Kell
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Posts posted by Kell
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I do remember trying to decide whether the playing (oh, good pun Andy) with the history of theatre was clever or contrived.
I've been swithering between the 2 as well & I think I'm now heading more towards the "clever" camp, although I started out on the side of "contrived". Really enjoying it - it's a complete break from the norm.
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Just about done with Morality Play - a few more pages to go & I'll find out if I was right ni my conclusions. Even if I am, it doesn't detract from the enjoyment, as seeing it from the simpler point of view of the characters set in their own period has made it very interesting. I may well keep an eye out for more books by Unsworth.
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Enjoy your forays into Narnia - I adore them!
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The Eagle & the Wolves
Author: Simon Scarrow
ISBN # 0755301145
Publisher: Headline
1st Published: 2003
432 pages
In the summer of AD 44, tense undercurrents amongst the tribe of nominally friendly Atrebatans are ready to explode into open revolt. It falls to Centurions Macro and Cato to provide aged ruler Verica with an army. With a scratch force of raw recruits, unversed in the techniques of war, they must find and destroy a cunning opponent. But can they do this whilst surviving the deadly cross-currents of plotters threatening to destroy not only Macro and Cato, but all their comrades serving with the Eagles?
Following on from where When the Eagle Hunts left off, The Eagle & the Wolves sees Cato really come into his own. Although he still defers to the experience of Macro, he
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Got another book through the post today via a swap on the Read it, Swap it site - The Devil in Gray by Graham Masterton - thought I'd be prepared in case it got chosen as February's Reading Circle as last time I looked it was looking like a toss-up between this & American Gods which I got for Xmas...
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About 1/4 of the way through morality Play & the whole 1st person thing kind of lends itself well to the story - it's almost like you've got the lead character there with you, sitting in front of a fire, relating his tale to you. Not much has actually happened so far, but I'm kind of getting into it.
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Starting Morality Play by Barry Unsworth tomorrow. It's a short book (only 188 pages) & is written entirely in the 1st person, so I don't know how I'm going to cope with it, but with it being short, I think I might get through it with my sanity prtty much intact. The plot looked pretty decent (I chose it as a swap via the Read it, Swap it site):
A novel about a group of travelling players touring England in 1390 in the years following the Black Death. Tired of presenting the usual mystery plays they decide to re-enact a murder that has recently taken place in the town they are visiting. This has unforeseen consequences as they are forced to confront the real story of death.I thought it sounded intriguing. It was also shortlisted for the 1995 Booker Prize if that means anything to anyone!
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Just finishing The Eagle & The Wolves by Simon Scarrow. Excellent read - review at some point tomorrow once I've had time to choose words good enough to describe it!
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YAY! Glad to hear it! Didn't want to start in the middle or end of a series again! Thanks for that, Jo.
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Yup - similar sense of humour, very witty & a little dark cynicism thrown in to boot - excellent stuff all round!
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The 1st one I read was Not the End of the World. After that, I worked my way through all the others in the order they were published & I can't get enough of them! Can hardly wait for the next one. I'm really hoping there'll be one out later this year!
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I went for Digital Fortress. I'm not sure why - I just enjoyed it that fraction more than the others. I do like his books, and the Da Vinci Code was good - can't believe all the fuss it has caused though..
LOL - I agree, Albert. I definitely thought DF was the best of the batch & although I liked Da Vinci (it was the 1st one I read), I didn't understand all the hype about it. It was good, but not that good.
I do get the feeling that he writes his books so that they will be made into films. You can see the film developing as you read through the books.Exactly! Have you seen the trailer for Da Vinci yet? It does look rather good. I think they've been very clever with the casting & can't wait to see it. Even Dale, who had absolutely no interest in seeing the film when I told him it was to do with the book, once he saw the trailer, that was that. Now I'm looking forward to being treated to a cinema trip!
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I was chatting to Michelle earlier & discovered she's never tried either polenta or gnocci & was wondering if anyhone else had tried these (both are yummy). For those who don't already know, polenta is semolina-based & you cut chunks off it. It's then either fried or grilled or you can boil it, but it turns into a kind of paste that way) & it takes on the flavour of whatever sauce you're using. Gnocci is potato-based & comes in little balls. Both can be used in place of pasta or potatoes for a bit of a change.
