tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38158143212186789992024-03-19T01:47:04.560-07:00Ancient & Medieval MayhemMedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-24109217836200920732018-06-14T17:21:00.000-07:002018-06-14T17:40:44.519-07:00BLOOD FOREST by Geraint Jones<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtpyvfLBW6p0kPHYVxiSXkHWXQB0ZVSyflPvAbkRYdZyo2VVD2W5yjonY4MzppF9eZyYyxYo-EUh7nAXwD4yHX-tiKNtp02heAsOJqd9rVZXj401Cxg9sDxr-YyOH3_Ue96lGkqh1aJRO/s1600/blood+forest.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="359" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtpyvfLBW6p0kPHYVxiSXkHWXQB0ZVSyflPvAbkRYdZyo2VVD2W5yjonY4MzppF9eZyYyxYo-EUh7nAXwD4yHX-tiKNtp02heAsOJqd9rVZXj401Cxg9sDxr-YyOH3_Ue96lGkqh1aJRO/s320/blood+forest.PNG" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33556914-blood-forest?from_search=true" target="_blank">Blood Forest</a> by<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/321432.Geraint_Jones" target="_blank"> Geraint Jones</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The trickiest reviews to write are the ones about books I
have read that are already on the back foot for being a setting I am not
interested in. It makes it hard, because I have to work out why I am not really
getting into the story. Is it because I just don’t like the setting (in this
case Roman)? Or is it because I just did not like the book?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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I thought long and hard about <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33556914-blood-forest?from_search=true" target="_blank">Blood Forest</a> while I was
reading it and after I finished it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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In the end, this is what I came up with…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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I am not a keen reader of Roman historical fiction, or ‘swords
and sandals’ if you will. And yet I do read it and enjoy it if the setting is
beautifully and skilfully done. For example, the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/55207-rome" target="_blank">M.C Scott Roman historical fiction books.</a> There is some skill at times in the Blood Forest settings, but
my issue was that the main setting was the squaddie comraderies. It was the
plot, sub plot, the story. For about 80% of the book. I need more going on than all the walking, talking, gutting, grunting, stabbing, walking,
talking, sleeping, sh*tting, spitting, talking. Not that it isn’t loved by
many. It simply isn’t something I get in to. Not my fault, nor the fault of the
author.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, there was that. And it was an obstacle to get over, for
me. I don’t care about the gore or the swearing. I used to - as so much of it in
swords and sandal books, is not for the betterment of the read, it is only for
shock value - but now I expect it from these squaddie/grunt comraderies books
and I have learned to live with it, to a degree. If it is done in mature way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My problem with Blood Forest was that after a promising
start, the comraderies became all the book was about and the plots and sub
plots were absent or presented in such a fleeting way that if you blinked you’d
miss them. I was even forgetting the loose plot about the memory loss and the Felix background. I have noted other reviewers commenting on absence of plot too and I
think to many who are looking for more, then it is quite distracting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
War for many soldiers can be boring. A lot of sitting around
waiting for orders to come down, waiting for transport, waiting to move out.
Waiting, waiting, waiting. Digging latrines. Talking about women's body parts.
Sleeping. Cleaning weapons. And for some, very little or no combat or action.
Sometimes not getting a shot off or getting shot at. So, if it is boring for
real soldiers, imagine how documenting this life can be boring for readers who
don’t need that detailed insight. Who already know about it perhaps.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think that covers it. My issue was both. The roman squaddie/grunt
setting dominating plot devices and suspense. And my general disinterest in Romans
and dislike for them as a people.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Simple. Not simple. Yes?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In saying all that. Make up your own mind on this book. I
read it for a book club read, so I was already pushing the boat out into
unfavourable seas. My opinion is compromised. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- MM</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-43746913832338395182018-05-31T14:55:00.002-07:002018-05-31T17:38:41.046-07:00ON MY DESK - MayI had a bit of a buying splurge in May and as a result, on my desk this month, I have three nice, shiny and newly arrived novels with some really eye catching covers. Although they all look like variations on a theme, giving us their backs. No eyes to the front for these lads. Butts clenched. Facing their enemies... I guess...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7KfNvF0wghNI61liJQtMOysR2GklWeXUf1B7Ul2Nab7WpYFGwkr4KJSLtw3TmRPw47hiVpCe9b287EFX5cmaVpkUHHgoLZNTnt9SEmCzL-8zLrL0aQz6yxqitRng61VNIGlQegDwUjEv/s1600/20180601_065937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="824" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7KfNvF0wghNI61liJQtMOysR2GklWeXUf1B7Ul2Nab7WpYFGwkr4KJSLtw3TmRPw47hiVpCe9b287EFX5cmaVpkUHHgoLZNTnt9SEmCzL-8zLrL0aQz6yxqitRng61VNIGlQegDwUjEv/s320/20180601_065937.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30045542-the-green-count" target="_blank">The Green Count</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/710888.Christian_Cameron" target="_blank">Christian Cameron</a><br />
Book three in his terrific Chivalry series continues the story of the knight William Gold. The first book in the series, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13550502-the-ill-made-knight" target="_blank">The Ill-Made Knight</a>, ( <a href="https://ancientandmedievalmayhem.blogspot.com/2013/10/unlucky-in-life-ill-made-knight-by.html" target="_blank">my review of Ill-Made Knight</a> on this blog) saw this character dragging himself to the top by his bloodied fingernails. He tried hard to better himself and so he did. Book two, which I only recently read, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16222692-the-long-sword" target="_blank">The Long Sword</a>, (<a href="https://ancientandmedievalmayhem.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-long-sword-by-christian-cameron.html" target="_blank">my review of The Long Sword</a> on this blog) was a real beauty of a read. I loved it, despite the author's propensity for occasional wordiness. It isn't an issue though. I just skim those parts.<br />
The Green Count is book three. Quite eager to read it, but then I'm also quite eager to read several of the books sitting on my bookshelves.<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38235369-the-falcon-of-sparta" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38235369-the-falcon-of-sparta" target="_blank">The Falcon of Sparta</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/119121.Conn_Iggulden" target="_blank">Conn Iggulden</a><br />
This is an author that I think will slay with his version of the Spartans. He is a big talent, his writing nowadays simply deft. I read his stand alone novel <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32510568-dunstan" target="_blank">Dunstan</a> (<a href="https://ancientandmedievalmayhem.blogspot.com/2018/05/dunstan-by-conn-iggulden.html" target="_blank">my review of Dunstan </a>on this blog) last month and gave it five stars. He really proved himself in that book as one of the best in the business. Maybe he proved it with his <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/102337-wars-of-the-roses" target="_blank">Wars of the Roses</a> series, but I haven't read them. I have only read his Mongols and one of his Roman books. All of which had a very mixed response to. Going from love to loathe. All these years later I tried him again with Dunstan and I am back to singing his praises. Probably more eager to read this one than The Green Count by Christian Cameron, so this one will come before it.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33556914-blood-forest" target="_blank">Blood Forest</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/321432.Geraint_Jones" target="_blank">Geraint Jones</a><br />
A new kid on the historical fiction scene, Geraint Jones, is impressing readers of the genre with his gritty and bloody Roman period historical fiction. Me, well, I'm not really a Roman period kind of girl, but I am giving this debut author a shot to impress before I give up on the sub-genre again. Often Roman historical fiction, reads with an over the top machismo. It is more prevalent in that sub-genre than it is in any other sub-genre that I read in the historical fiction genre. I don't tar them all with the same brush, some are good writers, but some simply are not. Like drunk teenagers playing cowboys and Indians...only in the case of this period, Romans and barbarians; an equally, no, greater, vile genocidal people of history. Yeah, you guessed it, I don't like Romans much. Which is another reason why I avoid the sub-genre.<br />
I read a few sample pages from Blood Forest and what I read I found didn't read like that at all and I am so relieved. Because I went and bought it. And seeing as this is the June Group Read in <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/54239" target="_blank">Ancient and Medieval Historical Fiction</a> Group, I am 20 pages into it.<br />
And I am impressed. Intelligent dialogue. Smart visualization. Hope this lasts past the first three chapters. (and anybody who knows about submitting manuscripts knows why).<br />
<br />
- MM<br />
<br />MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-21665493392830892132018-05-28T16:33:00.002-07:002018-05-28T18:37:08.389-07:00THE HARROWING by James Aitcheson<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHbEGQerOFRX_P8YSHdrhtPyGDTq1-ltHjhMFbjqjf7k_cgXmdEK5EHexVIW47RhioPKymKVBku7bCGu1_S0eJnbOrBIetP5ZQDB7kX7uB8X-vFhl6K50wf46UfkdXKnmeO1PwZo6erki/s1600/the+harrowing.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="386" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHbEGQerOFRX_P8YSHdrhtPyGDTq1-ltHjhMFbjqjf7k_cgXmdEK5EHexVIW47RhioPKymKVBku7bCGu1_S0eJnbOrBIetP5ZQDB7kX7uB8X-vFhl6K50wf46UfkdXKnmeO1PwZo6erki/s320/the+harrowing.PNG" width="210" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="left"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33615954-the-harrowing" target="_blank">The Harrowing</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4469951.James_Aitcheson" target="_blank">James Aitcheson</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It is a rare thing these days for me to read a book through
the night and have to force myself to stop reading well after midnight in order
to get some sleep. Many of the books I give 5 stars to, don’t even inspire me
enough to do that. Due to (and I mean this with utmost sincerity) I love my
sleep. Not too many books compete with a love like that. But The Harrowing did.
It truly was a book that I couldn’t put down.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I read it quicker than I read most books and I probably
could have read it even quicker if it weren’t for <a href="http://www.visitoruk.com/Hexham/" target="_blank">Hagustaldesham</a>. Yes, it’s a
long one, a tongue twister, a name to catch you up on; if you are a reader
like me who needs to read every word correctly or you can’t proceed. Hagustaldesham.
The town our five intrepid travellers are headed, across this post-apocalyptic landscape. For present company, for you,
why don’t I call it what it is in later times. Hexham. Much easier to say that…and
to type that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
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So, our intrepid travellers are bound there, to<a href="http://www.visitoruk.com/Hexham/" target="_blank"> Hexham</a>. The
priest, the lady, the servant, the warrior and the minstrel – in a time when Northern
England is being wasted by the<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normans" target="_blank"> Normans</a> and their ‘harrying of the north’. As
the book proceeds, the story deviates from the main story, in order for each of
these characters to tell their personal tale on how they came to be there, on
their way to Hexham. One of these character’s stories I had no time for, mostly
because I felt it went on too long, but the rest I enjoyed.</div>
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<br /></div>
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This is my favourite period of history, along with the
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxons" target="_blank">Anglo-Saxon</a> period that precedes it, and this may contribute to me loving the
book more than someone who has no big interest in the period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, in saying that, it is still a great story
for any reader who enjoys historical fiction.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
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I got so caught up in the story that I was actually
heartbroken in the end. I still am now, nearly a week later.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
Not giving away any spoilers by talking about my heartbreak, because it is just that
heartbreak you get when you have gotten attached to certain characters and, as
this is a stand-alone book, all good stories must come to an end. It wasn’t the
ending I wanted, but that is subjective. The next person’s opinion will be
different, and the one after that will be different again. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
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I have read this author, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4469951.James_Aitcheson" target="_blank">James Aitcheson</a>, in the past, where he dealt with
this same period of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_conquest_of_England" target="_blank">Norman invasion</a>, and those were also books that I enjoyed.
