Cameron > Recent Status Updates

just started that hideous strength after an earned break from this trilogy - i WILL finish this before the end of the year even if lewis doesn't want me to

need some gentler non-fiction for a change

where's the semaphore

finished the translation - unsurprisingly very good and mostly accessible for a first-timer (loved all the kennings!)

now to read a whole lot of context and criticism (im reading the norton 2nd edition btw)

So far the Argonauts have:

- Nearly given up their quest immediately because they found an island exclusively populated by women
- Accidentally killed the king of a city that had just welcomed them because bad weather had turned them back
- Left Herakles at Kios because they forgot about him

I am having a great time

starting strong on my favourite hobby: shitting on roman sources

Just the appendices to go babyyy

The ent chapter was way more entertaining than i was expecting. Also Frodo does some sick stuff! Never considered how important it was that he made Gollum swear an oath on the ring, but it really was the move that assured the quest was successful - and it doesnt just feel like reading about walking

its still incredibly funny how uninterested tolkien is in writing a scene of action

the tonal shift from such things as the fall of Númenor, the curse of Mandos, and the children of Húrin to "blunt the knives and bend the forks" is genuinely insane

The Beren and Lùthien chapter hits harder now I have a 50% grasp on it's context

its easy to follow if youre good at geography and can remember three different names referring to the same thing

i have brought this to uni every year and ill be damned if i dont finish it before i leave

So far every story aims to fuck you up in deeply existential ways, except "Understand" which is an archetype for Limitless and similar clones. Less interesting, but at least its the person whos being less of a cunt succeeding

The Mystery of Marie Roget: highlights the worst of "detective who knows everything" tropes, long and unsatisfying

The Purloined Letter: a breezier detective story, fun enough!

The Fall of the House of Usher: now its the good shit, proper and effective spooks

The Pit and the Pendulum: goth spoons in Notts was right for naming itself this, banger

The Premature Burial: 12 pages of "yeah this would suck"

The Gold Bug: personally found this to be a rocky start

The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar: makes me appreciate the simplicity of the morbid fascination of the 1800s

MS Found in a Bottle: brief spookiness, fun framing device

A Descent into the Maelström : love the vivid bucolic horror, did get lost in all the boat terms

The Murders in the Rue Morgue - great visceral imagery but ending has aged strangely?