Books

The Christmas break gave me something I rarely get during the year: time to learn without urgency. Two threads of exploration converged in interesting ways - one practical, one theoretical, both about AI’s role in how we work. Hands-On: Claude Code I spent part of the break experimenting with Claude Code, finally putting it through its paces on a problem that had defeated me for years: refactoring my Emacs configuration. Seven minutes of AI-assisted work accomplished what months of Sunday afternoons couldn’t....

Shadows Linger Cover - reproduced under Fair Use The second installment in “The Black Company” series “Shadows Linger” is a strange and sinister story, it bleeds the known and unknown into a dance that means you’re never quite sure what going to happen next. This novel stands out not just for its dark, gritty storytelling but for its intricate narrative structure that weaves together two distinct yet interconnected storylines. Through this dual narrative, Cook explores themes of moral ambiguity, loyalty, and the cost of survival in a world teeming with sorcery and conflict....

The Black Company Cover - reproduced under Fair Use In the realm of fantasy literature, where dragons often hoard gold and knights in shining armor rescue damsels in distress, Glen Cook’s “The Black Company” emerges as a stark outlier. This novel, the first in a series that bears the same name, introduces us to a world that is as morally complex as it is dark. Through the eyes of its characters, Cook offers a narrative that diverges sharply from the traditional paths of high fantasy....