Jerrey treeoo hiaghtin as daeed ny Shallee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:
The Anubis gates (Tim Powers)
Mie dy liooar. Ta blass cleaynagh er, as ga dy vel y cummey eck beggan cramp, dennee mee dy row shen cooie da'n skeeal t'ayn, bentyn rish caghlaaghyn traa as enney. Ta dorraghys dy liooar ayn (Victorianagh son y chooid smoo), as ta Powers lhiggey da cur blass baggyrtagh as agglagh er ny cooishyn ta Doyle tuittym stiagh ayndaue, gyn jannoo skeeal ard-dorraghys assjeh. Agh bare lhiam gyn baggyrtyn egin noi y ven ynrican 'sy skeeal; ta fys aym dy nee skeeal "Victorianagh" t'ayn gyn shen. Ta Powers screeu dy castreycair, beggan moal foddee, as ny keayrtyn cha nel eh lane baghtal. Agh ta sleih quaagh anaasoil as reddyn neughooghyssagh noa ayn.
Ta'n skeeal hene fondagh myr skeeal jurnaaghey traa, ta mee ouryssagh mychione y lheid, son s'aashagh eh y lheid y vrockey. Er lhiam dy ren Powers obbyr chastreycair: cha nel y skeeal plooghey ayns e hoyn hene, ny ceau duillag er duillag liorish meenaghey, as va mee baghtal dy liooar ny er va taghyrt son y chooid smoo. Agh t'eh trome ny keayrtyn. Ny keayrtyn dennee mee dy row rouyr karracteyryn ayn, foddee, as kuse jeu casley rish y cheilley. Va reddyn elley yn-insh-rolaue ayms: ayns lheid y skeeal, shegin da'n fer folliaghtagh lhaih oo er ayns lioaryn shennaghys ve uss hene, as shegin da dagh ughtar goaill stiagh taghyrtys as sleih shennaghyssagh. Choud's ta fys aym cha nel oo rieau feddyn magh quoi va'n Mainshtyr, as ta jus obbeeys Egypagh dy liooar 'sy skeeal (as shen scanshoil) dy vel eh beggan quaagh nagh vel ny smoo. As myr jerrey, bare lhiam dy beagh ny smoo mraane mastey wheesh deiney. Agh ny yei shen as ooilley, v'eh feeau lhaih agh cha lhaihym eh reesht.
Bakuman y.l. 19 (Ohba Tsugumi & Obata Takeshi)
Ta sheer-haghyrtys ayn nish, gyn caa son fea. Cha nel cooishyn cadjin 'sy lioar shoh, agh daa ghoolaneyn s'jerree (er lhiam) son Muto Ashirogi. Shen doilleeidyn ellynagh tra t'eh fo colught anime ass y vanga oc y yannoo, as eisht "scammylt" ta baggyrt keird Azuki. Ga dy vel wheesh taghyrt, hug Ohba as Obata boayl as caa da dagh ooilley charracteyr ainjyssagh (by vie lhiam rieau ny fo-charracteyryn). Er lhiam dy vel Obata roie lesh y gheay; t'eh taishbyney rheamys e schlei voish aitt cartoonagh dys trome-chooishaght vyn, as shimmey reayrtys lheead as mea t'ayn, lane dy vioys as mynphoyntyn.
Bakuman y.l. 20 (Ohba Tsugumi & Obata Takeshi)
Va mee lane ghreesit son yn ym-lioar s'jerree shoh, as chionnee mee ee (ny sleaie ny va foym) lurg drogh-laa. S'treih lhiam fakin jerrey straih ghow mee wheesh soylley jeh, agh she jerrey mie t'ayn. Ta drama taitnyssagh ayn, as dennee mee dy row Ohba as Obata cho jeean er y skeeal oc as va ny karracteyryn oc er ny (far-)skeealyn t'ocsyn; ta'n manga-mooie cloie rere y manga-sthie. Ren ad feaysley dagh strooan y skeeal dy fondagh, as ga dy row jerrey-ny-yei-jerrey ayn, er lhiam nagh row eh anvullee. Shen er y fa dy vel ad er nyannoo shickyr rish 20 lioar dy vel dagh strooan scanshoil, foddee. Ren cochiangley quaagh Azuki as Mashiro, as ny persoonidyn neuchadjin oc, lhiggey da jerrey shaghney ro-veiyghys, as dennee mee dy row eh cooie da'n chubbyl quaagh. Ta mee er ngeddyn soylley ass towse ass y 'traih shoh, as bee'm shirrey ny smoo 'syn aght cheddin. Agh ta mian aym foast dy 'eddyn magh erreeyn ny h-ellyneyryn elley...
