October Books Read

 

 A fine double cover by Fred Gambino. I read the Kindle edition with a boring yellow cover.

 

From 1978 comes the 19th Dumerest book The Quillian Sector.  It is 158 pages long.  This story has it all--a miserable mining planet, the Cyclan giving chase (this time hiring a bounty hunter to capture Dumerest alive), a space ship adventure and a crash landing and grim survival on a hostile alien world.  Tubb went all out on this one, and it shows.  It's a great story, though he is no closer to finding Earth.  Other than calling it his home, he never gives any reason why he wants to return to his planet of birth, even though everyone else thinks it's merely a legend.  He left it because it was a planet of no hope, so go figure.  One of the better books of the series.

*** stars. 

 

My less than exciting Kindle cover. 

 

It's time to restart my Delphi Classics project, normally back at the "A" authors.  But Kindle placed a recent purchase up front (before Anderson), so I began reading their Medieval Poetry Collection.  First up was a poem by Caedmon, a dude from the 7th C.  He is the earliest English poet whose name is recorded.  He cared for the animals at a monastery in what is now known as Whitby Abbey.  He worked there during the abbacy of St. Hilda (657-680).  He later became a monk and Christian poet.  Hymn is his only known surviving work and it is a praise in honour of God.  It is only 9 lines long, so it doesn't take a long time to read.  The collection gives a translation and the original text, then both together one line at a time for comparison.  Pretty neat.

 

Next came three longer poems, two anonymous but the middle one is by Cynewulf, active in the 8th C.  Entitled Christ I, II and III they are also called The Advent, which deals with the virgin birth of Christ; The Ascension, by our poet, and Doomsday.  The first two are not that long, but Doomsday really gets itself in a froth and runs on for a good while.  The translation is in prose, which is easier to read and understand, but the original is also provided, with counted lines.  I actually enjoyed reading these, as it brought back memories of my childhood Catholic upbringing, which I ended up rejecting at age 13.  Most enjoyable are the dialogue segments.  For example in "The Advent" we hear of Joseph's trials as he is mercilessly hounded by his neighbours.  Mary patiently explains to him about the virgin birth, the angel Gabriel, and who it is in her womb.  Still, the guys are razzing him a lot.  "The Ascension" is the better written of the three, being concise and sticking to its subject without belabouring it.  Yet again it all sounds like SF to me, with a spaceship, advanced science and medicine and alien beings stopping by for a chat with the locals.  "Doomsday" does give both sides of the story, as we are introduced to what will happen not only to the bad guys at the end of the world, but also to the good guys.  Based on what I read here I sincerely hope I am one of the good guys.

 

Next up in this series (many months from now) is the William Morris translation of Beowulf.  Though I've read it twice before, I am looking forward to reading it again.

 

The cover of my Kindle edition. 

 

Next on my reading list was Sherwood Anderson's 1923 novel Many Marriages.  It was one of the oddest books I have ever read, satisfying in some ways and quite disturbing in others.  The main character is John Webster, who relates much of the text and dialogue to the reader.  His wife Mary, his daughter Jane and his new girlfriend Natalie are important secondary characters.  A lesser role is played by Katherine, the housekeeper.  John Webster is a somewhat successful washing machine manufacturer in a small town in Wisconsin.  According to him he has been sleeping through much of his life, partially dead.  One fine morning he suddenly begins to notice things, details he had never seen before.  For one thing he had never really looked at his secretary, Natalie, before.  He begins an inner monologue, with occasional out loud conversation, which will last throughout the entire book.  It's like he has awakened from a lifelong coma and begins to feel alive for the first time since he was in college.  He quickly comes to realize that he does not love his wife, but he cares for Jane, his 17 year old daughter.  He decides to leave them both, and most of the book is his own way of doing just that.  His reasons are valid; if he truly wishes to come alive he will need to begin an entire new life.  He wonders later on if he is suffering from temporary insanity (no doubt he is) and that he will soon regret his new direction in life.  He and Natalie plan to sneak out of town on a 4 am train and never return.  The night before the big day he manages to get his wife and daughter and himself in one room, and he talks mostly to his daughter about why he is about to do what he is about to do.  She slowly awakens to him, not really having known him at all before now.  By the end of the novel she has grown up and matured a lot, but the wife is shattered.  This is the disturbing part of the book, as no one seems to really care about her at all.  This might still be one of the best books about a male mid-life crisis (or a male undergoing a bout of temporary insanity, likely both linked together anyway).  The writing is incredibly good, and simple enough to understand what is happening here.  I'm not sure who I could recommend the novel to, but I do recommend it.  A unique style of writing on a theme that could happen in any marriage.