For some reason, and don’t ask me why as I don’t know the answer myself, I wasn’t
expecting this book to be as good as it was. The surprise at finding this book
to be a jewel of the genre is followed by disappointment that it isn’t published
in all countries, therefore, the US do not get to read it unless they buy it in paper version from
a UK book store website. That is a shame, as I feel any country that does not
have this book available in paper and digital, is missing out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
5 stars out of 5.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
MM</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-4922393058830405212018-05-20T16:50:00.001-07:002018-05-20T16:50:55.937-07:00DUNSTAN by Conn Iggulden(Dunstan by Conn Iggulden, AKA <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36327062-the-abbot-s-tale" target="_blank">The Abbot's Tale</a> in the US)<br />
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Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTz-Q6O3fyT691fTp_ZImMQvOLwydIWe3YjRjQ9v06yC58zxMiaH_ZruGCvaSoCymL8JWKsidbN8fkoAB6YhGsOgED50LebEsVIG8d0u-zLXd-WWenErY-JFt5fj7_OQRlH0SgUIJaRaMF/s1600/dunstan.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="321" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTz-Q6O3fyT691fTp_ZImMQvOLwydIWe3YjRjQ9v06yC58zxMiaH_ZruGCvaSoCymL8JWKsidbN8fkoAB6YhGsOgED50LebEsVIG8d0u-zLXd-WWenErY-JFt5fj7_OQRlH0SgUIJaRaMF/s320/dunstan.PNG" width="207" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32510568-dunstan?from_search=true" target="_blank">Dunstan</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/119121.Conn_Iggulden" target="_blank">Conn Iggulden</a></td></tr>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, I think it pretty obvious that <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/119121.Conn_Iggulden" target="_blank">Conn Iggulden</a> relished breathing
life into this complicated creature called Dunstan. What a joy it is to read
books that are so clearly a work of pride by the author. And he should be
proud. This was a bloody good book. The best I have read of him so far… but of
course, I have not yet read everything he has written. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Now, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunstan" target="_blank">Dunstan</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glastonbury_Abbey" target="_blank">Glastonbury</a> is not your typical feel-good protagonist. Don’t
expect to go into this book backing him to the hilt throughout his journey. He can
be a very bad boy, and an even worse adult and there are many readers of this
book who are saying they loathed him or disliked him. I actually did like him
eventually. At first, in the opening chapters, with the way he treated his
brother, I really didn’t like him much at all. With time, that passed and I
found myself often rooting for him as he planned and plotted his vengeances and
his climb to the top.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In his lifetime he outlives them all. Kings, Queens, family.
And in the end, he gets a bit over it all. I suppose, as an insomniac and with
many sins to ride his soul, life can get a little exhausting in the end for an
old schemer like Dunstan. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What a man though. What accomplishments. What a colourful
life. What things he must have seen.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Iggulden has made up so much, but this is historical fiction,
it is to be expected. You have the few references to him in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_Chronicle" target="_blank">Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</a> and not much else. This gave the author a fairly broad palette to work
his colours upon. With the attention not on giving us one long-winded info dump
that reads more like a Non-Fiction, but to give us a fiction that follows the
known history closely enough to inform us while entertaining us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And what a world he had to entertain us. But don’t let me
try to explain it…let Iggulden explain it through the words of his Dunstan:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>“You have to understand our kingdom is a flame in a storm
gale, guttering, flickering, struggling to survive. To the West, we still had
the Vikings who had made their fiefdoms in Ireland. To the east and north, we
had the might of all those small kings who saw our coast as a challenge – the Danes,
the Swedish kings, the savage Norse. To the south, all along the coast of old
Gaul, more Norsemen gathered, peering across at us. They waited all around us then.
We had no chance to survive, some said. Yet we fought even so, whenever they
came. Some men will.</i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>We fought, because
not to fight was to be destroyed, but also because we’d glimpsed something in
the land, the rivers. Our fathers and grandfathers had found a good place, a sweet
valley, with wolves on every hill all around us, just watching. We were farmers
and soldiers and princes and priests. They were mere cruelty.</i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="MsoNormal">
<i>When a king died, they came howling down the hills.” </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- page 343, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32510568-dunstan" target="_blank">Dunstan by Conn Iggulden</a><i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was quite a land of fire and sword in those times and
what better world is there than that, for this author to pick up his brush and
give us the most vividly worded account of a manipulative, aspiring,
selfish, flawed, sinful creature called Dunstan of Glastonbury.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- MM</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-51802984710913644482018-05-15T18:49:00.000-07:002018-05-15T18:56:15.992-07:00BRETHREN by Robyn Young<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_BSPqdNOSWa-dWHH9v1fVV8zMiOfm8M0pHB5VFK0t5ui9mFtCSFeqSpHwy2J8KIBI2tkwyxOYJgRHC59i2OrsH78Y6QPNMoZXFS8pvSe2eeIUA5e1hZu78zrPwTddH-8UdjftQFBu2B2/s1600/Brethren-Robyn-Young.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="230" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_BSPqdNOSWa-dWHH9v1fVV8zMiOfm8M0pHB5VFK0t5ui9mFtCSFeqSpHwy2J8KIBI2tkwyxOYJgRHC59i2OrsH78Y6QPNMoZXFS8pvSe2eeIUA5e1hZu78zrPwTddH-8UdjftQFBu2B2/s320/Brethren-Robyn-Young.jpg" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60813.Brethren" target="_blank">Brethren</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/34228.Robyn_Young" target="_blank">Robyn Young</a></td></tr>
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<br />
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It has taken me a long time to read book one in this
Brethren trilogy. Which is unusual for me, seeing as <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/34228.Robyn_Young" target="_blank">Robyn Young</a> is one of my
favourite authors and I loved her <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/86378-the-insurrection-trilogy" target="_blank">Insurrection trilogy</a> and I really enjoyed
book one, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29861210-sons-of-the-blood" target="_blank">Sons of the Blood</a>, in her new trilogy, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/181601-new-world-rising" target="_blank">New World Rising</a>.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I think I avoided<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60813.Brethren" target="_blank"> Brethren</a> for so many years because of regular
comments from fellow readers on it being more romance based than the trilogies
mentioned above. Having now read Brethren, I am surprised that people say this.
I did not find it romance heavy at all. Not to the stage where it would put off
a reader who does not enjoy romance. There is a relationship between two young characters
that develops into something stronger as they grow up, but I never found it ‘romancy’
nor melodramatic. </div>
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<br /></div>
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It took me a while to get into the read due to maybe a third
of the book being consumed by characters as children and young adults. Now this,
of course, is personal taste. It is neither a negative about the book or a
fatal story wrecker, it is just that, no matter how much I like or love the
author’s work, I never like hanging around in the child or young adult phases
and I felt Brethren dwelled there too long. I prefer stories set around adults;
doing adult things, viewing life through an adult’s eyes, talking in adult voices.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is not going to be my favourite Young novel, I mean,
how can this strong debut ever compare to the beauty of the Insurrection
trilogy? It just cannot, for the simple fact that it is indeed a debut. By a younger
Robyn Young. With<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7930479-insurrection" target="_blank"> Insurrection</a>, the author was older, wiser, more experienced as
a writer. She had obviously learned a lot about herself. Learned how she wanted
to write and in what voice her stories should be told. Brethren is Robyn Young
in training wheels. She was not quite ready for aerial flips, tyre grabs and tailwhips.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Still, it is a decent, solid read. It had its moments where
I maybe didn’t want to pick it up, and then it had its moments where I could
not wait to pick it up.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With a tale split between the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar" target="_blank">Templars</a> in the west and the
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamluk" target="_blank">Mamluks</a> in the east, and then the coming together of both medieval super
powers, it is drawn out as a very detailed and intelligently done plot with sub
plot aplenty. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It had a lot of promise and I look forward to reading the
next two books in the trilogy, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1145825.Crusade" target="_blank">Crusade</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6409361-requiem" target="_blank">Requiem</a>. I’ve heard good things
about them both and I will try to slot them into my reading schedule this year or early next.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3 stars out of 5 </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> -
</span></span></span>MM </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-88265106564793258792018-05-09T18:51:00.001-07:002018-05-09T18:55:14.783-07:00CATHAR by Christopher Bland<br />
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<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEw2hcsk7t7M45xduow7QH02dIkdvEFBg_iveaCJUtrbfq1b5dJT5mFk3T1D9yuIwLCY9KNoW7kutniKi9YZz8-ZmGkCWt-bZG1tA1WwhyphenhyphenBmphIhbS58arz8mirN6cbdcUMb5VN7kTFE0O/s1600/cathar.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="221" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEw2hcsk7t7M45xduow7QH02dIkdvEFBg_iveaCJUtrbfq1b5dJT5mFk3T1D9yuIwLCY9KNoW7kutniKi9YZz8-ZmGkCWt-bZG1tA1WwhyphenhyphenBmphIhbS58arz8mirN6cbdcUMb5VN7kTFE0O/s320/cathar.PNG" width="202" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30289694-cathar" target="_blank">Cathar</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4689903.Christopher_Bland" target="_blank">Christopher Bland</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Written with a sharp and deft hand, Cathar is the story of
not one, not two, but, um, well I forgot to count, so let’s just say it was
written in the voices of maybe as many as ten first-person points of view. <div class="MsoNormal">
For
some this works and they do not flinch. For me, it was an overwhelming flood of
voices and it made the book not as enjoyable as it could have been.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Francois is your main voice. And from the book’s blurb, I was under
the impression that he would be the only voice. I feel the blurb should have
touched on this not being the case. He gets the most talk time in this tale of
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharism" target="_blank">Cathars</a> during the terrifying reign of the Inquisition, but he is nearly lost
at stages under the chattering of all his friends, lovers and acquaintances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think that if, like me, you get put off by more than two
first-person points of view in a novel, then perhaps if you go into this at
least expecting the multitude, it will set you better on your reading path. I
was not expecting it and this worked against it…for me. If I had known, things may have gone down differently.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>I was very much
enjoying the early stages of the book when it was only Francois, so to then
have it abruptly change to another character’s first-person narration was a
surprise. Then every time you meet a new character, that character
eventually shows up in first-person as well. And that first-person narration is
nearly always just a retelling of a scene already described by one or more.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I understand what the author was trying to do. He was trying
