Douglas E. Berry

Europe in the Central Middle Ages, 962-1154. My review.

Fri, 22 Dec 2023 06:42:54 GMT

https://a.co/d/84L804L

3.5 stars out of 5.

The book is quite enjoyable and written in a friendly style that draws the reader in. The problem is in the first half; there is an incredible lack of focus as author Christopher Brooke tries to address broad aspects of life in the period covered. He wanders into digressions, fails to provide critical information, and for the most part, were just confusing. The best example comes in the "Travel" chapter, which never addresses many facts about travel in the Central Middle Ages. What were the roads like? How were caravans organized, and what tolls and hazards did they face? How many miles a day could you expect to make, and what would a weary traveler do at night? Sea travel? OK, describe the ships of the era, how they navigated, and what they could carry. What were the major trading ports?

Instead, we get a ten-page divergence into the Crusades and the Song of Roland.

The style settled down a bit in the second half, which is a more chronological examination of Europe that focuses on the Holy Roman Empire and the Italian states, which I'll admit is a decent focus to have.

In total, it was an interesting book, but as a proper history, it falls short.

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I know more than when i started reading this. That's a win. "Enemy Coast Ahead" - my review

Wed, 08 Feb 2023 02:35:50 GMT

Enemy Coast Ahead - Uncensored: The Real Guy Gibson by Guy Gibson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was recommended by a friend, and I will be forever grateful. The story of Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, VC, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar isn't just his story, but of the evolution of the RAF and Bomber Command from the last fleeting days of peace in 1939 through fumbling with inadequate aircraft and a bombing technique best described as "fly under the clouds until you see your target and hope you hit something" to a highly-effective, thoroughly modern force that had made night bombing into a science and an art form.

We follow Gibson from his early days flying the HP.52 Hampden in early raids against German forces and industrial targets, through his brief time as the pilot of the night-fighter variant of the Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, and back to bombers in the new Avro Lancaster. Throughout the book, we see both the strategic and personal effects of the war. Gibson is careful to note deaths, and how they occured if known. We see the crews celebrating, breaking regulations, dodging official sanctions, and how they dealt with the stress of upcoming missions.

As this is the Uncensored version, it contains Gibson's unfiltered opinions of of his commanders, Bomber Command, and the Government in general. Which is to be expected of an officer leading men in combat and seeing them die. There is always room for complaints! We meet the people he served with and knew, and he shows a great skill in describing people with a few broad strokes.

Near the end of the book there is a brilliant narrative that shows just how far the RAF had come in night bombing. Staring with AVM Harris picking the night's target, it follows the chain of events on all sides, including how the German response worked, how the Lancasters navigated, and how the use of diversionary streams of bombers diluted the Luftwaffe's night-fighter response. Finally, the role of Pathfinder planes, flying ahead of the main body and dropping coded flares to mark distance to the target and dropping a flaring marker bomb to indicate the exact center of the raid. Then the mainstream, flying straight and level despite flak, enemy fighters, and seeing bombers bursting into flame and crash to Earth as the bomb-aimer keeps calling for the pilot to stay on course until the call of "bomb away!" is heard. Then, the giant four-engine bombers claw for altitude and speed, maintaining group, as they exit occupied Europe.

It takes your breath away reading it.

The final chapters concern the Dambusters raid carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, commanded by Gibson. His writing about the utter secrecy surrounding the project, the cloak-and-dagger aspects of just learning even the basics of the mission, and training his hand-picked crews according to orders that made little sense is riveting. The actual raid is a story of heroism and loss. They accomplished their mission at a terrible cost.

Wing Commander Gibson died on 19 September 1944 when the Mosquito he was piloting - possibly against orders - crashed in the Netherlands after a failed raid. He never lived to see Germany brought low, not to see his predictions of peace through massive strategic bombing f0rce take form in nuclear weapons and MAD. But he left this chronicle of this singular aspect of WWII, and I learned a great deal.

My one complaint is I could have used a guide to the various rank and other contractions used in the book.