**** stars.

 

I move back into the "B" authors next with J. M. Barrie's 1891 A Window in Thrums.  The book is in 22 short chapters, each telling a short story without necessarily being linked, except by the characters, to the one before or after.  They are like individual jewels in a small crown and are eminently worth reading.  The narrator is a man who stays at the house atop the brae, overlooking the village of Thrums.  His observations provide us with everything we need to know about Jess, the invalid woman who sits in her chair each day by a small window, observing life as it passes by.

 

The frontispiece was included in my Delphi Classics Kindle edition. 

 

From what she observes she pretty much knows everything that goes on in her environs.  Her husband is Hendry, their daughter is Leeby and the living son is Jamie, a friend to our narrator.  Jamie is way off in London finding his place in the world, but visits home for two weeks each summer.  Joey, her first son, was killed when he was ten, run over by a cart.  Jess never got over that loss.  Many of the stories are humourous, a few are tragic and others get across everyday life in a way that I have never experienced before.  Jess is wise and very observant, but also a bit too close to Jamie.  The novel ends in a tragic manner, but by then we have experienced entire lifetimes of the folk being discussed.  I really enjoyed reading this book.  *** 1/2 stars.

 

J. K. Bangs'  A Rebellious Heroine is from 1896.  This is quite a fun romp through the world of 4th dimension writing.  Bangs tells us of a writer who receives a badly needed commission for a romance novel and sets out to create his masterpiece.  He soon has a big hurdle to overcome; his heroine is not one to take matters as they come.  She comes to life from the page and makes things very difficult for the author, who has big plans for her, including marriage.  She stands up for her rights and refuses many of the actions intended for her by the writer.  For its time this is quite a good version of early women's rights, as the heroine does not buckle until the end.  But by then she had got exactly what and whom she wants.  A most amusing novel, quite short and easy and fun to read.  *** 1/2 stars.

 

Next came the 3rd book in Asimov's Foundation trilogy.  Second Foundation was published in 1953 and caps off the original series, though other books do follow.  I really enjoyed reading the third novel, but beware.  The ending is a bit like the solution to an Agatha Christie novel.  The main plot concerns the continued search for the Second Foundation.  At four different answers appear for this question, and all seem practical.  The reader is led on a wild goose chase before the final final final answer is revealed.  And it is a surprise!  Not only where they are but who they are.  The series still holds up pretty well today, and I can recommend it not only to lovers of classic Sf, but also to modern readers who may have been left more than confused by the Apple TV series of 30 episodes (so far).  I think I liked the third book best of all.  *** 1/2 stars.

 

Ann Hillerman's 2025 novel Shadow of the Solstice continues the story of Jim Chee and Bernadette Manuelito, two officers of the Navajo Nation police department.  This adventure takes place mostly in New Mexico, centered around the mines in the northwest corner in and around Shiprock.  A secondary story takes place in Phoenix, with Bernadette's sister getting involved in helping NM Navajos return home after being duped by a phony rehab scheme.  The two stories running side by side make it seem like two different books are being read, as there is very little contact between people in Phoenix and back in Shiprock.  Both adventures are okay, though not great, but are based on real problems facing the Navajo Nation.  Uranium mining in the 40s and 50s not only desecrated the land but made many native workers very ill.  Once it was known of the dangers of uranium, that information was not passed on to the native workers.  Likewise, there are schemes today to gather alcoholic and drug addicted natives to Arizona, where they are enrolled in phony schemes.  The enlisters get money from the government but never aid the sick people, even keeping them on alcohol and drugs so they don't cause a stir.  Of course Bernadette gets knocked out and nearly killed, and Chee gets captured, tied up and gagged and given enough dope to kill him.  Somehow they manage to survive and kill the bad guys, all without doing a whole lot of paper work or court appearances.  Joe Leaphorn is barely mentioned in this story.  Not one of the best in the series.

