The Awesomeness of Pat, Chicken Dinner, and "There's Someone at My Door." The Ink Black Heart Read-along, Chapters 71-81. (Part 6 of 8).

Since we left off with the explosion, I wanted to pick up with how totally awesome I thought Pat was in this part of the book. Not only do we get to see her think on her feet and respond promptly in a way that likely saved both her and Strike's lives, we get to learn a little more about her background. She mentioned that she had an uncle who died in a bombing at a pub in Woolwich in 1974*.  By my calculations, Pat would have been about 16 in 1974, a difficult age to experience death, particularly the senseless "wrong place at the wrong time" type of death that such terrorist attacks bring. 

I was also impressed by how professional she sounded on the phone. While most people would yell, panic-stricken, "we've been bombed!" Pat said, with remarkable calmness, "‘Strike Detective Agency here, Denmark Street. We’ve been sent an explosive device and it’s exploded." In addition:

• She quickly recognized hissing as a warning sign of a bomb
• She knew immediately to run and seek shelter behind Strike's heavy wooden door, not the one with the glass window that led to the landing.

This leads me to wonder if she has had some sort of training in emergency preparedness specifically for this situation. Perhaps instruction in how to recognize and respond to postal bombs was commonplace for someone who started a career as an office manager during the Troubles, just like US teachers have to be taught how to handle active shooter situations now?  In any case, this extraordinary competence, in juxtaposition with her other more mundane concerns like losing her e-cigarette and her freshly cleaned coat getting dirty, really have me cheering for her. As the CID officer said, "Well, if everyone had your powers of observation and quick reactions, Mrs Chauncey, our jobs would be a hell of a lot easier."

It is also good to see Strike realize what an asset he has in her; can you imagine what would have happened if a temp like CoE's Denise had been opening the mail? His concern for her seems to be enough, at least for now, to squelch his own trauma reaction, which, given his own bombing in the Army, we would expect to be a concern. Remember, in Cuckoo's Calling, he had a flashback to the IED triggered by flashbulbs from paparazzi cameras.

Safe Places to Discuss the Elusive 11-chapter The Running Grave Preview? List them here. Spoilers for Chapters 1-11.

The Running Grave preview releases have been odd, to be sure. First, on August 9th, almost two months before publication, an Amazon preview of six chapters showed up, only to be revoked a couple of days later.  Then, on September 7th. a 11- chapter preview appeared, and again, vanished quickly. While there are certainly screen-shot copies floating around on fan groups, many people in many parts of the world did not get a chance to read it, and so a lot of social media sites and podcasts are keeping quiet about the contents, for now, in deference to those readers. Indeed, many of the Serious Strikers I know are staying off social media right now, not wanting to see spoilers for parts they haven't read or,, worse, have their experience ruined by internet Anomies determined to spoil others' fun. 

Spoilers ahead. 

Philodendrons, Flavia, Hugh Jackass, Highgate and Kaboom!: The Ink Black Heart Read-along: Ch. 58-70 (Part 5 of 8)

    

Part Four opens with a long and, in retrospect, very sad moderator's chat between Paperwhite and Morehouse. Morehouse has become convinced that Anomie was the attacker on Vilepechora, and is quite worried that he stabbed Edie and Josh. He is worried both for his own safety and, once Paperwhite tells him that Anomie knows her identity, for hers, too. We see Anomie at his manipulative best here, as Paperwhite convinces Morehouse to stay with the game and "keep Anomie sweet" while they work out a plan.

After giving a statement to the police after the attempted murder in the Tube, Strike has a date night with Madeline. but is too distracted to engage emotionally with her. He notes that Red Soles' tattoo was a Viking rune called algiz, and that the Al Gizzard twitter account has been deleted. In the morning, Strike takes calls from Dev Shah, who has captured some video of Jago Ross assaulting his daughter. and Katya, who reports that Josh Blay is well enough to be interviewed. 

Strike can't stand being around the Madwoman any more, so he lies about Dev's wife breaking her wrist in order to get away from her. After calling Robin to tell her about the hospital appointment to see Josh, he finds her upset by the news that her father has had a heart attack, and trying to complete her move alone. In a reversal of what she did for him in LW when Jack was in the hospital, he shows up to assist her, bearing groceries and a philodendron plant that is definitely not flowers. Philodendron, which means "tree hugger," can have a variety of symbolic meanings, from health and abundance to renewal and kindness to, yes, love and appreciation. Robin is as delighted and touched to see him in front of her building as he was to see her framed in the hospital ward door. 