"For some men of great courage and adventure, inactivity was a slow death. Would a man like Gibson ever have adjusted back to peacetime life? One can imagine it would have been a somewhat empty existence after all he had been through. Facing death had become his drug. He had seen countless friends and comrades perish in the great crusade. Perhaps something in him even welcomed the inevitability he had always felt that before the war ended he would join them in their Bomber Command Valhalla. He had pushed his luck beyond all limits and he knew it. But that was the kind of man he was…a man of great courage, inspiration and leadership. A man born for war…but born to fall in war." - Barnes Wallis

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Gaunt's Ghosts - The Victory, Volume 1, my review

Sat, 04 Feb 2023 03:32:23 GMT

The Victory by Dan Abnett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I will admit that when at the end of the last omnibus, having Colonel-Commissar Gaunt rescued kind of disappointed me. I thought the series had reached an appropriate ending, with the 1st Tanith entering a new phase of existence, beyond the legacy of being Gaunt's Ghosts.

I was wrong.

We pick up two years after the events in Only in Death, the Tanith 1st has finally been sent for rest and refit, But two years of inactivity are wearing on them. The planet Balhaut was the site of the Famous Victory some fifteen years prior, and Gaunt gained fame as the Commissar of Hyrkan 8th, rallying them to a crushing victory in the final battle. in the city of Balopolis. Gaunt is ready to be redeployed, ready to get back in the war. . . then a very special prisoner arrives, and he will on;y speak to Gaunt. A prisoner that the Archenemy will do anything to silence.

What follows is a game of one mouse and many cats, with suspicions on all sides. There is unexpected heroism, a stunning betrayal, and a satisfying conclusion. A very different entry in the series, and a very good novel. That's my view of Blood Pact, the first novel.

The second novel is Salavation's Reach and is a more traditional Ghosts story, but with a twist or five. The regiment is packed on a frigate centuries past the day when she should have been scrapped and sent on a raid that could tip the balance in the stalled Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Along for the ride are three Space Marines, and hidden among the regiment and crew is an assassin.

Abnett normally avoids big themes in his books, or rather he hides them very well, but here the theme is family. We have a woman from the previous book who is now adjusting to life as an officer's lady. Reunions both welcome and unexpected, and how close family ties can both help and hinder a unit. One thing I really like was how he showed the regiment preparing for the raid. They had floorplans of the target, and these were laid out in empty hanger spaces so the troops could rehearse every expected step, train on room-clearing, and learn the other guy's job as well as their own. This is what real units do. It was a nice touch.

There are the usual roadblocks, some quite threatening, and we do get a massive space battle, but the raid goes off as planned, and the regiment escapes, except we've lost some long-standing characters. Such is war.

After this, there are several short stories that both deepen mysteries and imply greater threats while showing different aspects of shipboard life. All in all, this is a great addition to the canon, and I shall be ordering Volume 2 of The Victory as soon as I have some spare cash.

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Eversion by Alastair Reynolds, my review.

Wed, 25 Jan 2023 22:05:35 GMT

Eversion by Alastair Reynolds

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the 1820s, a sailing ship crashes off the coast of Norway. In the 1880s, a steamship is destroyed exploring Antarctica. In the 1900s, a Zepellin explores an icy canyon in Antarctica. In the far future, a spaceship sets out for an alien artifact. Each excursion goes horribly wrong. And on every journey, Dr. Silas Coade is the physician, but only Silas seems to realize that these events keep repeating themselves. And it's up to him to figure out why and how. And how to stop it all from happening again.

Reynolds hits it out of the park. Normally known for galaxy-spanning space opera, Eversion is a taught. a first-person, mystery wrapped in horror, as events keep repeated in different eras, always with the mysterious Edifice as the goal of the expedition. The same characters appear in similar roles, but only Dr. Coade seems to see the changes.

This story kept me guessing. The clues are subtle, but there. The characters, all of them over time, are interesting. This is a locked room mystery where the murder keeps happening over and over. The revelation, when it comes, is shocking but totally makes sense. It's tragic and fulfilling. The finale is gripping. One thing is because the book is told entirely from the p[ersp[ective of Silas Coade, the ending leaves some loose ends, but still works.

Great book. Alastair Reynolds has become my favorite Hard SF/Space Opera writer.

