Faceless Killers is the first book of 14 crime novels in the Wallender series by Swedish author Henning Mankell, written between 1991 and 2014.   Wallander is a police inspector in the town of Ystad, located southeast of Malmo.  The books were written in Swedish and translated into English. There have been several TV series and movies made of the Wallander … Continue reading →
When the weather became hot and the valleys were wreathed in smoke, we ventured up to Sun Peaks to take the chairlift up the mountain to hike the subalpine trails.  There will have been 3 days of hiking on the mountain this summer.   On the second I took the grandkids on a loop route up through Crystal Bowl, then down … Continue reading →
The Blade Itself is the first book in the First Law series, a grimdark (speculative fiction that is dark and possibly violent) fantasy novel.  It is similar to Game of Thrones in some ways, but it is lighter reading with interesting characters, some gallows-style humor, lots of battles, and with clever dialogue.    We never really get a sense of the … Continue reading →
When the weather gets hot, I go to higher elevations and do shorter hikes or combine hiking and paddling.    On this hot summer day I launched my kayak from the Lodgepole Lake Rec Site and then paddled around the lake, once in each direction.   I then secured the boat and hiked single track trails nearby. It was an early start, … Continue reading →
The Women is a novel based on memoirs of an army nurse during the Vietnam War.    The author chooses a well-to-do naive young lady (Frankie) who wants to contribute and make her family proud.     As a newly graduated nurse she enlists and after basic training lands in the war zone, as a novice in a Evac Hospital.   The experience is … Continue reading →
When the weather gets hot, we adjust our activities accordingly: an early start a higher elevation location no long hill climbs routes with some shade varied activities On a day that was forecast for 42ºC (107º F), I drove to Stake Lake.    I was first on the lake, paddling around the lake twice, which took … Continue reading →
Embassytown is another powerful science fiction novel by China Mieville.  The setting is on a planet on the edge of humanity’s expansion.   Humans have an outpost there (Embassytown), allowed by the sentient native aliens, the Ariekei.   Their technology is biological in nature, but has been adapted to support human life.   The Ariekei’s means of communication is so fundamentally different from … Continue reading →
Community Lake is located in the hills to the east of Knouff Lake.   It is accessed from the Knouff Lake Road, then the Community Lake Road to the Rec Site.  I first paddled the lake then went for a hike into the hills above the lake on a hot summer day. Most of the old roads on top of … Continue reading →
Standing in the Shadows is the final book (the 28th) of the Inspector Banks series, written in 2023.   All of the books are police procedurals, mostly centered in East Vale in the Yorkshire Dales.  The author has been writing and publishing solid crime stories for 35 years.   A TV show featured some of the books over 5 seasons. Inspector Alan … Continue reading →
Videos can sometimes enhance stories of hiking.   On a recent hike in the McQueen Lake area, some video footage was taken and compiled into a video, combing hiking, nature walks, and comments, now shared here.  Nature hikes are done at a slower pace, taking the time to go off-trail to observe, photograph, and appreciate whatever interests us.   We hiked on … Continue reading →
Boon Island – A True Story of Mutiny, Shipwreck, and Cannibalism is a retelling of a famous survival story in American history.   In 1710 the Nottingham Gallery wrecked on a very small barren island just off the New England Coast in winter.  Most of the crew scrambled to shore, but the treeless rocky islet had no trees and no shelter … Continue reading →
On Denman Island, there are a series of connected green areas surrounding Denman Island Provincial Park, including Denman Island Protected Area, Central Park, Settlement Lands, Inner Island Nature Reserve, Pickles Road Conservation Area, and Winter Wren Wood.   Trails wind through the forest, passing marshes and wet areas, over small hills, through dales.  We can combine some of them for a … Continue reading →
The Hunter is the second book in the Cal Hooper series, set in Ardnakalty, a rural community on the side of a mountain on the west coast of Ireland.  Cal is a retired American detective who wants to live a peaceful and quiet life, but finds himself caught up in the secrets and hidden crimes, the fodder for local talk, … Continue reading →
The Lindsay Dickson Nature Reserve is an area of 134 acres of old-growth douglas fir forest and mixed forests on Denman Island.   It is owned by the Denman Conservation Association with support from the Province of British Columbia.  There are two official trailheads and several other informal trails.    On an April day I hiked from the East Road onto the … Continue reading →
Gerald’s Game is a suspense/terror novel, written in 1992.   It is set to coincide with a full solar eclipse in Maine in that year  He wrote 2 books (Dolores Claiborne is the other) and the two books are connected by the eclipse and similar themes (abuse).    This book will challenge the reader at several levels.   It is similar to … Continue reading →
Boyle Point Provincial Park lies at the southeast end of Denman Island, between Baynes Sound and Georgia Strait.   Forest trails wind through the park, providing some good hikes.    On an April morning we hiked out to the south end of the park where we had views looking south toward the southern Gulf Islands. Right below the sea cliffs is an … Continue reading →
