Portland report

Tomorrow I head home after 6 days of being a chemo buddy. The best news is that my friend is doing extremely well. This was her last chemo session and although she was wiped out for a couple of days, it was only a couple of days, and she's feeling well enough to do a little riding on her nice Tennessee Walker mare and also to go back to work tomorrow. Her blood tests for tumor markers are normal, yay!

I arrived Thursday, settled in, helped with animal care (horse, chickens, goats, cats); then drove her in for the chemo infusion on Friday, shopped, cooked, washed dishes, did more animal stuff; next few days very much the same, minus the visit to the cancer center. Somehow worked in a half hour walk before breakfast on most days, plus plowing through the pile of books I'd brought. Another trip to the cancer center for a white-blood-cell booster injection, also one today for massage. She's been doing complementary alternative therapies (acupuncture, nutrition with a naturopath, massage) and feels it has greatly helped her tolerance of the chemo.

Now we wait, and her oncologist keeps an eagle eye on her. Or perhaps a chicken's eye? Her chickens, running rampant in the illness of their mistress, have been hiding clutches of eggs: she now has 7 chicks and another clutch of 5 eggs. Her onc, a lovely Chinese-American, said he'd been hoping for another patient that would pay him in chickens (!!!) and will take 3 hen-chicks (once they're grown up enough to be sure). Wonder if he'd like a goat as well?

Books for the trip....

Some comments on the pile of books I've been reading:

Kari Sperring, LIVING WITH GHOSTS. Superior fantasy that drew me right in. I had not realized how lyrical and flowing the prose/plot were until I went on to the next book that went clunk! clatter! In some ways, the world-building reminds me of Sherwood Smith's INDA series with a bit of Chaz Brenchley thrown in. The ending could have been sentimental but was courageous instead. Definitely an author to watch. Highly recommended.

Rob Thurman, DEATHWISH. Latest and perhaps last of the Cal/Nik Auphe series (whatever the real name is). I liked the earlier ones and this didn't let me down. Angst, martial arts, loyalty and betrayal, supernatural creatures, and an immensely satisfying ending. Not as lushly complex as Sperring, but a quick and absorbing read.

Thomas Szniegowski, DANCING ON THE HEAD OF A PIN. He's clearly not done with Remy Chandler, PI and Seraphim-in-exile, but I'm giving up. The world building doesn't work, the theology is crap, and the prose clanks and stutters. Even the way cool relationship between Remy and his Labrador, Marlowe, isn't enough to keep me going. Other mileage may vary; I've never been a fan of noir detectives in either print or film.

Anton Strout, the latest DEAD title, with Simon Canderous, psycometrist. Another series I'm done with. I forgot how much I disliked what I was able to read of earlier volumes. Teenager with way too much smart-ass self-indugence got drunk, watched BUFFY, wrote books, or so it reads to me. It's supposed to be snappy and witty and satirical, but for me is just plain annoying.

Dave Duncan, THE ALCHEMIST'S PURSUIT. After the above two, what a relief. Effortless to read, full of color and texture (alternate Renaissance Venice), basically a mystery with way enjoyable scenery. For me, Duncan's work is a wonderful blend of experienced-pro skills and freshness of invention. Read his ILL MET IN THE ARENA awhile ago, also the two novels set in the hexagonal world. Antidote to boredome!

Speaking of which, Ann Littlewood, NIGHT KILL. Ann's a college friend and this is her debut novel from Poisoned Pen Press. She worked for years as a zoo keeper, and set her mystery, um, behind the bars. The animal stuff is way, way cool, and the story moves right along. No sf/f elements, but I suspect a huge interest overlap. Do check it out if you have any interest in animals or the lives and work of zoo keepers.

For the plane flight tomorrow, Rachel Caine's newest, not WEATHER WARDEN, but her new series. Should do nicely for the trip.