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A Desolation Called Peace - My review

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 20:50:41 GMT

A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A few months after A Memory Called Empire, alien forces massacre an industrial colony of the Teixcalaanli Empire. The Teixcalaanli admiral Nine Hibiscus, tasked with confronting the threat, requests an Information Ministry specialist to attempt to communicate with the inscrutable enemy. That specialist is Three Seagrass, now a senior Imperial official, who smuggles herself to the frontlines by way of Lsel Station. There, she convinces her former associate and still nominal ambassador to the Empire, Mahit Dzmare, to accompany her. Mahit seizes on the chance to escape the increasing danger from factional conflicts on Lsel, and she is tasked by one of Lsel's leaders to sabotage first-contact efforts in order to prolong the Empire's war with the aliens. (from Wikipedia)

Wow. Once again Martine shows an amazing range as the action shifts from place intrigue to a growing war against an unfathomable enemy. Three Seagrass and Mahit must not only learn how to communicate with these aliens, but they also have to resolve how they feel about each other. The tension, intrigue, and potentially lethal factionalism inside the Teixcalaanli fleet come through clearly.

One amazing character is Eight Antidote, the Imperial heir and despite being only 11, a vital part of the story. Like all the characters in the book, he's believable, a kid who wishes he was older while retreating into childhood. He really comes into his own and shows his mettle.

Along with being a ripping good space opera, there are some really deep themes here on language, personhood, and the crushing weight of command, be it of a fleet or the empire or just the assumed authority of an 11-year-old kid. The plot concerning how to talk to the aliens is just fascinating.

I want more. Teixcalaan is a fascinating universe on the brink of wonderful changes. Three Seagrass and Mahit Dzmare are people who deserve more attention, even as they part ways, for now. There is so much more to be seen here, and Arkady Martine is doing a master's job in presenting it. No wonder both this novel and Memory won the Hugo Award for Best Novel.

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Istanbul: City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World - my review

Wed, 21 Dec 2022 23:20:08 GMT

Istanbul: City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World by Thomas F. Madden

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love Istanbul. I've been fascinated by the Queen of Cities for a very long time, and even got to visit in 2016 (just before the coup attempt, yikes!) and have read many books about this city, the empires it ruled, and the area.

This book was a good, fun read. Nothing really in-depth, but a nice walk through the history from the earliest founders through to the aforementioned coup. What I really enjoyed was the detours that Madden took into some of the more obscure moments, like how the transit of an Egyptian mummy through the city set off Ottoman fears of the legend that Constantine XI, the last Roman Emperor, was in fact lying in wait for the right time to return. To protect themselves, they beheaded the mummy, cut it in half, and sealed it up in the Theodosian Walls. (A Frenchman later stole the head.

Madden also goes into detail about the modern era of Istanbul, recounting in detail how directed hatred almost eliminated the Greek and Jewish populations of the city, and how the city grew explosively as shantytowns were quickly replaced by sometimes illegal apartment blocks.

As I said, a fun read, and I recommend it to anyone interested in this, the Queen of Cities.

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"War and Peace" a collection from the pages of Analog

Sun, 27 Nov 2022 18:55:42 GMT

War and Peace: Possible Futures from Analog by Stanley Schmidt

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

We picked this up on a buy-nothing group. It's a mixed-bag collection of military-relating science fiction, ranging from classics like "The Weapon Shop" by A.E. Van Vogt to lesser-known stories like "The Wabbler" by Murray Leinster.

It was fun to read, but so many of the stories feel dated and some were just odd. So if you're a completist for MillSF, seek this book. Otherwise, I'm glad we got it for free.

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The Closing of the Western Mind

Sun, 27 Nov 2022 18:44:40 GMT

The Closing of the Western Mind: The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason by Charles Freeman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was an utterly fascinating book.

Freeman takes us through the history of Greek philosophy and intellectual curiosity, spending time explaining how the open debate of ideas helped advance the greater understanding of human nature and the beginnings of natural philosophy.

The second main section addresses the religious and intellectual state of the Levant in the century before Jesus, showing how various groups would eventually influence Christian thought. We then meet Jesus, analyzed in light of the times and religious feelings of the era. Then comes Paul, and his weird hangups that sadly defined many aspects of early Christianity.

