Sharps, K.J. Parker

There is a tentative peace between two countries that have been warring for decades. One country decides it would be a great political move to send a team of fencers to the other country for an exhibition.

Since they cannot be assured of volunteers, the government blackmails and coerces and generally forces people to join the team.

It is really hard to put down one of Parker's novels. Part of this is that there are no chapter breaks, and I keep finding myself 200 pages in before I realize that those little one-line breaks between paragraphs are going to be my only chance for sleep.

But the other part is just that the stories are just so damn fascinating. Sometimes it is great to read something where you really have to concentrate to follow the action and everything is so fucked up you have no idea what will happen next.


I found out from the author page that there are six K.J. Parker novels I haven't read or gotten ahold of yet. So I put them all on my wish list, in case some rich stranger comes along and wants to make a weirdo happy.

Slugs, Shaun Hutson

Ordinary garden slugs develop a taste for meat, which for some reason makes them breed like crazy and start attacking humans. While they're at it, they start growing larger.

As if big ol' man-eating slugs aren't enough, ingesting their slime makes your insides melt and eating even part of one gives you giant brain worms.

The brain worms part is based on fact, by the way. Eating raw slugs will give you their wormy parasites, which move up into your brain and can be fatal.

This isn't a particularly well-written novel, but it is gross as all fuck. I am now interested in the movie.

Edit: I have seen the movie now and I just want to know why no-one in the book OR movie has ever heard of salt.