The Bear and the Nightingale

Have you ever heard of a hype man?  In hip-hop or rap there is a bonus guy who sings and/or raps and he "supports" the main rapper with exclamations of exuberance. I don't go to many hip hop shows but recently I saw this DJ who acted like a hype man.  He was a small pale man named Peabody.  His "hyping" included head-banging and raising his arms in front of an Apple computer.  Occasionally he would say "I'm DJ Peabody!"  It's important that you get a good feel for Peabody's voice. Pinch your nose and slowly say PEABODY. Yes, now you have it. So The Bear and the Nightingale has been hyped. But you know, it's good so it's worth hyping.

Katherine Arden is very young and gradated from Middlebury in 2011. HEY, I'M DJ MIDDLEBURY! Yeah...GET IT!  If someone says they went to Middlebury I assume they are either terribly rich, fantastically smart but probably both. They don't need hype men. We are not going to hate on Katherine because we wish her the best so she can keep writing. This book is the first in a trilogy but it does not end on a cliffhanger. Yea! It is based on Russian fairy-tales and set in the Russian middle-ages, but it is also a modern thinking fantasy novel.  It is missing that whole "the witch gets baked in a pot pie" kind of thing.  It's more of a the witch is empowered enough to have her successful Web Series optioned.  Sure she needs the influence of some very powerful men but, c'mon that's just real life. I mean, Amy Poehler can't champion everything.

This is set in a Russian winter so you will feel cold just reading it. I'm convinced I won't feel warm until May at the earliest. It's at least a two kitty lap novel.  Maybe I have a charismatic cat with another cat that acts like a hype man but that's not entirely accurate.  Although I do think a cute name for a cat would be Peabody.

Here's a Toddy variation that sounds delicious: Toby's Toddy: 1 ounce cognac, 1 ounce aged rum, 1 ounce lemon juice, 1 ounce simple syrup and 5 dashes of bitters.  Add ingredients to three ounces of boiling water in a mug. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and a lemon wheel studded with cloves.