The endless debates and heresies swirling around the nature of Christ occupy a good chunk of the book. The main theme is that the arguments were driven not by real intellectual debate but by personal attacks and rigging church councils. Augustine is introduced, and his journey from Neoplatonist to his view of a harsh personal God is explained as part of his own history as a bit of a momma's boy and his seeming fear of women and sex. Brilliant writer, but he really was the man responsible for the end of the honest debate in the West for several centuries, writing that only faith is needed to explain the universe.

The last chapter introduces Thomas Aquinas, who finally successfully justified Aristotelian rational examination of the world into the church, stretching Aristotle's teachings out to encompass Church doctrine. Aquinas, more than any other westerner, jump-started what would become the Renaissance and the later Enlightenment. The contributions of Arabic scholars in translating and preserving Greek writing are mentioned, and a brief allusion to the Islamic Golden Age is made when pointing out that Islamic scholars accepted rational debate as essential to faith while the Christian west was mired in church doctrine.

This was a great book, and I learned a lot from it. I am now inspired to learn more about Ambrose of Milan, for example. A good history should create a desire to learn more in the reader, and this succeeds brilliantly.

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In Heaven There is no Beer, but there is beer in this wonderful anthology.

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 01:47:16 GMT

How Beer Saved the World by Phyllis Irene Radford

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ah, beer. Some scientists are saying brewing may predate raising grain for bread. We love our frothing fermented beverage.

And in this wonderful anthology, beer does in fact save the world. It is a set of pretty short stories, none too deep, and always fun. We go from Gilgamesh getting some good advice over a pot of beer from a goddess brewer (all brewers are goddesses, after all) to how IPAs ended the zombie apocalypse, to the noble sacrifice of a cargo of beer to, well, saving a world.

I first bought this in 2013, shortly before my stroke, which explains why I haven't read it until now. Another back of the bookshelf find. But a great one. So pout yourself a cold one, and have a read. Who knows, maybe your beer will help to save the world too!

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Lhankor Mhy preserve and guard this knowledge!

Sat, 08 Oct 2022 19:49:04 GMT

Guide to Glorantha Volume 1 by Greg Stafford

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was drinking from the firehouse.

Glorantha, the world where the Runequest is set, has to be one of the most detailed, beautiful, fantasy worlds ever conceived. It's not a planet, but rather a lozenge-shaped self-contained place, with the Land sitting under the Middle Air and the Sky, and sitting on the Waters above the Underworld. Gods and spirits are very real, and factor in daily life.

Since it was first introduced in 1975's White Bear and Red Moon, Glorantha has been detailed by both creator Greg Stafford and many, many others, writing in magazines, old APAs, official releases, and homebrew notes that reached Greg Stafford. The result is a rich, detailed world.

The The Guide to Goorantha Volume 1 collects much of that information. The various human cultures of the world, the Elder Races, a history of the world since the Creation (including a detailed set of illustrations showing the war over the Sky during the God Age), and then a region-by-region examination, with maps, population details, history, and story hooks for every region of Genertela, the northern continent.

Drinking from the firehouse. It took me close to seven months to finish this because there is just so much information! If you play Runequest, or just love fantasy worlds, this is a must-have!

Now onto Volume 2!

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The (alleged) History of the Kings of Britain - a review.

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 16:57:11 GMT

The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Every people need a heroic origin story. It isn't enough to say "well, some migrating tribe thought this was a nice place and settled here." No, you have to have links to past legends, heroic founders, and epic tales of greatness.

Even if you have to make them all up.

This is exactly what Geoffrey of Monmouth does here, linking the ancient Britons to survivors of Troy who were enslaved in Greece until they are freed by a great hero, who gets the usual advice from oracles and epic battles before reaching the perfect island of Great Britain. It's ridiculous, but fun.

What follows is a mixture of myth and oral histories, as we get long lists of British kings and their wars. Geoffrey's confusion of dates shows several times, like when he has Emperor Leo I ruling from Rome and has Roman legions marching from Rome in the 6th century. Admittedly, he does employ a unique method of dating events; he equates them to the events in the Bible.