 

I read the kindle edition. 

 

Lastly came more essays by Stephen J Gould from his collection called Leonardo's Mountain of Clams and The Diet of Worms.  I began a four-chapter section called "Egolutionary Facts and Theories.  #1 is called "Non-Overlapping Magisteria" and discusses the Pope and Catholic Church's views on evolution.  Because of Pope John Paul's update on Pius' encyclical, apparently there is no longer any conflict between Catholic teaching and evolution.  The Church believes in the presence of a soul in humans, and since science can neither prove nor disprove its existence, there is no conflict in teachings.  The Church accepts evolution, thus does not meddle in things that are provable.  It was actually a pretty good read.  Gould casts off creationists as largely an American fringe group who believe in everything the bible says, literally.  There is no reasoning with such people.

 

#2 is called "Boyle's Law and Darwin's Details," stressing again on a point that Darwin was able to clarify and eventually overtake.  Boyle believed that evolution, via God, ultimately led to perfection, with the top most end of it all being human beings.  Darwin proved that natural selection, not God, did the work, and perfection comes from many failures and dead ends.  So far I have found every single essay in this book to be invaluable reading for those curious about Darwin and current progress on defining evolution.

 

See you all next month.

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

 

 

PC Game Review: 12 Memory Lane

This is a short game that is filled with detail. It is all played inside a large two storey house. A man, Henry, is having serious problems with his memory and needs to stick Post-it notes everywhere to remind him of what is real. The player has to help him sort the truth from his false memories. This is an engaging puzzle game, not too difficult and well worth playing. There is a very short intro where the player more or less learns how to do things, followed by four chapters. Each chapter becomes a bit more difficult, but the 4th one is short and quite easy. There are two endings, so replay the final chapter to get both of them. There is no save option; each chapter must be finished before the auto save works. Plan on about 40-45 minutes per chapter. There is no mouse; keyboard commands are used. 

  

Opening chapter room. 

 

The man (Henry) is a retired architect. 

 

The main sitting room is filled with puzzles, all of a similar nature. 

 

A family crisis arose during Christmas dinner six years ago.  It is the main mystery that needs solving.

What happened to make everyone in the family get up and leave, breaking contact with Henry.  He can't remember what happened. 

 

The sad story involves a family tragedy and subsequent family breakup, no doubt contributing to the man's memory and cognitive downfall. Chapter four will reveal the mystery of what happened and why. I can't say that Henry is really to blame; he did his best to help a certain person. We all have a breaking point, but his turned into a disaster. Graphics are really well done, with a special nod to lighting. I enjoyed the game though I wish I could have saved where I wanted to. That is my only complaint.

 

Overview of the sitting room as seen from the upstairs hallway. 

 

Many of the rooms are quite wonderfully rendered. 

 

A colourful hallway alcove. 

 

Another inviting alcove in the large home. 

 

Final score 84%.  Find it on Steam.

 

Mapman Mike 

 
 

Four Movie Catch-up

We watched four movies while in Sudbury, all of them on Netflix, which we don't subscribe to here at the Homestead.  Netflix movies were slim pickings compared to what we are used to, but we found two gems, one dud and one so-so adventure film. 

