Steve's Bookshelf 2013

[poppyshake]

 

Book #56:  The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman
 

 
 

Well I like her name but why has she abbreviated it for the cover??  .. they could've used a smaller font 

Great review Steve .. she may not be a Mantel but it sounds like it's worth the read  

 

*drums fingers* .. when is the one coming that I didn't see coming?
     

 
 

[Karsa Orlong]

 

Well I like her name but why has she abbreviated it for the cover??  .. they could've used a smaller font 

Great review Steve .. she may not be a Mantel but it sounds like it's worth the read  

 

Hmm yeah, that's a strange one - she seems to be known as Sharon Penman over here in the UK, and Sharon Kay Penman in the US

 

Damn, if I'd known you wanted to read it I could've sent you my unwanted Mills & Boon paperback copy, but I just passed it on to a family friend a couple of days ago

 

 

*drums fingers* .. when is the one coming that I didn't see coming?

 

Which one's that now?  

[poppyshake]

Hmm yeah, that's a strange one - she seems to be known as Sharon Penman over here in the UK, and Sharon Kay Penman in the US

Oh!! .. we've got the less flowery version

Damn, if I'd known you wanted to read it I could've sent you my unwanted Mills & Boon paperback copy, but I just passed it on to a family friend a couple of days ago

 No worries .. I'm sure I will see it when out and about. I've filed it in my head so possibly I'll pick it up soon .. or a Belgian bun .. one of the two

Which one's that now?

Yes .. which one is it?    

[Timstar]

TAs in the Wars of the Roses?  Hee, now you're testing me!  They were wars fought for the throne of England between the houses of York and Lancaster over the course of about 30 years during the mid to late 15th century.  Richard III was the youngest of four York brothers and the second Yorkist king, after his eldest brother Edward (IV) 

 

I recently visited the magnificent King's College Chapel in Cambridge, which was built by over the course of the War of the Roses. Started by Henry VI and delayed in the war before ultimately finished by Henry VIII. Really interesting associating a physical building with something like the War which shaped British monarchy for centuries.

 

[Devi]

I think i may have to add The Sunne in Splendour to my wish list, sounds fascinating.

[Karsa Orlong]

Yes .. which one is it?    

 

I don't know, I haven't finished the last plan yet

 

It won't be Jane Austen, or Russian, I can tell you that much   

[poppyshake]

It won't be Jane Austen, or Russian, I can tell you that much   

Ohhh!!  A Bronte maybe?    

[Karsa Orlong]

Ohhh!!  A Bronte maybe?    

 

Um . . .  maybe not 

[pontalba]

Very nice review Steve!  I started, read a few pages, but have been distracted.  I'm not sure I really want to read it right now.  But your review encourages me.

[frankie]

Which one's that now?  

 

 

Yes .. which one is it?    

 

 

Perhaps Madame Bovary?

[Karsa Orlong]

 

I was thinking more Hemingway    But I don't know if I'll do another plan at the moment

[frankie]

 

I was thinking more Hemingway    But I don't know if I'll do another plan at the moment

 

Hemingway, yes please!! I would recommend The Sun Also Rises

[Little Pixie]

Book #56:  The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman

 

 

 

 

The first section of the book is terrific.  It pulled me in immediately with the aforementioned murder of Edmund, and then cracks on at quite a pace.  The second section, perhaps entitled 'Anne' as a warning, does go a bit Mills & Boon at times.  

 

 

Their love... was forbidden !   

[Timstar]

...But their passion knew no bounds...

[Karsa Orlong]

 

Their love... was forbidden !   

 

It should have been - it would have saved a lot of trouble

[Karsa Orlong]

Book #57:  King of Thorns (Broken Empire Book 2) by Mark Lawrence

 

 

From Amazon:

 

To reach greatness you must step on bodies, and many brothers lie trodden in my wake. I’ve walked from pawn to player and I’ll win this game of ours, though the cost of it may drown the world in blood…

 

The land burns with the fires of a hundred battles as lords and petty kings fight for the Broken Empire. The long road to avenge the slaughter of his mother and brother has shown Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath the hidden hands behind this endless war. He saw the game and vowed to sweep the board. First though he must gather his own pieces, learn the rules of play, and discover how to break them.

 

A six nation army, twenty thousand strong, marches toward Jorg's gates, led by a champion beloved of the people. Every decent man prays this shining hero will unite the empire and heal its wounds. Every omen says he will. Every good king knows to bend the knee in the face of overwhelming odds, if only to save their people and their lands. But King Jorg is not a good king.

 

 

Thoughts:

 

I won't go into much more detail about the plot other than the blurb, above, what with this being a sequel and all.  Suffice to say that the story picks up four years after the events of Prince of Thorns and, in a narrative trick similar to that used in the first book, fills in the gaps with flashbacks, and a terrific subplot involving memories.  There are also diary entries from another character which fill in still further gaps.  Much like the first book - and to a greater degree, I think - these narrative strands are weaved together in such a clever way that I found made me read faster than usual because I wanted to know why something had happened.  I really liked that, in the paperback at least, the various strands had different typefaces so, at any point in the book, you know exactly which period you're in without having to refer back and forth.  Very clear and neat.  I wonder how that would work on an ereader?

