Karsa Orlong
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Posts posted by Karsa Orlong
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Thanks Km
Have you read the first two books in the series? Did you like them? I'm guessing you did if you've got Lords of the North as well 
Just starting a new Gemmell (well, new to me, anyway) - Morningstar
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Woohoo!
Great review Steve .. I agree with almost all of it
Thanks Kay!
Wait . . . Almost???
You'll be able to watch the drama now .. do you think it's going to adapt well?
Good question! What is it, six or seven parts? Well Eddie Marsan is fantastic, so that's a plus, and the Beeb are great with the period dramas, so it could be decent
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# 5
Sword Song (The Warrior Chronicles Book 4) by Bernard Cornwell
2007 - HarperCollins Kindle edition - 366 pages
From Amazon:
The year is 885, and England is at peace, divided between the Danish kingdom to the north and Alfred's kingdom of Wessex in the south. But trouble stirs, a dead man has risen and new Vikings have arrived to occupy London.
It is a dangerous time, and it falls to Uhtred, half Saxon, half Dane, a man feared and respected the length and breadth of Britain, to expel the Viking raiders and take control of London for Alfred. His uncertain loyalties must now decide England's future.
A gripping tale of love, rivalry and violence, Sword Song tells the story of England's making.
Thoughts:
It's getting hard to know what to say about Cornwell's books because the same comments always spring to mind: he has a wonderful, flowing writing style; it's fast paced; it's exciting; it's got brilliant characters; it's action-packed; etc etc, blah blah. These all apply, again.
This fourth book about Uhtred and Alfred the Great takes place some four or five years after the brilliant third novel in the series, Lords of the North. It starts when Uhtred is lured north of the Temes (yes, the Thames - Anglo-Saxon names are used throughout) into Mercia by old adversary Haesten, to a graveyard where a corpse rises and tells Uhtred he is destined to be King of Mercia. Naturally, Uhtred is quite taken with this idea, as is his wife, Gisela. However, when he returns to Wessex, Alfred arrives and orders him to attack and take Lundene back from the unsavoury types currently occupying the city, led by the Norse warlord Sigefrid - who just happens to be the man Haesten is in league with. Naturally, all sorts of merriment ensues
I have to say, the attack on London is one of the most thrilling sequences I've read in a while. Whilst a lot of this is down to Cornwell's writing, it was in part down to the battle taking place at Ludd's Gate, or Ludgate, and I work right near there, so I was completely enthralled by this part of the novel. I always find it fun to try and imagine what the landscape was like in times past, without all the buildings, roads, and traffic, and when the River Fleet wasn't underground. It also helps that the battle is so exciting and scary. Next time I walk up Ludgate Hill should be interesting
Whether it happened like it does in the book or not, that battle did take place, but after that Cornwell freely admits that the novel moves in a direction purely of his own making, and it is no less exciting for it - even if it does move to Essex
Many of my favourite characters return from the previous novel (Pyrlig, Finan, Steapa, Gisela, Aethelflaed, Beocca) and some I love to hate (Aethelred!!), and it all builds to a quite powerful finale.All in all, it's maybe not quite as good as the previous book, which I gave a 9, and I'm trying to be a bit tougher with my scores this year, but this is yet another brilliant entry from Cornwell.
8/10
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*downloads Kindle Sample*
I wish there had been a Kindle edition when I wanted it, I had to search high and low for an imported copy of the paperback. Mind you, I didn't have a Kindle back then, so it wouldn't have helped
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Ah well, this won't help, then, but my copy of Dune is this SF Masterworks hardback. The story itself runs to 556 pages, and plus the appendices it comes to 611 pages
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If it's the paperback you're after, this one'll do the trick
ETA: actually, I think Amazon and BD might have their page counts confused - I think the 449 pages is closer to the truth
I'll check my copy when I get home and let you know -
Whaaaaaat?? Hold on....
Edit: Oh crap... So Dune the book has three or so parts? Part 1, part 2 and part 3? And they are just that one book?
Sonovabitch.