Anyone else got anything a little bit different to tell us about?Give us all something new to try & we can perhaps be a bit adventurous!
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Got a belated Xmas prezzie today - Troll Fell by Katherine Langrish. It's one I've been eyeing up for a while. Now added to my ever-growing list of books to be read!
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Basically, yup. Mine came with a booklet with recipes in it too, so I could get a handle on how to use it. I did a gorgeous rice pudding in it the other week - scrumptious!
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Philippa Gregory - The Constant Princess -reading
Ooh, let me know how this one goes - I've got The Other Boleyn Girl on my list & I'm planning on getting to it sooner, rather than later, I think.
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They're excellent for doing things like soups or chillis - I did a roast beef ni it the other week & it was delicious!
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Didn't get much reading done today, but I'm up to Ch16 now. It just keeps getting better & better. No sign of Boudicca still, so I think maybe she'll stay out of this one & maybe reappear in the next one.
I love the balance Scarrow has - not too much detail, but doesn't shy away from the harsh realities of war & the effects on people on both siddes. Fair enough, he's mainly focusing on the Roman side, but one of the characters (Cato) is particularly intelligent & sensitive, as well as incredibly astute when it comes to how politics work in a war situation, so we get to see things from the Brits' point of view occasionally too.
It's absolutely riveting!
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Oh, I'm a huge fan - I've got all Brookmyre's books, mostly in hardback & some of them autographed (he used to live here in Aberdeen). Nice to see a fellow fan here! I think my fave to date is The Sacred Art of Stealing - an absolute work of art in itself. Which is your fave?
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I've got it in hardback on my to read list. I have no idea where it came from - I just noticed it was on my shelf & I haven't read it, so it's in the pile.
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I read them first as a very small child & was hooked by them. I still reread them regularly now as there's always something fresh about them. They're timeless & never date for me. I adore them.
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Am also enjoying The Magician's nephew tremendously!
I rank it as one of my faves of the Chronicles - it's a gorgeous beginning to Narnia.
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Gave up on Trace & started The Eagle & The Wolves by Simon Scarrow. It's the 4th installment of the Eagles series & I've just finished ch9. It's very much living up to my expectations, with a bloody skirmish within the first few pages & picking up the tale of the two main characters, Macro & Cato, who are Centurians (Cato just got promoted from Optio in the last book).
No sign of Boudicca just yet, but I get the feelnig she may well appear out of nowhere - I'd like that a lot.
I have to say, if you're looking for a rip-roaring good series to get into that's full of action & excellent characters, I can heartily recommend the Eagles - even if you're not into historical or military fiction (I'd never read either before these ones), they're an excellent introduction to the genre. It's fascinating knowing that the plot is based on fact & although most of the characters are not actual historical figures, they are based on people of the time in those situations.
Can't wait to get cracking with the resto f it - I feel I can really get my teeth into this one!
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Well, I'm interested in the whole Jack the Ripper thing anyway, so I've read a few bokos on the subject now & I rather liked this one. It put forward some very good arguements, but in the end, I don't think I agree that the case is closed - it wasn't quite enuogh to convince me as I've already got a whole load of other theories knocking around me head from the other bokos, so there were some points that, in my opininon, just didn't really fit into my idea of the puzzle. Because they're presented without anything to rebuff the evidence from other angles, I didn't think it was, by any means, a definitive study, but it was very enjoyable.
I have to say, though, that other people I've spoken to who have read other Cornwell works didn't like this one. I don't know if it's a case of "like one but not the other" but it does seem to be uniform so far - I've not spoken to anyone who liked both. It may have been that the style was so different from the likes of the Scarpetta books, or it may have been that they don't like the way she handles non-fiction.
Anyway, I rather liked it.
Kell's 2006 Reading Log - January to June
in Past Book Logs
Posted
Starting The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler later tonight. I've never read any Jane Austen, so I don't know if that'll make a difference, but it looks rather interesting...