 

First up was The Dig, from 2021.  It is a true story and based on the 2007 novel by John Preston.  Edith Pretty owned a house and land in Suffolk and wanted someone to excavated burial mounds on her property.  She hired an experienced and capable amateur archeologist and sets him to work on the eve of WW 2.  At first he finds nothing of interest, but eventually begins to undercover the outline of a large wooden boat, long rotted away but leaving its imprint clearly in the soil.  When the dig becomes too important, bigwigs from the British Museum arrive and attempt to take over the excavation.  At Mrs. Pretty's insistence her digger stays on, and before long the amazing Sutton Hoo treasure is unearthed, upending contemporary knowledge of the Saxons, long thought to be merely warriors and vandals.  But the treasure found with a burial amidst the ship, which had been dragged from the river up on to the hill in the 500s A.D, changed all that forever.  There are two subplots, one about Mrs. Pretty's young son and another that is a love story, both adding rather than detracting from the main story.  Despite Mrs. Pretty's insistence her digger, Basil Brown, was left off the names of discoverers when the treasure went on display in the British Museum after the war, thanks to English snobbery and its class system.  However, his name now appears on tags at the museum, but only since recent times.  This was a very good film and highly recommended.  It had a limited release at the time but can only be viewed now on Netflix.  Shame.

 

Only on Netflix. 

 

Next up was Death on the Nile from Agatha Christie's 1937 novel.  I have not read the novel, but I hope it's more entertaining then this leaden version directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars as Hercule Poirot, the famous detective.  The movie is just over two hours long and is about two hours too long.  While some great photography is displayed upon the Nile voyage, it can't save this yawner from its looming oblivion.  To try and breathe life into the movie a lot of loud jazz music is featured.  It doesn't work.  Most of the well known actors and actresses are totally wasted, including Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.  Poirot finally gets it right after about five murders on board the small ship.  The ending drags on and on as he postulates who might have done the murders, and why they did it.  Finally comes the true revelation, by which time we don't really care who did it; we just want the end credits to roll.  Give this one a miss.

 

Showing on Netflix. 

 

We have seen The Fifth Element (1997) at least twice before and I am ready to watch it again already.  This is one of the best of the campy SF adventure movies ever made and it features good effects, rousing action scenes, a nefarious bad guy you could almost like and stellar performances from Bruce Willis, Ian Holm and Milla Jovovich.  Written and directed by Luc Besson, if you haven't seen this picture at least twice then I highly recommend you get hold of a copy or take the free trial from Netflix and watch it immediately.  This would make a great double feature night with the darker Blade Runner.  Very highly recommended! 

 

Showing on Netflix. 

 

Finally came the 2018 film Tomb Raider.  Starring Alicia Vikander as the teenage Lara Croft, she gives a convincing performance of the adventuress on her very first outing.  It is a big story but it is held together by good editing, action scenes that are almost believable, and a few nods to the more famous computer game series.  Shot at studios in Hertfordshire, it also features landscapes in and around Cape Town and cityscapes in east London.  Lara's father has failed to return from one of his frequent missions, and she decides to set out after him rather than destroy all his notes, as he had requested.  While not top notch adventure, and quite violent at times, it passes the time nicely.  Vikander was supposed to make a sequel, but unsurprisingly it never happened.  The movie is at least as good as the first Lara Croft movie starring Angelina Jolie, and worth watching for fans of the game.  My 17 year old niece watched it with us, not knowing anything about the game, and enjoyed the film.

 

Showing on Netflix. c

 

Finally, in local news we have been enjoying a very mild finish to October.   We have yet to turn on the furnace, which might be a record date for us.  We have used the wood pellet stove a few times, and the electric space heaters, but nothing was used today.

 

Our radon mitigation system, installed at great expense last March, had not been working very well.  We had a technician come out in September but he could not find the problem.  Today a battalion of men arrived and voila, the problem was eventually discovered and fixed.  We should now, finally, be living withing the safe range for radon.

 

And lastly we both got our flu shots yesterday.  I feel pretty normal today but Deb is a bit under the weather.  That is all for now.  Happy Sawhain!!  Book reviews coming Sunday!