The dragon and the griffin (Aidan Meehan)
Lioar ellyn elley bentyn rish ellyn Celtiagh as cummaght ny Wigganee er. Cha nel monney anaase aym er shennaghys ellyn hene, as myr shen cha ghow mee monney assjee. 'Sy lioar elley Veehan aym, ren eh soilshaghey aghtyn as saaseyn feamagh dhyt bentyn rish ny loayr eh er, agh 'sy lioar shoh cha nel eh cur coontaghyn jeh ny caslyssyn t'ayn. Myr shen cha nel ee wheesh ymmydoil, er lhiam.
Chammah's shen, hooar mee nagh ren mee recortys tra lhaih mee fer elley meeghyn er dy henney! Caillt aym liorish marranys Blogger, s'cosoylagh.
Language, thought and reality (Benjamin Lee Whorf)
Screeuyn as obbraghyn çhaglymit Venjamin Lee Whorf, as eshyn ny çhengoayllee amateyragh hug geill da kianglaghyn eddyr çhengey as smooinaght. V'ad anaasoil dy liooar, agh trome ny keayrtyn - ta ram cooid hengoaylleeagh ayn bentyn rish çhengaghyn nagh vel fys ny enney aym orroo, gyn soilshaghey erbee. Screeuit da earishlioaryn ard-scoillaragh, er lhiam. Ny yei shen ghow mee soylley jeh, as ta'n eie echey er "cryptotypes" feer anaasoil.
The end of week forty-two of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:
The Anubis gates (Tim Powers)
A pretty decent story all told. It has a lot of atmosphere and its slightly convoluted structure gives it a bit of the feeling that the protagonist would probably have with keeping times and identities in order. There's a reasonable dose of (mostly Victorian) grime and grimness that manages to do its thing in the story and convey the very sinister and wretched things that Doyle is dragged into, without falling into offputting grimdark. There's some onstage gore and darkness, but generally they're narrated rather than depicted. There are some very enjoyable weird people and mystical elements, which felt novel to me. On the whole, decent but not stellar writing; it's a little bit heavy at times and not always entirely clear, which is an issue with a complex story with some very similar characters. Could maybe have been shorter and punchier; sometimes feels like Powers wasn't sure whether he wanted an action-packed yarn or a heavy atmospheric story.
The story itself is reasonable, though I always worry about time-travel plots because they're easy to do badly. In this case I think Powers managed a respectable plot that didn't disappear up its own rear end or turn into Exposition Central, and tied itself up neatly, though I wasn't always clear on what was going on. I got the sense there were slightly too many characters, though. There were also some aspects that I found predictable as soon as I worked out what kind of story it was: the enigmatic historical figure is bound to be yourself in the past, for example, and the compulsion to work in several historical figures is apparently irresistable (though Powers does it reasonably). As far as I can work out we never find out who the Master was, and I slightly feel that there was just enough Egyptian magic in the story to make it strange that there isn't more about it, especially given one major scene. Finally, there's precisely one female character worth mentioning, and while she has a couple of decent scenes I'd have preferred it without the obligatory rape threats. I'm glad I've read it but I don't think I'll feel the urge to reread it.
Bakuman v. 19 (Ohba Tsugumi & Obata Takeshi)
Things have reached a fairly constant level of drama now, so there's no chance of a lull. Instead we have what are likely to be the two final challenges Muto Ashirogi must overcome, namely some artistic concerns as they finally get their anime, and a "scandal" that threatens Azuki's career. Despite this, Ohba and Obata manage to give a little love to just about all the characters, and Obata really seems to be flying, showcasing the range of his art from comical to deadly earnest, and throwing in lots of luxuriant scenes full of vibrant detail.
Bakuman v. 20 (Ohba Tsugumi & Obata Takeshi)
I was really excited for this final volume, and gave in after a bad day. I'm sad to see a series I've so thoroughly enjoyed coming to an end, but they did it well. We get some nice drama, and both Ohba and Obata seem to be about as enthused as their creations are, as the manga parallels the manga-within-the-manga. All the threads wrapped up satisfactorily, in a series of endings that managed not to feel particularly anticlimactic - perhaps because they'd so firmly established the importance of each aspect of the story. Azuki/Mashiro's strange relationship and unusual personalities made the potentially soppy ending feel quite appropriate. Thoroughly enjoyed this one, and I'll be looking for more work by these two. Actually I'd really like to know what becomes of some of the other artists...
The dragon and the griffin (Aidan Meehan)
Another book about Celtic design, this time discussing the influence of the vikings. I'm not interested in art history as such, so I didn't find much to interest me here. The other Meehan book I had discussed how to use Celtic patterns yourself, but this simply shows some nice pictures and describes their features rather than providing any guidance. So I think it's a less useful book in general.
I also found one I didn't record reading months ago - probably lost in one of the several Blogger failures.
Language, thought and reality (Benjamin Lee Whorf)
Some collected writings of Whorf, an amateur linguist who worked on links between language and thought, and on Native American languages. It's fairly interesting, but pretty heavy - a lot of linguistic content aimed at journals, in a slightly old-fashioned style, and focused on languages I'm not familiar with with no explanation. Worth reading though, and I enjoyed the stuff about cryptotypes.
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