1) Azincourt
by Bernard Cornwall
The retelling of Henry V and Mr. Cornwall's thoughts of the battle of Agincourt (as we arrogant English call it) is an excellent tale of medieval soldiery. Nick Hook, our main character, is an English archer who by means of draconian crime and personal code of honour ends up serving in the army of King Henry the V in order to invade France. During the siege of Harfleur it becomes apparent that Henry will not be able to conquer France, despite his claim to the throne. The battles are told in a very typically excellent and brutal Cornwall fashion, the narrative is a little simple but it benefits from truly great supporting characters that make the story. I highly recommend it, but then I highly recommend Cornwall in general, so there is that.
The retelling of Henry V and Mr. Cornwall's thoughts of the battle of Agincourt (as we arrogant English call it) is an excellent tale of medieval soldiery. Nick Hook, our main character, is an English archer who by means of draconian crime and personal code of honour ends up serving in the army of King Henry the V in order to invade France. During the siege of Harfleur it becomes apparent that Henry will not be able to conquer France, despite his claim to the throne. The battles are told in a very typically excellent and brutal Cornwall fashion, the narrative is a little simple but it benefits from truly great supporting characters that make the story. I highly recommend it, but then I highly recommend Cornwall in general, so there is that.
2) Pirate Latitudes
by Michael Crichton
The first of two books to be published once Mr. Crichton had passed away, this one was apparently languishing in his laptop and had been an unfinished manuscript that he'd been working on since the 70's, apparently. You can tell that it wasn't quite finished, while it has all the beats of a rollicking good story with a great deal of frantic action (this book is a movie waiting to happen) but there's places where it feels like it needed to be rounded out a bit. It's a great and fairly quick read, but you might finish it thinking that it could have done with another draft from Mr. Crichton's fair hand. But alas, he was taken away from us far, far too soon.
The first of two books to be published once Mr. Crichton had passed away, this one was apparently languishing in his laptop and had been an unfinished manuscript that he'd been working on since the 70's, apparently. You can tell that it wasn't quite finished, while it has all the beats of a rollicking good story with a great deal of frantic action (this book is a movie waiting to happen) but there's places where it feels like it needed to be rounded out a bit. It's a great and fairly quick read, but you might finish it thinking that it could have done with another draft from Mr. Crichton's fair hand. But alas, he was taken away from us far, far too soon.
3) Darkland
by Liz Williams
So for some reason this book has been sitting on my shelf for quite some time and I've never really gotten around to it, but since I'm now reading a lot more I figure I'd put it on the list. Honestly... not sure I liked it. It's interesting and quite inventive for sci-fi that doesn't have a lot of detail behind how it works or how it came to be. There's just a bit too much rape for my comfort and does one of those things that I just don't like: going from first person perspective for one character and then third person perspective for another character. It's a bit unsettling and I'm not sure that it works for me. It's not a bad book, sure, but I don't think it was for me.
So for some reason this book has been sitting on my shelf for quite some time and I've never really gotten around to it, but since I'm now reading a lot more I figure I'd put it on the list. Honestly... not sure I liked it. It's interesting and quite inventive for sci-fi that doesn't have a lot of detail behind how it works or how it came to be. There's just a bit too much rape for my comfort and does one of those things that I just don't like: going from first person perspective for one character and then third person perspective for another character. It's a bit unsettling and I'm not sure that it works for me. It's not a bad book, sure, but I don't think it was for me.
4) The Children of Men
by P.D. James
Now the adaptation of this (within which James performed a cameo because she approved of the script a great deal) is one of my favourite films for its bleak dystopia, exploration of human cruelty when there's no reason for us not to be cruel anymore and sublime film-making techniques. The book, as I have discovered, is very different. Unlike the film, it's bleakness is very civilised and focusses much more on the nature of government and how it can manipulate us when hope is slowly, gradually snuffed out. It's a bit difficult at times with the sheer amount of introspection (Theo Faron in the novel is a world away from the character that Clive Owen plays) but it's worth it just to see how James envisioned the story originally. I recommend it, but it's not a happy read.
Now the adaptation of this (within which James performed a cameo because she approved of the script a great deal) is one of my favourite films for its bleak dystopia, exploration of human cruelty when there's no reason for us not to be cruel anymore and sublime film-making techniques. The book, as I have discovered, is very different. Unlike the film, it's bleakness is very civilised and focusses much more on the nature of government and how it can manipulate us when hope is slowly, gradually snuffed out. It's a bit difficult at times with the sheer amount of introspection (Theo Faron in the novel is a world away from the character that Clive Owen plays) but it's worth it just to see how James envisioned the story originally. I recommend it, but it's not a happy read.
So that's what I've been getting up to as well as going to the gym about four times a week and gaming. I'll review some more when I've read them!
No comments:
Post a Comment