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

 

 

Sudbury Trip October 2026

What a week of great travel weather!  After mid-October almost anything can happen, especially the farther north one goes in Ontario.  It was sunny almost the entire time, and quite mild for the time of month.  We left last Tuesday, the 20th, and returned on Monday the 26th.  Driving north we took two days, but coming home we drove it in a single epic day.  We left for the trip north early Tuesday morning, stopping for gas at a Native reserve station before continuing.  We stopped for mead at Munro's, pressing on to a new place en route, Neustadt Springs Brewery.  We sampled the beer but found it quite cheerless, despite the spring water used and the beautiful old building in which the brewery resides.  Once in Collingwood we returned to three of our favourite places: Side Launch Brewing Company, Northwinds Brewhouse and Ends Well Brewery, the latter also home to Later Pizza.  It was darts night at Ends Well, and the place was packed to the rafters by the time we left and walked over to our nearby hotel.  The day had been a grand one, and the leaves were showing colours really well. 

 

Neustadt, ON. 

 

Neustadt ON. 

 

We arrived around 4:30 to Endswell Brewery, well before darts night officially began.  They have cask ale in the British tradition, and it's quite good.  

 

Neustadt tap list.
 

 

It would be a chilly night in Collingwood, and the doors would close well before sunset.  We sat at a semi-circular table just inside the small doorway.  Our hotel was a one minute walk away. 

 

Leaving Collingwood on a cool but sunny morning.  The day's adventure awaited.  

 

Our first stop was Coldwater, a likeable village with a walkable downtown.  

Deb bought herself a "bookcase" model kit.  More on that later. 

 

We stopped for nuts at a nut roastery in Coldwater.  A few nuts had got loose and 

were wandering around town. 

 

We stopped in Parry Sound briefly. 

 

Wednesday dawned cool and clear.  We enjoyed a perfect drive towards the 400 highway that would eventually take us all the way into Sudbury.  We stopped in Coldwater, a favourite small town of ours, before continuing on to Parry Sound and then on to Sudbury.  We arrived in town for coffee at 2:30 pm, made a few ale stops (take out only) afterwards and headed for the family home.

 

Thursday was a local day, with afternoon visits to the vegan corner of Sudbury.  There is a vegan Mexican restaurant, a vegan cafe/bakery and a vegan ice cream shop (closed for the season).  It is a funky area with an art gallery, record shop, old camera shop and a vintage clothing store.  It is about a 15 minute walk from the house, and we tend to visit nearly every day.

 

The CN tracks behind our house serve mining needs on a branch line. 

 

The CN tracks climb over a locally famous trestle.  The foreground tracks are a CP line that is also a mining branch line. 

 

This is the CPR mainline, with routes from Montreal to Vancouver.  We have to cross 4 tracks 

altogether to get to our cafe, and then 4 back.  Getting stuck here by a train can be very 

time consuming, as they are usually about 2 km long. 

 

Friday was a big day!  We hiked to a summit lookout in the La Cloche Mountains southwest of Sudbury.  We have never been up here before in autumn.  Deb and I have had two canoe trip adventures in the La Cloche/Killarney wilderness.  Five of us were on the expedition, with a drive each way lasting about 80 minutes.  The climb is short but steep from the parking area.  The views are among the best in the world. 

 

Five adventurers set out.  Will they all return? 

 

Summit selfie.  L to R: Me, Deb, Lynne, Steve, Emma-Lee.  We are way up there! 

 

The highway sits far below us, on its way to Manitoulin Island and, in the distance, Georgian Bay. 

 

View from the top, looking out towards the wilderness where Deb and I undertook 

 two canoe trips many years ago.  

 

Another beautiful view from the top.  The summit is a large area and once held a 

fire lookout tower. 

  

Steve phones our mother back in Sudbury to tell her we made it to the top.  

The fire tower foundation remains are still there, but not the tower. 

 

Lynn and Emma Lee begin the downward trek. 

 

Back in Sudbury there was time to have a quick bite before four of the climbers headed back out.  The Sudbury Arena was hosting the hometown Wolves ice hockey team.  They were playing their main rivals, the North Bay Battalion.  The boys are of late high school age, and several are picked to go right into the NHL after each season.  It's the same arena I grew up with in Sudbury and it was fun to return after so many years.  They are building a new one across the street, so I am glad I got to see the old one again before it's torn down. Deb stayed home with Mom while we entered the circus that is a modern sports event.  Though the home team ended up losing, a good time was had by all.  It's a noisy and colourful event, especially when the home team scores a goal, which they did 3 times.  But it wasn't enough to win.  Lynne and Emma Lee have season tickets and go there every week.  I worry about their ears.  Everything is shockingly loud.  Close to 4,000 people were in attendance.