Crikey, sounds like the Finnish edition has been split, it's just the one volume here
ETA: and yeah, the novel has three parts: 1: Dune, 2: Muad'Dib, 3: The Prophet
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Just finished Sword Song. Don't know what to choose next <<ponders>>
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I was really surprised by how short the book is
I really thought it was at least 700 pages long. I guess I've seen the omnibus with some of the sequels and thought it was the whole book. So even though I didn't second Dune, I think I might read it if it wins the poll. I can manage 280 pages!It's a bit problematic because it's a Finnish copy... I might have a difficult time with the different names when discussing the book.
But then again, I can make all kinds of fancy theories because you guys won't know what I'm talking about to begin with, if I use the Finnish term... You'll just all think I'm hella smart 280 pages? Something's wrong there, it's about 600 pages long
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- Dune by Frank Herbert (possibly the March RC book)
Awesome book
- A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge (um...)
Even more awesome book
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At one point Pohl literally states that no matter what you do, in the end you just die.
Well that is true, to be fair. I haven't read Jem, but I thought Gateway was pretty good.
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Well it is a big book, maybe it's just not for the simple minded
That's not a big book. Get back to me when you've read Malazan
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This was my first delve into the Culture universe created by the late Iain M. Banks, I can't say it was an overwhelmingly positive one. Maybe it would have helped more to have read the previous Culture books but I felt a bit like been thrown in at the deep end, like there was something more I was supposed to have known in advance.
No, don't think so - they don't really work that way, they're all separate stories. Shame you didn't enjoy it
but then you liked A Dance with Dragons so there's obviously something wrong with youActually, I think I gave it a 7 as well
So I wasn't as enamoured with it as others, either. I was pretty underwhelmed by Consider Phlebas and Use of Weapons, too. Generally, so far I've preferred his non-Culture SF (Feersum Endjinn, Against A Dark Background, and especially The Algebraist, which I have grown to like more and more) -
5) Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
A dark and disturbing story that centres on the developing relationship between two lonely souls, the bullied Oskar and the odd Eli. Graphic and disturbing at times this is not a comfortable read, but you end up caring quite deeply about the two. The secondary characters bring life to the bleak Swedish landscape with their individual frailties and idiosyncrasies, and the relationships between them. This is a book that examines obsession, loyalty, abandonment, love and the dark underbelly that can be found in any country. Despite murders, aggression, confrontations and often very dark scenes, this is a startlingly good read, with surprising wit and an undercurrent that compels you to find out how things will unfold.
Ooh, I've been wanting to read this for ages
I thought the film (the original Swedish version, not the typically pointless Hollywood remake) was excellent -
Winter's Bone is excellent - and the book is very good, too.
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I'm surprised how much I liked Starship Troopers. I got a bit lost when he was talking about the different ranks, and chains of command, and there were a few political/philosophical ideas, but at the basic level it was a story about attacking bugs!
Ooh, good to know, I must get this myself
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250 pages into Bernard Cornwell's Sword Song
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I may just have bought the three David Gemmell books I was missing to complete my collection, cos they had them in Waterstone's and, well, I had to, didn't I?
The Hawk Eternal
Lion of Macedon
Dark Prince
That's it, then. I have them all, and there'll never be any more
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Probably just as well this didn't happen before Tim's RC thread came up . . .
The Word Science Fiction Society - those that give the Hugo award - says:
Works appearing in a series are eligible as individual works, but the series as a whole is not eligible. However, a work appearing in a number of parts shall be eligible for the year of the final part.
That means all 15 books in the series can be treated as a single work for the Hugo nominations this year, simply because the final book was published in 2013
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Great review Steve.
I really must go back and try this one again sometime.How far did you get first time?
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My rating: 4/5
(Yes, Steve, another one!
)Didn't see that coming!
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Great review! It's been on my shelf for ages. /mutter, mutter, curse, curse!/
At first I thought you were going to say you actually hated the book, but love the segue.
Thanks
All those things I mentioned in the first paragraph are stylistic aspects which have really irritated me in other books I've mentioned in the past, but they didn't with this one, thankfully Glad you liked it, it's been on my radar a while, and I almost bought it at the weekend but the only edition they hand was huge (in height not just depth)
The edition Sari got me is the US Tor version and it's nice and small, so it's worth a look if your radar can find it:
The cover's actually red
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No he is just a wuss, maybe it's a boy thing Steve.....
Nope, it's a Steven Moffatt thing
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