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endlessrarities) wrote2011-12-30 11:40 am
endlessrarities) wrote2011-12-30 11:40 am
2011 Book Review - Part One
Well, here it is. My definitive list of fiction reading matter for 2011. The books are sourced from various places: many were gleaned from library sales and second hand book shops/charity shops, others were given to me by friends. Others were - shock horror!!!- bought from new!!! I have added date & publisher, for your interest, and have included a brief summary of theme and topic, etcetera, followed by a rating. Most of it is historical fiction, with some SF/Fantasy thrown in for good measure. It's in no particular order, apart from how everything happened to be arranged on my book shelves!
1) The Forerunners,by Annie S Swan (Lythway, 1930). Historical fiction set in the Scottish Borders. Three stories in one, set around the Covenanting times, the eighteenth century and WWI, following the fortunes of a single family. A bit dated, failed to set the heather alight for me.
2) The Serpent in the Garden by Janet Gleeson (Bantam, 2003). Murder myster/whodunit set in the Regency period. Nice plot, I suppose, but I'm just not a fan of the genre, so it didn't really do it for me.
3) The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie (Headline, 2008). Cast in the mould of The Da Vinci Code or Labyrinth - surgeon & astonishingly accomplished/dazzlingly attractive young professional woman get together to solve a puzzle revolving around a legacy left by the Elizabethan astrologer John Dee. They find themselves up against an evil sect of fanatical religious nutters determined to bring on Armageddon. A fun read, with a really interesting premise, but in the words of the old school report 'could've done better'.
4) Mary Queen of Scotland & The Isles by Margaret George (Pan, 1992). Historical fiction in the traditional sense. Dense, lyrical writing, comprehensive, and a bit of a slog. Not my kind of historical fiction - characters are puppets, held captive by history, rather than agents of their own destinies.
5) The Sixth Wife by Jean Plaidy (Arrow, 2006). The first Plaidy novel I've read, which revolves around - yes, you've guessed it!- Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's sixth wife. For critique, see 5) above.
6)The Rogue by Claire DeLaCroix (Warner, 2002). Bodice-ripping historical romp set in the Scotland during the high medieval period. It was more realistically medieval than I'd expected (that's not saying much), but since there was a dearth of characters named John, Margaret, Hugh or Catherine, and the lordship was fictitious, I found it too incredible to cope with, Nuff said!
7) The War at Troy by Lindsay Clarke (HarperCollins, 2005). A straightforward narrative account of the Trojan War told by one of Odysseus's cronies. In spite of one or two anachronisms, I thoroughly enjoyed this interpretation of Homer's epic tale. Recommended.
8) The Favoured Child by Phillipa Gregory (Harper Collins, 2001). Late eighteenth century epic tale revolving around a feisty heroine. Disappointing - the heroine was irritating & predictable (Mary Boleyn by another name), and I spent most of the book wanting to strangle her.
9) The Priestess & The Slave by Jenny Blackford (Hadley Rille Books, 2009). A lovely, lyrical book, set in Classical Greece in the run-up to the Pelopennesian War. But like a delicious hors de'ouevres at a classy restaurant, it was over much too soon. I wanted MORE!!! Highly recommended.
10) Zorro by Isabel Allende (Harpertorch, 2005). I'm not a fan of Zorro - either the film or the telly series - so I approached this book (which was given to me) with trepidation. But... It worked! It placed Zorro back into a historical context, and it was a great read. Highly recommended.
11) All Things Are Lights by Robert Shea (Collins, 1986). Standard historical fiction set in medieval France, featuring Cathars, Crusades etcetera. A bit of a slog.
12) Labyrinth by Kate Mosse (Orion, 2005). It probably needs no introduction. It was my second reading, for reference purposes. An enjoyable read, but it all seemed a wee bit superficial, and the characters a bit cliched. I much preferred the historical fiction sections - I suspect the author did too!