What is really interesting is that this book is where the Arthur myth gets started. We see Merlin earlier, giving prophecies, but Arthur, and his sword Caliburn, uniting basically all of Western Europe and Scandanavia into one mighty army. What's missing is all the things added by French authors, the round table, the grail quest, and all the mystical elements. It's interesting seeing Arthur portrayed as an Alexander-like warrior-king.

As a history, this is not a reliable source. As an epic story of a people, from their heights to their humiliation, it's a lot of fun. Anyone interested in how the Medieval world viewed their own history should read this.

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A People's History of the United States - my review

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 00:02:28 GMT

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Good grief, if you weren't pissed off before. . .

This is a history of our nation with all the glory stripped off, the high ideals we get taught in schools sanded away, and all the concepts that this is a fair and equal nation stripped off and tossed in the junk pile. This is a history of the people who actually build this nation, bled for it, and died to make it. The workers, be they slaves, indentured servants, or just the average working class.

It is also the story about how, from the founding of Jamestown, the scales have been tipped towards the rich. This book examines without mercy the treatment of Indian tribes, especially when they began taking in runaway slaves and servants. It turns a cold eye on the real reasons behind the Revolution, and how the Constitution was by the rich, of the rich, and for the rich. It is an endless litany of massacres of anyone who defied the order, Black, White, or Indian; and how every attempt to organize labor was met with violence from the state.

It's disgusting. It's engrossing. And every American should read it.

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I read this at Burning Man. Weirdness to the max!

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 23:48:28 GMT

Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a magnificently weird book.

Told almost entirely in extended flashbacks, the plot, although I hesitate to call it that, involves three men who work for a small Milanese publishing house specializing in obscure, conspiracy-themed books. As the book progresses, mostly in long expository speeches on various conspiracies involving the Knights Templar, the Rosicrucians, and eventually the Jesuits, the three main characters start using an early IBM PC (the setting for the start of the story is around 1980) to create random conspiracy theories by feeding it random bits of data.

This leads to them formulating The Plan, an attempt at reconciling all the contradictory claims and histories into a sinister, coherent whole. What starts as a fun mental exercise becomes something more, as it becomes apparent that their musings have attracted attention of the most deadly sort.

Dear Halford, I love this book. I haven't read it in decades, and it was like meeting an old friend. Eco's use of language and imagery is both richly detailed and carefully written. In an early scene, we enter an apartment, and in a few short sentences, we experience it with all our senses/ Brilliant writing. The conclusion is appropriately confusing and unresolved, which is the only way you could end this book.

Was any of it real? Was The Plan a flight of fancy or did these three men accidentally reveal an ancient secret? We don't know, and we don't care, because the book is just that good.

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Pathfinder for Savage Worlds - Companion, my review

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 02:52:00 GMT

Pathfinder for Savage Worlds: Pathfinder Companion by Jason Bulmahn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been playing RPGs since 1977, and in that time I've become a bit of a connoisseur of game settings. I've seen the really great ones (Glorantha, Hârn) and the really bad ones (looking at you, Mystara.) So I know what makes a good setting. Interesting places and people, a coherent history, and opportunities for adventure galore!

This book hits all the marks, We start with an introduction to the Pathfinder Society, a loosely-organized adventurers' guild that can be a launch pad for many adventures. The main focus of the Society is gathering information. A party might be told by their Venture-Captain (the local "branch managers") that a black dragon has been sighted near a certain swampy area where no dragon has been seen for centuries. Go find it and assess the threat. That kind of mission, along with political intrigue, exploration, and traditional dungeon delves. Good stuff.

Next, we get a timeline, and here's where I took off a star. The designers (and I realize that this is all adapted from material published by Paizo earlier) fall into the "thousands of years" trap. Humans have had writing for about 6,000 years. All those early societies are dead. It's just human nature for things to change. But still, it is a good summation of events leading up to the present day.

Then comes the real meat, the Gazeteer. We get introduced to the states of the Inner Sea, and they are an amazing lot that all make sense and all provide adventuring opportunities galore! Take Galt, a nation that overthrew its noble rulers and is now reminiscent of France under the Committee for Public Safety. Governments rise and fall, factions form, dissolve, and battle in the streets, and the Final Blade, a guillotine that traps the soul of its victim, never stops. It makes sense in the context of what is happening in Galt's neighboring states. Golarion is a cohesive world.

