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This is my review of the book “The Blockade Runners by Jules Verne”, which I listened to recently as a librivox recording. This is an exciting story written about the time at the end of the American Civil War. The Southern cotton trade has been largely blockaded by the Unionists and this has created a fantastic demand for raw cotton. A Scottish merchant builds his own fast shallow draft ship that can break the blockade, and load up with cotton bales that are rotting in the wharves. What starts out as a quick there and back dash is complicated by the passengers that he finds on his ship. The passengers want to arrange a rescue mission for prisoners held by the rebels in Charleston. The ship has to get the cargo to pay off the enormous costs incurred during its building, but both sides have a very large number of cannon. Any stray cannonball could put an end to the mission in one blow. This is an exciting engaging fast moving story, full of adventure. Just perfect for taking ones mind from the queues on the road. This was book 37 week 28 fiction 34 (audio book 10) non fiction 3.
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Friends,
This is my review of the book “Rome The Art of War by M C Scott”, which I read recently. This is another new author for me, the book being on special offer in a supermarket and catching my eye. I enjoy reading historical novels and was looking forward to this one, and it did not disappoint. The book is set in the tight time frame of AD69 and details how Vespasian came to be emperor, through the eyes of various characters mainly Sebastos Pantera a Roman super spy. The story is believable, whilst being full of bribery, blackmail, double crossing and treachery. The plot is exciting, convincing and compelling. It is not just one long series of battles but puts the meat on the bone, and can be compared to any modern spy thriller. It is a story that though one is told the outcome at a very early start, one has no idea as to how this will be achieved until nearly the end of the book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will now look out other ones, as I gather this is part of a series about the super Roman spy Sebastros Pantera. This was book 36 week 28 fiction 33 (audio book 9) non fiction 3. Friends
This is my review of the book “Plague Ship by Andre Norton” which I listened to a while ago. As mentioned a couple of posts ago I am playing catch up with these reviews. I listened to this story as a librivox recording whilst travelling and then preparing our holiday cottage The Spinney in South West Scotland www.thespinneycottage for guests to stay the week. It was an enjoyable story to listen to and made the time pass by quickly as I traveled and then cleaned. It is a science fiction story continuing the tale of the ship the Solar Queen, which is a space trader. They land on the planet of Sargol, to trade, but find that their rivals the ruthless Inter Solar company is there already. The Solar Queen manages to beat their rivals and does the deal with the natives. On leaving the planet they quickly find that they have been stricken down with a plaque, that will threaten to destroy them. Somehow the crew have to remove the plaque, and get the ship cleared so that they can trade again. This involves some pretty major risks, as once named as a plaque ship they are open season to all to try and eradicate the plaque from the skies. A fun story that made the time pass by quickly as I was doing jobs. This was book 35 week 28 fiction 32 (audio book 9) non fiction 3. Friends,
This is my review of the book “The Day Without Yesterday by Stuart Clark”, which I read recently. This is the third book in his series of great historical astronomers, being mainly about the life and times of Albert Einstein and Georges Lemaitre. The second was “The Sensorium of God” and you can read my review of it here The first was The Skys Dark Labyrinth and you can read my review of that on here Having read the previous two books and really enjoyed them, this is a book that I was looking forward to reading and it did not disappoint. Maybe because there is so much on the TV at the present about the first world war, but the fact that the book starts in Berlin Germany in 1914 made it all the more interesting. Having studied Physics and Chemistry in the past and been taught various laws and theories attributed to these men, it made it all the more interesting to read and understand some of the history that went on in the process of coming up with their ground breaking discoveries. Stuart manages to add the colour to a black and white image by filling in the emotions, and feelings of the characters in between the key historical dates, in a way that brings them to life just as if it was real. A fantastic achievement. This is a really interesting and enjoyable book about two great men who provided us with our modern understanding of the cosmos. I know Stuart says in the notes that these three books have been a work in progress over the last decade, and it shows by the detail and quality of the stories presented. Not a series of boring facts but an engaging drama bringing these facts to live. This was book 34 week 28 fiction 31 (audio book 8) non fiction 3. Friends
This is my review of the book “Bernard Treves Boots A Novel of the Secret Service by Laurence Clarke”, which I listened to recently as a librivox recording. The observant will have noticed that there has been a slight gap in my reviews – well this is not because I have stopped reading or listening to books, but rather communication issues with the internet, due to travelling, power and BT Internet but hopefully now things back to normal and I will be able to catch up with my reviews. One of the things I like about librivox is that it allows one to find new authors that I have never heard of, listen to them for a bit. If one does not enjoy what one is listening to move on to something else or listen to the full things. I had never heard of Laurence Clarke before, but the title so intrigued me that I thought it would be worth giving it a go. What a fascinating lovely story about a secret service agent in the first world war. How he manges to impersonate a corrupt army officer addicted to drugs and prevents a major attack on Portsmouth. This all takes place during the First World War, with a lot of action on the Isle of Wight. An exciting story that has lots of twists and turns, and secret agents at every turn, either working for the British or the Germans. Far too complicated to go into any detail other than to say listen to it yourself on librivox A very enjoyable book - This was book 33 week 28 fiction 30 (audio book 8) non fiction 3. |
Tim Fuller
Dyslexic doodles on photography, food (growing, cooking & of course eating), faith and other fascinating things. This is a personal blog expressing my views. Archives
November 2015
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