Friends,
This is my review of the book “Alexander – The Sands of Ammon by Valerio Massimo Manfredi” which I read recently. This is the second book in Valerio's trilogy on Alexander, and continues on from Alexander – Child of A Dream telling the tale of Alexander's exploits. These mainly concern the war with the Persian King and his Greek born mercenary Memnon. The vast numbers of troops detailed in the story are almost inconceivable, and they were of course designed to intimidate all enemies. But Alexander uses the skills and cunning he has learnt to capture and conquer the cites and the land. He gradually progresses around the Mediterranean towards Egypt. When faced with a seemingly impossible hurdle created by nature he does not let this defeat him. He either builds causeways to cities on islands, or cuts steps in hillsides so he can go over cliffs and get round the back of the enemy. His exploits are truly amazing. Then alongside this there is the ongoing investigation into his father's death. Who actually ordered the assignation?? and the romance between Alexander and Barsine, Memnon's wife. As a book on it's own it would not be that interesting, but as the central part of the trilogy it makes a good read, and gives me the desire to read the final book in the series. This was book 23 week 17 fiction 20 (audio book 4) non fiction 3.
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Friends,
This is my review of the book “I wish Jesus Hadn't Said That, but I'm Really Glad He Did” by Steve Timmis, which I read recently. There are a number of teaching's Jesus gives us that are very hard to understand, let alone follow. “Take up your cross”, “Love your enemies”, “I did not come to bring peace but a sword”, “Go and make disciples of all nations” , “ You cannot serve both God and Money” etc. Steve selects ten of these challenging teachings, and works through them trying to unpack them so we can understand what they mean for our everyday lives. He uses his insight to provide a serious challenge, which cuts across so many of our societies so call natural rights and desires. This is a very challenging book, but extremely readable, giving clear precise arguments to back up what he is saying. Having got to the end of a chapter I sort of felt wow, was I brave enough to read the next. The subjects he has chosen to discuss are extremely challenging and as such often avoided as they ask the difficult questions. He shows that by obeying God, rather than upsetting and preventing things, this enables us to live the life we were always meant to live. I am glad that I have read this book and will encourage my friends to read it also, though will say it comes with a challenge warning. I will be looking out for other books that Steve has written. This was book 22 week 16 fiction 19 (audio book 4) non fiction 3. Friends,
This is my review of the book “The Old Curiosity Shop” by Charles Dickens, which I listened to recently as driving. The version I listened to was a librivox recording https://librivox.org/the-old-curiosity-shop-by-charles-dickens-2/ and was beautifully read by Mil Nicholson. It takes over 24 hours to listen to so as you can work out I have been doing this for a number of weeks. Maybe it is a male – female thing, but I found this story very hard to concentrate on as driving around, whereas Pauline had no trouble following the story. To me it was a series of Victorian cameo's about life in the mid eighteenth century, linked together as a tragedy. The gist of the story line is as follows – To start with it is the story of Little Nell, a beautiful and virtuous young girl who lives with her grandfather in his shop of curiosities. Her grandfather loves her dearly, and Nell does not complain, but she lives a lonely existence without friends of her own age. Her only friend is Kit, an honest young lad who works at the shop, and whom she is teaching to write. Unbeknownst to Nell, her grandfather is obsessed with their precarious financial position and is attempting to make Nell a good inheritance by winning at cards. He keeps these nocturnal activities a secret, but borrows heavily from the evil Quilp, a dwarf, in order to raise new capital. In the end, he gambles away what little money they own, and Quilp seizes the opportunity to take possession of the shop and make Nell's and her grandfather's lives a misery. Indeed, her grandfather suffers a breakdown, which leaves him bereft of his wits. Courageously, Nell decides to escape Quilp, and she and her grandfather run away to the country to live as beggars, travelling into the Midlands of England. Quilp and his sly minions and accomplices, try and chase them, until circumstances bring Quilp to a stop..... This was book 20 week 15 fiction 18 (audio book 4) non fiction 2 Friends,
This is my review of the book “Solo” by William Boyd, which I read recently. - Bond, the names, Bond as the saying goes. This story is all about James Bond in the late nineteen sixties. Though I have not read a James Bond story written by Ian Fleming, for a number of years I could recognise Ian's style in the plot line. It has been written with great skill and detail, whilst adding the depth to the characters, the story goes along at a good rate, with several twists and turns along the way. So getting back to the story, our hero James driven by revenge, sets out to try and stop a civil war in a small West African country called Zanzariun. He is there under cover as a journalist. Surprise surprise, he is aided by a beautiful accomplice, but all is not quite what it seems – To say more would spoil the plot, but I will say beware flying bullets. He then gets drawn into a plot that takes him to America. Once in Washington the plot thickens. He is left with the dilemma – does he follow orders or solve the mystery, which he uncovered in Zanzarium. To say much more could spoil a really enjoyable story. Other than to say it is one that has not been ruined by excessive use of gadgets, but rather skill and genius in making a fantastic atmospheric plot. A very enjoyable book to read. It was book 19 week 15 fiction 17 (audio book 3) non fiction 2 Friends,
This is my review of the book Asterix and the Picts written by Jean-Yves Ferri, which I greatly enjoyed reading recently. This is a book that continues the fantastic Asterix series by Goscinny and Uderzo. Jean-Yves, the translator Anthea Bell, and illustrator Didier Conrad, have managed to capture the humorous spirit of the original series oh so well. This is a book that was so enjoyable, especially having now moved to Scotland. The potential scope for fun was enormous and they have made full use of it, from having the loch Ness monster as a pet – Nessie to every type of humorous name variation starting with “Mac”. MY favourite was the “little brother” Macmini – of course he was not small. Then there is “Malted Water” the picts national drink – the water of life, which along with the Gauls magic potion causes great commotion..amongst the corrupt Picts and Romans. They don't really stand a chance. Our heros manage to defeat them saving the day. Caber-tossing, bagpipes, and tartans also come into the picture as well. So what is the story about – Asterix and Obelix rescue a Pict called MacAroon. They have to return him home to Caledonia, (Scotland), so he can return to his lady love Camomilla. But the rival chieftain MacCabaeus has other plans, and wants to claim the throne for himself with the help of the Romans.. This was a lovely enjoyable book to read. It was book 18 week 14 fiction 16 (audio book 3) non fiction 2 Friends this is my review of the book Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child, which I read recently. Previously, since I have been taking note of which books I have read, I have read one of the Jack Reacher novels before, which I enjoyed, so seeing a couple going for a song at a second hand book fair I snapped them up.