We get a short but useful adventure generator, some of the more important factions in the Inner Sea region, and advice on merging Pathfinder's class & level expectations so Savage Worlds, the gods and main infernal beings, the other planes, and final some powerful artifacts.

A very well-produced book! An asset to my gaming shelf.

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The Original political tell-all book.

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 01:00:04 GMT

The Secret History by Procopius

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Something that I think most of us have become quite familiar with is the political tell-all book, released after a person or administration leaves office, these books expose how everything was awful and it wasn't the writer's fault. The Trump administration has produced a landslide of these books.

But what do you do when airing your grievances could easily get you quickly - and gruesomely - executed? That's the challenge that faced Procopius when he wanted to right a pretty libelous account of the reign of Justinian I and Empress Theodora. His work was only discovered a century after his death in the Vatican library.

Procopius was a legal scholar who was assigned to the "Last Roman General" Belisarius. Traveling with the Roman Army, Procopius wrote his History of the Wars covering everything from campaigns against the Persians to the destruction of the last Vandal kingdom and the reconquest of the West. His On Buildings chronicled the great works Justinian ordered, including the Hagia Sophia.

But at some time between 550-558 CE, he wrote the Secret History.

So, what's the book like? Procopius is a clear writer, and this translation carries that through. He rarely repeats himself and is clear when he is reporting things he did not witness himself. Most of his charges of the Imperial couple being greedy and capricious make some sense, but he has Justionioan bankrupting every noble in the Empire and leaving Legions to starve. Yet no revolution was ever raised against him. So the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. The same goes for the outrageous claims of personal depravity, maybe, but to what extent?

The claims that Justinian was actually fathered by a Demon, and was a shape-shifting monster himself might make for a good TTRPG campaign, but even Procopius admits these accounts were all third or fourth-hand.

We don't know why Procopius wrote this, or who his intended audience was. Was it an attempt to poison the legacy of a powerful emperor and an equally beloved general (Belisarius and his wife Antonia get equal vitriol thrown at them,) or just a personal rage letter, written so he didn't lose it in the Great Palace? We can't know for sure, Procopius took his secrets to his grave.

If you love Roman history at all, you need to read this book and reach your own conclusions.

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Echo, a review

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 21:52:59 GMT

Echo by Jack McDevitt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another fun entry in the Alex Benedict series. Benedict, a dealer in antiquities in the far future, finds himself ensnared in mysteries throughout the series, and Echo is no different. The novel is written in the first person through the eyes of Chase Kolpath, Benedict's assistant and pilot.

In this book, a mysterious tablet once owned by an archeologist obsessed with finding alien life. Benedict and Kolpath's attempts to acquire the tablet drag them into a deep well of secrets, murder, and a terrible secret that unknown parties are willing to kill to keep secret.

One reason I like these books is that McDevitt never shies away from the ethical questions about Benedict's work, and in this case, the increasingly clear human damage caused by their quest. Benedict is an obsessive man, and Kolpath is forced to make some difficult decisions in both her professional and personal life.

The secret, once revealed, is appalling, and the reveal of the villain is a bit abrupt. This really reads like an Agatha Christie story, with a wide cast of characters, slowly unfolding clues, and finally the big reveal and denouement. My only complaint here is there are so many characters, it became difficult to remember who was doing what and when.

Very good book, I'll be picking up the next in the series pretty soon.

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Soulless, my review

Thu, 26 May 2022 23:09:43 GMT

Soulless by Gail Carriger

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Set in an alternate Victorian England where supernatural creatures like vampires and werewolves have been part of society for centuries, Alexia Tarabotti has a few problems. She's a spinster who had the utter gall to have an Italian father. She inherited not only his complexion and a rather large nose but also his love for books.

Oh, and she was born without a soul. Which has one advantage, her touch negates a supernatural person's abilities

After accidentally killing a vampire while searching for some food at a simply terrible party, Alexia is swept up in a mystery involving missing vampires, unexpected vampires, the Bureau of Unnatural Registry, and its handsome but mercurial London chief, Lord Conall Maccon, who suffers from being both Scottish and a werewolf.

