Terry Pratchett a Life with Footnotes by Rob Wilkins

Rob Wilkins was Terry’s assistant for many years and was probably the best placed person to finish off Terry’s biography. Terry himself had written 30,000 words of his autobiography before his untimely death in 2015 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. For those not in the know, Terry Pratchett was the writer and creator of the Discworld series of books and was often described as the fantasy equivalent to Douglas Adams. Footnotes* refers to the fact that almost every Discworld book is filled with footnotes, often incredibly funny.

The biography covers Terry’s whole life and doesn’t shy away from possible negative aspects of his character. He had an interesting life before becoming a full time writer, and his humour shines through on every page of the book, with far too many anecdotes to list here. As he admitted, he had the best job in the world.

One area that Terry was passionate about and campaigned for, which I have the complete opposite opinion was that of assisted suicide. I can understand the argument where people with incurable diseases would like to be chose when they die, and to be able to die with “dignity”. Aside from the fact that some people may feel pressurised to end their life before they are ready by overbearing relatives, there is the thought that some people may feel that they are a burden to their family members, and decide to go down this route, again, even though they might not want to. It isn’t black and white, there are many different shades of grey, but I am fully against it. (I am also against capital punishment, even for people like Lucy Letby.) Terry was also involved in a TV documentary looking at Veritas in Switzerland and the whole topic. I couldn’t blog about this book without mentioning it.

Rob Wilkins doesn’t shy away from how the process of writing for Terry became increasingly difficult as his degenerative disease worsened. Raising Steam, the final adult Discworld novel, isn’t the best book in the series by a long way, as Rob discussed after its release and reading the reviews.

However, the book is a great insight into one of my favourite authors, and when I’d finished it, I immediately re-read a couple of the best Discworld books, namely Guards! Guards! and Men at Arms.

Guards! Guards! introduces the Night Watch, a disparate band of men on the way out, until Carrot is enlisted, who is technically a dwarf, even though he is over six feet tall. Someone has created a dragon, hoping that a King would save the city, instead, saving the city falls to the Night Watch.

Men at Arms is the second book to feature the Night Watch, who have now been greatly expanded, with Trolls, Dwarves and even a Werewolf.

Both books are among the best ones in the whole Discworld series, and they are the perfect starting point for anyone who hasn’t read any of Terry’s books.

National Team Tri Relays – 2023 Edition

Once again it was that time of the year for the organised chaos that is the team triathlon relays. You can read about my previous relay posts here and here.

Last year COLT had two teams, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. This year, we had two in the morning and two in the afternoon. The COLT Trihards were the fast team, with out team simply named The B-Team. The two afternoon teams were The Afternoon Coffee Team and The Afternoon Tea Team.

I was racing in the morning with the more sedate team, while the Trihards ended up finishing tenth overall, which is an astounding feat.

Anyway, the team I was in consisted of Hobbit, who I’ve known for years and raced with last year, and also organised all of the teams which is like herding cats with people dropping out at the last minute. The other two people were Paul and Bethany, who I had never met before and had never raced the relays before. Hopefully they enjoyed the event and will be back next year.

Hobbit took one for the team, and took on the notoriously tough first swim. He’s also a beast in the water and was out much earlier than I expected. Hand over complete and I dived into the water, losing half of my goggles and having to swim with only on eye. I then handed over to Paul.

There were a couple of “offs” on the bike out on the course as there had been some rain overnight, including one of the fast COLT men, although he was okay to continue. One person from an RAF team was less fortunate and had to receive treatment out on the course. He race was over. The rumour was that he’d been taken out by a goose. I hope he recovers quickly.

Out on the bike course and there was a nasty head wind on the way back, but the three laps soon passed. As Hobbit started his run, he was neck and neck, briefly, with the second runner from the COLT fast team. I headed out on the run with the aim to take it a little slower than the previous year. I’d had a couple of niggles and all I really wanted from the run was to survive without making them worse, which I think I’ve managed. My time was a little slower and my average heart rate was “only” 162 bpm. I handed over to Paul who was two minutes quicker than me.

Last year, all of the teams had been allowed to run through the finish funnel as a group. Unfortunately, this year, the organisers had a lack of volunteers and were unable to repeat it this year. I only noticed one team having a little moan over this.

Bethany had a great run and picked up a COLT flag as she ran into the finish funnel, with group photo a few minutes later. We finished in the top half, and our times were very consistent, with only a minute or two between the four of us. Bethany, who is at least 20 years younger than the rest of us, was the quickest in our team.

Hobbit then produced a large homemade cake with clotted cream. Absolutely perfect after a hard days racing.

