Karsa Orlong Posted May 18, 2014 Author Share Posted May 18, 2014 Thanks - I read the first page of Roman Blood and was sold on them. It seemed very good. It`s not my usual era, but I`m looking forward to learning about it. It`ll be just like Rome, the TV show, right ? They have their moments. I've read four of them, and I've enjoyed them all, and my friend has loaned me the next one, so I'll get to it soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 19, 2014 Author Share Posted May 19, 2014 (edited) # 35 The Vor Game (Vorkosigan Saga Book 5) by Lois McMaster Bujold 1990 - Baen paperback - 357 pages From goodreads: Together, they can get into a lot of trouble. Trouble only the combined forces of the Free Dendarii Mercenaries can get them out of. At least, that's what they're hoping... In this latest adventure with the galaxy's craftiest mercenary leader Miles, starts out by so shaking up the High Command on his home planet of Barrayar that he is sent to the other side of the galaxy - where who should he run into but his old pals the Free Dendarii Mercenaries. And a good thing too, because it turns out that Miles' childhood chum, that's Emperor Gregor to you, has been the victim of foul play, and only Miles - with a little Dendarii muscle - can save him. This is very important to Miles; because if Gregor dies, the only person who could become the new emperor is Miles himself - and that he regards as a fate worse than death. Thoughts: Some more of the convoluted publishing history of this series, it was the sixth Vorkosigan novel to be published but is the fifth story (in internal series chronology), and was written after Brothers in Arms, which chronologically is the twelfth story. Work that one out Bujold actually explains it all in her afterword, about how this particular story was her going back to fill in some gaps, how Miles got from here to there etc. It would've been interesting to read them in publication order, jumping around the timeline as they do, but fortunately these omnibus editions present them using the internal chronology. So that's all okay, then . . . This one picks up a short while after the novella The Mountains of Mourning. Miles has graduated from the Barrayaran Military Academy and is sent off on his first assignment - as a weatherman at a remote infantry base. The test for him is put quite plainly: that he has a problem with subordination, and that he must keep his nose clean for six months and, if he does, he will then get what he really desires - a position on a starship. Naturally, he doesn't keep his nose clean It makes for an interesting first 100 pages, coming across almost like a novella that has been bolted onto the front of the true novel, although Bujold swears this is not the case. Nevertheless, there is a somewhat sudden and rather jarring shift in focus at that point, and the story moves off in a completely different direction, seemingly without tying up several loose ends. The new plot involves political and military manoeuvrings as various factions try to gain control of a vital wormhole hub. Miles becomes embroiled in the heart of this trouble, of course. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It's well written, full of thrills, tension, and a good deal of humour. It's big on character, maybe not so big on hard sf ideas. In fact, it feels somewhat transitional. Jo Walton says, in her review on Tor.com, that 'it’s here that the series really hits its stride, and also where it (briefly) starts to look like a normal series', and I think there's a lot of truth in that. It does seem to repeat a lot of what happened in The Warrior's Apprentice, thereby giving us more of the same. But, in the same breath, it's better written and all of the characters are more fully developed, and there's more going on beneath the surface. So, having said all that, it seems kind of strange that it won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1991, when it was up against the likes of Dan Simmons's The Fall of Hyperion. I thought The Vor Game was great fun, very entertaining, but nowhere near as ambitious. A solid entry to the series, with the promise of better to come. 8/10 ETA: The Vor Game is included in the Young Miles omnibus, and is also available separately on Kindle. Edited May 19, 2014 by Karsa Orlong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 Great review! I'm glad to read you're enjoying these books . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 23, 2014 Author Share Posted May 23, 2014 # 36 Byzantium by Stephen R. Lawhead 1996 - Harper Torch paperback - 870 pages Thoughts: I don't want to give away any of the plot, so I'm not posting the blurb(s), all of which seem to be on the spoilery side. Byzantium is historical fiction, telling the story of a young Irish monk by the name of Aidan mac Cainnech. He is chosen to be among a group of thirteen monks who are to go on a pilgrimage from Eire to the golden city of Byzantium, to take the great gift of the Book of Kells to the Emperor of all Christendom. The story doesn't take long to get going: in fact I think it is barely four or five chapters before the monks set sail and are soon caught in the teeth of a storm. In the first of many thrilling sequences, they are then pursued, attacked and captured by Vikings, and it is then that Aidan's adventure truly begins. And this really is an adventure: it's a historical novel, for sure, and purports to be the story of Saint Aidan although, from what I can gather, Aidan is more a combination of several real life people. Lawhead explains: As for Aidan mac Cainnech, he is a fictitious amalgamation of several Irish saints who were active at the time. No one person did all the things my Aidan did in the book, but the events described in Byzantium were based on the kinds of actual adventures pilgrim saints of Aidan’s day endured. and Many of the events mentioned in the book – the political upheaval, the intrigue within the Islam court, and others – are genuine. I wanted to make the book as historical as possible without sacrificing the story – after all, it is not a history textbook, but a novel. With me, story wins every time. Byzantium is a grand, sweeping tale: Epic with a capital 'E'. Needless to say, if all of the above happens in the first hundred pages, then Aidan's journey is bound to be fraught with danger and isn't going to go as planned. It's really an adventure in the classic mode, full of heroes and villains, twists and betrayals, faith and despair, love and hate, and a driving thirst for vengeance. In many ways, I suppose, it reminded me of Bernard Cornwell (especially considering the presence of the Vikings) but without the need to read multiple books to get the full story. Yep, this is completely standalone. In other ways it reminded me a little - a little - of Ben-Hur, in that