I laughed out loud a bunch of times. A very entertaining and fastpaced book about the identity of being human and what it (might) actually mean.

I also read some other very short Black Library stories and I've at least finished a couple of H.P. Lovecraft's stories this year. I loved Lovecraft's way of creating dark terrible things without being as explicit in showing the 'enemy' in the stories. They stay veiled in darkness most of the times and that keeps you on your toes.

I won't finish any more books this year since it's obviously already the 23rd of December...and next to that I've managed to dive back into Tolstoj's War and Peace which I won't finish for another month or two at least. I'm really set on finishing the book this time around, but so far I love it.

Books I've read in 2018 - Part III

So this is what I read previously:
Isaac Asimov         - I robot
Michael Chrichton         - Dragon Teeth
Svetlana Alexijevitsj - Zinkjongens (Zinky boys)
Dan Abnett         - First and only

Alex Boogers         - Onder een hemel van sproeten
Ian F.W. Beckett
and John Pimlott         - Counter insturgendy. Lessons from history
Dan Abnett         - Ghostmaker
William R. Forstchen - One second after
William R. Forstchne - One year after

And here is what I thought of them Part I  and Part II
Since it's been a while, I've read a bunch more books.

Black Library Celebration 2018
This celebration book contains 6 short stories. Two warhammer 40k stories, two Age of Sigmar stories and two Horus Heresy stories by among others Josh Reynolds and Dembski-Bowden. Worth reading if you're into the whole warhammer universe and can get your hands on one of these books.
Love the background story of Lukas the trickster.

Neil Gaiman - Norse mythology (Noorse Goden, since I had the Dutch version)
I never read any of the classics...but Gaiman makes these gods come alive as some real pieces of work. Love, hate, loss, vengeance... oh and Thor is quite the bastard and Loki is just a dick. A very fast read, but I loved it and laughed out loud quite a lot.

Dan Abnett - Necropolis
Dan Abnett - Honour Guard
I'll finish these up together. If you're into sci-fi and haven't read Gaunt's Ghosts, what are you waiting for. I only remembered bits and pieces. I enjoyed them just as much as the first time around. Mental note to self, re-read this series in 10 years time and I'm pretty sure I'll still love them as much as the first time. Great story telling, great character building and indepth realistic (reading) fights.
Necropolis finished up The Founding-omnibus and Honour Guard started The Saint.

                

Jay Kristoff - Nevernight
A teenage girl gets educated to be an assassin. For a moment I feared it would be some sort of copy of JRR Martin's faceless assassins, but Kristoff really pulled it off to create a fast paced original assassin-school story. There's a part II and III...they'll have to be read in 2019 I guess.

Japke-D Bouma - Ga lekker zelf in je kracht staan
A Dutch book about office lingo in the Netherlands and why it is mostly bullshit. Very recognizable if you've worked in an office for at least a couple of months (or years, like me).

Jake Arnott - The fatal tree
I never consciously heard about Arnott's The long firm, but supposedly I need to catch up. Anyways, I somehow held this book almost everytime I went into the bookshop untill I finally bought it. I didn't know what to expect. It's a brilliant look into the lives of thieves and prostitutes in London in the early 18th century with the awesome use of their 'Flash' talk (thieves language; transl. Dutch: 18th century Bargoens). I'll remember some of these words for sure.

Books I've read in 2018 - Part II

So earlier I wrote about the books I've read in 2018 uptil then:
Isaac Asimov - I robot
Michael Chrichton - Dragon Teeth
Svetlana Alexijevitsj - Zinkjongens (Zinky boys)
Dan Abnett - First and only

Recently, I've rushed through more books:
Alex Boogers - Onder een hemel van sproeten (Under a sky of freckles)
A depressing look into the life of different people living in the suburbs of a Dutch city. Dementia, bullying, racism and suicide. Not a happy go lucky book, but great literature nonetheless.