This certainly has a different plot line as a starter. Someone commits suicide in front of our hero Jack Reacher on a very late subway train. Jack then sets out to try and solve the mystery as to why she killed herself as she did not leave any message. Sadly a lot of the story seems to involve various chases around New York City, and as a reader who has not been to that city, the story did lack depth, as one unknown street is very similar to another unknown street. So I don't know if these chases made sense or not. So as not to totally spoil the plot for anyone who has not read the story, but it does involve politicians, FBI, terrorists and the local police. I will not reveal too much more, except of course Jack manages to escape several times from situations that seem impossible. A whole team of crack foreign assigns is no match for our hero as the body count rises. It was an enjoyable easy read if one leaves reality aside for a few hours. This was book 17 week 14 fiction 15 (audio book 3) non fiction 2 Friends this is my review of the book “One Good Turn” by Kate Atkinson, which I have read recently. This is a book that I have had on my book shelves for some time, as originally read it a few years ago, probably in 2007 when it came out in the version I have got.
I was prompted to look this out having noticed that Kate won the Costa Novel Award, for her book Life after Life, which she was recently awarded in January this year. I am looking forward to reading that book, but for now I am writing about “One Good Turn” This is a book about the hero Jackson Brodie, as ex-army policeman. He is in Edinburgh for the Edinburgh Festival, to see his partner performing in a play. There is a road rage incident, which he tries to help with, but leaves him as a murder suspect. The body count then starts, helped along by “Mad Honda Man” and his baseball bat, as the lives of everyone involved in the road rage incident are changed for ever. The characters are beautifully painted, allowing the read to really feel for them as they go through a whole series of nightmares. Which just brings out the black humour of the story. It is very addictive, not least due to the thought “what an earth can happen next”. This was certainly not the sort of run of the mill detective novel, but a really good mystery. This was an enjoyable book – full of black humour and was book 16 week 13 fiction 15 (audio book 3) non fiction 2 Friends this is my review of the book Midges in Scotland by George Hendry, which I read recently. Though this is a factual book, it is a fascinating book, and would appeal to anyone who lives or has lived in an area where midges are found.
It gives all the details of the biting Highland Midge, explaining how to avoid getting bitten, along with the real reason as to why it is biting you. The book also gives an historical overview of what has been done to try and prevent midge attacks, going from what the army did in the 1940's to the current day. Though it is quite a small book, Dr Hendry still manages to answer most of the questions one wants to know about these horrible creatures, sorry lovely insects... This is a fascinating read providing understanding of the ways of the midge, and a book I would recommend to anyone visiting the Highlands of Scotland, or any other location where biting midges are common. Sadly this is quite a lot. This was a good and interesting read as book 15 week 12 fiction 14 (audio book 3) non fiction 1 Friends, this is my review of the book A Sentimental Traitor by Michael Dobbs, which I have read recently. Michael is an author who I have read before, just like Mr Forsyth. When I started the book I did wonder if I had made the right choice, but yes I did.
A real page turner, that gives the right balance to the characters, whilst at the same time progresses the plot along in a logical and absorbing way. So this is another book about Harry Jones, the ex solder with a colourful past who starts the story off as an MP trying to keep his seat in the forthcoming election. At the same time a passenger plane with thirty seven children on board crashes on central London. Sadly everyone is killed, and it is found to have been caused by a missile. There is also dubious financial dealings, that seem to be leading to bankruptcy for Harry, but on the good news Harry has a new love in his life Jemma Laing a primary school teacher. Can she help Harry solve the puzzle, join the dots and save them from disaster? As one zooms through this cracking page turner, we find that they are all linked together, especially when one adds in a mix of the Russians and the European Union. A really good enjoyable story. The only downside was that it was a shame that it came to an end so quickly. This was book 13 week 11 fiction 13 (audio book 3) non fiction 0 Friends this is my review of the book The Cobra by Frederick Forsyth, which I read recently. I was looking forward to reading this book, as previously I had enjoyed reading Fredick's books but sadly this was not the case.
I suppose I should have been warned by the cover, as the quotes on it were all about Frederick as an author and not about the book. The theme of the book is the ongoing war against cocaine. He goes into great detail explaining why the cocaine drugs industry is a problem and what can and can't be done to stop it, which I assume was based on fact though I have not checked it out. If it was not based on fact then it was a total waste of space. The book in the same vane then goes on to list a large number of actions taken around the world to try and stop the cocaine business. These one must assume are fictitious. The trouble was it read as a shopping list of actions. There was no depth to the majority of characters, and realistically it was just boring. Even the final twist was fairly predictable, especially when considering the vast sums of money involved. So all in all not the best book in the world, and a disappointing read. This was book 12 week 10 fiction 12 (audio book 3) non fiction 0 |
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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