Waterloo 1815 (2)

by on May 16, 2024 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Books

Dealing with the other battle on the 16th of June 1815, Osprey’s second Campaign book on Waterloo is more of a companion than a sequel.

Interestingly, while having to cover some of the same ground, the introductory sections are quite different from the first book, dealing more with Napoleon’s escape from Elba, retaking power in France, and the general military structure set up. We then get the Prussian maneuvers as the French cross the frontier, and a full description of the battle of Ligny.

Like with the first volume, we have six full-color maps, three isometric view maps, and three of Gary Embleton’s two page spread illustrations. (This is probably their standard art budget.) “The Battlefield Today” section has current photos of La Haie, part of the Ligne brook, and d’en Ligny.

I haven’t read any other books purely on Ligny, and I think this does go into slightly more detail than Hussey’s two-volume book on the campaign. The only other current book on Ligny (and Wavre) I know of is Grouchy’s Waterloo, which came out two years after this. I haven’t read that, but I can say that this book does a good job detailing much of the action, and the full-color presentation helps a lot.

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Waterloo 1815 (1)

by on May 8, 2024 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Books

The Battle of Waterloo is a much-discussed bit of military history for many reasons, so it was a logical choice for Ospery’s Campaign series. Really, the surprise is that it didn’t appear until book number 15.

It is much less surprising that it was eventually replaced a set of three Campaign books covering everything in more detail. I haven’t read the original, but the first volume of the new work was offered for free (in electronic formats) during 2020, and I’ve finally gotten to reading it.

As usual, we have a great visual presentation, with six full-color maps, three of their isometric-view maps, and three double-page illustrations by Gary Embleton, along with a host of paintings and engravings from the time. Embleton is one of their better current artists, and while I think a couple of the pieces are more on the passable side, the first is pretty good.

Since this is volume one of three, the real subject matter is the preliminary fight at Quatre Bras. The introduction gives a few words on the abdication of Napoleon, but mostly concerns itself with the formation of the United Netherlands, and then Wellington being installed as the local commander of the allied forces after Napoleon took control of France again. The usual introduction to the major figures and the armies on both sides ends with a 3 1/2 page order of battle down the battalion level – a handy source for those wanting to research such, but a bit much for anything else.

The narrative of the battle itself is well done, and I can tell it was informed by Robinson’s The Battle of Quatre Bras. While it’s not nearly so one-sided as that account, there is generally a lot more detail given on Anglo-Allied movements than French. Sadly, Hussey’s two volume work didn’t come out until about three years after this. However, there is at least some discussion of Allied plans to invade France, and Wellington’s assumption that Napoleon would seek to repeat his 1814 defense of France.

For a detailed treatment of the campaign, Waterloo: The Campaign of 1815 by John Hussey is definitely the place to go. This however still gives a good amount of detail for its size, is a good jumping off point for anyone truly wanting detail, and of course has a wealth of illustrations and maps all in full color. Especially nice are some photographs at the end with an aerial view of modern Quatre Bras, and photos of Petit Pierrepont and Gémioncourt, which are still extant.

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The Book of Lost Tales (Part 1)

by on April 22, 2024 at 12:00 pm
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For the recent Tolkien Reader Day, I picked up the first of Christopher Tolkien’s ‘History of Middle Earth’ series.

It takes a bit of unpacking.

This is largely the earliest versions of some of the earliest stories. However, while the initial writing project of these was abandoned, most of these stories weren’t abandoned. Much was later rewritten, and cleaned up versions of that are in The Silmarillion. So, there’s not a lot truly new to the reader to unearth.

And yet, it’s not the same, and I found it largely more comprehensible than much of the comparable sections of The Silmarillion. That may be because Christopher Tolkien is there to hold my hand with lots of commentaries between stories.

And, liking history and process, seeing first/second drafts, and some history of the thinking behind these stories is of interest to me. Reading-wise, the main problem is “The Cottage of Lost Play” is a slog. After that, I found the narrated stories of the pre-history of the world, and the interstitial bits worked very well for me, and I actually enjoyed reading those parts.

I think one of the most interesting things is that all along, The Hobbit and LotR are supposed to be happening in some long-lost past of our world. But frankly, you can’t tell, there’s no real connection. Here, this conceit is still at the surface, and Eriol is just enough to tie this large structure to our Earth. Also, some of the echoes of Germanic and Nordic myth are stronger here, and it feels just a bit more connected those long-gone and overgrown signposts. In a real sense, LotR indeed has nothing to do with our past. I started in some of the same places (here), and then grew in its own direction, and became more than that simple concept.

In a general reading sense, it’d be hard to recommend this. Certainly not in any pure entertainment sense; stick with the later, polished works for that. But, there is enough magic here that if you’d like to take a look behind the curtain, this is a good exploration of the start of J.R.R. Tolkien’s quest.

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A Daughter of No Nation

by on April 6, 2024 at 12:00 pm
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The initial book of the Hidden Sea Tales comes to a very satisfying conclusion, but there’s a number of dangling threads.

Sofie gets to go back to Stormwrack, and pick up the investigation of this world which isn’t—and is—Earth. She’s been preparing for this, so now she’s in better shape (and was a fairly active woman already).

We get a decent amount of her investigations this time, sprinkled all throughout the book. But the plot still has other, more personal, ideas and takes precedence. Her (birth) mother is still imprisoned for… lets call it fraud, and much of the book is about getting to know her father better.

A lot of plot manages to hang off this one desire. Nothing is simple about it, and the strong points of the series are again on the very personal side. Cly has certain cultural expectations that don’t mesh well with an independent 20-something 21-century woman, and the two manage to be thoroughly infuriated with each other even while trying to reach out.

Adjacent to this part is Sofie’s work to get to study Stormwrack, which ends up as a continuation of the climax of the first novel. Cly suggests starting an office to bring the idea of forensics to Stormwrack to help out the judiciary system. This ends up driving a good chunk of this novel, especially towards the end.

The biggest failure here is that you don’t get as much a look at the internal politics of the Fleet, even though it’s important again. Most notably, the ending shows a rupture of the Cessation looming again, but the immediate drivers are all off screen. You don’t know who is making these confrontational decisions, but some have certainly been made. Short of that, it’s another very good book, but while I think there’s enough intro for a new reader, certainly go for Child of a Hidden Sea first.

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The Unbound Empire

by on March 29, 2024 at 12:00 pm
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The third “Swords and Fire” book wraps up the trilogy well. My objections from the first book persist, but are better here, as the story and politics have grown.

And all the strong points remain. There is a good mix of action and tension. A couple of beats are a little predictable, but mostly the calm parts of the book are undercut by waiting for the other shoe to drop, and wondering just what that shoe will be.

Amalia’s quest for better conditions for the mage marked in the empire is nearing completion (or at least a vote to see if she can change things). And the handling of this part is one of the places where the series and her has grown. Meanwhile, the series villain, Ruven, is still loose with a bevy nasty powers and the will to use them. The various things he has access to make it hard to see where things will go, as he has a lot of options. Perhaps a few too many, as he’s something of an always-prepared supervillain. But… it’s actually well handled, and he drives the action well.

And there is a lot of action. I flew through the book because there’s a lot of really page-turning bits in here. At the same time, the book does not become overburdened with action as it’s well spaced out. So, this is one of the better roller-coaster concluding books I’ve seen, and the series is certainly recommended.

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