Persian Fire

by on November 13, 2019 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Books

The story of Persia vs the Greeks is one that has told many times over the centuries. Part of this is because we have some very good Greek sources about the conflict, so that we know more about these wars than nearly anything else before it (other parts are the high drama, and Ancient Greece’s place in the foundation of Western thought).

Tom Holland’s Persian Fire tries, and largely succeeds in expanding the Persian point of view. He starts out with the rise of Persia, and how it took over from Media and Assyria. This section is very well done, and well worth the price of admission if you already have all you need of the later parts with Darius and Xerxes. He then proceeds through the histories of Sparta and Athens in turn, showing just how they had evolved from somewhat typical Greek city-state beginnings to the distinctive forms that we are used to hearing about.

From there, discussions of Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis are a bit more typical, but there is still effort to see just what was going on in the heads of the principles, especially Xerxes. However, the writing in the entire book is very good, so even if you’re very familiar with the subject, this telling is very well done. He also does a good job with Platea, though I thought it was lacking compared to other parts of the book. Also lacking is his analysis of what kept Persia from coming back for round three, though he does talk about it some.

Overall, I’m very happy to have picked up yet another book on this subject. Holland does a very good job at the overview, and widens the scope of his gaze just a bit more to make this the best ‘lighter’ book you’re likely to find on the two Persian invasions of Greece.

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The Six Wives of Henry VIII

by on November 5, 2019 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Books

After the Wars of the Roses, some much-needed stability started returning to the English court. Alison Weir starts her book with Henry VII’s negotiations with Ferdinand of Castile to marry his son Arthur to Ferdinand’s daughter Katherine.

Nearly half of this book is with Katherine of Aragon, a bit surprising when you think of the bare fact of the book is split into three parts, but this was the most stable part of Henry VIII’s reign. And, as already mentioned, there’s plenty of background before Henry comes on the scene. The negotiations were protracted, and then when Prince Arthur dies months after their marriage, there are more protracted negotiations all around for a second marriage to Henry.

From there, it’s the more familiar tale, but told in much detail, and careful looks at all the principle actors. That said, I’ve only ever known the barest outlines of this period, so it was all very informative for me. Between Henry, his current wife, whoever he’s starting to look at next, advisors, ambassadors with vested interests, and a few other subjects, there’s a lot of things to keep track of at the same time. Weir handles all of this very well, while sticking with a fairly strictly chronological format. This is deeply appreciated, and cannot have been easy to manage.

Weir’s writing here is also the best I’ve seen from her, and helps carry a complicated narrative forward with infectious interest from the author.

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Castle Hangnail

by on October 29, 2019 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Books

I mostly know Ursula for Digger, and other less kid-oriented books. Those all show a wonderful sense of humor that would find itself at home in a younger audience, and so it is here. A definite advantage of her younger books is that you get even more of her wonderful art, which is nicely formatted in on the Kindle version (generally not a given).

Pretty much all the action happens in Camp Castle Hangnail and a nearby village, which feels a bit like it should be in England, but everyone’s using dollars, and I should probably just stop trying to look at the setting too closely. The cast of characters never gets huge, but there are a lot, and they’re nicely paced out through the story so there’s no chance of getting overwhelmed by them all. In fact, overall, the pacing of the story is pretty much perfect, a few slow bits to show Molly’s life and growth, and some real action when needed.

A really nice touch is that while Molly is the central character, she is not the only viewpoint character, and both her and Majordomo (the other viewpoint character) get an opportunity to really grow. It’s Molly’s coming-of-age story, but both characters learn something from their experiences.

Definitely a fun and worthwhile read; Ursula has yet to disappoint.

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‘Ware Hawk

by on October 23, 2019 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Books

This was something of a random pick up in the middle the Estcarp books. It stands well on it own, though there is a lot that follows from the previous few books. However, a three-page summary of the major events of the previous books more than covers what is needed here.

Again, this is an independent novel, and reads well as such; the cast of characters is all new. (The early books all follow Simon Tregarth, but this period is all more independent.) Previous books had fairly earth-shattering consequences, and this is more of an adventure in picking up pieces.

This starts with the main characters, where we start with the main character, Tirtha, and slowly pick up everyone else over the course of the book. It is very much in the ‘journey’ style of plots, with both physical and mental/social travels being made. This is well done enough that it’s hard for the climax to entirely measure up. This is made more difficult by the final parts being a bit hard to follow. The worst problem is that Tirtha gets disabled for a bit during important events, and as the only viewpoint character, the narrative gets a little confused. Compounding this, it is easy is mistake just what has happened to her, and miss the corrected explanation later.

I’m pretty sure I read this back in the ’80s. I kept half remembering things as I came across them. But that would have been a borrowed book, and I’m glad to have my own copy now. Certainly recommended, and a good entry-point into the Estcarp series.

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Fid’s Crusade

by on October 17, 2019 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Books

David Reiss is a friend of mine, so I’m a little embarrassed that I took this long to checking out what he’s written. I also know some of the things he’s into, fiction-wise, and they don’t always mesh with my tastes. So, I started Fid’s Crusade with a little trepidation, and a few mental nods, ‘okay, yeah, this is the type of character he gravitates towards…’.

And all of that went away during chapter 2, and the story took over.

Fid (a phoneticization of ‘Ph. D.’) is a supervillain by choice. And he’d have a hard time being a hero, as he’s got a tremendous ego, and enjoys the adrenaline rush of fighting. But, he has a bundle altruistic motives as well. Technologies that his alter-ego creates are directly aimed at trying to solve some of the bigger problems the world faces. There’s a passel of technologies known to be developed by the villain, and he does try to get the safer ones that can help into the right hands. The primary, and really problematic one, is a desire to punish all the superheroes that don’t live up to his own standards of what they should be. The glory seekers, the ones that don’t endeavor to keep collateral damage (especially to non-combatants) down, and the actual jerks are all targets of Fid’s ire.

The story is told by Fid himself, and shows a high degree of genre-savvyness. I certainly appreciate the occasional bits where he learns of some adventure of a hero getting back from another dimension or the like and just shakes his head over how odd the lives of superheroes can be. On the other hand, the constant knowing nearly everything he needs to about most heroes through pervasive searches and system hacking gets a bit old, if only because no one else seems to have really wised up to this yet. (Though his primary nemesis is a forensic accountant, so there is that.) However, this is all done with a lot of wit, which makes the entire story a joy.

There’s some nice world-building done. It was a fairly normal universe until something happened that allowed superpowers to emerge. And it’s not a local phenomenon to Earth, but more galaxy-wide. It’s a nice bit of background… until it starts becoming more and more central to the plot. But even still, there’s plenty of unanswered questions that I hope the further books look at some.

Good job, Dave. I’ll need to get to the second book (looks nervously at the pile of unread books) …soon.

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