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Continue reading →: It Waits in the Woods by Josh Malerman
Fairly standard stuff, but entertaining nonetheless.I spend a lot of time wandering alone in various European forests, and very much hope to encounter an ‘impish demon’ at some stage. Like a lot of wildlife, it’s probably my dog that keeps it away.. I’m interested by this Creature Feature Series. I’ve…
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Continue reading →: Villages of West MacedoniaPentalofos on a Friday evening is a noisy place, which wasn’t a surprise, I knew it would be. First it was the chainsaws, all afternoon. It’s the time of the year for chainsaws. I note that I don’t often see women operating chainsaws. Something about men and power tools; as…
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Continue reading →: Blood by Hanns Heinz Ewers
(Translated from the German by Sinclair Dombrow) There are four short stories in this collection, and they are all tremendous.The titular, Blood, or MamaloiThe White MaidenTomato Sauceand The Spider. In Mamaloi, Ewers relates the details of a scandalous occurrence involving voodoo by a corrupt, depraved and aging German missionary in…
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Continue reading →: Invitation to Violence by Lionel White
Three men execute a carefully devised plan. They drive to an upmarket suburban Long Island neighbourhood and break into a jewellery store. Before they can get away however, two police cars roll up and a gun battle ensues. Two of the cops and two of the crooks get killed, but…
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Continue reading →: Pentalofos and Western MacedoniaI couldn’t have chosen a better time to walk up to the top of Kastoria Hill than 9 am this morning. The overnight mist lying on the lake was just lifting, and provided some fine sights. After a stock up at the supermarket in town we headed south west, into…
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Continue reading →: Through Albania and onto GreeceThe lower lying coastal area of Montenegro was not for me. It was extremely humid, with the temperature hovering around 20C all day and night. With all the fresh water from the river and lake it was a haven for biting flies. I tried a couple of places out but…
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Continue reading →: Virpazar, Skadar LakeI had five days at Grebaje, in the Prokletoje National Park. It wasn’t at all busy, but I met the odd hiker, and just a couple of other campervans, Vincent from Belguim who I mentioned, and a Swiss family, who were living on the road, heading from Greece and Turkey…
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Continue reading →: Secret Europe by John Howard and Mark Valentine
These 25 tales, from the tag-team of Howard and Valentine, are set during the stream of social discontent that swept across Eastern Europe between the Wars.Short though the stories maybe, the economy of words only heightens the emphasis and purpose. To each, there is a great sense of purpose, without…
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Continue reading →: An ascent of Valušnica (1879 m)Up and up through the forest they went, the lithe brown dog leading and encouraging the old broken man behind. The dog knows patience. The maze of tree roots that he had leapt over with agility cause problems for the man. He lies, gnawing a tree branch. Why rush anyway.…
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Continue reading →: My Death by Lisa Tuttle
I’ve been meaning to read Lisa Tuttle for a while, and thought I’d start with this novella, recently reissued by NYRB. Tuttle’s unnamed narrator and protagonist, an author of fiction, is five years widowed and her grief has affected her work output, she is bereft of ideas. She has become…
To live more widely
supera superiora sequi
SafeReturnDoubtful is my alias. Rua is my fox red labrador pup, born 14 Feb 2026 and learning fast..
Where is Rua?
I was so much older then…
Quote of the Week
Alice asked the Cheshire Cat, who was sitting in a tree, ‘What road do I take?’ The cat asked, ‘Where do you want to go?’ ‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it really doesn’t matter, does it?’
Lewis Carroll