to give the publishers a unique voice. The unique voice that they say you
can’t get published without. I commend him for giving it a red-hot go. He
nearly pulled it off for me, and for some – those who have no issue with the
multiple first person narrative style and the story line that never really had
energy or reached a climax – he has indeed pulled it off. In fact, I know some who
really liked it. So, you just never know who will like Bland’s narrative style and
who will not. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It may sound like I disliked the book and oddly, despite the
review being written here, I did not dislike it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I should clear up this vagary...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I felt it was well written. As I said at the opening of this review, it was a sharp
and deft style. A style I admired often as I read the book. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Sometimes it was quite beautiful. The plot wasn't really on fire. It was very melancholy in tone and was lacking in energy, but a lot of the time, this was not of detriment to the story. It kind of suited it. Although, sometimes it made it boring. I won't avoid mentioning that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I give it 3 stars, which means simply, I liked it. I didn’t
love it, I didn’t hate it. I liked some aspects, I disliked others. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got annoyed with it at times, bored at other
times, but entertained at others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am
glad I read it. It was something different. I learned a lot about Cathars, who
are a people of history that I knew pretty much nothing about initially, and I also
learned that apparently in these times women can have lots of sex over long
periods of time and never actually get pregnant...hmm…what is their secret? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also learned that multiple first-person points of view are
most definitely not for me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- MM</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-76688890986638943562018-02-14T19:10:00.000-08:002018-02-14T19:10:01.350-08:00THE LONG SWORD by Christian Cameron
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgetxByvJuurqFHwB1vGZzdY01WJr0CIal_xAIZ1K59rhvG5ifqECEtLyqnpv8qPFatzGp0HU9vN1FPkOYvNHus4BUXStFXG-y1aespTwHawx-dtubyD9CFZbxyrrTNEP-0Nk9LDqGchdoJ/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="326" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgetxByvJuurqFHwB1vGZzdY01WJr0CIal_xAIZ1K59rhvG5ifqECEtLyqnpv8qPFatzGp0HU9vN1FPkOYvNHus4BUXStFXG-y1aespTwHawx-dtubyD9CFZbxyrrTNEP-0Nk9LDqGchdoJ/s320/Capture.PNG" width="208" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16222692-the-long-sword" target="_blank">The Long Sword</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/710888.Christian_Cameron" target="_blank">Christian Cameron </a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Christian Cameron
really is one of the top shelf writers in the historical fiction
genre. He not only writes beautifully, with a true understanding of
the mechanics and structure of the written word, but he is also so
immersed and invested in the history through his past times and
hobbies that he brings those words to life in a way that so many
authors can only dream of.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Cameron sleeps, eats,
breathes the cultures he writes about in this <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/132815-chivalry" target="_blank">Chivalry Series</a> through
re-enactment, and then he plants this wealth of knowledge on the page
and strings a darn good story through it. It is hard not respect
this level of commitment. And by living it and acting it out in real
time, he gives an absorbing sense of place and atmosphere, and then
he goes and <span style="font-style: normal;">'magics' </span>it up a
bit more by drawing it also from the pages of his research and by
breathing it in from the sites he must visit for field research. </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I saw this fabulous
combination at work in book one of this Chivalry Series, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13550502-the-ill-made-knight" target="_blank">Ill-Made Knight</a>, but
I really stood up and took notice in this one, book two, The Long
Sword.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
What is truly
marvellous - and this is something I should have remembered from
Ill-Made Knight but so much time had lapsed between reading book one
and two that I had forgotten - is that the majority of his characters
were actually living breathing people from history. I got a shock
when I read the Note at the end and was reminded of this. It just
made me all the more impressed.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I don't think authors have to do this (use a real life character for the main character or make every character
an actual person from history) however, for some reason with this
particular tale, it is an excellent choice. Since there is so much
written history for this period and the battles are well documented,
well, why the heck not....the book's timeline basically writes itself and the
author can put all their energy into describing surroundings, giving
them something to do between battle scenes, and put some dialogue in
their mouth. With this book, that helped enrich it, I think; that the
author could put his mind to filling out already known people and
battles from history.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I thought the first
book, Ill-Made Knight, was a great read and I think The Long Sword is
an even greater one. I wonder how I will go with book three, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30045542-the-green-count" target="_blank">The Green Count</a>. And then the one after that, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36662018-sword-of-justice" target="_blank">Sword of Justice</a>, and the one after that (which is a few years off as of the date of this blog post). I
am kind of crushing on William Gold, so it is good to see that the
show rolls on after The Green Count.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Negatives. Look, there
are a couple and I think negatives are always worth mentioning otherwise reviews feel dishonest to me. I am
giving this book 4 stars out of 5, so obviously there are some things
I was not too fussed on. So, I will spit them out here and now.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Sometimes, the
author does include too much 'stuff' and from time to time he gets
his waffle on. It does not ruin the book, but there are some sections
where it brings down the enjoyment of the read. Also, I am a fan of
Chapter breaks. I really am. I need somewhere good to park my
caboose when I go away from the book and then come back to it.
Regular paragraph breaks aren't nearly good enough a story break for me. I
find Chapter breaks can create tension and drama, if properly placed,
and without them it is like being stuck in a conversation with someone who won't shut up. So yeah, Cameron does not include Chapters, and that is a bummer. But of
course, some people don't care. This is just my preference.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Final negative, is an
outright pointless nit pick. I hated the use of eh. You know what I
mean, eh? Drove me nuts. Kept jolting me out of the story and made
the speakers sound Canadian. As I say, just a nit pick. Had to share
it.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Other than those
pitiful few negatives, this was simply a great read. Better than
Ill-Made Knight because William Gold is a worldly kick-arse man now,
and what a fine worldly kick-arse man he is...</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
4 out of 5 stars.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
– MM</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-74777171365255618072017-10-15T17:55:00.001-07:002017-10-15T17:59:01.302-07:00WINTER'S FIRE by Giles Kristian<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYrbhvqB_0wiYYORQ07bVcoAvr64VrDf4B4XI7yoFfVQCRDYrmZWzOsS4bVO4Df_2S99iafeUZV9yvUXT9l4E4E6hbzQJ_U7yBGylbVXN9Km42ri7Q3ysApk2tm-A96Fwo6xa9i1uhcJx/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="321" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYrbhvqB_0wiYYORQ07bVcoAvr64VrDf4B4XI7yoFfVQCRDYrmZWzOsS4bVO4Df_2S99iafeUZV9yvUXT9l4E4E6hbzQJ_U7yBGylbVXN9Km42ri7Q3ysApk2tm-A96Fwo6xa9i1uhcJx/s320/Capture.PNG" width="206" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28936142-winter-s-fire" target="_blank">Winter's Fire</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2776821.Giles_Kristian" target="_blank">Giles Kristian</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In my opinion, this is truly a
'bridging book'. A book two that serves as the bridge between the
story set up in book one and the dramatic ending of book three (if it
is a trilogy, which I think it may be). Some may disagree. This is
only my experience with it.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In saying that, I have not read book
three yet, so I may be wrong and book three may read like this one. I
guess I'll know that when I get there.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now, calling it a 'bridging book' is not as negative as it sounds. Sometimes trilogies and series' have these books. They are still a decent read, they can just feel a bit like a no mans land.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Book one seemed more robust with
storylines and personality, and while this one was still a good read
and I still recommend it, I am going to go so far as to say that it
lacked the same spark. There seemed to be sections that fought with
the flow of the book, like the storyline that developed for the
sister. Or, maybe I am being too harsh because I have no interest in
Runa independently. I am reading these books for Sigurd's tale. To
those who like the Runa character, it may be a highlight.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I was not looking to spend any time
on the sister, but I am sure that there are female readers who
delight in the Runa story being interwoven with the story of Sigurd
and his wolf pack. I am not one of those female readers. Perhaps her
character's story would have been better served by a spin off book
all of its own. For me, in this Sigurd series, Valgerd is more than
enough woman for me.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I feel I am being a little apologetic
for my lukewarm feelings on the book. I think that is because I
really like Kristian's writing and the way he tells a Viking tale. I
have a bit of an interest in Vikings and if we did not have Kristian
writing about them, where would we get our Viking fix? He is only one
of three authors who write with this quality and intelligence about
Vikings and one of those three does not write about them anymore.
That writer is Robert Low, of which there will never be another
author like him. Bernard Cornwell gives us his Uhtred books, but they
are few and far between.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If you like this era as I do, and you
like it very well written, then you need these Viking stories by
Kristian. He is the Lighthouse in our rough seas.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I feel bad not giving a glowing
review for Winter's Fire. I desperately want to ignore the negative
and just focus on the positive, and yet I have always objected to people being 'yes men', so in the name of honesty –
which I value above all else as a reviewer – I say this about it: this book,
Winter's Fire, is still a good read, just not a great read...but, gee, it sure is well written! Masterfully so in places.<br />
I hope Kristian is not finished with these Viking tales. He is the cream of the crop.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I recommend it, absolutely. On its
own, you may appreciate it more than I did, as I had my feelings on
book one looming over my shoulder the whole way through.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As far as a star rating, I feel it is
better than a three star, not quite a four star. Which makes this one
of those rare times I have to use a half star to give it three and a
half stars.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
3 ½ stars</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
– MM</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-37772303162841439772017-10-09T16:11:00.001-07:002017-10-15T18:03:23.183-07:00THE FLAME BEARER by Bernard Cornwell<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfSW5gWAYdeSgHzWg_ZijpG0Ca_5bI2DGtjnZOYk40X6vNTXEZHK4P3Y_4ZUfZFNxuahs46LUCMRm9mvVwalS6TsPJHS5593W6dmxgJuRaUTaPl_kEZDb26nfRqMwshdWkz7fl1vWvThy/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="405" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfSW5gWAYdeSgHzWg_ZijpG0Ca_5bI2DGtjnZOYk40X6vNTXEZHK4P3Y_4ZUfZFNxuahs46LUCMRm9mvVwalS6TsPJHS5593W6dmxgJuRaUTaPl_kEZDb26nfRqMwshdWkz7fl1vWvThy/s320/Capture.PNG" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30107252-the-flame-bearer" target="_blank">The Flame Bearer</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12542.Bernard_Cornwell" target="_blank">Bernard Cornwell</a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I wish every day was an Uhtred day.
