NTS Annotated Reread Chapters 21-24 (Patreon)

Things have been busy around here--I did a book fair at a craft brewery last weekend. Books and beer! It was a lot of fun and got to talk to a lot of lovely people. Plus a virtual event last week and this week I'll be at Brick & Mortar books in Redmond, WA with Kendare Blake. Very fun.

I also went back to Drag Queen bingo, which is at a local senior center. It's a fun event and raises a lot of funds for the senior center. This was my second time going and it was a blast. I won absolutely nothing. Before that I went to my first escape room. We didn't manage to escape, but again, lots of fun.

So today has been a lot of catch up around the house and making a nice dinner for Man Friend as it is father's day and all. I love him enough to cook meat for him, even though I don't eat it. (French dip sandwiches are a favorite of his.) He works Sundays, so this is kind of all we could do, celebration-wise. Father's day is hard for a lot of people, and honestly I'm very grateful for Man Friend as he's made it a much easier day for me, because he's an amazing dad and his kids are super lucky.

So I hope y'all out there are having an okay weekend, and if this one happens to be rough for you, big hugs from me. 

Now, for the reread!

Chapter 21--This chapter is from the song Stray Cats Strut by the Strat Cats. My brother was in a rockabilly band when I was younger, and as a result, I listened to a lot more rockabilly than some of my classmates at the time. 

This chapter shows us how James and Douglas came together. There are a few hints here to tell you how old James and Douglas are. First, we get some slang from he taxi driver "I spent all my clams on this beauty. Hits on all sizes, she does. How 'bout you, young man, you in the war?" Both "clams" and "hits on all sixes" are slang from the 1920's era. The driver also mentions the war, and then later Douglas flicks a Liberty Quarter for James to catch. Liberty quarters were minted between 1916 and 1930.

James names himself in this chapter, and we see both him and Douglas bonding a little. I also tried to layer in some hints as to James' origin. The pukis is a house spirit among the Latvians, Estonians, and Lithuanians of the Baltic states. They take the form of a cat when on the ground and a dragon in the air. (I think I added in Jame's human form.) The are tricksters on occasion, and guard wealth fiercely, which works out well for their owners. I just double checked all of this in one of my books, The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures by John and Caitlin Matthews.

22-Get out of my Dreams (and Into My Car) is a song by Billy Ocean. It's a song I will never forget because my middle school PE teacher used to make us run to this song every day. Same song. Every day. (I guess it was a good length or something?) Another nod to my childhood--Sam gets peanut butter cookies from his mom's house. My mother and grandmother made pb cookies a lot. One of my favorites.

James is really interesting in this chapter to me. Because of his divided loyalties, he's helping Douglas, but he's also hinting heavily to Sam what's actually going on. He never lies to Sam, nor does he tell him flat out what's happening. But he tries in his own way to steer Sam to the correct conclusion. (Which Sam totally misses.) 

The other shout out in this chapter--Sam says, "Why you got to bring up old shit?" This is a favorite phrase of Man Friend that he uses any time I bring up something that he knows he's in the wrong about or doesn't have a good argument for. It's an old joke for us.

23--San Dimas HS Football Rules is both an Atari's song and a reference to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. This chapter is full of Keanu Reeves references. Speed, the Matrix, Bill & Teds, etc. This is also the chapter where Sam starts to figure things out.

24--I'm a Soul Man was (I believe) originally done by Sam & Dave in 1967, but James Brown covered it and of course the Blues Brothers. This whole chapter is Douglas's childhood and we see more of what he was like before he was twisted into the necromancer we all know and loathe. 

That's all for now! Almost done! And of course, if you have any questions, feel free to put them in the comments!

-Lish