Life With IBS – 10 Observations

As best I recall, my Irritable Bowel Syndrome started in about October/November 2015. Its advent wasn’t a binary on-off thing; rather it ramped itself up over a few weeks. At first it was just ‘every now and then’, which broadened to ‘I’m having a few bad days’, which in turn broadened to ‘why oh why do I feel awful all the time?’.
So, I reckon I’ve had it for about 18 months now, which is probably long enough to share a few observations.
(Also, one note – this post deals specifically with IBS-D. I can’t talk about IBS-C because that’s not the version I have.)

Ninefox Gambit, by Yoon Ha Lee

I’m currently reading Ninefox Gambit, by Yoon Ha Lee.

I can’t spoil the ending, as I haven’t got there yet. But here are some thoughts…

Slow Bullets, by Alistair Reynolds

This is a fairly short, and rather enigmatic, work. It’s as much horror story as it is science fiction.

A few thoughts under the cut…

Revenger, by Alistair Reynolds

I very recently finished Revenger by Alistair Reynolds. I can highly recommend this novel.

Reynolds at the top of his game is an awesome sight to behold. This novel is no disappointment.

Cold Water, A Bucket Thereof

Based on what I’m seeing of the Tory Conference, I think some people are going to be in for a big, big surprise come March.

Below the cut, my prediction for how the Article 50 talks will play out…

The Spiritwalker Trilogy, by Kate Elliott

Rei vindicatio.

I first read Kate Elliott’s Spiritwalker trilogy in late 2013. The series stayed in my mind subsequently, so I decided to reread it.

The trilogy consists of three books, Cold Magic, Cold Fire and Cold Steel. They are a fascinating mix of steampunk, romance, fantasy and alternative history. The series is hard to describe succintly, and almost impossible not to spoil, but here goes anyway…

Catherine Hassi Barahal – Cat, to her friends – is a Kena’ani girl living in the city of Adurnam, in the cold north of the continent of Europa. She lives with the people she has been raised to believe are her family – her father and mother drowned when she was very young, and their Kena’ani relatives took them in. Cat spends her days studying at Adurnam’s Academy (which, in a recent liberalising move, has begun accepting young women as students) and affectionately-sparring with her beloved cousing Beatrice (or Bee, for short). So, far so normal.

Cat’s broadly-happy existence is abruptly blown out of the water by the arrival of Andevai Diarisso Haranwy, who is none other than a magister of the Four Moons House of mages. The Mage Houses are among the wealthiest and most powerful people in Europa; their mastery of the arcane powers have given them an influence up there with potentates such as the princes of the city-states, or even the vestigial empire of Rome itself.

And Andevai has some very personal designs on Cat; he seeks to marry her. For Cat’s family have not told her the entire truth – she was used as a pawn in a vast political game, long before she was even a toddler. And the implications of that game may just shake the entire continent.

Because, you see, the feared General Camjiata has returned, and he threatens to upend Europa’s entire social order in his pursuit of revolution and empire…

Fables, Book One, by Bill Willingham

After playing “The Wolf Among Us”, I gained the opportunity to read the first book of Bill Willingham’s Fables series.

The basic conceit is that the former inhabitants of the fairy tale Homelands have been forced to migrate to our ‘real’ world. Most of them are living in either New York, or out on an isolated reservation called the Farm. The stories cover the issues faced by the Fables as they try to carve out some place for themselves inside Mundane society. The roles the Fables find themselves playing can be quite different from what their previous lives have conditioned them to expect…

London, UK In a surprise move, Harbinger has announced its candidacy for the Tory leadership election. It cited its ‘MILLIONS OF YEARS OF EXPERIENCE’, claiming that only it could ‘ASSUME DIRECT CONTROL’ and ‘END THE CHAOS’. It also added that the party’s talent pool was ‘ANKLE-DEEP’.

Most analysts consider Harbinger a dark horse candidate, but given the events of the preceding week, who knows?

This Week In UK Internal Politics…

I think this picture sums up the current situation quite accurately, doesn’t it?

I seem to recall writing a story a few years ago, where the complete collapse of a parliamentary government was a plot point. I didn’t expect to actually live in a place where that happened. For most of the past seven days, I’ve been alternating between complete horror and boggling at the utter insanity that’s been unleashed.

(Needless to say, for what it’s worth, I voted Remain. 48% and proud, dammit!)

While we’re on the subject, apparently Michael Gove forgot the First Law of Politics In The Internet Age (register your domains before you announce your campaign). With that in mind, here’s a snerk-tastic link:

http://www.gove2016.co.uk/

Referendum Survival Kit

Let’s face it, this referendum campaign has been a miserable experience, hasn’t it?

I’ve assembled the key items for my survival kit. Tomorrow I’ll either be having a drink to celebrate, or several drinks to compensate.