WordPress Mobile & Jetpack iOS in Bulgarian

~ Veselin ~ 4 Comments

I blogged about it earlier but I managed to get the iOS apps to 100% translated in Bulgarian. The translation is finally out with the new version of Jetpack iOS. It’s not perfect. Bulgarian uses lots of gendered words and I made a few mistakes, mostly using the incorrect gender. Also, some strings are simply missing. A few words here and there appear in English, despite the app being 100% translated. They are probably hardcoded as English in the app or come from an API call. I noticed the Activity log being like that and the names of the editor blocks.

Overall, I think people who only speak Bulgarian will have very little trouble with the new version. We’ll only have to figure out if the block names in the editor should be translated as well and fix a few gendered words.

The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne

~ Veselin ~ 5 Comments

A wise person once said that in trilogies, the first book is good, because it builds the world. The last book is good, because it resolves the story. The middle book is just a filler, because these books come in threes.

The Hunger of the Gods is a second book in a trilogy. It comes with many traits typical of such books. There is no world building, apart from the description of some larger cities. Few of the story lines conclude. There’s a bit of a character development but it is only in the villains.

The world John Gwynne built is like an Orconomics spin-off with vikings. Lots of creatures, created by the dead gods and living around. Lots of fighting with swords and spears. Rage and berserk-style battles where the Hulks never die. The mains wolf-out at the right moment to save the day. A reader in a mood for super-heroic stories may appreciate all of that. I see that I gave John Gwynne’s first book 5/5, and even have another on my shelves at home.

Pros:

  • The world is intriguing, despite not developing much since book 1
  • Given that power comes from the blood, the physical strength doesn’t mean much. Men and women are equal, with the most fearsome warriors being women
  • Orka Skullsplitter and Elvar Firebrand have some nice POV chapters.
  • The dead gods are wiser than expected

Cons:

  • The whole story relies on almighty slave collars. They are used to bind even gods and sorcerers, allowing people with no special gifts to dominate beings of incredible power. This isn’t great and reminds me of the worst parts of the Wheel of Time.
  • Reckless behavior is rewarded with Breca and Varg No-sense making very little sense.
  • It’s too long.

Overall, I think it’s readable but I’m discouraged to get the continuation.

3.5*/5

The publisher featured the dead god Ulfrir on the cover. In the book, it is described as wolf-sized but can expand at will.

Morning Walk

~ Veselin ~ 16 Comments

I managed to get out of bed earlier this morning. I took a few magical photos while the smog was still fresh.

This is the church, the tourist magnet of Sofia. It shines.

A hidden garden behind Tzum. The building on the left was the shopping mall of the communism period. You couldn’t do much shopping in there before 1989 but it was a good walking destination. You could watch things that you’d never buy.

Very different protests, mostly against the Pig and the Pumpkin, but also the Euro. The migration to the Euro is glitching right now. I hope it goes well.

The Last Days of Kira Mullan by Nicci French

~ Veselin ~ 1 Comment

Detective Maud O’Connor is badass. She solves cases with the ease of a hot knife slicing through butter. The problem is that if she were only that good, the book would have no reason to be so long. It wouldn’t go beyond 100–150 pages. So if you were the writer, what would you put in the remaining 300-350 pages?

The first novel from the series started with hundreds of pages of detailing the victim’s circumstances. Wasn’t great. In this one, we get a another storyline, following a woman who becomes an indirect victim of the crime. She tries to help but is treated as crazy by everyone.

The story is strong. However, I can’t honestly give it five stars. The secondary storyline ends up carrying too much weight. The book is supposedly about Detective Maud O’Connor taking down the bad guys. In reality, it’s about Nancy, cooking in her own small, private hell. Hell constructed by her family and friends. Perhaps the book should have been called Is Nancy Crazy? Of course, that’s on purpose. The novel raises important questions about domestic abuse and involuntary psychiatric treatment. I’m sure the 300 pages, dedicated to Nancy, share the same purpose with John Grisham’s writing about unfair death sentences.

Overall, the book has well-developed characters, a solid plot, and a difficult-to-predict ending. I would definitely read the sequel, if there is one. It is not the easiest read, at least not until Maud O’Connor starts slicing the butter.

4/5.

Sofia Today

~ Veselin ~ 3 Comments

While Sofia prepared for the third round of protests, I had a chance to walk in the area of the National Theatre. It’s cold, dark, but still charming.

And found a model kitten.