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Karsa Orlong

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Everything posted by Karsa Orlong

  1. I wasn't quite so keen on that one, I'm not sure why Couple more I remembered: Mesrine (parts 1 & 2) A Prophet
  2. No, it wasn't either of those. I've got a couple of the Barnes & Noble Leatherbound editions, though, and they are gorgeous. I was torn between two editions, the Oxford World Classics or the Penguin Classics, which was the only one Waterstone's had. It's the sort of book I'd love to have sitting on the shelf, but it's a bit too big to contemplate carrying around with me, really, so I went for the Kindle edition of the latter. I spent ages looking up reviews and comments on the different translations and was really torn between the two. The Penguin Classics is a modern translation, which I was unsure about, but apparently it restores some aspects of the story that were altered in the 1846 translation, plus it's unabridged. I may switch to the other one if I don't like it. If I end up liking it a lot, though, I'll probably get a treebook edition as well. I looked at the current Wordsworth edition, but it appears to be the abridged version of the story, which put me off
  3. Some of my faves are: Seven Samurai Yojimbo House of Flying Daggers Pan's Labyrinth Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
  4. Saw this on Russell Howard's show. Poor little thing!
  5. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130819.html
  6. Hehe! I just went down to Waterstones to see if they had The Count of Monte Cristo and stood there flicking through it for a couple of minutes. It was a lovely edition, but it was HUGE. Really don't want to be carrying that around with me, so I think I'll get it for Kindle instead
  7. Karsa Orlong

    Cricket

    Darren Lehmann has been actively encouraging Aussie fans to do otherwise . . . You'd think at least the coaches would try and set an example
  8. Oh yes. That series was never as good after they left the library behind
  9. I'm about 150 pages into The Odyssey.
  10. Great song The rest of the album it came from was rubbish, though
  11. Blimey. How many more this year? RIP Elmore
  12. I read all three of them a couple of years ago, loved 'em The Winter King Enemy of God Excalibur
  13. Yeah, the third one's great, then it all goes downhill faster than Lindsey Vonn Welcome
  14. I wasn't joking, though. In fact I'd say it's another difference between science fiction and *cough* sci-fi *splutter*
  15. Got to have some science in your science fiction
  16. I'm sure you'll like it, too. Thanks to your heads-up I have the next three or four books waiting on my Kindle
  17. I loved that book - I hope you do enjoy it, Brian I made a start on The Odyssey this morning
  18. Book #49: The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell From Amazon: In the middle years of the ninth-century, the fierce Danes stormed onto British soil, hungry for spoils and conquest. Kingdom after kingdom fell to the ruthless invaders until but one realm remained. And suddenly the fate of all England—and the course of history—depended upon one man, one king. Thoughts: This is the first book in 'The Warrior Chronicles', Bernard Cornwell's series about Alfred the Great. Much like 'The Warlord Chronicles', his marvellous Arthurian trilogy, here he tells the story in first person, through the eyes of Uhtred, looking back at his life and the momentous events that surrounded him. It's possible that this could take a little tension out of proceedings, because you know Uhtred is going to live to tell his tale. Sometimes I find this a bit of a problem, particularly in thrillers, but here - as in the Arthur books, where Derfel told his story - it works brilliantly. It starts with Uhtred, a young Saxon boy, at his home at the fortress of Bebbanburg, on the north east coast of England. When news comes that a Danish fleet has arrived and taken possession of Eoforwic (York - Cornwell uses Anglo-Saxon place names throughout the novel), Uhtred's father and his men march south to join with other Saxon forces and re-take the city. Uhtred himself is brought along to learn of battle. He is nine years old at this point. This all happens in the prologue, which ends - for various reasons - with Uhtred being taken captive by the Danes. Cornwell rarely uses the term Viking, as he has stuck to its meaning as, essentially, what the Danes do when they raid coastal towns (i.e. 'to go on a viking'). The rest of the story covers roughly 10 to 12 years of Uhtred's life, and he has conflicting loyalties, as you can imagine. It's quite a handy tool, because it allows Cornwell to show both sides of the conflict. Cornwell's characterisation is fantastic, as usual. Along the way Uhtred meets Alfred (of course), but my favourite(s) were the Danes, especially Ragnar the Fearless and his son, Ragnar the Younger. The older Ragnar is larger than life, and I thought he leapt off the page. I find Cornwell is such a natural storyteller, and this tale has a real ebb and flow to it, as if Uhtred was sitting in front of you telling you himself. I'd say this is a better book than any of those in his 'Grail Quest' trilogy, and just a smidgeon behind the Arthurian books. It's a brilliant novel that doesn't overstay its welcome - far from it! - and I can't wait to read more of Uhtred's adventures. 9/10
  19. Awesome book! Have you read The Winter King? ETA: Oh, it's on your TBR list. I shouldn't be surprised, should I??
  20. I'll let you know if they do.
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