its characters lose everything and then have to endure so much to survive. And the characters are terrific, especially Gunnar and Harald, among the Vikings, and Sadiq, Faysal and Kazimain among the Sarazens. The Vikings, in particular, are fantastic, sometimes scary, often very funny (especially in one particularly memorable scene where Aidan tries to explain Christianity to them) and larger than life. What I found particularly amazing is that I read an 870 page book in less than six days. I'm not a fast reader, so it shows just how involving I found the book. I don't think the pace flagged at all throughout its near-900 pages. The chapters are generally short and sharp, around ten pages, which I found gave a real sense of progression, and something vital seems to happen in nearly all of them. The plot, whilst relatively straight forward, for once genuinely seemed to justify the length of the book - I didn't feel there was much, if anything, that needed trimming. I'm so close to giving this a 10. It's told in the first person, so occasionally it has to come up with convoluted reasons to put Aidan at the centre of things. Also, as Lawhead freely admits above, it plays fast and free with actual history and concentrates on telling a rollicking good yarn instead. Which is great, but also requires the occasional suspension of disbelief (which I'm very good at doing ). It also doesn't rely on graphic detail for its thrills, which is kind of refreshing. For entertainment value I would give it a 10, but as an example of pure historical fiction it's not quite up there with some others I've read, like O'Brian or Mantel. Make no mistake, though - I absolutely loved this book, and I am sure I will return to it again at some point in the future. Highly recommended 9/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Begins Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 (edited) Wow- that makes me want to read it! I've heard about it, but that's about it. I've even seen The Book of Kells. Edited May 23, 2014 by Anna Begins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Great review! I'm tempted to add it to my wishlist. I have other books by the author on my TBR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Byzantium sounds amazing, Steve. Added to wishlist! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Ooh, that does sound good. And my TBR always need reinforcements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Definitely one for the wishlist, you sold it to me when you said it reminded you of Bernard Cornwell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share Posted May 25, 2014 It really did feel Cornwell-esque to me, in the story and the characters I've bitten the bullet and jumped straight into another doorstopper - The First Man in Rome, which is the first book in Colleen McCullough's 'Masters of Rome' series. 1,000 pages and the text is dense. Might take me a while . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 (edited) I'm a bit surprised you didn't give Byzantium a full 10, having liked it so much I've bitten the bullet and jumped straight into another doorstopper - The First Man in Rome, which is the first book in Colleen McCullough's 'Masters of Rome' series. 1,000 pages and the text is dense. Might take me a while . . . How very brave, another doorstopper! If you like ^ that one, maybe you might like Cullough's The Ladies of Missalonghi! A great fairy tole! Edited May 26, 2014 by frankie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Good luck with another door stopper! I hope you enjoy it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 26, 2014 Author Share Posted May 26, 2014 I'm a bit surprised you didn't give Byzantium a full 10, having liked it so much It was close! But I'm being strict this year maybe you might like Cullough's The Ladies of Missalonghi! You know, I'm sure there's someone around here who keeps telling me off when I spell an author's name incorrectly So I'm guessing you mean 'McCullough's' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 You know, I'm sure there's someone around here who keeps telling me off when I spell an author's name incorrectly So I'm guessing you mean 'McCullough's' No, I meant Cullough. She and I are close, my nickname for her is Cullough (you know, a cross between Colleen and McCullough). So is that a yes for checking out the book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Added Byzantium to my wishlist As well as all Guy Gavriel Kay Books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 26, 2014 Author Share Posted May 26, 2014 No, I meant Cullough. She and I are close, my nickname for her is Cullough (you know, a cross between Colleen and McCullough). I guess that's as good as any other bad excuse there is . . . So is that a yes for checking out the book? Um, no? Added Byzantium to my wishlist As well as all Guy Gavriel Kay Books Yay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 I guess that's as good as any other bad excuse there is . . . Wow, that's pretty well and intelligently said. Who are you quoting? Some great author? Um, no? I tried Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 The 'Masters of Rome' series is seven books (totalling nearly 7,000 pages) long, so I don't think I'll be reading any of her other books soon Although, if I do, it'll be this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 No more book shops near where I work - the last of three branches of Waterstone's that were within walking distance has closed down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Awww that's not nice at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 No more book shops near where I work - the last of three branches of Waterstone's that were within walking distance has closed down Boo. What have appeared in their place - phone shops and coffee shops ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 That's annoying! I'm moving to St Neots next month... this is what I got when I searched for Book shops there: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 28, 2014 Author Share Posted May 28, 2014 That's annoying! I'm moving to St Neots next month... this is what I got when I searched for Book shops there: Bookshops.jpg I sense a business opportunity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 I sense a business opportunity Should`ve done a search before moving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 (edited) That's annoying! I'm moving to St Neots next month... this is what I got when I searched for Book shops there: Bookshops.jpg I feel your pain - my nearest Waterstone's is 12 miles away, and a decent independent bookshop is about 35. Edited May 28, 2014 by chesilbeach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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