When I am reading a new book in the series, this character just
brings so much enjoyment to my week.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There is something about the books that
makes them so stress free to read too. They are written well and yet
you don't have to work hard. Plenty of lovely prose in them if you
want to notice it. Heaps of outstanding dialogue, which is hard not
to notice. The laughs are plenty. The characters are rich in
personality. It all blends so perfectly in these books and you can
knock one over so quickly. Maybe too quickly. As now there is the
long wait for the next book and I had already dragged out reading
this one in anticipation of another one in the series coming in 2017,
but it didn't, so now we fans of Uhtred, have to wait until the end of 2018 I guess.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This book is one of the most
significant of the series. You would have to read it to know why. I
can't really go into that without dropping in massive spoilers. It is
just...monumental and prodigious. Read it to know why, and if you are
a fan of the series, then enjoy!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I have to say, I found the scenes
between Uhtred and Constantin to be some of the most enjoyable scenes
between two characters of the whole series to date. Well, at least of
those I can recall and I am sure there are other 'greats' and after
ten books, I simply do not remember them. But Constantin is such a
character, a good match for Uhtred, and Cornwell plays both enigmatic
characters off each other so well.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This book is like the others in most
ways. Vile, cunning priests, extraordinary warriors, great deeds and
deceptions, ineffective and underwhelming nobility and rulers,
travelling all over the countryside and then travelling all over it
back again, lots of insults parried back and forth between Dane and
Saxon, Saxon and Saxon, Pagan and priest, a bit of sea action, port
action...gold action...fire action...screaming action...living life
to the fullest...dying miserably..yeah, it's all there for the fan of
this series...plus that one significant and momentous thing. It is
there too.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Loved it! Love it more just thinking
about it! 5 brightly burning stars for you Flame Bearer.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
- MM</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-73703985265502999772017-07-14T16:32:00.001-07:002017-07-14T20:56:30.314-07:00GOD OF VENGEANCE by Giles Kristian<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylw5mMKqDed_9F3l9K5IT8IyuLrsskQk3j_L9-m_edtLnwGtomOerHaFrGlDk7_vGf0dzPThGSZxA40QiaM48mbd5LUKKiojnvrRJXziyVbhwFCZifnA7-21zpS1hkKsZnlfLMxcAtKDE/s1600/god+of+vengeance.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="382" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylw5mMKqDed_9F3l9K5IT8IyuLrsskQk3j_L9-m_edtLnwGtomOerHaFrGlDk7_vGf0dzPThGSZxA40QiaM48mbd5LUKKiojnvrRJXziyVbhwFCZifnA7-21zpS1hkKsZnlfLMxcAtKDE/s320/god+of+vengeance.PNG" width="207" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18332123-god-of-vengeance">God of Vengeance </a>by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2776821.Giles_Kristian">Giles Kristian</a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I could have sworn,
after I began this book, that I wasn't going to like it. It was
written very well, which is what I always expect from this author, as
he has only gotten better and better with each book he releases. The
scene setting was excellent, also what I expect from this author as
this Scandinavian culture is close to his heart - being directly
descended from it.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
However, for some
reason I could not connect with what was going on. For more than 100
pages I was bored and often tempted to skip pages. I simply could
not connect or feign interest in what was going on, despite its rich
action sequences.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Boring is an odd thing
to say seeing as the beginning of this book finds you knees deep in a
long and elaborate battle scene that must have exhausted the author
to even write it. Such was the indepth and intelligent way it was
woven. So much going on in a vast master plan.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I was just starting to
think that it was purely a matter of compatibility (which was the
case with<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/series/89721-bleeding-land-trilogy"> a series the author once did</a> that was set during the
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Civil_War">English Civil War</a>) when, yes, it sneaked up on me. </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Crept up on me
from behind it did. Without any real up change in pace, or abrupt
turn about face.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When I thought about it
at the time, trying to work out why I was suddenly feeling so
differently about the book, I actually worked out what my issue had
been. The story had developed too quickly too soon for me in those
early stages. Many people won't have this same problem, because that
is how it goes. We all read differently. Different brains. Different
visualisation. Different approaches to fantasy.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
My early reading of the
book had me involved in established relationships and a highly
complicated battle scene before I'd even learned who the characters
were (under the surface) or had any investment in their lives
whatsoever. That's all it was in the end. I did not care who lived
or died in the first 100 pages or so. Had no interest, as I had not
really been introduced to them. I had been thrown into their
shieldwall before we'd even exchanged pleasantries. I felt no
comradeship and no loyalty to either side.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Character
relationships, while dealt with a little in the opening pages, were
actually shaped post battle, not pre. I was ice cold about what was
going on.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This was too poignant a
battle to be caught napping. It was absolutely critical
to the plot of the entire book. Of the whole series. So, if you find
yourself in the same predicament, keep on. You need to.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And now my attitude
changes towards the thing. I kept on. Knew I needed to. Then, to my
great relief, when I did know them...I was in love. With the story,
the characters. Truly. What a book. I could hardly believe I'd gone
from ice cold to utter infatuation.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It has been a while
since a group of characters has gotten under my skin this much, but
it was bound to happen. Vikings combined with journey adventure. Two
of my loves. As long as Giles Kristian wrote well and captured the
'road trip' vibe that I like, then I was bound to be on board.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The characters,
thankfully, ended up being rich and colourful. Their story involving
and fascinating. </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Their Saga became all I cared about until the very
last page.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Sigurd turned out to be
quite the charismatic chap. I am a huge fan. A man who can lead
others into war, no doubt. The female character was perfect. Not
helpless and emotional. Gack, thank goodness for that. A great
Shieldmaiden she was. Thank you Giles Kristian for the girl power. </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Really, every character
was very well drawn, but my favourite character would have to be
Black Floki...of course.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I think this might be a
common experience for readers as I see that the author might be
working on a graphic novel about Black Floki, with the early
illustrations by his accomplice looking very promising. I don't
imagine Giles would go to such lengths unless he was getting feedback
that his readers were feeling the same way about Black Floki as he
does.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
God of Vengeance is a
great find and it rates highly on cool factor.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I went ahead and bought
the next few books in the series and am excited to read them. </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
5 stars out of 5.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
- MM</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-60634651386505363412017-04-27T20:36:00.001-07:002017-04-27T20:40:25.175-07:00On my Desk: A BEVY OF BEAUTIES<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAa1rahBqnuwt55ej2AT9EZfrLQ_eWR4dHXVUMyYyKO8BnsUZ8hXVySlVz6Iwh5_gaHWPrUJwf4O496Q3RrmSACOGDwP-BbL0yyblDNIRuI9zF1BL4qLrjHlyhBAqlBGxl38xqc1rUaXjm/s1600/20170428_124855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAa1rahBqnuwt55ej2AT9EZfrLQ_eWR4dHXVUMyYyKO8BnsUZ8hXVySlVz6Iwh5_gaHWPrUJwf4O496Q3RrmSACOGDwP-BbL0yyblDNIRuI9zF1BL4qLrjHlyhBAqlBGxl38xqc1rUaXjm/s320/20170428_124855.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
I've had a good couple of weeks with these books arriving in the mail (purchased online).<br />
In particular,<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25776037-the-risen?from_search=true" target="_blank"> The Risen </a>by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/214232.David_Anthony_Durham" target="_blank">David Anthony Durham</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29861210-sons-of-the-blood?from_search=true" target="_blank">Sons of the Blood</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/34228.Robyn_Young" target="_blank">Robyn Young</a> were greeted by me with more than a few yip yips of excitement.<br />
<br />
I have made no secret of my admiration for David Anthony Durham's one and only (until The Risen was released) historical fiction book, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/741882.Pride_of_Carthage" target="_blank">Pride of Carthage</a>. I even class it as one of my top ten 'Must Read' Historical Fiction books. That list I posted to this blog a couple years back. It can be found here: <a href="http://ancientandmedievalmayhem.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/the-10-must-read-books-in-historical.html" target="_blank">Top Ten Must Read Historical Fiction Books</a>.<br />
It was always a great shame that the author had not written anymore historical fiction, so when I heard he was about to release another one, and it was set in Ancient History, I was elated. Not necessarily for me, but for the historical fiction reading community as a whole. Good quality authors writing in the historical fiction genre are of high value. For their ability to transport the reader whilst also educating them on history.<br />
<br />
Robyn Young is another of those treasures and any new book by her is cause for celebration. I thought so highly of her trilogy set during the Wars of Scottish Independence.<br />
This was my review of the first in that trilogy, <a href="http://ancientandmedievalmayhem.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/lightning-strikes-twice-insurrection-by.html" target="_blank">Insurrection</a>. Can not recommend them enough. To have a new book - and a new trilogy - from this author is wonderful.<br />
<br />
The other two books, well, these authors need no introduction. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2776821.Giles_Kristian?from_search=true" target="_blank">Giles Kristian</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12542.Bernard_Cornwell?from_search=true" target="_blank">Bernard Cornwell</a> are two well known and respected authors who you can nearly guarantee won't let you down every time they release a new book. They are both very skilled historical fiction authors.<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28949218-the-flame-bearer" target="_blank"> The Flame Bearer</a> by Bernard Cornwell is number 10 in his Saxon/Viking series. One of my favourite series'. Always thrilled when a new one of those books comes out. I got behind on this series and only got to number 9 in the series a few weeks before this post. That review is here: <a href="http://ancientandmedievalmayhem.blogspot.com.au/2017/04/warriors-of-storm-by-bernard-cornwell.html" target="_blank">Warriors of the Storm.</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23128332-winter-s-fire?from_search=true" target="_blank"> Winter's Fire</a> is the second book in Giles Kristian's newest Viking series and I am currently reading the first one in this series now, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18332123-god-of-vengeance?from_search=true" target="_blank">God of Vengeance</a>.<br />
<br />
Of all these new books, it will have to be Robyn Young's book, Sons of the Blood, that I will read first. I'll be picking it up beginning of May and reading it at the same time as some friends. Can't wait.<br />
<br />
- MM<br />
<br />
<br />MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-28029733394324804922017-04-25T21:26:00.003-07:002017-04-27T23:38:41.073-07:00WORLD ON FIRE by Christian Kachel<br />
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</div>
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</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTczKA9ofnenMThyrl8jVuUPSyu6QV-CPxsFm-9rGj4DEp5id_NFl7BBMp9gn_b6mjiA7xDhPb4Oa1eOonWY9QU8hCXtusgIlg8ox5AhCXr0qegH34yyyGGrDeQEL-yF2usV8Nud5TOBC/s1600/world+on+fire.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTczKA9ofnenMThyrl8jVuUPSyu6QV-CPxsFm-9rGj4DEp5id_NFl7BBMp9gn_b6mjiA7xDhPb4Oa1eOonWY9QU8hCXtusgIlg8ox5AhCXr0qegH34yyyGGrDeQEL-yF2usV8Nud5TOBC/s320/world+on+fire.PNG" width="218" /></a> I was so impressed
with book one in this series, the author's debut book, and had given
it such a glowing review that when it came to reading book two, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31310196-world-on-fire" target="_blank">World on Fire</a>, I had unfairly attached too much baggage to the book. It
was one of the reasons that it took me so long to actually read it,
when I should have been reading it soon after the release.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Book one in the
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/series/203262-spoils-of-olympus" target="_blank">Spoils of Olympus</a> series had its flaws. It was, after all and as
mentioned, a debut, and you have to forgive debuts their training
wheels....if the book shows enough promise despite them. And I
thought it had ample promise. Enough ample promise that I took it
personally that here was a American male author writing very well in
the historical fiction sub genre of Ancient History, and what is it
that I feel the United States is missing out on these days? American
male authors writing very well in the historical fiction sub genre of
Ancient History. The United Kingdom has plenty of successful authors
in this sub genre, but where are the Americans?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/867.Steven_Pressfield?from_search=true" target="_blank">Steven Pressfield</a> did
it, doesn't do it anymore, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/214232.David_Anthony_Durham" target="_blank">David Anthony Durham</a> did it once over a
decade ago and only recently returned to release one on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25776037-the-risen" target="_blank">Spartacus</a>,
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/27928.Michael_Curtis_Ford?from_search=true" target="_blank">Michael Curtis Ford</a> did it, but where did he go?
</div>
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I digress...</div>
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Yes, there was ample
promise and in part it was that, and not the flaws, that made me drag
my heels before jumping into World on Fire.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Sometimes, authors
put everything they've got into their debut. The first book is often
something they have been sitting on for a long time, years even. They
write them, rewrite them, leave them, come back to them, rewrite
them. Burning the candle at both ends researching, obsessing,
worrying.
</div>
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If they are lucky, a
good solid first book pops out from this maelstrom of literary
process and ritual.
</div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8863177.Christian_Kachel?from_search=true" target="_blank">Christian Kachel</a> is
one of those lucky ones. His first book was an impressive debut, but
as for book two, could he do it again? Or ideally, do it better?
