Wellllllllllllll, I don't want to disappoint you, but that's one of the biggest reasons it took me a year to read this installment. There is a lot of that back and forth of women/men being idiots because that's just how men/women are.
While I also like Cornwell you pretty much summed up my opinion of him as well. Like many others he has some favorite tropes he likes to indulge in and they can get a bit tiresome after a while. The books are a good reading though. One thing I particular like about him, I haven't read all of his books so I could be wrong here, is that he strongly shies away from making the military opposition an "Other" or at least he does so to some degree try to humanize them so even though he is and English author writing about conflicts where the characters fight against French, he humanize the French and gives you, in my opinion, but positive, grey and negative figures on the other side of the battleline. I think that the single novel "Azincourt" is an example of this. I'm sorry to hear that you guys dislike that part. I thought that banter was very IC and rather humerous and funny.
Recently finished two Del Rey collections of Robert E. Howard’s short fiction, Bran Mak Morn: The Last King and Sword Woman and Other Historical Adventures. I’m also about a quarter of the way through El Borak and Other Desert Adventures.
Not long ago, I finished Scotland's Forgotten Past by Prof. Alistair Moffat. Very impressed! I only know a little about Scottish history, but Prof. Moffat has a light and sure touch, and doesn't let himself get bogged down in too many details. Recommended to anyone who's curious about Scotland, as well as anyone who knows lots but is still curious.
The Scottish people played a large role in the founding of Canada, since many of them were United Empire Loyalists that emigrated here after the American War of Independence. Our first prime minister, Sir John A. MacDonald, was in fact Scottish. There's a very vibrant Scottish community in and around Glengarry County, Ontario. Their Glengarry Highland Games is a big thing there. https://www.glengarryhighlandgames.com/#:~:text=Our%20Games%20History,lost%20by%20the%20younger%20generations.
I just finished reading 24 Hours in The Viking World by Prof. Kirsten Wolf. Very interesting. I know one or two of the sagas recounted here, but many of the other stories (e.g. the daughter of Egil Skallagrimsson saving her father from suicide) were unknown to me. Prof. Wolf clearly knows her stuff, and retells the old stories in short, easily-understandable essays. Recommended! (I've spent the past nearly-two-years being immersed in Norse lore and culture, since I'm trying to write a historical-fiction-with-mythology-and-jokes novel set in 11th-century Iceland, and it's my first go at that time period. It's much harder to get into the mindset than I thought. But the setting is mind-blowingly beautiful. Since I'm trying to get into that mindset, and Iceland is so far away from Australia, maybe I should visit the Orkneys or the Shetlands...? Then again, if I'm going that far north, I may as well go all the way to Iceland). *tsks at himself for not thinking of that*
I started Norman Spinrad's "The Iron Dream". I mean, the Amazon description does warn the reader the tones of fascism in the hypothetical story is steeped in "ironic imagery and over-the-top rhetoric". Which I feel it has very much lived up to that premise so far. I just wasn't expecting it to be that blatantly obvious, and was expecting more... connections between tropes in the "modern" fantasy genre (modern is in quotes because this novel was released in 1972) and its fascist undertones, rather than just "what if Hitler wrote a fascist fantasy novel." I think I'm expecting something different from this novel, and probably not accounting for the fact that Hitler would have been an absolutely terrible fiction author and thus the author is factoring that in when writing this.
Finished Atonement, loved it. Didn't finish Approaching Shatter (not because it's bad, just not my vibe). Then read The Witchstone by Henry Neff, that was fun. Now I'm floating between Blood Meridian by McCarthy, and The Temptation to Exist by E. M. Cioran.
Nice pick. I’ll get to that eventually. I’m reading The Crossing by McCarthy at the moment; I finished All The Pretty Horses this past October. Loved it. I’m also reading Brontë’s Jane Eyre — so far so good — and rereading Geoff Johns Green Lantern and Hawkman comic book runs. And because I don’t mind reading four or five things at once, I’ll probably crack into a short biography of President John Adams in a day or two.
Truly, madly guilty Liane Moriarty. Something happens at a barbecue and the reader is held in suspense, turning every page until they find out. This author also wrote Big, Little lies, also a tv show. There are three couples and we find out about their marriage, kids and relationship. The outcomes are resolved in a positive way. If you like to read a book with warm Australian vibes showing how couples resolve relationships to avoid divorces, adorable kids and a little suspense too, pick up this novel. Easy read.
I'm reading Greece vs. Rome by Philip Matyszak, which examines the ancient wars between the two 'empires'. (Actually, there was never a Greek empire, and the Rome that conquered Greece was a republic. But I digress). Phil is one of my favourite authors about ancient affairs. He knows the subject matter inside and out, and has a knack for explaining it in a clear, concise way. Besides, I always wondered what happened to Alexander the Great's "empire" when he died. I knew it had been divided among his generals, and I knew that Rome conquered it eventually because the Greeks were too divided among to realise the threat of Rome. But I never knew how, because the history of ancient Greece is long and complicated. Phil manages to tell it well without oversimplifying. Recommended as usual.
Reading ancient history is, almost, always the right call. EDITED: Especially about the Greeks, who are the greatest in Antiquity.
I've started reading The Rise of Emperors series by Gordon Doherty and Simon Turney, starting with Sons of Rome. As I've just started its to early to say if I like it but I like it so far and I find it interesting that its about Constantine the Great and Maxientius. So I'm looking forward to a trilogy about a part of Roman history which hasn't already been told in novel form, before to my knowledge.
I just started reading Oathbreakers by Matthew Gabriele and David Perry, the story of the Carolignian Civil War that tore apart Charlemagne's empire. So far (and I've only read the preface and chapter 1), it's not too complicated. Palace intrigues and family members turning against each other. Yes, it's very much like Game of Thrones, except that these thrones are real.
Managed to read Slonim Woods 9 by Daniel Barban Levin between the other books I'm working on (still the McCarthy and Cioran). Not a book for the faint of heart. Memoir style, but heavy, heavy stuff. Mr. Levin found himself in a cult and this book is his experience while in it.
The galactic football league series by Scott Sigler. It is more of a juvenile series, but it is a fun read. One of the things I like is the way Sigler makes use of the sport to toss in those progressive complications.
I just started reading my first James M. Cain novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice. I've read the first two chapters. (Please don't spoil the ending for me!)
God's Demon by Wayne Barlowe. It's quite interesting. A little purple prose and I do sometimes wish it was a touch subtler on some points, but it's definitely nice to read something relatively original that really csres about its vision. You can't help admiring that even if he goes a little overboard.
Really feeling the sword & sorcery vibes lately, so I’m re-reading the three Del Rey collections of Robert E. Howard’s original Conan stories (currently on “Iron Shadows in the Moon”) and just ordered the Gollancz reprints of Charles R. Saunders’s Imaro and The Quest for Cush. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Imaro from others, so I’m looking forward to those. Unfortunately, this edition only seems to be available in the UK, so it’ll be a bit before they arrive.
Read that one — excellent. Another worthwhile novel from the same author is The Cocktail Waitress. Cain has a remarkable talent for squeezing big stories into shortish novels. I dig that. And his authorial voice sings just the right notes for me.
