Category: Books

Meeting Robert Blond at the Christmas Book Fair

~ Veselin ~ Leave a comment

Today was the last day of the International Book Fair in Sofia. My book harvest this year was primarily gamebooks because there was a shortage of books I wanted and didn’t already buy before it. The Black Friday promotions were too good.

The Gamebook association organized a signing with one of our local gamebook celebrities, Robert Blond, who published a new book and a short story. I had a chance to read both. I finished the short story before it was published and the book – before writing the post.

The 2024 edition of Agamor is also out, which holds 4 gamebooks. One of the books is an official spinoff of Blood Sword. It’s expected to be published in English as well.

We also got a translation of Simon Duhope’s Shadow Chaser, which was surprisingly sophisticated. Took me 3 days to discover the path to the end.

The Shadow Chaser is available in English. Agamor is of local significance as of today.

Another writer who visited the city this week was Rhianna Pratchett. Despite being subscribed for updates on the publisher’s Facebook page, Facebook let me see the event’s announcement after it was over. Missed that opportunity.

Rhianna Pratchett is the author of Crystal of Storms. Would’ve loved to attend her signing.

We Are Legion By Dennis E. Taylor, Book Review

~ Veselin ~ 2 Comments

“We Are Legion” is an Expanse style space opera by Dennis E. Taylor. This was the first book by Dennis Taylor I read. Pleasantly surprised by how good it was.

Bob is turned into a space ship who can replicate and travel with speeds close to the speed of light. Humans cannot withstand this type of acceleration but Bob is a spaceship, not a human. This innovation is so radical and fundamentally different for Earth that hell breaks loose. Bob tries hard to recreate Star Trek for the good of humanity but the humanity isn’t necessarily ready.

I’ve not had such a wow moment with a science fiction novel since Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary. “We Are Legion” is without a doubt one of the best books I read in 2024.

5*/5

Here’s also a song that features “We Are Legion”. I find it appropriate to describe the book.

Cindil Pindil and Djasta Prasta

~ Veselin ~ 4 Comments

Once upon a time, a widow had twin daughters with very different personalities: Djasta Prasta was lively and cheerful, while Cindil Pindil was quiet, hesitant, and cautious. When their mother gave them fabric to sew dresses for Easter, Djasta Prasta eagerly began working—cutting, sewing, and fixing mistakes as she went—finishing her dress in time for the celebration, even though it had issues. Meanwhile, Cindil Pindil spent so much time worrying about making mistakes that her dress remained unfinished.

When the festive bells rang, Jasta Prasta joined the dance in her new dress, while Cindil Pindil stayed behind the fence, watching in tears. From that day on, people say it has always been so: “Cindil Pindil behind the fences while Djasta Prasta dances”.

This is a short version of the Bulgarian folk tale, written by Georgi Raychev in the 1930s. It became part of the culture of my generation. Felt inspired to publish it here after mistakenly sent out a test post to my subscribers. Sorry about that! 🙂

Reading Block

~ Veselin ~ 4 Comments

I completed my Goodreads Reading goal last month and have not finished a single book since then. Not sure what’s going on. The book I currently read seems to be fine, but I’m stuck on it, and the end isn’t near. I can likely read it for another 2 weeks. The book is The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne, I’m around page 330 out of 510, and it took me 8 days to get there. It’s a Malazan style epic fantasy saga in a Norse mythology world.

Anyway, here’s a screenshot from my Goodreads accomplishment. I doubt I can beat this any time soon. My goal for next year will be in the 40s-50s, unless I find another series of books that is easy to read and long as I did in 2024. Stephanie Plum and Thraxas brought me good moments.