I actually like Star Trek: Enterprise. It had its problems, and plenty of problem episodes, and I’m not a fan of the Expanse story. But whenever the series dealt with the Vulcans and Andorians (especially), the series was at its[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Archive for Books
The problem with getting an idea of the origins of civilization is that no one that far back had yet started writing anything down. But, there are still clues we can gather in the absence of records. David Anthony tries[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
The second book of Hussey’s study of the Waterloo campaign starts with both armies struggling to deal with the aftermath of the large battles of June 16th. It starts with chapter 31, which shows how much this considered one study[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
By this point in the TNG novel series, we’re up to about fourth season, and the line is settling down into some actual competence. (The next one, #18, is one of the few TNG novels I truly recommend, thank you[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
John Hussey’s two volumes are on the the Waterloo campaign as a whole, with this one stopping two days before with the twin battles of Ligne and Quarte Bras. It goes after everything, starting with peace process of 1814. He[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Ursula Vernon discovered while writing this that she had opinions about Narnia. I can’t blame her there. It also shows directly in the novel, as our ten-year-old protagonist, Summer, has also read the novels and is uncomfortably aware of the[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
The start of epic fantasy stories often have a pacing problem. The desire to provide lots of background, and root you in an unfamiliar world mean that the plot moves like a freight train. It has a lot of momentum,[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
This is intended as a short book for the National Parks service to sell as part of their memorial to the Battle of Lake Erie. The author was originally intending a much longer, definitive, work on the battle, which I[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Norwich’s book on the beginning of the Sixteenth Century successfully covers a lot of ground, is a great, somewhat light, read, and if you’re like me, perhaps to be missed. I do generally recommend the book, and if you know[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
The fourth book of the excellent Hundred Years War series by Jonathan Sumption picks up in 1400, with a visit by Byzantine Emperor Manuel II to Paris. This echoes the start of the first book with the funeral procession of[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…