Episode 457: Thwarted

Since it's my last full day in Singapore, I decided to give G. W. Dahlquist's The Dark Volume another go, and once I got past the first 150 pages or so, it actually kind of started to pick up! Although I've heard that by the end, nevertheless, nothing much has been accomplished by either the good or bad guys, which seems like a blatant attempt by Dahlquist to spin a two-book deal with his publisher into a trilogy, something that I doubt is going to happen, given the comparatively dismal sales of the two books. A shame, since the first one was pretty interesting. Anyway, disaster struck when I dropped the book into a pail of water. Looks like I won't be finishing it tonight. Was halfway into the novel, and could probably have finished it, but I guess there's no point now. So there goes my goal of reading one book for every day that I've been back in Singapore, foiled on the last day. I guess I'll just make do with having read this short story by Steve Rasnic Tem that I found online, 'The Bereavement Photographer'. The premise is interesting, but I think he hasn't taken it as far as it can go, even for a short story. Maybe I could write a story based on the same premise, but twist it in a way I think works better, and then stick it in my as-yet non-existent portfolio?