December Reading Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
I finished Resolution: Scattered Stars Evasion book 2 by Glynn Stewart. This book continues the story begun in book 1 Evasion. This is definitely a series and I would not suggest reading them out of order, not that it wouldn't make any sense, but rather that you would miss so much of the nuance of the story. Stewart is a real even writer. I don't think any of the books of his that I've read makes much of a move for better or worse. And since they start at an acceptably high standard there is much to recommend them. I have book 3 Absolution locked and loaded for reading. This is the end of the series, so far. But I suspect that it is absolutely the end of the series. From what I've been able to discern about the series that Steward writes, he tends to give them an absolute ending and that's what I expect here.

Avoid --- Not Recommended --- Flawed --- Okay --- Good --- Recommended --- Shouldn’t be Missed
 
I finished Knight's Fee by Rosemary Sutcliff last night. It's a superb book, better IMO than her far more famous The Eagle of the Ninth, and easily on a par with Sun Horse Moon Horse (those are the only two others of hers I've read, though I aim to change that soon). @The Big Peat did a good review on his blog a couple of years back. I'll just add that I found it deeply moving at the end -- and as a writer, I found it impressive how she provoked emotion without seeming to really try. The writing is superb, including the descriptions of the rural setting (not many miles from where I live, though much-changed now). I suppose the overall plot that stitches the twelve years of Randall's life together, about political manoeuvrings in early Norman England, is a bit weak and reliant on coincidence; but though that might sounds a fairly major criticism, it's actually a minor one in a story that turns out to be something else -- the continuity of the land itself, whoever rules it.
 
HareBrain said:
, it's actually a minor one in a story that turns out to be something else -- the continuity of the land itself, whoever rules it.
Click to expand...
That puts me in mind of The Magnificent Seven as the old man bids farewell to Yul Brynner
Old Man: Only the farmers have won. They remain forever. They are like the land itself. You helped rid them of Calvera the way a strong wind helps rid them of locusts. You are like the wind, blowing across the land and... passing on. Vaya con Dios.
 
HareBrain said:
I finished Knight's Fee by Rosemary Sutcliff last night. It's a superb book, better IMO than her far more famous The Eagle of the Ninth, and easily on a par with Sun Horse Moon Horse (those are the only two others of hers I've read, though I aim to change that soon). @The Big Peat did a good review on his blog a couple of years back. I'll just add that I found it deeply moving at the end -- and as a writer, I found it impressive how she provoked emotion without seeming to really try. The writing is superb, including the descriptions of the rural setting (not many miles from where I live, though much-changed now). I suppose the overall plot that stitches the twelve years of Randall's life together, about political manoeuvrings in early Norman England, is a bit weak and reliant on coincidence; but though that might sounds a fairly major criticism, it's actually a minor one in a story that turns out to be something else -- the continuity of the land itself, whoever rules it.
Click to expand...
Interesting review. I know far too little about social history! But do I have the right book? That is said to be "a children's historical novel".
 
Robert Silverberg "Star of Gypsies" (1986)
Well, overall this is a good read. As we all know, Silverberg can write well and absorbingly. There are some interesting ideas (no real plot spoiling here as these are made clear early on). The main plotline concerns the Romany, who, it turns out, are actually from a different planet to us earthlings. They founded Atlantis, and some of them have the power of 'ghosting' of travelling back in time, appearing as a ghost to their fellow Roma. This talent also means that they have the ability to pilot interstellar vessels, hence a monopoly on space travel and all the benefits that accrue from this.
However I had some reservations. The main character is too much of an alpha male. There plenty of lengthy flashbacks to past events, and, though well done, I found these frustrating as I just wanted to get on with the current storyline. Most of all, the whole characterisation of the Romany (gypsies in the book) made me feel uneasy, even embarrassed.
 
Orcadian said:
Interesting review. I know far too little about social history! But do I have the right book? That is said to be "a children's historical novel".
Click to expand...
Yes, that's it. I'd say it's a children's novel in the sense that there's nothing in it unsuitable for children, with violence etc slightly toned down. But there's nothing about it that makes it at all "dumbed down" for adults. It was published in 1960, and I think books for older children then had a different feel to what we call YA today.
 
HareBrain said:
I finished Knight's Fee by Rosemary Sutcliff last night. It's a superb book, better IMO than her far more famous The Eagle of the Ninth, and easily on a par with Sun Horse Moon Horse (those are the only two others of hers I've read, though I aim to change that soon). @The Big Peat did a good review on his blog a couple of years back. I'll just add that I found it deeply moving at the end -- and as a writer, I found it impressive how she provoked emotion without seeming to really try. The writing is superb, including the descriptions of the rural setting (not many miles from where I live, though much-changed now). I suppose the overall plot that stitches the twelve years of Randall's life together, about political manoeuvrings in early Norman England, is a bit weak and reliant on coincidence; but though that might sounds a fairly major criticism, it's actually a minor one in a story that turns out to be something else -- the continuity of the land itself, whoever rules it.
Click to expand...

Excellent!

And I have to say, I find these coincidence laden plots very moving. They hook me with their reminder that life is unpredictable and frequently brutal; there feel natural.

I should read more Sutcliff.
 
HareBrain said:
Do try Sun Horse Moon Horse. It will stick with me for a long time, I think.

Also pertinent here: I think Mary Renault might be Sutcliff writing Ancient Greece.
Click to expand...

That's one I haven't read yet, so I'll make it next on the list. And Renault is also on the list (have you ever read Henry Treece?)
 
HareBrain said:
No -- though he came up in a conversation with another friend today when I mentioned Sutcliff (I have a vague feeling the two often go together). Anything you'd recommend?
Click to expand...

I have only read his Jason. It was good, although not as good as Sutcliff.
 
Tiffany Aching's Guide To Being a Witch
"An illustrated and practical guide to being a witch in Discworld, covering everything you’ve ever wanted to know from casting spells to setting cheese, from dealing with elves to making deals with demons, from tending flocks to fending off forces from other worlds. This beautiful and practical guide has been compiled by Tiffany Aching herself including snippets of remembered wisdom from Granny Aching and Granny Weatherwax alongside notes from Nanny Ogg, Miss Tick, and Rob Anybody [Scrivens!]."
It a fun book to dip in and out of rather than ready straight through.
Also it looks beautiful as well. Inside and out.
 
Having finished The Stoneground Ghost Tales by E. G. Swain (very enjoyable). I'm now I'm about half-way through Rim of the Pit by Hake Talbot, a reissue of a 1940s mystery playing around the edges of the supernatural, with a medium and a magician with a reputation for uncovering the tricks mediums use in the mix of characters. So far, it's better than I expected.
 
I am in the process of reading The Man Who Fell to Earth. I was inspired after rewatching the film several months ago and am really enjoying the book. For a story about an alien visiting the Earth, it's very human (in a good way).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
The Judge December Reading Thread Book Discussion 122
The Judge December 2022 Reading Thread Book Discussion 218
The Judge December 2021 Reading Thread Book Discussion 239
Parson December 2020 Reading Thread Book Discussion 203
D December Reading Thread Book Discussion 200

Similar threads


Back
Top