5.26.2009

 

Lirael


by Garth Nix, 463 pgs, paperback
Overall Grade: B+
Series: The Abhorsen trilogy

Sequel to Sabriel, middle of the Abhorsen trilogy. All rising action.

Labels: , , ,


# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 3:25 PM
 

Lieutenant Hornblower


by C.S. Forester, 306 pgs, hardcover
Overall Grade: B+
Series: Horatio Hornblower

Labels: , , ,


# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 3:21 PM
 

Empire of Ivory


by Naomi Novik, 404 pgs, paperback
Series: Temeraire book 4
Overall Grade: A 

Labels: , , , ,


# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 3:19 PM

5.16.2009

 

The Great Warming


by Brian Fagan, 242 pgs, hardcover
Overall Grade: B

So you might have heard about the Little Ice Age, when Europe was unseasonably cold for a while. Before that there was what's called the Medieval Warm Period. That period of time is the subject of this book. For Europe, it was a good thing. It was warm and they could grow a lot of food. What this book will elucidate is that what was a good time for Europe wasn't so much for a lot of other places around the world. Brings a nice perspective to some recent climatic history, even though we don't yet understand all the global interconnectedness, and the record is kinda hazy in places.

Labels: , ,


# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 3:26 PM
 

Sabriel


by Garth Nix, 491 pgs, paperback
Overall Grade: A
Series: The Abhorsen trilogy

Another book I picked up from a rec online. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Nix spins a fantasy world that in cooporates common elements and is yet refreshing. The title character Sabriel is a young woman just finishing her schooling near the border to the magical Old Kingdom. When her father, the powerful necromancer Abhorsen goes missing, she takes up his sword and bells and search him (fearing the worst) in the Old Kingdom, which she knows next to nothing about.

Labels: , , ,


# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 3:18 PM

5.06.2009

 

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower


by C.S. Forester, 310 pgs, hardcover
Overall Grade: B
Series: Horatio Hornblower

Okay, I admit it. I'm a sucker for Napoleonic Era Royal Navy stories. I devoured Patrick O'Brian's series and I loved the Horatio Hornblower movies done by the BBC (Ioan Gruffudd :luffs:). So it was about time that I got around to actually reading the actual Horatio Hornblower books that basically inspired this genre, neh? Now I do know that Forester didn't write the series chronologically, so this was like the fourth book or so that he wrote. Still, I don't like to spoil myself, so I decided to read chronologically versus publication order.
First off, if you want to understand all the nautical terms, these books are not your friend. Horatio quickly becomes competent in the vocab and nary an explanation is given. It really made me miss the perennial landlubber Stephen Maturin :( So I would highly suggest getting yourself the Hornblower Companion or some similar volume if things like lee shores and tops'ls and the Mole are going to drive you nutty.
Second, the book is comprised not of chapters, but of 6-7 short stories with no really good places to stop in the midst of them. So be warned that you're probably committing yourself to reading the whole story when you start one. If you rotate through a stack of books reading chapter-by-chapter, this novel will not play fair.
Third, I miss character development. Perhaps this comes later in the series. From the BBC movies I got the impression that Horatio became fast friends with one of the other midshipman, but he's a lieutenant by the end of this book, so maybe the BBC played fast & loose? There's lots of action and because of the short story business, no downtime or lull in the pace of the novel which happens of necessity sometimes in O'Brian's books. But if you do want well-developed & developing characters, I still favor O'Brian's Aubrey & Maturin over Forester's Hornblower.
But I'll continue on with the series and let you know if the writing changes.
Also, the cover pictured here is a paperback I think, and not the edition I read, which was an old library hardcover.

Labels: , , ,


# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 3:46 AM

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?