Karavansara

15 March 2013
by Davide Mana 2 Comments

Friday Night Fright

Just got back from the emergency ward of the Nizza Monferrato Hospital.
A superficial varicose vein in my right leg punctured, causing abundant bleeding and no less panic.
I am proud like a little boy scout* for the fact that not only I was able to stop the bleeding by applying a finger to the hole, but was also clear-headed enough to talk my father out of a panic frenzy for him to be able to drive me to the hospital.
From the whole ordeal, I came back with the following useful information:

that old pulp cliché about being clear-headed and cool even in presencce of abundant bleeding – your own bleeding – is true, at least for me
fresh blood is slippery as hell, even on a relatively rough surface (I’ll have to keep that in mind for future reference)
your own blood does not feel warm at all on your own skin, it feels dowright cold (ditto)
only Chow Yun Fat can stop abundant hemorrhage with a band-aid
flirtatious nurses that think you’re ten years younger despite the bleeding are a verified cliché, too

Oh, and now I own a blood-spattered copy of Richard Cohen’s (excellent) By the Sword, which sort of feels all right.

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* I never was a boy scout

15 March 2013
by Davide Mana 3 Comments

How I became a hack, part three

Yes, just like that… sort of.

One day I’ll write a book called Mistress of Yamatai.
It will be a Burroughs-esque actioneer.
The story – a freak accident involving some ancient Japanese relics causes out hero (an anonymous orientalist) to slip back in time (and possibly sideways, too) to the ancient land of Wo, where he’ll have to face unspeakable lovecraftian horrors and shamanic magic, fight blood-thirsty barbarians and woo fiery-spirited, ample-breasted Himiko, the Mistress of Yamatai.
A classy thing, in other words.

I’ve got the story outlined, the characters sketched – the zip file including the lot resurfaced a few days back, after a slump caused a pile of old CDs to spill fan-like on my desk.

One day or another, I’ll write the book.
I made a promise.
In the meantime, here’s the story about Himiko, the Mistress of Yamatai, and about her Curse. Continue reading →

14 March 2013
by Davide Mana Leave a comment

Crusaders to Babylon

A short post just because.
Christendom (how pleasantly Medieval a word!) is cheering the election of the new pope – and turns out the family of the South American Jesuit now known as Francis the First was originally from the hills area where I live.
While the locals scramble to arrange something to surf the long wave of the Vatican election, I like to remember that from the Monferrato area a 13th ccentury crusade moved south and east, with the purpose of liberating Babylon from the infidels.
The crusade did not reach its purpose, or its destination, from the little I know – but it’s the sort of factoid Harold Lamb would have used as a starting point to weave a great epic tale.

The Monferrato territory was also seat of a number of Templar forts and churches.
Which is something I might explore – phisically – this summer.

13 March 2013
by Davide Mana 7 Comments

Learning to Fly (or to write about it)

I’m a sucker for teach-yourself manuals.

Now, in 1938, a British gentleman by the name of Nigel Tangye published with Hodder & Stoughton a small handbook called Teach Yourself to Fly.
The volume was reissued in 1941, as a quick-and-dirty crash course for RAF newbies.

Now, c’mon, this is the 21st century – we are leery, and pretty skeptical, of one-package crash courses and Idiot’s/Dummies books about using Twitter or Mexican cooking.
And here’s a 75-years-old, 170-pages booklet, claiming to be the one-stop beginner’s course for fighter pilots?
In war situations?
One has to scratch one’s head, and wonder how gullible were they back in those days. Continue reading →

12 March 2013
by Davide Mana Leave a comment

Weekend in Saramyr

A short one.
Thanks to one of my readers’ gift of an Amazon voucher, I’m currently reading Chris Wooding’s excellent The Braided Path, which collects his three novels set in the Oriental-tinged, sort-of-China-by-way-of-Japan continent of Saramyr.
And I must say I’m very pleased with the story so far – the mix of fantasy elements, the Oriental flavor of the setting and the pace are just great.
Good old-fashioned fun, with a lot of new twists.
The only drawback is the weight of the omnibus volume – I guess I should have picked the ebook edition.
Just this – I thought I should let you guys know.

11 March 2013
by Davide Mana 9 Comments

Why Bother?

(it’s A LOT less romantic than that)

Writing a blog is really a great source of ideas.
An example?
It’s 23.33, sunday night.
In theory, in about thirty minutes a post should go online on Karavansara.
And here I am, staring at the fog inundating my courtyard like a pool of soap water, and racking my brain for an idea.

And then, on my other blog, the Italian one, a surfer comments a recent post, asking…

Why do you care about the number of readers reading your blog?
Is it a matter of money – more readers, more donations?
Or is it a way to confirm how good you are? More readers means I’m a better writer?
Why bother about being read?

Now, ok, I’ll admit it – I’m facing a difficult week, and my first reaction is slamming repeatedly my forehead on the keyboard.
When someone that’s actually reading me asks me why I am interested in being read, the sense of emptyness and desolation scares me witless for ten seconds solid.
But then, c’mon, let’s think about it – here’s a theme for the new post! Continue reading →