</div>
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Book two is no longer
a debut. By book two you are an author, no longer a novice. Time to
be taken more seriously.</div>
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I was nervous. For
the book. For him. </div>
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I need not have been.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
He did just fine.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
World on Fire was a
more polished and readable offering from cover to cover than its
predecessor. Both in storyline and in writing quality. That isn't to
say that <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23312107-by-the-sword" target="_blank">By The Sword</a> was poor writing. It was well written, but it
did fall down sometimes and it did need some fat sliced away from
long protracted scenes and flashbacks. World on Fire is more
professional in many ways. I really enjoyed where his head was at in
this book and I was practically glowing with relief as I read it.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I think the author
learned a lot about his writing after getting that debut out of the
way and out of his system. He is really starting to shine as an
historical fiction author and I am eager to see what is to come down
the track with book three in the works.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I think Christian
Kachel can stand proud, shoulder to shoulder with any of his
historical fiction peers - whatever the country, whoever the
publisher – that currently write in periods of Ancient history.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The book is
wonderfully readable. In saying that, the love story and emotion
driven elements were not written as well, but once I hit those scenes
and got over that hump, the book continued to be a terrific way to
while away my reading hours. His peers can make these same mistakes
with love story and relationship elements. He's not alone in that.
Some authors write from a different part of their mind when dealing
with love and emotion and many readers can sense the shift. But,
when he digs into the theatre of war and the espionage, he does it as
good, if not better, than so many of those peers.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
You can tell a lot
from an author by his or her ability to create a battlefield in the
mind's eye of the reader. It is not easy, with all that goes on, to
weave it all into a nearly tangible experience.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I am not sure if this
following quote conveys my meaning, because it is pulled out of
context. When you are swallowed by a story, sometimes you need the
reading fug of crescendo and excitement attached. Ripped from its
context the fug is washed away.
</div>
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Risking that
cleansing, here is a quote as example of how this author conveys his
battlefield vision.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31310196-world-on-fire" target="_blank"> Page 122, Chapter 17,World on Fire;</a></b></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><br /></i>
</div>
<i>
</i>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i> “Antigonus took his usual place on the far right flank alongside
his son, Demetrius, and lined his sixty-five elephants in a single
rank in front of his entire army. This was an admission of our
phalanx's superiority due to the Silver Shields and the old veteran
hoped to bolster his phalangites with the presence of the
intimidating beasts. He placed light infantry in the gaps between
the animals to solidify this front rank. As Eumenes gave the
order for the horns to blow, our army lurched forward and the dust
cloud expanded to a point where I had to squint my eyes..... </i></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i> …..As the armies neared, I could hear the terrible shrieks of
elephants engaging each other in the centre of our formation. Their
brutal encounters consisted of violently locking tusks and attempting
to gore one another while their mahouts rained down missiles. The
front ranks of our cavalry now engaged Antigonus' right flank. The dust had kicked
up to such a point that I could not see the front line of our
formation and knew we had reached the enemy only by the halt in our
advance.”</i></div>
<i>
</i>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
On that, I have to
wind up my review. All I can say to finish is, that if you like what
you read there, then read the book for yourself and let me know what
you thought. The author has recapped book one in this second book, so
I believe you can read World on Fire without reading By The Sword
first, but why would you want to?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Special shout out to
Americans....if you are an American or live in America, I definitely
recommend this book to you. Support your American male authors if
they write in Ancient History. Good quality ones are a rare flower
and should be encouraged to keep writing and keep writing well.
</div>
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Maybe one day, the
more influential publishers will notice and you will start to see
more Ancient History historical fiction written by male authors on
the shelves of your local book stores and libraries.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
*</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
5 stars out of 5<br />
<br />
Note: I received this book from the author for review. The author understood that I value my integrity and would be completely honest. And so I was, as I always am.<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
- MM</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-21299620676940124122017-04-10T22:32:00.003-07:002017-04-10T22:36:21.796-07:00WARRIORS OF THE STORM by Bernard Cornwell<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioeFQu748GciDtucS7xxtmEOfn0g6XYuxKjGqiyAHxVlVtMvlCxMCVSidz1qevRpvKdLJQoAY1BEtTx0XEWWHALo22zKWiZxPyefgc4hzYSkj9w4NXf7tu6wfuBIS0t8b_8bpnHRsXIw6z/s1600/Warriors_of_the_Storm_Bernard_Cornwell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioeFQu748GciDtucS7xxtmEOfn0g6XYuxKjGqiyAHxVlVtMvlCxMCVSidz1qevRpvKdLJQoAY1BEtTx0XEWWHALo22zKWiZxPyefgc4hzYSkj9w4NXf7tu6wfuBIS0t8b_8bpnHRsXIw6z/s1600/Warriors_of_the_Storm_Bernard_Cornwell.jpg" /></a> It has been a long time
between drinks for me and, after a couple years since the last time I
had read a book in this series, boy, it sure was good to be back
drinking from the well of Bernard Cornwell's Uhtred.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I've missed the big
guy, with all his scorching, sardonic quips and his unabashed
mocking of just about anybody, he is a big personality to endure, and
I endure him with such delight and immense gratitude.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Rarely does a
character, consistently, make me smile and laugh out loud as much as
Uhtred Uhtredsson of Bebbanburg. He is a character to be enjoyed and
can carry these books and their stories on his back alone. No other
character can compete and, thankfully, Bernard Cornwell never lets
them. His Uhtred takes centre stage at all times. And most especially
so in this book. Number nine in the series.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
These books are stand
alone. Cornwell always reiterates important back history so that
people who are reading them as a stand alone, or who read the series
but need a refresher, can follow along fairly seamlessly. If you do
read the series, however, this book has a lot of closing chapters in
it. With characters you have known for many, many years, leaving the
series for good. I will not tell you who they are, so as not to spoil
things, but like or loathe them, it is always a little sad to see
characters that we have gotten to know over many years, finally
become no more.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We even learned a thing
or two about Finan in this book. His storyline was fascinating to
follow and it felt like another loose end tied up. But, Uhtred is on
to new chapters in his life, including, in maybe only a few more
books, the end of his own story and the passing of an era, so it is
expected to see some loose ends come together. It makes no sense to
weave them to their conclusions in the last two books. That would be
rushing it.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Warriors of the Storm
turned out to be one of my favourites of the series. I loved it from
start to finish. It could be because the leave taking of a few
lingering characters from earlier books left me feeling sentimental.
It could be because I did have a break for a couple of years and
completely forgot how much I enjoy these books. Or, it could simply
be because the book was a bloody good read. I am thinking it is all
three, but in saying that, without the first two, I would still
regard it highly and recommend to others based on nothing more than
it being that good read. The former two matter little when it comes
to me thinking of recommending it.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
With battles and
strategies, twists and turns (that you may or may not see coming),
short journeys, some seafaring, some nostalgia, Christians who were
tolerable for a change and Danes like we love them, brutal, blustery
and bombastic, this was an entertaining, well paced read, that made
me want to read it all over again as soon as I'd finished it.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
5 out of 5 stars.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
-MM </div>
MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-72970455744579239312015-03-04T14:38:00.001-08:002015-03-04T14:38:32.004-08:00Emir of the Slitted Eyes: LION OF CAIRO by Scott Oden<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8147289-the-lion-of-cairo">Lion of Cairo</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/231755.Scott_Oden">Scott Oden</a></td></tr>
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Now, this is one of those books where I really wish Goodreads had half stars.<br />
<br />For me The Lion of Cairo wasn't quite a 3 star, and yet I am not comfortable with making it a 4 star. Choosing from the two, in the end I decided it deserved 4 more than the 3, because the story itself was really enjoyable and zipped along without a single boring bit.<br />
So, without adieu...Lion of Cairo, you get 4 stars out of 5.<br />
<br />A lot of people wouldn't have the problems with this book that I did. So, don't base your decision to get this book on my review alone.<br />And those problems were purely in some of the writing. Some of the writing, to me, was really scratchy, whereas, some was perfectly fine and some was really good. It was inconsistent.<br />
<br /> Sadly for me, there was too much scratchy and that's what caused me the star rating drama. If there was a two rating system, I would give this book 3 stars for writing skill and 5 stars for story. My logic? Giving it 4 stars is the average of the two. :-)<br /><br />Okay, characters. There are a few interesting characters in this book. Assad, the Emir of the Knife, was of great interest until he hooked up with the King of Thieves and the courtesan, then he became a non event for me. Oden, the author, really didn't hit too hard with this character, this Assassin, and I can't figure out why. I know he has the ability to write in a great Assassin character because while he missed with Assad, he hit perfectly with The Heretic. I am a fan of a good heartless Assassin, so I loved the Heretic character. <br />The whole 'hate magic' in the salawar blade thing, (Assad's blade) was a miss too and didn't really gel with the story. And there is a necromancer also. Made me wonder whether this is supposed to be Historical Fiction or a Fantasy Fiction.<br />There are enough good characters in this book to keep you interested I am sure, and you, as a different reader with different tastes, may entirely disagree with my comments on Assad or other.<br /><br />I wonder how I would have felt about The Lion of Cairo if I had not already been an admirer of Scott Oden's other books. And therefore I came to the book with certain expectations. <br /> He became one of my authors to watch after I read Men of Bronze and Memnon. The skill of his writing was there in these books and so the whole way through The Lion of Cairo I was wondering whether it was Oden even writing the book, or whether something has happened in his life to change the way he writes. The first two books compared to this one are like chalk and cheese. Is it supposed to be Young Adult? No matter whether it is meant to be YA, I really wish Oden wouldn't use the word 'slits' one hundred million times in reference to eyes. Argh. It was repetitive. <br />I was also wondering throughout this book if the writing problems are because he rushed too fast in writing it. Did he have a deadline to meet? Did he just not get the chance to be critical of his own writing because it was being rushed to print? Oden can do much better than this as far as writing goes. I swear.<br /><br />Now, I see that I have said more negative than good here and that was not my intention. The story is terrific and I kept wanting to go back to this book to see what would happen next. <br />It is supposed to be the first in a trilogy I think and I can say without doubt that I will be buying the next one, despite my issues with the writing. The story is just so addictive and I want to be loyal to a good solid author (give him a chance to redeem himself).<br />Even though I have said some fairly negative things here, I would still recommend this book to a Young Adult reader who will love the adventure, or an adult reader who doesn't take writing so seriously. <br /><br />
- Medieval Mayhem<br />
<br />
<br />MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-51101164568398481362015-02-24T17:08:00.003-08:002015-02-24T17:10:49.642-08:00The Long And The Short Of It: KING HEREAFTER by Dorothy Dunnett<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309094046l/2481379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309094046l/2481379.jpg" height="320" width="205" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/958158.King_Hereafter?from_search=true">King Hereafter</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8361.Dorothy_Dunnett">Dorothy Dunnett</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
What a complicated review this is to write. It will be a super short one to boot!<br />
<br />
I do not want to give this book two stars. The writing quality alone deserves five stars. But what else should I give a book that I have tried twice to read and have never gotten passed about 100 pages?<br />
Something about the story and plot simply isn't engaging enough for me. It is kind of a boring story and when you have so many books you want to (willingly) read in your year, it is hard to keep focus on a book you feel you are reading against your will.<br />
<br />
That it is long, is a little to blame. It is a huge commitment to keep reading a book that is boring you when it is around 800 pages of small type. Becomes more like unwanted homework than an enjoyable pastime.<br />
<br />
I will not give up on it though. There was so much potential in King Hereafter that I intend on giving it a third reread at some stage. In case the story improves further in.<br />
I own the book, so it is here, if I am ever in the mood.<br />
<br />
Half my problem with enjoying the book may have something to do with the fact that I lost some of my lust for reading in 2014 and I am now, (in Feb 2015) only just getting it back.<br />
This is not the time for wearing my brain away to a nub on a stagnating doorstopper. <br />
<br />
- Medieval Mayhem<br />
<br />MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-49850091028828695892015-02-08T22:34:00.000-08:002015-02-09T12:57:19.087-08:00Positively Beaming: BY THE SWORD by Christian Kachel<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI1wGrk27simD2sAQ-42gSYY7UXhaO-eFL0PhJlg8_FplJAHa4o6EnCFUOA91MrRxRc-g6snm6_OIfDWtfUysYvE03gKwt96vqTOMbxzsqO-Fk-heBNzB7KKGcUFywGC1g4v6Up7F6GPtF/s1600/23312107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI1wGrk27simD2sAQ-42gSYY7UXhaO-eFL0PhJlg8_FplJAHa4o6EnCFUOA91MrRxRc-g6snm6_OIfDWtfUysYvE03gKwt96vqTOMbxzsqO-Fk-heBNzB7KKGcUFywGC1g4v6Up7F6GPtF/s1600/23312107.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23312107-by-the-sword">By the Sword</a> by <a href="http://www.christiankachel.com/">Christian Kachel</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
I have read a lot of
historical fiction over a lot of years. There might be times, as I trudge
through it all, that I nearly forget why I read historical fiction in the first
place. Especially in those stretches of time where I find myself
reading so many more uninspiring books than I do fantastic ones.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Historical Fiction has
changed noticeably in the last five or six years. And there has been
this danger of being bashed dumb by a pulp fiction tsunami containing
sloppily written books haemorrhaging weak, passive-verb laden prose.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
I have often found
myself wondering..where have all the potential Classics of the Ancient History sub genre of Hist Fic gone? <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1305.Gates_of_Fire?from_search=true"> The Gates of Fire </a>and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/741882.Pride_of_Carthage?from_search=true">Pride of Carthage</a> novels. The <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18765.I_Claudius?from_search=true">I,Claudius</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/40914-the-arthur-books">The Warlord Chronicles</a>. Are they
still being written and discovered in 2015? Can publishers still find them in more than
dribs and drabs? Can they even find an audience for them anymore when
they do?</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Will there be room for
thoughtful and intelligent historical fiction novels? Where the
author takes the time to understand creative writing before he or she
writes his/her story? </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
I have found a few
excellent authors who are harnessing word and story craft, but I am
also always grimly watching the line to see what is coming down it.