The only drawback from my point of view was that Helen, my lovely wife, hadn’t been able to join us. Originally, we had planned on camping the night before and the night after. However, a new puppy made that idea not a good one, so she stayed at home to look after him. Next year, puppy will join us, and Helen has even stated a desire to race as well.

Draculas by Crouch, Konrath, Strand and Wilson

Four writers combined their skills to write a modern Dracula vision. The four authors are all well establish best selling publishers with Paul Wilson being the most celebrated with his Repairman Jack series of books. The other authors are Blake Crouch, Joe Konrath and Jeff Strand.

The basic premise is that a millionaire with too much time on his hands has been searching for Dracula’s skull. The millionaire shares the same bloodline as the Count, although he doesn’t know it when he finally receives what is supposed to be the real skull.

However, there is a huge amount of residual energy contained within the skull, which combined with the millionaires bloodline, turns him into an alpha Dracula, although he dies initially. He is taken to the local hospital, where it all kicks off. At the hospital there are numerous different third person viewpoints, from nurses, doctors, patients and the local police, all wandering what the heck is going on as more and more people are “turned”.

The story is set over a time period of less than 24 hours, and because of that, the pace is relentless and the death count is high, with some surprising deaths in inventive ways.

I loved the book. It was dumb, stupid and great fun. As it is only available as an e-book, each author has included a solo short story, along with an extensive self-interview with the four authors. They explained that they each took a few characters each, which was fairly obvious reading the book.

This was an excellent re-imagining of an old classic, updated with plenty of gratuitous violence and humour. Years ago I read Dean Koontz’s modern day version of Frankenstein, and to honest, I gave up after the second book. Hopefully, Messrs Crouch, Konrath, Strand and Wilson are writing a sequel.

More e-books by George Mahood

I’ll start by saying that George Mahood has still not accepted my request to follow him on Strava, not that I’m bitter. Definitely not bitter, not in the slightest.

I’ve read quite a few of George’s books, and have enjoyed all of them. As he his self-published, it means that I can read his books for “free” with my Kindle Unlimited subscription, always a bonus. You can find my reviews of his other books here.

I have signed up to his newsletter, which he states he won’t spam you. A few weeks ago an email popped up where George was promoting the debut novel written by his wife. I haven’t started to read it yet, but I will soon. It also prompted me to write about three books from George that I hadn’t yet reviewed.

Did Not Believe is part of the long running DNF series of books, describing George and his family’s adventures in swimming, cycling and running. These are always good fun as George and his wife are definitely not to be found near to the front of any of the races which they enter. As much as I enjoy reading about professional athletes, books by regular “normal” people are often more relatable.

Every Day is a Holiday is a six month odyssey through the weird and wonderful world of appreciation days. When is Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day? What about National Curmudgeon Day, or Inane Answering Machine Message Day. The calendar is FULL of these quirky, weird and wonderful events. He realised that somebody somewhere had created these holidays, believing that they were important enough to warrant their own official day. Surely he should therefore be more appreciative of their existence? So he decided to try and celebrate them all. As you do. He hoped that at the end of the challenge he would be transformed into a happier, more intelligent and more content person. (most of the above paragraph was taken directly from George’s website as it was written far more better than what I could.)

Life’s a Beach continues George’s adventure with appreciation days, at the encouragement of his wife, who realised that her husband was having fun and had pulled himself and his family out of a rut. As the book progresses it also describes their move from Nottingham to the idyllic south coast in Devon. A reminder to all of us to be more open, do crazy things, have fun and be yourself.

George Mahood’s books are not to be taken seriously, in fact, the complete opposite. They are fluff, but all the more enjoyable for it. His writing has also improved as he writes more. The books can be found on Kindle Unlimited, or at a very reasonable price for non-subscribers.

In It for the Long Run by Damian Hall

Back in the summer of 2020 there was a spate of long distance running records being broken, including the Bob Graham and the Pennine Way. Most long distance routes don’t have “records” per se, instead, they use the system of the Fastest Known Time (FKT). During the first lockdown in early 2020 there were a lot of people who found themselves with extra time on their hands, or their feet, with people going for long runs from their home, with non-essential travel prohibited. In the summer, when travel was permitted, ultra-runners headed out and broke FKTs by the hatful. Some of these epic runs even became mainstream news, albeit, only briefly. Damian Hall found himself being interviewed by the BBC live on television after his truly epic run.

Damian Hall’s book, In It for the Long Run: Breaking Records and Getting FKT, not only describes his run down the spine of England, with a small part in Scotland, but also how he became one of the countries most successful ultra-distance runners.