Ian F. W. Beckett and John Pimlott - Counter- insurgency. Lessons from history.
This book describes insurgency combat from Oman, to Algeria, to Rhodesia to South America and of course, Vietnam. The mistakes, the working tactics and the very complex nature of insurgency warfare and why it is so hard to compare one insurgency conflict directly to another.

Dan Abnett - Ghostmaker
The second book in the Gaunt's Ghost series. Great to relive these stories. I'd say one of the best sci-fi warstories series there is.

William R.  Forstchen - One second after
Wow. This just kept me reading. America gets hit with nukes in such a way that the EMP fall out takes out most if not all electricity and devices (incl most cars). The descend into chaos of a modern America is scary, detailed and grim.

William R. Forstchen - One year after
This book starts one year after the end of 'One second after' (which describes the first year since the EMP attack). How America slowly crawls back up but is faced with foreign armies within its borders and power hungry people abusing power in the rebuilding government. From hydropower to re-engineered cars. I'm looking forward to reading the last book.

Youtube Sunday... 27th of May 2018

Newphew - En wannabe Darth Vader
I don't know much Danish...but he wants to be Darth Vader, that's for sure.


Dragonborn ft Jacob Bellens - The Words
Also check Dragonborn's track 'Dark water' on spotify (couldn't find it on youtube).
The refrain of the song below is used as the theme for the tv series Dicte. Which you should watch.


Daturah - Ghost track
Instrumental rock. Love it. Not new, but new to me.


Mono - Pure as snow
I could listen to this all day.

Books I've read in 2018 - I robot ; Dragon teeth; Zinky boys; First and only

Isaac Asimov - I robot 
I've watched the movie ages ago, but hadn't read anything by Asimov until this year. After getting used to the way he writes (well, it's around 67 years old; from 1950!) I really enjoyed it. I felt there was one small hole in the plot when they're searching a certain robot, but it doesn't bother me too much.

Michael Chrichton - Dragon teeth
It's been years since I read the Jurassic Park novels, but I really enjoyed those back then. Dragon teeth was a gamble for me, but wow. A historical cowboy and indian paleontology story!

Svetlana Alexijevitsj - Zinkjongens (Zinky boys)
If ever there was a book that could convince people of the horrors of war, this is it. Emotional, in the face interviews with those Russians (military and civilian alike) who went to Afghanistan and with those who stayed behind either mourning the loss of a relative or telling about the traumatized relatives who came back.

Dan Abnett - First and only
Re-read it for the first time in ages. Still an awesome book. If you're looking for an introduction into warhammer 40k sci-fi books, this is one hell of a start. I'm planning to re-read all Gaunt's ghost novels since I've got The Warmaster waiting on the shelf.

Youtube saturday 12th of August 2017

It's been ages. Just didn't make the time...
Will try to post regulary again. 22Tracks is no more, so most 'new' music will probably come through my Discover Weekly or Release radar or via via.

Elsiane - Space between us
Dreamy. If you like this, check out more.



Lamb - Wise enough
Came across this track by Lamb while watching Netflix's Sense8. In the meanwhile I've found way more musical gems by Lamb. Check them out if you didn't know them before.



Amon Tobin - Slowly
A bit weird, but I like it.



Eisbrechter - Was ist hier los
sounds like a wink towards Rammstein.


Electric citizen - Light years beyond
A bit stoner-rock meets Black Sabbath or something.


Buck 65 - Whispers of the waves
'Your tears are like mine, but the answer is no' . Poetic stuff.

Youtube saturday 20th of February 2016

The devil makes three - Old number 7
Hard knock life. Do check out the entire album (this one's from self named album The devil makes three).


Spidergawd - El corazon del sol
Saw them live in Groningen last tuesday (17th), one of the best concerts I've seen in the past year.

Youtube saturday 13th of February 2016

Birdy - Keeping your head up (Don Diablo remix)


Ok Go - Upside down and inside out
They always have great video's and catchy songs.