To see what the future of the Ancient History sub genre of historical fiction, will look like. </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Little did I expect to
discover that future in an Independently Published novel that I
nearly did not read nor know existed.
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Of all the places to
find a budding author of the calibre that I speak of above....I find
him in the world of Indie books. I can hardly believe it myself. Not to trash Indie books....I mean that I wouldn't expect to find this book Indie published because I would have thought a Trad publisher would have snapped him up.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
If he had not smooth
talked me (Me! An expert in Indie and self pub SERE tactics because I get offered so many of them)
and sent me his book in the mail, then I would have missed out on
being exposed to this promising author's work. </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
What a near miss it was.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
By the Sword is the
first in a series (or was it a trilogy?? I forgot to ask, or forgot
it if I was told) called Spoils of Olympus.
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
It is set in Ancient
Greece, 322BC, following the death of Alexander the Great. </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
I could
bang on and on about everything that happens, but you know that is
not my style. I like you - the reader - to find out plots and
storylines by reading the book or the book blurb yourself. I will
only touch on a few things.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
The story heads out with
your narrator, Andrikos, at that poignant moment in his life where he
is young, impressionable, bored and running blindly into self
destruction. Many of us have been there. Good kids at heart in our
day, but with too big of a sense of adventure and with too many wild
seeds to sow. The right guiding hand, the wrong kind of trouble, and
we find ourselves keening for a way out of our own messes. Andrikos'
way out, as with many teens throughout history, is to sign up for the
Army.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
You may think now that
you know this book. Without reading it, you have worked it all out.
Boy joins army. Goes through Basic. Loses his virginity. Goes to war.
There may be a love triumvirate. Commonly two men and a girl. Has his first, second, third, taste of battle. Excels in leadership
and combat. Is given his own band of brothers to lead. Comes home a
changed man and a local hero..blah..blah..blah..</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
You'd be wrong. But I
don't blame you. I was wrong too. While some of those plot devices
are in By The Sword, it is not all this book has to offer. There
is a point where the book takes a complete deviation from the normal flow of things
and pulls on its second skin.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
I look at the back of
the book trying to work out what else I should tell you. I see words
in the book blurb. Clandestine, intrigue, violence, brotherhood.
Yeah, I'll give the author those. That isn't all the smoke and
mirrors of your usual hackneyed book blurb. It does have all that
going on.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Obviously, being a
debut, not everything is going to be perfect. Damn close though. None of the faults are fatal ones. They are easy to circumnavigate in
future novels if the author wanted to evolve his style a little.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
I do not understand why
this book was ever overlooked by agents and publishers (except the Indie one that picked him up). In fact, I
think I have an extra forehead wrinkle from all the frowning I have
done as I have read it.
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
There were actually
times where I have put it down and said out loud “but how did this
happen! This is too good!”</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Books like this should
not be slipping through the cracks. Good stories, an author with
bonafide life experience and solid writing skills.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
What more could a lover
of historical fiction wont for? </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Oh, I know..she would
wont for book two. </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
I hope I haven't given
the author, Christian Kachel, a big head with all my flowery words.
But how can any self respecting devotee of this genre leave negative
feedback in their reviews when she/he deems the writing or stories
bad in books, or aggrandize books that probably don't deserve it...and then
not give a power stroke of positivity in a review for a book with
as much going for it as this one.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Of course I had to be
forthcoming. Of course.<br />
<br />
5 stars out of 5. All day long.<br />
<br />
- Medieval Mayhem<br />
<br /></div>
MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-6157457917280474862015-02-03T21:52:00.001-08:002015-02-08T12:49:34.534-08:00Robin Hood Revisited: THE WOLF AND THE RAVEN by Steven A. McKay<br />
<span id="goog_1117006463"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBS8YBEkHRV7AYujwOzhwpvbMD4o2k1l5GwNGD-1WdmkW-Znyet2L9ATIaq39P6bjMyqabaC1BXliHAeQ-lo7eQ_dn0Xk2Z_Jp-RYSUgqHgG6tKFCFcdrRrV01ML7Aw16T_Qvmapg_4Sz/s1600/w-and-r-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBS8YBEkHRV7AYujwOzhwpvbMD4o2k1l5GwNGD-1WdmkW-Znyet2L9ATIaq39P6bjMyqabaC1BXliHAeQ-lo7eQ_dn0Xk2Z_Jp-RYSUgqHgG6tKFCFcdrRrV01ML7Aw16T_Qvmapg_4Sz/s1600/w-and-r-cover.jpg" height="320" width="206" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/">The Wolf and the Raven</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Much improved. Much, much improved.<br />
Last year I received this book, and the one before it, for review. I only read one or two Indie books a year now and it was only because this author has really established himself a reputation for professionalism, that I decided to accept the books for review.<br />
<br />
The first book I was lukewarm on. It was okay. A lot better than I had thought it would be, but it had its problems, as do most debut books. <br />
In my review of <a href="http://ancientandmedievalmayhem.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/sherwood-shenanigans-wolfs-head-by.html">Wolf's Head</a>, I think I mentioned that the bones were there and experience as a writer would probably see the second book (and those that follow it) showing an improved maturity to Steven's writing.<br />
<br />
This year I have tackled this second book by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7161617.Steven_A_McKay">Steven A. McKay </a>and I am happy to say that my prediction was right.<br />
The author has cast off the confines of his first story restraints and written a very decent book.<br />
The characters read with more maturity, the writing is getting stronger, the adventure is abundant.<br />
<br />
I've said this before, and what the heck, I'll say it again...First books can be a real skeleton in the closet with authors if they span too long a breadth of time. They start them in highschool, University or early in their working lives, then come back to them later on, as a different person wanting to 'finally finish that novel they once wrote'.<br />
They are not the same person as they were when they started the book, and, nine times out of ten, I feel this in debuts. And I felt that in the first book by Steven A. McKay. But those traces are long gone now. Unlike the first book, this book doesn't feel like it is written by two or three different people.<br />
<br />
One of Steven's strengths in this book is always keeping that wheel turning. There is no down time for his characters where you find yourselves wanting something to happen. As soon as his characters do something, have adventure, get themselves in strife, they are back on their feet getting stuck into it again.<br />
I like an author who can do this without making the book read in a restless manner.<br />
<br />
Flaws. Well, there are a couple, but they are not something that should put you off trying this book. I feel that while the author is really showing maturity now and writing with more skill, it is inconsistent. From time to time some parts do make me cringe a little.<br />
I do not think they will affect your enjoyment of this book, it is just the growing pains of an author who is honing his craft.<br />
<br />
3.5 stars out of 5 <br />
<br />
- MM<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/XFUjg8TdPk8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XFUjg8TdPk8?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: left; float: left;" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Steven A. McKay's video for this book - sourced You Tube</span><br />
<br />MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-43584338701089336492015-01-29T19:59:00.002-08:002015-01-29T20:00:46.518-08:00On My Desk: BY THE SWORD by Christian Kachel<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AWRCKBlaaYQSC2_OQL9iA_XqAoKc1NVDInFkXTe3JQF9WxCASvgvMi2BGe1kBLrBVRtNHJ2YCqmDa3j3sFdaGGo2iJWWqrkNyrCPY6X8vtmnF0iN9HsYZU_NjSPpEDS3h4ktG27t3xQn/s1600/by+the+sword.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AWRCKBlaaYQSC2_OQL9iA_XqAoKc1NVDInFkXTe3JQF9WxCASvgvMi2BGe1kBLrBVRtNHJ2YCqmDa3j3sFdaGGo2iJWWqrkNyrCPY6X8vtmnF0iN9HsYZU_NjSPpEDS3h4ktG27t3xQn/s1600/by+the+sword.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
I was recently sent a copy of this book. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24472204-by-the-sword">By The Sword</a> by <a href="http://www.christiankachel.com/">Christian Kachel</a>. It is first in a series called Spoils of Olympus and it is fresh off an Independent publisher's printing press just for me.<br />
It was released in November 2014 and is most commonly found as an ebook, although a paper copy can be bought online as well. I don't read ebooks, so scored a hardcopy.<br />
<br />
When Christian offered me a copy of his book, something about it made me want to give it a go. I say no so regularly, that I surprised even myself when I said yes. <br />
<br />
Boy, am I glad I agreed to read this. I shouldn't, officially, be reading it right now because I am trying to get a different book read, but I read the first page and couldn't stop reading! I don't get to say that often enough these days!<br />
<br />
Before I knew it I was 20 pages in and had to throw out the anchor. <br />
I have to finish that other book I am reading, but I hope when I get back to By The Sword, that the great storytelling continues through the whole book and does not start and finish in the opening chapters.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjThLGX8zpaqYj2XTIvFLNyzRRKbx-SKJkuuAz7XQs-6BsKGrxdZ4x9fY54YjVJmFEX9Z8teshatfiOluGZFutTUV4n9G4xY0bI2rnNu6phyphenhyphenthSx4vh5iTWlrDG9JpoKGw7UmeW_e__g7w/s1600/by+the+sword+-+map.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjThLGX8zpaqYj2XTIvFLNyzRRKbx-SKJkuuAz7XQs-6BsKGrxdZ4x9fY54YjVJmFEX9Z8teshatfiOluGZFutTUV4n9G4xY0bI2rnNu6phyphenhyphenthSx4vh5iTWlrDG9JpoKGw7UmeW_e__g7w/s1600/by+the+sword+-+map.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
As for the book itself, By the Sword is actually a lovely book in the flesh. A good hearty size with an eyecatching, glossy black and white cover that you really have to see in person to truly appreciate.<br />
<br />
Being a nut for a map, I was pleased to discover a map on the opposite page to the first chapter.<br />
Good stuff, Christian Kachel. Kudos to you.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
- MM<br />
<br />
<br />MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-7717825275324072762015-01-27T17:37:00.000-08:002015-01-29T20:03:26.225-08:00Does Not Translate: THE KING'S HOUNDS by Martin Jensen<span class="readable reviewText">
<span id="freeTextreview880881610"> </span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1379897530l/17779548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1379897530l/17779548.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17779548-the-king-s-hounds">The King's Hounds</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/336883.Martin_Jensen">Martin Jensen</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview880881610">This was kind of the
literary version of the Seinfeld show - it was a book about nothing.
