vivdunstan

I just wrote up my experience watching masses of Cymera 2024 on streaming.

Finally going through the printed Edinburgh Book Festival Programme, and hugely disappointed by how few events this year are offering streaming paid tickets. I’ve enjoyed many of their talks remotely in recent years. This feels like a real step back, discriminating against people who can’t attend in person.

On plus, having realised how few of the Edinburgh Book Festival events this year are offering streaming, I can very quickly go through the programme. No need to read all the event listings, looking for those I like. I can just look for the few with a livestream tag under them. Sheesh!

I've just finished this contemporary fantasy book, a debut publication by a new novelist. Who lives near Edinburgh of all places! I liked a lot about it. It's a combination of a tale of magic books / contemporary fantasy / time travel / thriller and I'd say memoirs in a strange way. But I did have problems, and that's why I've rated it just 3/5 overall.

The plotting is intricate, right through to the very end, and admirable. But I found the mass of characters being introduced early on and the chopping and changing of points of view tricky to keep up with, and hard to stay engaged with. However when it reached about halfway through something happened that was so very clever as writing. I was rather wowed. And then from there it careers towards the finale. Again densely plotted.

Beware it gets very violent in places. Very violent. This is not what I would term a young adult read for that reason. It's closer in some respects to crime fiction in that respect. It also strangely reminded me of the TV scifi series Heroes, with the many protagonists in there. But it was a bit overwhelming to read in book form. Though on plus it's very cinematic, and I could easily imagine this book adapted to a movie version.

However for fans of contemporary fantasy who aren't deterred by violent bits in places I'd recommend this. Just maybe beware going in that it is going to be a bit choppy in narrative, especially earlier on, and you may need to give it more time to get hooked.

I would definitely read another book by the same author, but would prefer one with a fresh plot and concept. I am also looking forward to seeing the author chat about this book at the Cymera book festival in Edinburgh in the summer. I have an online weekend pass for that whole festival, and will be watching - mainly on catchup - with interest.

This is mainly a reminder to myself, but may be of use to others to know about these streaming options.

Edinburgh Book Festival offers online streaming access to many of its events. Which can still be booked, even after the events have taken place. You can watch recordings on catchup until the end of September. I have streaming tickets this year for:

• David Greig & Alan Warner: Scottish Legends Retold
• Denise Mina: 15th Century Culture Wars
• Katrín Jakobsdóttir & Ragnar Jónasson: Partners in Crime
• Kübra Gümüşy, R F Kuang & Irene Vallejo: A Short History of Language

All of which have now happened, and I slept through the live events, but I can access the recordings online through September. I also had a streaming ticket to see Greta Thunberg talk, but she pulled out of the festival, because of the festival sponsor's fossil fuels links.

This coming week the Tolkien Society's Oxonmoot event will be taking place in Oxford, and again online in hybrid form. I have an online ticket. Will sleep through the live events, but can watch recorded talks over the coming months, probably until nearly Christmas. The Oxonmoot team are really good at getting the streaming technology working well (I've had online tickets for the past few years), and the content is fascinating.

I blogged about this on my main personal blog, having just finished viewing all the talks I will watch. I got through 22! All watched online. Phew. Extremely positive experiences.