Can Alexia navigate the etiquette and politics of both human and vampire society? Will her family drive her insane? Who keeps trying to abduct her? And why oh why is Lord Maccon so darn attractive!

This was an immensely fun novel backed up by great research and some solid world-building. The plot moves along quickly, with Alexia as the primary POV character, but there are a few divergences. Half the fun is seeing the strict social rules of the Victorian Age applied to creatures who are technically immortal and the chaos that ensues when those mores fall to the wayside.

The ending is quite good and leaves me wanting to read the next novel.

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Light Chaser - A good fun read

Tue, 17 May 2022 23:42:40 GMT

Light Chaser by Peter F. Hamilton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A concise novel from two of my favorite authors.

Amahle is a Light Chaser, living for millennia at near-C and trading in memories. But her life is turned upside-down when she learns that humanity is being used.

This was a good, but not a great book. There were several areas that could have been expanded a bit to make a more complete story. There are a few things that go unexplained, but the ideas are enormous, as you'd expect from Hamilton and Powell.

I found Amahle to be an engaging character even if her growth was a bit rushed, and the ending was most satisfactory. A nice quick read to feed my need for good science fiction

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Educated - my review

Mon, 09 May 2022 18:06:12 GMT

Educated by Tara Westover

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazing.

Tara Westover was raised in isolation by fundamentalist Mormon parents who lived off the grid and were constantly prepping for the End. Her far was a scrapyard owner and builder, her mom a herbalist and midwife. From this paranoid, insular upbringing she managed to escape, get an education, and deal with the contradictions of the life that her family still followed and her new life as a scholar.

This book will break your heart, make you angry, make you cheer, and make you think. It's a brilliant work that addresses both the joys and horrors of her home life and the figurative mountains she had to climb once she made it into BYU. Imagine being a freshman in college and not knowing what the word "Holocaust" meant or its historical relevance. Her difficulty in accepting that she really was this smart, and deserved opportunities is a fascinating journey.

I learned a lot reading this, and I'm very happy that Dr, Westover chose to share her story.

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The Annals - a Review

Sat, 30 Apr 2022 03:45:21 GMT

Annals by Tacitus

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a magnificent read.

Tacitus wrote in a very clear, straightforward way, detailing the ins and outs of Roman politics during the era of the Julio-Claudian dynasty (27 BC-AD 68), detailing the four emperors who followed Augustus. Although several of the books are missing, mainly covering the rule of Caligula, the reader learns a great deal about the politics, scandals, and power-brokering that defined the early empire.

Sadly, the Annals ends mid-sentence, and there is no explanation why. But I really recommend this translation in particular to anyone interested in Roman history. There are extensive prefaces that describe the era and Tacitus' life. These essays really help understand what you are reading. This is a two bookmark book, as there are extensive notes in each chapter.

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Wyrd bið ful āræd

Wed, 16 Mar 2022 02:38:37 GMT

War Lord by Bernard Cornwell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

And so ends the 13-book saga of Uthred f Bebbanburg, born to a Saxon lord, raised by Danes, and one of the greatest warriors in 9th and early 10th century Britain.

I'm not going into any great details here, the novel is about how Uthred, once again Lord of Bebbanburg, is drawn into politics and war. A broad coalition of Scots, Irish Norse, and rebellious Danes have united to destroy King Æthelstan and his kingdom. Uthred, as the most powerful Ealdorman in Northumbria, is courted by both sides, and wholly trusted by neither. His decision may well seal the fate of the British Isles. The climax is at the historical Battle of Brunanburh

What I really loved is in this, and the last couple of books, Uthred is old. He's at least in his early seventies at the time of War Lord, and it shows. He's slowing down. He aches. He frequently loses himself in memories of those who have already passed on. He's an old man, but still with the same sharp mind. Seeing this evolution of the character has been both natural and fun to watch.

As the previous books were told by an aged Uthred at the end of his life, his fate is never in much doubt, but the journey is amazing. As with all the other books, Cornwell paints vivid pictures, whether it be the blood and terror of the shield wall, the joy of having the steering board of a good ship running before the wind in your hands, or just the scenes of 10th century Great Britain.

