April in Books

~ Veselin ~ 5 Comments

I read some good books in April, and some I won’t remember.

Best

  1. Mickey7 – a Silo-style sci-fi, where settlers live inside a struggling habitat and are surrounded by ice and hostile aliens. It was short and on point, getting extra points for keeping the story contained. Overall, a clear 5*, and recommended here. Edward Ashton is on Bluesky and saw my post 😀
  2. City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett – Robert Bennett comes up with very complex fantasy worlds. In City of Stairs, the Gods have been defeated and temporarily withdrew. The main character is like Adjunct Tavore, bravely facing them off when they attempt to creep back in.
  3. Death and a bit of love by Alexandra Marinina – Kamenskaya will chase her most obscure murder case so far. I guessed who the murderer was this time but it was overall a great crime story. It was very confusing and not at all clear, despite my good guess.
  4. Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings – I awarded this epic LOTR-style fantasy with only 3 stars. It is very foolish and full of tropes. But it is interesting and I’m slowly reading the next chapter on my phone so it might not be 3* after all.

Worst

  1. Law of Gravity – I gave it 5/5 but I have no memory of ever reading it, no idea who the main character was, and what happened. So, a special point for pointlessness
  2. The Mermaid Singing (Tony Hill & Carol Jordan, #1) – A horror story that tortures some victims but mainly the reader.

Schmeisser Update

~ Veselin ~ 9 Comments

We used to have the Schmeisser monument in Sofia, commemorating the Soviet’s occupation (or liberation, depending on who you ask) of Bulgaria. Most of the giant monument, strategically located in front of the Turkish embassy, is still menacing there.

A few years ago, the top statue got torn apart and removed for “restoration”, and the entire area got surrounded with a wall, pending more decisive political times. The area behind the wall started turning into a jungle, like any space left unattended in Sofia. Now that Giro d’Italia is coming to Sofia, the wall suddenly became too expensive to keep. I thought it was gone and went to document the development but it didn’t, it just shrank, leaving behind Nature’s attempt to conquer the monument.

Photo report below.

The big sign on the monument says “We want Bulgarian monument”.

50000 Views!

~ Veselin ~ 12 Comments

I had no idea I’d made it that far. Thanks to everyone who stopped by, and especially to those of you who visit frequently! I appreciate it 🎉