 

Lawrence has a writing style that is very easy to read, and yet is full of brilliant, evocative (and sometimes repulsive!) description and philosophising that really gets you inside Jorg's head.  It is quite thought-provoking on many occasions.  The action - and there is plenty of it - is vivid when it comes, but it was the characters that really held my attention.  As the story is told in first person, you only get Jog's impressions of these other people.  As such, some of them don't really get fleshed out, apart from short interludes between chapters, but I didn't feel any less shocked and/or sad when he started killing them off - and he has a tendency to do away with them suddenly and without warning.

 

I do have some minor issues with the book.  Much as with its predecessor, I still have trouble accepting that someone so young could know quite so much.  This book also, I thought, took a while to get going; it's nearly 200 pages longer than Prince, so that is to be expected, I suppose, and - once it does get going - it moves at a phenomenal pace.  I read nearly 200 pages in one sitting, which is incredibly rare for me to do, so that indicates just how much it was thrilling me.  Lastly, I think ML does need to do a bit more about set-ups and pay-offs.  I find he has a tendency to not reveal a vital piece of information until about three paragraphs before it becomes relevant, which I found undermined the suspense a touch as I ended up expecting Jorg to have a solution instead of worrying that he might not.  It's not that it doesn't work as it is - it does - but I sometimes like the long game, a set-up earlier in the novel that pays off much later.  When he does do it that way it works brilliantly.

 

Overall, I thought this book was every bit as enthralling as the first.  He even, to a degree, manages to maintain the shock value that I thought might have worn off after the previous book (there's one scene early on, involving a punishment from his father, that I found far more upsetting than anything I've read in, well, ages).  Once the various plot strands start to reveal their depths and secrets the novel achieves heights I really wasn't expecting after the slow start.  It is a focused, relentless, and very rewarding read.  Well done, Mr Lawrence - I look forward to the finale with much excitement

 

 

9/10

[Athena]

Great review ! Your writing is very detailed. I'm glad you enjoyed the book. When's the last one coming out ?

Edited October 2, 2013 by Athena

[Karsa Orlong]

Thanks    The last one's already out - Laura's already reviewed it, I think

[Timstar]

Really want to start this series now! Far too much to read.

[Athena]

Thanks    The last one's already out - Laura's already reviewed it, I think

x

Sorry, I'm being very tired .

[Little Pixie]

...But their passion knew no bounds...

 

[Signor Finzione]

Awesome review of KoT, Steve. I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did!

 

 

I do have some minor issues with the book.  Much as with its predecessor, I still have trouble accepting that someone so young could know quite so much.  This book also, I thought, took a while to get going; it's nearly 200 pages longer than Prince, so that is to be expected, I suppose, and - once it does get going - it moves at a phenomenal pace.  I read nearly 200 pages in one sitting, which is incredibly rare for me to do, so that indicates just how much it was thrilling me.  Lastly, I think ML does need to do a bit more about set-ups and pay-offs.  I find he has a tendency to not reveal a vital piece of information until about three paragraphs before it becomes relevant, which I found undermined the suspense a touch as I ended up expecting Jorg to have a solution instead of worrying that he might not.  It's not that it doesn't work as it is - it does - but I sometimes like the long game, a set-up earlier in the novel that pays off much later.  When he does do it that way it works brilliantly.

 

I agree with you to some extent on the first point - he's 18 by this point, but most of the flashbacks take place when he's 14 or younger, and it's a bit of a stretch to believe that someone so young would have such long-term planning skills.

 

I also know what you mean about the 'Problem? Let me just pull out a solution! Problem solved' thing, although I suppose there actually was a reason for him not 'remembering' until the last minute. Personally I loved trying to guess what the twist tactics would be! I do like how they weren't entirely out of nowhere: they were set up during each of his journeys during the flashbacks (maybe I only noticed some of them when I re-read it).

 

What did you think about the diary entries?

 

You should definitely go and get the final one - it's ace! Then you should lend them all to Tim so he can read them too.

 

@Athena: It came out about two months ago and is still only available in hardback - which shows how much I enjoyed the series (I hardly ever buy hardbacks!)

 

[Athena]

@Athena: It came out about two months ago and is still only available in hardback - which shows how much I enjoyed the series (I hardly ever buy hardbacks!)

x

Ah! That explains it .

[Karsa Orlong]

 

I also know what you mean about the 'Problem? Let me just pull out a solution! Problem solved' thing, although I suppose there actually was a reason for him not 'remembering' until the last minute. Personally I loved trying to guess what the twist tactics would be! I do like how they weren't entirely out of nowhere: they were set up during each of his journeys during the flashbacks (maybe I only noticed some of them when I re-read it).

 

The instances I was thinking of didn't involve the 'remembering', they were just there because ML omitted to tell the reader relevant details until the last minute, such as:

 

 

The highlanders piling rocks in certain places to deal with rivals using their land, and same for the 'bombs' placed to start the avalanche

 

 

He could have set those up so much better if he'd had some minor scene about them earlier on, left the reader to forget about them, and then brought them back for the pay-off. 

[Signor Finzione]

Good point. Maybe he could have done it so that

 

 

the dispute he had to go and resolve among the two farmers happened when one of them wrongfully 'took a rock for a walk' and destroyed the others' property.