I loved this book and the entire series.

Wyrd bið ful āræd

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More fun with Uthred!

Fri, 11 Feb 2022 02:51:44 GMT

Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of the strongest books in the series so far. Alfred, King of Wessex, is finally dying, and Uthred is expecting the Danes to attack the moment the news reaches them. But they don't, setting up a shell game of rebellions, alliances, betrayals, and - as usual - Uthred being ignored.

I say this is one of the best because it does focus on the political tensions on all sides, the minor slights that turn into blood-feuds, the youth mistakes that change the course of nations. Seeing King Edward, who had been mentored by Uthred badgered by advisors and churchmen on every side really hammers home just how powerless the Anglo-Saxon kings were in the face of Church and Witan.

After the obligatory desperate battle, we end with Uthred holding valuable lands and leading dozens of warriors. He is valued, trusted, and in a responsible position.

That ain't going to last.

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A battle is more than the fighting. . .

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 22:14:15 GMT

Victory of the West: The Great Christian-Muslim Clash at the Battle of Lepanto by Niccolò Capponi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Every book I have on pivotal battles of history mentions the naval clash at Lepanto. It stopped the Ottoman advance into the Mediterranean, possibly saved Spain from civil war, and set up the face of Europe in the 17th Century.

But those three hours of combat on October 7th, 1571 are only the climax of the story. In Victory in the West, Capponi explains the factors and the personalities that led up to the battle. From Ottoman assaults on Cyprus, Spain's battle with North African corsairs, and France's shaky alliance with the Subline Porte. He pays close attention to the powerful personalities that shaped the Catholic League and all the political movements and diplomatic wrangling required to get enough ships and troops. We learn about intrigues in Venice, in Madrid, and it Vatican, and in Constantinople. It's all amazing stuff to read.

Once all the players are assembled, Capponi takes time to introduce us to the ships and weapons used by both sides. As this era isn't one I normally spend a lot of time on, I was surprised by the sheer firepower of the galleys. The imposing Venetian galleasses which were nearly the battleship of the age. And the important tactical differences between the Christian harquebus(devastating power, but slow to reload,) and the Ottoman archers (impressive rate of fire, useless against armored foes.)

After that, the battle is joined. As in the rest of the book, the writing is crisp and clear and really brings you into the action. Capponi is careful to note when an incident is disputed or has different versions. But you are swept along into the fury of what amounted to an infantry action on the water.

After that, we are treated to what happened after the battle. The Ottoman attempt to rebuild their fleet, which failed for several reasons, the failure of the Catholic League, Venice making a separate peace with the Sultan. . .and what happened to the various leaders of the battle. Some retained high posts and died in comfort and wealth, so fell from grace and landed hard. One fun thing I learned was that one of the soldiers of the Catholic League was Miguel de Cervantes.

Great book, highly recommended.

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The Winter Gift Haul

Sun, 26 Dec 2021 20:06:10 GMT

Happy Generic Winter Holiday! kshandra and I had a mellow day, going to see Spider-Man: No Way Home. But we did exchange gifts. I got. . .

The remaining books in the Saxon Stories series by Bernard Cornwell.

A very nice pen from a friend of Kirsten, and a pack of good gel pens

A cake of Blue Ribbon Beer Soap

Feathers & Flesh - A Fable a book produced by Avatar, one of my favorite bands. This looks really interesting.

Replacement elastic laces for my work shoes.

Bravado Spice Co.'s Black Garlic Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce. Yum!

And the return of the Christmas Motorcycle! This time, it's a Norton Commando 961 SE, a bike with an interesting production history.

I hope all y'all had a good holiday, whichever one you celebrate, and here's to a fantastic 2022!

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Humans. We fuck everything up.

Sun, 05 Dec 2021 23:51:23 GMT

Humans: A Brief History of How We F*cked It All Up by Tom Phillips

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ah, failure is so much fun! This great, breezy read catalogs our filings, from the Australopithecus afarensis Lucy falling out of a tree and dying up through our modern foibles. It's fun and depressing at the same time.

If you like laughing at our species while despairing for the future, check this book out.

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