Only the tv series was supposed to be 'a show about nothing', and was
still about a lot of fun things. <br />This book was not fun, it actually was about nothing.<br /><br />The
characters didn't interest me, the writing was clunky and the translation was not good.<br />There is so much going on in this period. And yet, to me, the author failed to latch on and ride it into a great story.<br /><br />In theory, the setting <i>should</i> be a colourful one and had all the potential to float this story like a bobbing buoy on a surging sea. <br />It
is Britain, 1018. Cnut has conquered parts of England, cultures are
clashing, uprisings are plentiful, the slave trade is about to go into
overdrive. Settlements are popping up overnight. </span></span><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview880881610">But, this book captured none of that to me. If it weren't for the words
Vikings and Saxons being thrown around, it could have been devoid of
ethnicity and could have been any European country before the Late
Middle Ages.</span><span id="freeTextreview880881610"></span></span><br />
<span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview880881610"><br />I found the main character, Halfdan, so incredibly
annoying and two dimensional and I found his support character, Winston,
a poorly forged copy of historical mystery solvers who are already done
to perfection in this genre, ie <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/49599-matthew-shardlake">Matthew Shardlake</a> from the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/80212.C_J_Sansom?from_search=true">C.J. Sansom</a>
series. In fact there were a lot of similarities between Winston/Halfdan
and Matthew Shardlake/Jack Barak. At times it felt nearly
plagiarised, but all it was, was a bad copy.<br /><br />The translation I
think was the story killer here for me. It was a terrible translation.
It had been translated too literally and with modern words used
frequently. A translator with a better understanding of what is required
of an historical fiction translator, may have done a better job. Who
knows.<br />I wish I was fluent in Danish, so that I could read the
original to see whether this book was massacred at the hands of the
translator more so than the author. I suspect the translation is to
blame for a lot of the grievances I have towards this book.<br /><br />I
thought about giving it 3 stars, because there were some chapters that I
enjoyed. In hindsight, now I have put some distance between me and this
read, I realise those enjoyable parts did not in fact outweigh the
overall negative feelings I have towards this book</span><span id="freeTextreview880881610">.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview880881610">- MM</span></span>MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-8281884752709835062015-01-18T20:59:00.000-08:002015-01-18T21:05:08.268-08:00Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: THE GATES OF ROME by Conn Iggulden<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRuc0vloJ-eAFB5wDfrzA3ZjkEENxX2iCJrAgAlc8U5kRplqYMZOq6pW58H8amBk5VIL917iZZyQt6O-c5ldx43kjkOpCx-kDXHAZP0m3pVaM2Uo7gdYizgXvLy_YOd-tQ-vWgA9EE_3Lc/s1600/81rl2BJFq5L._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRuc0vloJ-eAFB5wDfrzA3ZjkEENxX2iCJrAgAlc8U5kRplqYMZOq6pW58H8amBk5VIL917iZZyQt6O-c5ldx43kjkOpCx-kDXHAZP0m3pVaM2Uo7gdYizgXvLy_YOd-tQ-vWgA9EE_3Lc/s1600/81rl2BJFq5L._SL1500_.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/330947.The_Gates_of_Rome">Gates of Rome</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/119121.Conn_Iggulden">Conn Iggulden</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span id="reviewTextContainer179926296"><span id="freeTextreview179926296">It
has been a bloody long time since I last had a review to do that felt
this easy to write. This book was so cut and dry for me. It falls into a
class of read that I never fail to find the words to elaborate on.<br />Incompatibility. <br />One
of the nicest negative review words a reviewer could draw upon -
incompatibility. The sweetest way to say that I thought it was bad, but
maybe it isn't the authors fault.<br /><br />If we were in a relationship,
this book and I, I would be saying to it "I want you to know that it
isn't you. It is me. I think we are just too different and are far
better off apart. I know you will find other fish in the sea that will
appreciate you better than I".<br /><br />Only this is a book, not a relationship. So about this book I will say;<br /><br />We
simply are not compatible. It will be compatible with many thousands,
and it has been. The proof of that is there in all the positive ratings
on Goodreads and Amazon and in the book deals and bank accounts of the
author.<br />For me, however, I do not like books that dedicate most of
their quantity to childhood characters. If I liked to be in the heads of
kids for that long I would be reading the Young Adult genre. A genre I
do not like to read, because, obviously, I am an adult, who likes to
read about adults. <br />That is not to say there are no adults who like to read about children. Only I am not one of them. <br />I
say give them a chapter or two, maybe a quarter or even a third of the
book (okay, a third of a book may be stretching it), but just don't make
boys and girls the main feature of a book for adults.<br />Good for milking an extra book out of a series and making more money, but not always great fun for adult readers.<br /><br />I also found the writing to be a little simple and raw, which only accentuated the YA aromatics.<br /><br />The
other thing that bugs me and makes us incompatible, is flagrant
disregard for historical accuracy just because you don't like the
restraints of the historical accuracy mistress. She isn't such a bad
bird and can be forgiving if you feel the need as an author to break
free and dabble. But this book doesn't dabble or stretch the confines
for more freedom, this book gives historical accuracy a wide, albeit
arrogant, berth.<br /><br />And while there are those thousands of readers
who don't know the history enough to know that this book is an alternate
history, there sure are thousands that do. I don't even know much
about this history, and yet I can see it. <br />Arrogance with historical accuracy is a turn off for me.<br /><br />I
read all this author's <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/44108-conqueror">Ghengis Khan</a> series. Had a love/hate
relationship with it. Liked one or two, really liked one, hated the
rest. <br />I don't like Roman historical fiction much, but I bought this
(used) book based on some decent experiences with that Ghengis series.<br /><br />That is the last time I follow an author into his or her other ventures so blindly.</span></span><br />
<br />
I finish by pointing out the other advantage of saying a book is incompatible with your tastes. I get to say 'don't take my word for it' to anybody reading this review.<br />
We don't all have the same approach to books. This is one of those books I think you will need to discover for yourself.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span id="reviewTextContainer179926296"><span id="freeTextreview179926296">- MM </span>
</span>MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-78994909496802253392015-01-14T16:28:00.000-08:002015-01-14T16:28:06.117-08:00What? 2015 already??2015 already? how did that happen? I feel like I had only just put my feet up.<br />
No avoiding it. The new year is here. I will continue to blog it up in 2015 if all goes to plan.<br />
Obviously, there are some months where I am not reading Historical Fiction or not thinking about anything worth blogging about, in those months, posts to the blog will be light on. I do not plan on those empty months being the norm though. only the exception.<br />
<br />
Reading a Military Non Fiction currently,. Won't be reading a Historical Fiction for a few more days. For this reason, there won't be any new Hist Fic reviews for a couple weeks.<br />
<br />
Hope 2015 has plenty of great reads in it for you!<br />
<br />
Regards to all and sundry,<br />
Medieval MayhemMedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-30991346376505405732014-12-19T17:18:00.002-08:002014-12-19T17:18:50.532-08:00Time to put the feet up for 2014Time to put the feet up until another year. I like to take December off from blogging, so until January 2015, may you find many new books to read over the festive/holiday season.<br />
kind regards to you all,<br />
<br />
- Medieval Mayhem MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-36772462004496042462014-11-27T19:47:00.002-08:002014-11-27T19:47:42.802-08:00Tricky Beginnings: THE EMPTY THRONE by Bernard Cornwell
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bernardcornwell.net/assets/Empty-Throne1-200x307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.bernardcornwell.net/assets/Empty-Throne1-200x307.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21045103-the-empty-throne?from_search=true">The Empty Throne </a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
I will never forget the
day I turned those initial pages and started the very first book
in the<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/43581-the-warrior-chronicles-saxon-stories"> Warrior Chronicles</a> (Saxon Stories in the US) for the very first
time. It was many years ago
now and was the beginning of a wonderful journey for me. </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
I had
always been an avid reader. Since I learned to read really, but I had never found
my niche fiction genre. I dabbled in fantasy fiction, I dipped my toe in horror,
absorbed myself in crime thrillers, but it was not until I forged my way through the historical pretenders quagmire to this series that I finally discovered what I wanted as a
reader. I wanted history. Brutal, honest, raw historical tales that
smacked of reality. And so, thanks to Bernard Cornwell, I found my
love of the historical fiction genre.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
I have never looked back. Cliche I know, but true none the less.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
There have been eight
books in this series (including this one) and while the Warrior Chronicles is one of my
two favourite series' of all time, I had started to feel a little jaded with it. To me, the two books preceding The Empty Throne had little originality.
They felt like the same story and the same formula done to death. </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
The
Empty Throne broke that monotony for me. It was completely unique to
all the books that went before it. We delved new characters, got to know evolving characters, and observed relationships between certain characters like we never have before. </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
We saw Uhtred, not as the brutish and diabolical warrior many of us know and love, but as the victim of that which felled him so bloodily in book seven, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17853024-the-pagan-lord">The Pagan Lord</a>.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
With possibly only one
or two books left in this series (from the lips of the author) you
know you have come to a milestone with this book as soon as you open
it and start reading.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
The first book in the
series, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68527.The_Last_Kingdom">The Last Kingdom</a>, has one of the most memorable opening
chapters of all the books I have ever read. I may not recall it word
for word, but I will always remember that first line and the tone of what came after.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
To save you getting out your copy of The Last Kingdom to reread it, I shall hand it to you on a platter: </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68527.The_Last_Kingdom">The Last Kingdom</a> (published 2004)</i></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i>Prologue - Northumbria,
AD 866-867</i></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i>My name is Uhtred. I am
the son of Uhtred, who was the son of Uhtred and his father was also
called Uhtred. My father's clerk, a Priest called Beocca, spelt it
Utred. I do not know if that is how my father would have written it,
for he could neither read nor write, but I can do both and sometimes
I take the old parchments from their wooden desk and I see the name
spelled Uhtred or Utred or Ughtred or Ootred. I look at those
parchments, which are deeds saying that Uhtred, son of Uhtred is
the lawful and sole owner of the lands that are carefully marked by
stones and by dykes, by oaks and by ash, by marsh and by sea, and I
dream of those lands, wave beaten and wild beneath the wind driven
sky. I dream, and know that I will take back the land from those who
stole it from me.