 

Saturday and Sunday were days spend close to home.  The weather was mostly delightful the entire time, though nights were cold.  The long drive home was uneventful, which is probably the best drive one could hope for on a day-long journey.  Today it was back to the piano.  I have had four interruptions to my newest pieces from travel so far this year.  So far....

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Autumn is Peaking

October has been a sunny month overall, though a bit chillier than usual.  I managed 5 astronomy outings!  Our leaves here in the southernmost part of Canada are turning colours now.  A day trip may be in order soon!  Monday was advanced voting for local elections, so we went and voted in the a.m.  Afterwards we walked the lagoon trails near our house.  Besides local sidewalk walking we now have three choices for nature walks: the lagoons; the recently explored Covallino Wetlands; and the rails to trails segments.  While summer is often too hot and winter is too cold, spring and fall are ideal outdoor walking days around here.

The lagoons had many geese and a pair of swans. 

 

The deep woodlands had a wood nymph or two.  No sasquatch today. 

 

There are two movies to report, both watched on Criterion.  Take Me In Your Arms is another musical/melodrama vehicle for Mexican starlet Ninon Sevilla.  This time she gives up her village life and leaves home to live with an old lecher so that he won't foreclose on her father's fishing boat.  What a gal.  Of course she doesn't tell anyone, including her boyfriend.  When the old guy dies she finds another one waiting, this time a married old lecher who is also an aspiring politician.  She keeps bumping into her old boyfriend, who snubs her.  She becomes a big movie star and sings and dances.  Then she leaves the old guy and goes back to her village.  Her boyfriend eventually takes her back.  Not nearly as interesting a story as her previous film we watched, this one is pretty boring.  It is from 1954 and is in b & w, fully restored. 

 

Showing on Criterion.
  

Antonioni's 1970 Zabriskie Point is one of those cult films that perhaps is just a bit overrated as classic cinema.  The photography, however, is stunning, as are the desert locations. Daria Halprin stars as a young woman travelling to Phoenix from LA in her own car who gets caught up with activist and anarchist Mark Frechette.  They have sex in a National Monument, and the film probably started a trend.  It's painful to watch them romping through the stony and dangerously hilly desert with no water, no proper shoes and no sunblock, never mind being naked and having sex on the ground.  Anyway, by the end of the film he is dead and she now has the mindset of an anarchist herself.  Watch out world!  Mostly of interest to fans of the director, this is certainly not one of his greatest achievements.

 

Leaving Criterion Oct. 31st. 

 

Mapman Mike 

 

  

 

   

 

 

 

Syberia Review

To date there are four Siberia adventure games for PC.   All of them except for the third are well worth playing.  The 3rd is riddled with problems and is best undertaken with a walkthru guide.  The best of them is the most recent one, #4.  We first played Syberia back in 2005.  It came out in 2002.  There is now a revamped version of the first game, but we played the original on Steam and had no problems.  Not only that but the gameplay and the graphics hold up remarkably well after 24 years.  How many games can make that claim?  Previous to Syberia, Benoit Sokal and his team had produced Amerzone, but Syberia upped his game considerably.  Syberia gives a nod to Amerzone in one of its segments.

 

The heroine is Kate Walker, a young lawyer from New York sent to get a signature on a contract turning over a family owned toy factory to a major buyout company.  The person who was to sign dies suddenly, and Kate soon discovers there is another relation she has to track down, by the name of Hans Voralberg.  The chase is on!

