StanleyWheeler

The Books of August
There has been a whole lot of reading going on around here. I have a word to say about that, but first, a quote from Touch of Evil staring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, and Orson Welles: "A policeman's job is only easy in a police state."

I thought it was a great movie. Both Heston's and Welles' characters had some great lines. I may do a full review later. It's currently on Netflix. Marlene Dietrich, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Dennis Weaver also have supporting roles.

Back to the Guns Books of August. Let's begin with Salammbo by Gustave Flaubert (of Madame Bovary fame) published in 1862--so it's not going to be found on the New Releases list.

General Thoughts: If it is possible for a story to be entirely obscured, covered like a coffin in the grave by great heaping scoops truckloads of descriptive detail, and yet still hold promise enough to keep me reading, this is the best example that I've found. I nearly gave up several times. Instead of abandoning the project, I resorted to skimming over the lengthy (screens upon screens) descriptions that were perhaps meant to convey the flavor and texture of the setting--and if that was the case, I found the dish extremely over-seasoned and too textured to enjoy. I had thought about trying to read it in French until I read some reviews that mentioned the extremely heavy descriptions; I decided that I could make better time in English.

The Story in a nutshell: Disgruntled mercenaries go postal on Carthage. Dude who is obsessed with the priestess Salammbo steals a holy veil from the inner sanctum of the temple. The barbarians besiege the city. The city finds a general who can deal with them. Lots of people die. Salammbo takes advantage of the dude who stole the veil to retake it. In the end, more people die.

Do I recommend it? No. The story holds lots of promise but never delivers. Your mileage may vary, but as for me and my house, I rate it: More trouble than it's worth.

Moving on to In The Hall of the Dragon King by Stephen R. Lawhead, the first book in the Dragon King Trilogy.

General Thoughts: I decided to read this book when I found complaints elsewhere about the author's Christian faith being too prominently displayed in the book. I thought the complaints likely overstated. Unfortunately, my suspicion proved other than correct. I was hoping for the same kind of treatment of faith as is found in Sanderson's Stormlight series--which is something that makes the story more interesting and appealing in my opinion. Lawhead handles the matter much less deftly than Sanderson. I believe this is one of his earliest books, being first published back in the 1980's. If so, perhaps he has learned to use a lighter touch while still making his point. The other reason I chose this book was because I found the whole trilogy for only $3.99--about the same price as one book.

Story in a nutshell: Boy takes a message to the queen and ends up in an adventure to rescue the king from an evil wizard and restore the king to his throne, while discovering the true faith along the way.

Do I recommend it? Maybe. I'll read the next book in the trilogy. This story also holds lots of promise. It didn't get bogged down in descriptive detail and moved along fairly quickly. It was evident to me that the story was more plot-driven that character driven. While some character development happens, there's not a lot of it; mostly the story moves through a series of points designed to get from the beginning to the end without devoting much time to anything not in this direct line. The story is simple; the characters never captured my interest sufficiently to make me love the book. I rate it: Heavy handed, but interesting enough to read on.

Next up is 1776 by David McCullough.

General Thoughts: It's all right. A friend lent me this book at the perfect time. (I'm writing a flintlock fantasy series set during the American Revolutionary War). I've read several books on the revolution over the years. This one is different in that it focuses only on the titular year (mostly). I really didn't find much that was both new to me and interesting.

Story in a nutshell: There's a revolution afoot! The rotten colonials have risen in rebellion and must be put in their proper place. Washington outlasts/outmaneuvers the British in Boston but gets trounced at New York. He comes back with an inning saving rally with victories at Princeton and Trenton.

Do I recommend it? Only if you haven't read much about the revolution. It's a good description of one year of the conflict, but I didn't see enough new information to make it worth getting. I preferred Leckie's Washington's War, and Page Smith's A New Age Now Begins (a multi-volume set). Both of these are older works, but are more satisfying. As for 1776, I rate it: Good for the novice, but redundant for the seasoned student.

Finally, we have the also-rans. These books didn't keep my attention, or actually drove me away from reading them. Actually, I can only remember one at this point. It was The Pearl of Wisdom Saga Three Book Bundle. I got the bundle for free. I thought that was a good deal. The first book in the series had nearly 90 reviews, almost all of which were 4 or 5 stars. I saw two one-star reviews. I should have paid attention to those two reviews. The prose drove me away. My time is too valuable to spend on that kind of mess--rather it aspired to be a mess. It suffers from what I see in a lot of fantasy writing: It could have been written by a fairly talented 5th grader.

I might add that my current reading list includes Paul Feval's Le Loup Blanc, Richard P. Feynman's "Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman!", and Requiem's Song by Daniel Arenson. The latter is part of a 6 book bundle that I got for $0.99. I'm enjoying all three of these.