Damian wasn’t always a runner, in fact he only took up running about ten years earlier, when he entered a half marathon. He was working as a journalist for fitness magazines, and they would often need a volunteer for various events, including walking the classic Wainwright Coast to Coast route. Damian was also commissioned to write a guide book for the Pennine Way. During research he stumbled across The Spine Race, a 261 mile race along the full route, completed in less than a week.

The book is compelling and funny, although I would suggest that it might not encourage casual readers to want to run extreme distances, as Damian doesn’t shy away from how terrible he feels towards the end of these events, and how invariably he has to apologise to friends who have been crewing for him.

The final few chapters are all about his attempt at the FKT for the Pennine Way, which was broken only a week or two before his attempt. The previous record had stood for 31 years. Damian goes all out with support, bringing in a whos who of ultra runners to support him on each section, so that he didn’t have to carry anything, didn’t have to worry about navigation or worry about opening any of the hundreds of gates along the route. John Knapp, a top four finisher at the Spine race, and friend from the City of Lancaster Triathlon Club was one of Damian’s pacers.

Anyway, I gave the book five out of five, mostly due to how readable it was, and because I always enjoy reading about ultra events, whether they are running, cycling, swimming, or all three. Probably a book for runners.

Two Books by Spencer Baum

I have no idea how I stumbled across One Fall, the first of two books by Spencer Baum, but I was pleased that I did.

One Fall is a professional wrestling themed book, and while I thoroughly enjoyed it, I would suggest that if you don’t like WWE or the such, to give the book a miss.

Joey, the main character, is given a chance at the big times, but he messes up. He tries to redeem himself with the help of an under utilized female wrestler. The World Champion then becomes injured and the locker room is in tatters. With the top spot open, veteran wrestlers are jockeying for position, hoping to become the next megastar, and Joey is their target. On top of this there is a rival promotion and a website with a huge scoop.

The book is full of unexpected twists and turns, but as I said, maybe one for fans of wrestling to begin with. I gave it a healthy four out of five, although the average rating on Goodreads is 3.5.

The second book by Spencer Baum is the Tetradome Run, which is like a futuristic dystopian themed book, but is actually set in the present day. The basic premise is that Nixon signed into law an act where felons are given the chance of redemption by taking part in the Tetradome Run. This annual event has become the biggest televised show in the world. As you might have guessed, there is only one winner out of all of the competitors.

The idea has been done twice by Stephen King with The Running Man and The Long Walk (read my review here). The twist in this book is that one of the main characters is actually innocent of the crime that sent her to jail. There is also a terrorist plot to blow up the stadium, which she must stop as well as surviving the event.

I gave the book five out of five, which for me is rare, while the average score is 4.29. What was also interesting was that the e-book version included a few pages from the author, where he explained the process behind writing the book, and that the original was at least three times as long. I always enjoy reading author thoughts on their own books.

Around the World in 80 Days

The Dukes Theatre in Lancaster is a truly wonderful venue, with cinema, plays, comedy and a friendly bar. They also put on a summer play in Williamson Park at the top of the hill in Lancaster. This year it was the turn of a musical version of Jules Verne’s classic. I am ashamed to admit that I have never read the book, but I have fond memories if the 1956 film version starring David Niven. I also enjoyed the Steve Coogan and Jackie Chan version from 2004 and the David Tennant TV series from 2021. All of the version are different, as was the version in the park, so it would make sense for me to read the book to reveal what the definitive version is.

What makes the play in the park extra special is that five different stages are set up, and at the end of each scene everyone walks to the next stage. The first scene introduced the six actors who apart from Sam Jones, who played the eponymous hero, all played multiple roles.

The first scene, set on the lake, mentioned the bet to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days. The challenge taken up my Passepartout, who was renamed Phileas Fogg, Lady Fogg’s made up nephew. As I said, I haven’t read the book, but I’m fairly sure that this wasn’t in the original.

The second scene jumped to a train from Mumbai to Kolkata, complete with Princess Aouda, the evil Inspector Fix, a chicken and an elephant.

Scene three was at the top of the park outside the memorial, which is adjacent to the café for half time drinks and snacks. Very well organised. The scene was also set in Hong Kong, complete with Inspector Fix conniving to have the Princess arrested, ensuring that Fogg will miss the boat to San Francisco to save her.

The views across the bay as the sun set was amazing.

Directly after half time the action was aboard a steamer ship and a shipwreck, before we all walked deep into the park for a scene from the wild west.

Phileas and the Princess fashioned a hot air balloon from an old wagon.

The final scene was under a clock on the steps of the Ashton Memorial, where Phileas realizes that he has gained a day from circumnavigating the world from east to west. Unfortunately, the ending was missing the suspense from the film and TV versions, although the Princess did punch Inspector Fix in the face to loads of cheers.