 

Part 1 takes place in Valadilene, a small village where the Voralberg automaton factory sits unused.  This is a long and complex segment, requiring about four hours of gameplay to complete.  Kate arrives during Anna Voralberg's funeral, a strange event indeed.  Besides the town, there is the factory to explore and a nearby carillon tower adjacent to a cemetery.  Kate's main goal is to get a life-sized wind up train to head for the hills.  But to do that she has to finish assembling the automaton driver.  Then there is the mystery of Hans himself, injured as a child in a cave accident.  A young boy of the village will aid Kate if she can solve the puzzle of the correct way to question him.  He wants her to draw a mammoth for him.  This is the only puzzle in this section that I didn't like.  Kate has to do a rubbing of a mammoth, but where is it?  Hidden, that's for sure.  Once the kid has his mammoth drawing the game advances quickly and we are soon aboard the train, though Oscar the automaton driver is a stickler for regulations.  The ticket and regulation events can either be seen as humour or yet another bother.  Depends on your mood at the time.

 

The lobby of Kate's hotel.  Interiors still appear masterfully done. 

 

Exterior of the hotel.  The automaton above tips his hat when approaching. 

 

Part of the village.  

 

The late Anna Voralberg's office in the factory. 

 

The factory.  Kate must manufacture some feet for Oscar. 

 

The train waits at the Valadilene Station. 

 

A secret resides at the cemetery. 

 

Ground floor interior of the carillon tower. 

 

On the way to the mammoth cave we pass through a Rivendell-like garden. 

 

The mammoth cave, where a toy mammoth must be retrieved. 

  

Almost departure time. 

 

A short movie sequence plays follows the final puzzle in the section.  Kate is on the train! 

 

Kate travels to her next destination throughout the night.  The train will wind down at the next station and will have to be rewound. 

 

In part 2 we arrive at Barrockstadt, a university where Hans Voralberg also visited.  The train station doubles as a vast aviary and tropical garden, with plants and birds brought from Amerzone, a place Kate has never heard of (but we gamers have).  Again this part takes about 4 hours to complete.  In true adventure game style, puzzle is added to puzzle for Kate to solve before she can wind her train and depart.  Frequently during the game, play is interrupted by annoying phone calls to Kate from her boss, her mother, her co-worker girlfriend and her boyfriend. Twice during a later stage of the game Kate has to make calls herself.  Sometimes these in-coming calls hold clues, so pay attention, especially to the calls from mom (often the most annoying of the calls).

 

Kate must get a canal boat to tow the train as far as the winding mechanism.  She has to get an automaton string quartet working.  She must find two books in the library (we only found one and needed a hint at one point).  She has to get the canal lock working.  She has to find a golden egg, and to subdue some vicious cuckoo birds to get it.  Her problems go on and on and get a bit tiresome, there is no doubt.  At the very end she must convince a near-sighted border guard that he is not seeing an enemy out on the plain, but something far less threatening.  It seems to take forever, but we are finally aboard the train once again (after getting our ticket from old Oscar) and on our way to the next station. 

 

Inside the Barrockstadt train station. 

 

Leaving the station for a stroll. 

 

The main entrance to the university. 

 

Inside the university we have frequent conversations with the professor.  

 

Inside the university library two books must be found. 

 

The train station is also home to a canal and lock.  In order to get the canal boat owner to tow our train we must first get the lock to operate, then pay them $100 for their service.  Of course Kate has no money, so she must work for it. 

 

Kate finally gets the train towed to the winding machine. 

 

Kate must convince a stubborn guard that what he sees in his telescope is not what he thinks he sees.

  

And after four hours and many puzzles and chores (and phone calls) we are off! 

 

Approaching the next station, a factory and mine. 

 

Parts 3 and 4 are directly linked though they are in completely separate locations.  The link between them is an opera singer.  We arrive in Komkolzgrad, a massive one-time active mine and factory, now mostly abandoned.  What we don't know upon arrival is that it was once a space launch pad as well.  The first person we meet is an opera fan, a man dedicated to one particular Russian soprano.  He has stolen the hands of Oscar, our automaton train engineer.  We must get the hands returned.  The residing overlord tells Kate she has to find and bring back the opera singer.  Oscar's hands, needed for the organ player who will accompany the singer, will be returned after she sings.  Where is the singer?  A phone call to mom will help answer the question.

