Monthly Archives: April 2025

Bealby, by H.G. Wells

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Second paragraph of third chapter:

Amidst the ivy was a fuss of birds.

I am nearing the end of my H.G. Wells marathon and I can see why this book is not very well known. Bealby is a comic lad because he is working class and has ideas above his station, which is as a servant in a posh house. There are shenanigans involving the Lord Chancellor and a holiday caravan which I did not find very funny. At least it is short. Adam Roberts liked it more than I did.

Next up (and penultimate) in my Wells-a-thon: The Undying Fire.

Wednesday reading

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You can read a lot on an 11-hour daytime intercontinental flight (also spent about six hours in slow-moving taxis last Thursday).

Current
Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese
Paladin of Souls, by Lois McMaster Bujold
Ganny Knits a Spaceship, by David Gerrold

Last books finished
A Sorceress Comes to Call, by T. Kingfisher
The Practice, the Horizon and the Chain, by Sofia Samatar
We Called Them Giants, by Kieron Gillen et al
Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right, by Jordan S. Carroll
A History of the Bible: The Book and Its Faiths, by John Barton
The Vegetarian, by Kang Han
Joan and Peter, by H.G. Wells
The Mysterious Island, by Jules Verne
Sheine Lende, by Darcie Little Badger
The Vetting, by Michael Cassutt
The Birds, and other stories, by Daphne du Maurier

Next books
Dead Man’s Hand, by Tony Lee et al
A Short History of Brexit, by Kevin O’Rourke
Nine Lives, by William Dalrymple

The Child of Time, by Jonathan Morris et al

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Second frame of third story (“The Golden Ones”):

Man on left: “No thank you Mr Kin. / Who’s the little girl? Your granddaughter?”
Man behind desk: “Chiyoko. And no, my wife and I were never blessed with children. / Chiyoko acts as my … marketing consultant on the Goruda project.”

This is a compilation of comic strip stories from Doctor Who Magazine during the Eleventh Doctor era, all by Jonathan Morris; I had not appreciated it at the time, but they actually have a cleverly worked out arc (about, er, the Child of Time) which culminates at the end, shortly after we meet the killer Brontë sisters.

Charlotte: “Doctor, how delightful to finally make your acquaintance!”
Emily: “If I may introduce myself – I am Emily, these are my sisters Charlotte and Anne.”
Anne: “Together, we are the Brontës!”

Having been working through the IDW Doctor Who comics dating to the same era, it’s interesting to feel a very different dynamic to the DWM strips, which have much shorter episodes and also had to respond to the TV show in real time – there are some very informative endnotes from Morris and the artists about the creative process.

Also I particularly like the story with C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

C.S. Lewis: “‘…And that was the very end of the adventure of the bookshop.’ / So, what does everyone think?”
J.R.R. Tolkien: “Well, I thought it was a bit juvenile… a jumble of unrelated mythologies… all rather derivative, I’m afraid… / And I wasn’t convinced by the allegorical element at all!”

Rather a jewel. You can get it here.