</i>
</div>
<i></i><div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i>I am an ealdorman,
though I call myself Lord Uhtred, which is the same thing, and the
fading parchments are proof of what I own.</i></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
The Empty Throne starts in a similar vein. Which brought back
all those wonderfully nostalgic emotions that have stayed with me
since that long ago day when I first began this series:</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21045103-the-empty-throne">The Empty Throne</a> (published 2014)</i></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i>Prologue</i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i>My Name is Uhtred. I am
the son of Uhtred, who was the son of Uhtred, and his father was
also called Uhtred. My father wrote his name thus. Uhtred, but I have
seen the name written as Utred, Ughtred or even Ootred. Some of those
names are on ancient parchments which declare that Uhtred, son of
Uhtred and grandson of Uhtred, is the lawful, sole and eternal owner
of the lands that are carefully marked by stones and by dykes, by
oaks and by ash, by marsh and by sea. That land is in the north of
the country we have learned to call Englaland. They are wave beaten
lands beneath a wind driven sky. It is the land we call Bebbanburg.</i></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
But that is where the
similarities between the two books start and finish. </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
This book is
nothing like those before it. The author did not stick to that time
worn formula. This is a story more about the setting of chess pieces
than the following of a well beaten path. </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
It was not without its
risks for the author no doubt. There will be a truck load of fans out there who will be
disappointed by the lack of formula in this one. </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Many pick up these
books thinking they are going to get the same thing each time and
they take comfort from that. For me though, I wanted the strategic meanderings that weave in and out of this one's storyline. From
the confusing beginnings (make sure you pay attention to the opening
chapters, and that opening paragraph, or you will be completely lost
for the first thirty pages...as I was) to the interesting ending, this book will not
tread in the footsteps of others. </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
For example, some of Uhtred's
children play a large part in this book. And I found that delightful.
To have treasured this Uhtred character for so many years, and now to see how much like their father these children have become. I was reminded of Gisella and how she really was his one great love,
even though I spent a few books thinking that title belonged to
another. I think as this series comes to a close, it was important for Uhtred's relationship with Gisella to be dug up and clarified. To remind us who this woman was that Uhtred fathered such headstrong and beautiful children with.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
If you look for them,
this book holds codes to unlocking what will happen in the last book/s as this unforgettable and unique series finally winds up
the cliffs of Bebbanburg to its unavoidable swan dive..</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Five stars out of five.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
- MM</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-87032630789781328902014-11-20T01:08:00.000-08:002014-11-20T15:56:32.005-08:00A Rare Masterpiece: THE RELIGION by Tim Willocks<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtY9IfNlFYKeOzZJroBzVZTqyG4pX5OWoxUjTaFwdwgsctaENHXCC9GTS7RntqsFF3dBJ33vGIGGE8FTfo0MOs23WoylvTXj4r95jv-28T0h_2neDXUrmX5e6ta6ZEqNkVPhGk45_pVeVk/s1600/the_religion_september_2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtY9IfNlFYKeOzZJroBzVZTqyG4pX5OWoxUjTaFwdwgsctaENHXCC9GTS7RntqsFF3dBJ33vGIGGE8FTfo0MOs23WoylvTXj4r95jv-28T0h_2neDXUrmX5e6ta6ZEqNkVPhGk45_pVeVk/s1600/the_religion_september_2012.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/918095.The_Religion">The Religion</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/166058.Tim_Willocks">Tim Willocks</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
There are a lot of rare
things in this world that I would like to get my hands on. Pink
diamonds. Vintage John Paul Gaultier Corset Dresses. Black Limited
Edition Burberry Trenchcoats. An Aston Martin Vantage (V8 or V12, I am
not fussy) and.... lengthy books that stay consistent in pace and
quality from front cover to back cover. </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Obviously, for me, only
one of these was ever going to be attainable. And it wasn't the Aston
Martin Vantage. It was, of course, a lengthy book with pace and quality finish to end.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
An enigma.
A myth. Often whispered about, never actually seen. I have tried one
or two, been tempted by a promise of cover to cover bounty many times. Was once wrongly
directed down the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7126.The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo?from_search=true">Count of Monte Cristo</a> path. A book that I felt
suffered from much the same problem as many lengthy books. Too much
waffle and could benefit from being a couple hundred pages shorter.
Okay, so editors were less keen on cutting back then, but they should
not be too scared of it now. And yet they seem to be.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
I will concede that <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/918095.The_Religion?from_search=true">The Religion</a> could have been shorter. Only nothing drastic. 50 pages at
the most. But a few too many pages was kind of a small price to pay for a
book that did not run out of prose in the first few chapters. It went
on. On and on. On and on and on. Beefed up with excellent landscape
and character creation, anchored by vivid portals into
extraordinary battle scenes. </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
I could not put it down. </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
It was a gem as rare as any pink diamond, with as much pace at times as any V12 Aston Martin. As tight at the top as at the waist as at the bottom, as any Gaultier corset and with more movement than any Burberry jacket.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
It was quite a find.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
A rare find that you will notice from the outset. With passages that wash across the page in fresh, vernal
literary splashes.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Page 12</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
The Fagaras Mountains,
East Hungarian Marches. Spring AD1540</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i>The yard was empty. The
heavens at the rimrock's edge were reefed in vermilion cloud. From
the village pillars of smoke quavered skyward and with them cries of
anguish and crackles of flame.</i><i> </i></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i>He walked across the
cobbles, sick with fear. Fear of whatever vileness afflicted his
mother. Fear of shame. Of cowardice. Of the knowledge that he
couldn't save her. Of the darkness that had housed itself inside his
spirit. Yet the darkness spoke with a feral power that brooked no
refusal nor hesitation.</i>
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Plunge in, <i>the darkness
said.</i></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i>Mattias turned and
looked back at the forge...</i></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Like the blade in the
quench.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Plunge in.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
*</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Through to the middle
they surged on. The tautness of a well trained writer
carving his skill in inked words.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
*</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Page 348</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
The Gauntlet – The
Bailey – The Causeway 11 June 1565</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i>Straighten up, breathe
and blow, shake the sweat. He wheezed. His chest was tight, his gorge
scorched. He felt nauseous and weak. He was too far forward. Get
back.</i></div>
<i>
</i>
<br />
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i>The horde shouldered
each other in their frenzy to get through the choke point, their
weapons constricted, one shield obstructing another. Spot the
openings. Swallow the scalding bile. Kill him, kill them, kill them
all. A blow glanced off his helm and hammered into his pauldron.
Spike him in the privities, stab him in the neck. The fellow fought
on from his knees, blinded by the fountain from his arteries, still
scrabbling with his blade for the joints in Tannhauser's plate.
</i></div>
<i>
</i>
<br />
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i>Tannhauser drove the
finial through his temple and stepped back. Now backstep again. Keep
them at bay. He threw and upward swordcut to the thighs and
backstroke to the guts and a thrust to the chest, in deep and twist.
Don't look in his eyes. He's done. And breathe, you fool, keep the
knees loose, ignore the battle cries. Get back.</i></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
It goes on. On and on and on. But I think I have shown you enough.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Don't be dissuaded from trying this for fear it is too masculine. It
is masculine, without a doubt, but there is beauty too. Beauty of the
heart and of the lovelorn. The author has not forgotten you. You, the
reader of the heart.
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
While I did not think
there was much romance in this book, it is there. A tugging
undertow that a reader like me - who does not read with the heart but
reads with the mind - can easily ignore. I hardly even noticed the
female characters most of the time. They did not take up much room in
my mental landscape.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
To me the book is
perfect. Perfectly written that is. Fast paced from start to finish. The
story, however, had some personal taste flaws. They are not going to be flaws for
everyone. Some of what I call a flaw, will be the things you will
most likely value about the story.
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
It was the sex. </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
Some may say it had to
be there as sex is a natural part of life. In part this is true
(although many live without sex in their lives and I would never
claim their lives to be unnaturally led), but the sex in this book is
quite often odd. Poorly located. Unnecessary. Forced into the story.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
There isn't a lot of it.
If you blink - or skim read - you may even miss it. </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
When it does come (no pun
intended) it is oddly placed, like an afterthought, or to please the
authors own building sexual tension. If an author wants sex in a book it needs
to feel naturally placed. Not just plopped down because the author
was randy or the editor told him it needed more sex.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
It was a great ride
while it lasted (the book, not the sex) and I was disappointed it
came to an end. My forlorn need not last forever though, for there is
a book to follow it called <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14625570-the-twelve-children-of-paris">Twelve Children of Paris</a>. I have bought it
already and cannot wait to read it. </div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
With any luck, it will be as well
done as this rare gem, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/918095.The_Religion?from_search=true">The Religion</a>. As this kind of writing skill is not something an author loses down a bottle of whiskey while he tries to outdrink his writer's block. No, he clearly has command of his writing talent.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
The only place I feel he can fall down will be story. Lets hope he gets that right again too.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
- MM</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815814321218678999.post-13399982059718528552014-11-04T22:32:00.001-08:002014-11-04T22:43:22.169-08:00The Long, Lost Review: TRAITOR'S BLOOD by Michael Arnold<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328479344l/9186453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328479344l/9186453.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9186453-traitor-s-blood?from_search=true">Traitor's Blood</a> by Michael Arnold</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="readable reviewText"><span class="elementTwo" id="freeTextreview472509403">I read this book back in 2012 and I really thought I had posted this review to the blog before. After a search I discovered that I hadn't. It should be here. It was a great read!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="readable reviewText"><span class="elementTwo" id="freeTextreview472509403">So, here you have it, my 2012 review of Traitor's Blood by Michael Arnold. (which reminds me, I need to get back to this series and try book three) </span></span><br />
<span class="readable reviewText"><span class="elementTwo" id="freeTextreview472509403"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="readable reviewText"><span class="elementTwo" id="freeTextreview472509403">* * *</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="readable reviewText"><span class="elementTwo" id="freeTextreview472509403"><br /></span></span></div>
<span class="readable reviewText"><span class="elementTwo" id="freeTextreview472509403">I
don't believe during my history with doing reviews, that I have ever used the term 'rollicking good read'. Nor have I
in fact used the word rollicking in any form. I think that is fair
excuse for using the term now, for Traitor's Blood was a bloody
rollicking good read and the author has won a fan...of at least the
first book in his series.<br /><br />Kicking off in 1642, it is primarily
set against the microcosm that was Hampshire during the English Civil
War and also includes the Battle of Brentford as a feature.<br /><br />The
book is an action adventure in every sense. The writing while not of
vast scope was skilful in the way it strung the very fluid of the story
together. Brimming with plots and plots twists. Addictive characters at
every turn. A female spy character that I appreciated for her rareness (eg an independent female character that has plenty going on in her life and doesn't count marriage and children as a life goal). And a male protagonist,
in the form of Captain Stryker, who was buckets of fun to read about.<br /><br />On
the cover of the book the publisher has a note saying this is 'The
Sharpe of the Civil war'. Initially, this was a put off for me as every
book that has ever tried to cash in on Bernard Cornwell's fame has
failed dismally to live up to the hype. In the case of Traitor's Blood, I
think finally there may be one that can.<br /><br />I am excited to have
found this series and, despite my aversion to more modern histories, have already bought the next in the Civil War
Chronicles. Looking forward to reading more in this series.</span></span><br />
<span class="readable reviewText"><span class="elementTwo" id="freeTextreview472509403"><br /></span></span>
<span class="readable reviewText"><span class="elementTwo" id="freeTextreview472509403">- MM</span></span><br />
<br />MedievalMayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04042067323403730799noreply@blogger.com0