 

Next we move on to the adjacent location of an intoxicated cosmonaut, forgotten by the world and desperate to get into space.  If we can get him launched he will tell us how to use the airship, which will take us to where the singer is.  It gets pretty involved and complicated, but once the launch is successful (watch for a bottle of vodka on his bedroom floor) and we find a winding mechanism, we can encourage the hawk (don't ask) to chase the birds away from the airship, leaving it free to fly.  There is a terrific and chilling scene as the hawk flies and captures a bird.  Then we are off in the airship to Aralbad, a once popular and classy resort on the shores of the salty Aral Sea.  However, it is now a bit dowdy and underused.  Kate has to get past the desk clerk at the hotel, then convince the singer to accompany her back to the factory town to sing once more.  She needs to have her voice rejuvenated, so Kate needs a cocktail recipe pronto.  Phone the correct hotel and speak with the bartender.  Once the singer drinks the correct potion she will travel and sing.

 

Now its back to the factory in the airship and it's recital time.  After the performance the overlord shows his true colours and captures the singer.  Kate must get her released and onto the train while dealing with the resident madman.  Good luck, Kate!  Eventually the train makes a hasty and dramatic departure and moves on to Aralbad.  The final scene is where Kate meets up with  Hans Voralberg at last, gets his signature and completes her lawyer's mission.  Now she must decide whether to return to New York and her corporate life, or head off on a new adventure.  Since there is a Syberia 2, 3 and 4 it is not hard to guess which choice Kate will make.

 

The game took us 12 1/2 hours to complete, and we needed a few hints in the early parts of the game.  We completed the second half without any help.  We enjoyed the story a lot, even though a synopsis doesn't seem to make it too clear.  Kate is a great character who grows into her role as adventurer as the game progresses.  She has a dry sense of humour as well as a generous dash of derring do.  The game can be frustrating, but what adventure game isn't?  The phone calls are annoying, though they help move the story along.  At times one can tire of the nearly endless obstacles to overcome.  But the drive to find out more of the story keeps one going.  The visuals are still quite stunning, and the music is very good.  I love the idea of the automaton wind up train and Oscar the driver.  This is a very original game and worth many replays.  I give it a score of 88%.  Highly recommended.  Someday we will get around to playing the updated version of this first game, but soon we hope to move on to Syberia 2.

 

From the station platform in Komkolzgrad players can access a mine, the factory and get inside one of the massive station guards.  At least winding the train is easy in this station.  Afterwards the trouble really begins. 

 

The creepy overlord has a museum dedicated to his favourite opera star.  She once sang at the factory and he wants her for a return performance.
  

The station leads to a door which, once opened, gives easy access to the factory and office.  

 

Once we find out the location of the opera singer we are given access to a space center.  If we wish to use the airship to retrieve the singer we must help a cosmonaut launch into space. Makes sense to me.

 

Inside the rusty airship and on our way to Aralbad.

 

Like the film sequences of the train in motion, there is one of our airship journey. 

 

The hotel lobby in Aralbad.  How to make contact with the singer is Kate's next problem.  The desk 

clerk is less than helpful. 

 

Hotel pool. 

 

Looking back towards the lobby. The pool is just eye candy, but the hot tub is necessary.

  

Searching for the singer on the dock with the hotel in the background. 

 

Kate on the lonely boardwalk. 

 

The stylish boardwalk. 

 

Hotel entrance and boardwalk. 

 

The hotel bar holds a complex puzzle for Kate to solve.  She will need to make a phone call and warm up some honey, among other things. 

  

If successful, the player will return to the factory with the singer via airship. 

 

The recital is shown in film mode and is very well done.  Afterwards the overlord captures the singer and Kate must come to the rescue and teach him a lesson he won't soon forget. 

 

Kate returns to Aralbad and the hotel with the singer, leaving a smoking ruin behind her. 

 

On our way to the final act. 

  

The station at Aralbad.  We need to say goodby to the singer and to rewind our train.  Then its decision time for Kate. 

 

Should Kate get back on the supply plane and begin her return to New York, or should she stick with Hans Voralberg and the train? 

  

In the final hectic scene Kate makes her decision. 

 

Mapman Mike