Robin’s emotions hadn’t caught up and she was still struggling not to cry when she turned at long last into Blackhorse Road.Only when she turned into the parking area beside the block containing her new flat did she spot Strike standing beside the main door, a potted plant in one hand and a full bag of Tesco’s shopping in the other. The sight was so incongruous, yet so welcome, that Robin gave a little gasp of laughter, which turned immediately into a sob. 

Queen City Mischief and Magic: A Must for Virginia Magic Lovers

 

Magic lovers in the vicinity of Staunton, VA should get their robes and wands ready for the 8th Annual Queen City Mischief and Magic Festival.  Staunton is one of the most beautiful small towns in the USA and for one weekend each September, it transforms into a magical village, complete with dragons, mermaids, owls and butterbrew. I have been involved with festival planning since the inception in 2016, but this year I am celebrating my first year as Professor Emerita and attending as a plain old guest, along wth a few young friends. 

I've given some Cormoran Strike talks at the festival in years past. but I am taking a break from academic programming this year. Still, if any Farting Sofa Fans are planning to drop by, drop me a private email. I'm happy to pack a flask of creosote-colored Betty's tea and some coffee-walnut cake to share. 

The Neuroscience of Brown-Séquard Syndrome: is Katya Inhibiting Josh's Recovery?

Given that my doctoral training is in neuroscience, I am always delighted when some neurological condition turns up in a book. For a detective series written by a non-scientist, the Cormoran Strike books have been an amazingly rich source, with phantom limb syndrome, BIID, and even a brief mention of Capgras syndrome.  

So it was exciting to see that Brown-Séquard syndrome was featured in The Ink Black Heart.  But how accurate is it?  Does it alone account for the symptoms Josh Blay has? And how do you wind up paralyzed on one side and without feeling on the other, anyway?

First, yes, Brown-Séquard syndrome is a thing, though is is very rare, happening in less that 4% of all spinal cord injuries. It was first described by Charles Éduoard Brown-Séquard in 1850. Brown-Sequard, a figured well-known in my own sub-field of hormones and behavior,  had highs and lows in his career. He is often remembered for some now-discredited self-experiments he performed late in life, claiming that an extract from animal testicles that he self-administered increased his physical strength, mental acuity and the length of his urine stream. However, he would perhaps be more fairly remembered for two earlier contributions. First, his work with the adrenal glands provided some of the first evidence for the existence of hormones: a tremendously important discovery that help launch the field of endocrinology. Second, his research on spinal cord anatomy showed that different modalities are carried by different tracts in the cord, and led to the description of the syndrome that now bears his name. 

Brown-Séquard syndrome produces its odd collection of symptoms because it involves a hemisection of the spinal cord: in other words, a cut through half of it. The first thing to understand is that different parts of the cord carry different sensory and motor signals. Fibers that carry motor commands from brain to muscle travel in the lateral corticospinal tract (see blue on picture to the left). Fibers that carry pain and temperature signals from skin to brain travel in the spinothalamic tract (red). And fibers that carry information about vibration, pressure and limb position (which is very important for reaching for objects, walking, etc) are carried in the posterior column (green). 

Book launch for new Star Wars volume tomorrow!

 My good friends and Potter scholars Emily Strand and Amy Sturgis are presenting on their new edited volume: Star Wars: Essays on a Galaxy Far, Far Away at an online book launch tomorrow.  I'll be there and I hope those of you who appreciate fantasy and pop-culture scholarship will also tune in. 

May the Force Be With You!

Master List of The Running Grave errors: Please list any you spot! Spoilers.

 For years, I helped compile and archive continuity, factual, anachronistic or logical errors that crop up in the Strike books.  I'm going t continue that on this new site for The Running Grave.  This is a task that takes a village, so I invite anyone who spies something off to comment, or sent me a private email. Please document your contribution: refer to the previous book or historical event that creates the inconsistency.

Gaffes can be minor, for example, Strike telling his TIBH doctor that his leg was blown off six or seven years ago when it was actually eight, or Robin spying a book in the North Grove bathroom that would not be published for several more years. Sometimes they are major, such as Robin remembering she has only been to two funerals in her life, and forgetting Mrs. Cunliffe's. And sometimes they are oft-repeated, like Strike's referring to his collapsible walking stick as the one Robin bought him when, in The Silkworm, he bought it for himself in a Boots. 

Superstrikers also sometimes see the errors corrected in later editions. 

So, without further ado, let's start the The Running Grave list.  For now, everything will be considered a spoiler and written in BLUE.