Overall, the play was absolutely brilliant. I would recommend that everyone should go and see it, but don’t forget to take warm and waterproof clothing and a foldup camping chair.

City Strides Update

Scotland still hasn’t been added to City Strides, although I am sure that it will be soon. My last City Strides related blog was moaning about that. Read all of my City Strides blog posts here.

I have also slowly been ticking off streets in the “city” of Lancaster, which includes Morecambe and a great deal of the outlying area. I felt a bit rough in July and hardly ran, but at the end of the month the percentage of streets in Lancaster that I’d completed went down. It didn’t go down by much, from 47.10% down to 47.08%.

How can that be? The logical explanation is that there is a new road. I would guess that a few houses have been built with a new road, which has now been added to the mapping software.

I have also been ticking off the “city” of Deansgate in the middle of Manchester. It is a small city with only 266 streets, but I have completed 263 of them. The final three are either inside a construction site, behind a security gate, or the final one is at the far side of the city and is too far to walk to and from within my lunch. Hopefully, at some point in the future I will manage to tick off the final three streets to have my first 100% city.

Anyway, that is my short update on City Strides, which is definitely one of the best add-ons for running and walking available. You also don’t need to be on Strava to use it, as the data came be uploaded from Garmin, Map my Fitness or Run keeper.

Landlines by Raynor Winn

Raynor Winn’s first book, The Salt Path, was one of the best books I have ever read, and one that I recommended to numerous people. Raynor and her husband, Moth, became homeless in their 50’s. Feeling despondent, they opted to walk the South Coast Path.

The Wild Silence, Raynor’s second book was also good, although not as good as the first. You can read my reviews of both books here.

Landlines is Raynor’s third book, and her husband’s long term degenerative disease has worsened. They decide to walk the Cape Wrath Trail, a 200 mile path from the north coast of Scotland to Fort William, or vice versa.

I’m not giving away any spoilers as the pair of them when they finish the Cape Wrath Trail, then start the West Highland Way, before continuing all the way home to Cornwall.

What makes Raynor Winn’s books far more interesting is that she doesn’t solely concentrate on the travel and walking aspects of the adventure. Her writing is filled with social commentary, with Scottish independence, Brexit along with the the rise in homelessness. Their walk was completed in 2021, and the book has many examples of goods stuck in queues at the border. There is a poignant passage describing an almost deserted village nestled on the Pennine Way, where many of the cottages and homes were bought as second homes, and then the owners couldn’t stay there during lockdowns, resulting in the pub and shops closing in the village.

The book is also funny, with Moth breaking a finger as he tries to stuff a sleeping bag back into it’s outer, which is exactly the sort of thing I can imagine me or my lovely wife doing.

However, the most important things to take from the book are that we need to look after each other and our world, and that you shouldn’t ever stop. Don’t say that you’ll have adventures later, have them now. And I mean NOW!

Anyway, a great book and well deserved of five out of five.

RR Haywood

RR Haywood is an interesting British author. He started out self publishing e-books, with his first book being The Undead Day 1. In his own words, no one bought it. He didn’t care as he continued to write the series. It wasn’t until he published the week one anthology that word of mouth began. He is now one of Britain’s most successful indie writers, who has been able to give up his day job as a policeman and write full time. The Undead series is now up to 25 books, with another three stand alone extras. The series is also a long way from finished.

He has a website which naturally promotes all of his books, but there are also a few Q & A paragraphs and a blog. Some of his earliest books are riddled with typos, grammar mistakes and formatting issues, but as he said, proof readers and editors cost money, and good ones cost a lot of money, which he couldn’t afford. The books are also fairly raw, in that there are some long sections where you can’t help thinking that an editor would have scrapped, or parred down to the bone. RR Haywood does like to write long, convoluted pages filled with “banter”.

What is also interesting is that RR Haywood looked at becoming an author of physical books. The split between digital books and physical books is 70:30, with Amazon taking the largest share of the e-book market. I would fully recommend his article describing his lack of progress in this respect.

https://www.rrhaywood.com/post/getting-a-book-into-a-bookstore-an-indie-author-s-experience

Mr Haywood also shared his thoughts on rules. One comments he often received was that if you write a book in first person, you need to explain who the story is being recounted. For example, is the first person writing a diary? Mr Haywood disagrees. He also disagrees with the rule that you should stick to first person and not switch between different points of view. There are no rules. If you want to write, just write.

Anyhow, RR Haywood has become one of my favourite authors, partly because of the topics he writes about; zombies and manipulating time, and partly because he did it on his own.