13) Bored of the Rings by HM Beard & D C Kenny (Gollancz, 1999). Tongue in cheek look at Tolkein. Loved by The Boss - doesn't do anything for me, I'm afraid.
14) The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night Time by Mark Haddon (Vintage, 2002). Autistic boy witnesses death of a neighbour's poodle and decides to investigate, opening a large and festering can of worms. One of the rare occasions when a book actually lives up to its hype. The narrative style is brilliant, and it's hysterically funny in places, and deeply painful in others. Highly recommended.
15) Fight Club by Chuch Palahniuk (Vintage 1997). It took me a while to get in to, as the viewpoint character was so unpleasant. As modern fiction, I wouldn't have been able to hack it. As science fiction, I could. As a view of a dystopian society, it's up there with A Clockwork Orange - but the writing style kind of lets it down, I fear. Recommended.
16) The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff (Puffin, 1977). Just as good today as it was when I first encountered it. Beautiful writing, lots of depth to the narrative, a classic in every sense of the word. Historical fiction at its very best. Highly recommended.
17) Fatal Majesty by Reay Tannahill (Orion, 1998). Another book following the fortunes of Mary Queen of Scots. Brilliantly written, from the viewpoint of one of her courtiers. It captures the essence of sixteenth century Scotland perfectly - the intrigue, the backstabbing, the political shenanigans. AND it has a sense of humour - in places!! Just the kind of thing I wish I'd written myself... Highly Recommended.
18) Pompeii by Robert Harris (Random House, 2004). Set in and around Pompeii in the days leading up to the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. I wasn't expecting great things from this, but it turned out to be a fantastic read. Harris seems to have captured the spirit of the Roman world perfectly. Highly Recommended.
19) The Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula LeGuin (Book Club Associates 1977). (Comprising The Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, and The Farthest Shore) I read a lot of fantasy when I was a kid, but it's a genre that quite often leaves me cold now. I returned to Earthsea with trepidation, but I was delighted to find that LeGuin's works were still an excellent read. I found tWoE and tToA to be much stronger works than tFS - I just couldn't engage with the latter book in the same way. Highly Recommended.
So there you have it. It was a busy year for reading - I guess this shows just how much I found myself out on site, shut in the cab of a lonely Ford van during tea and lunch breaks...
1) The Forerunners,by Annie S Swan (Lythway, 1930). Historical fiction set in the Scottish Borders. Three stories in one, set around the Covenanting times, the eighteenth century and WWI, following the fortunes of a single family. A bit dated, failed to set the heather alight for me.
2) The Serpent in the Garden by Janet Gleeson (Bantam, 2003). Murder myster/whodunit set in the Regency period. Nice plot, I suppose, but I'm just not a fan of the genre, so it didn't really do it for me.
3) The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie (Headline, 2008). Cast in the mould of The Da Vinci Code or Labyrinth - surgeon & astonishingly accomplished/dazzlingly attractive young professional woman get together to solve a puzzle revolving around a legacy left by the Elizabethan astrologer John Dee. They find themselves up against an evil sect of fanatical religious nutters determined to bring on Armageddon. A fun read, with a really interesting premise, but in the words of the old school report 'could've done better'.
4) Mary Queen of Scotland & The Isles by Margaret George (Pan, 1992). Historical fiction in the traditional sense. Dense, lyrical writing, comprehensive, and a bit of a slog. Not my kind of historical fiction - characters are puppets, held captive by history, rather than agents of their own destinies.
5) The Sixth Wife by Jean Plaidy (Arrow, 2006). The first Plaidy novel I've read, which revolves around - yes, you've guessed it!- Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's sixth wife. For critique, see 5) above.
6)The Rogue by Claire DeLaCroix (Warner, 2002). Bodice-ripping historical romp set in the Scotland during the high medieval period. It was more realistically medieval than I'd expected (that's not saying much), but since there was a dearth of characters named John, Margaret, Hugh or Catherine, and the lordship was fictitious, I found it too incredible to cope with, Nuff said!
7) The War at Troy by Lindsay Clarke (HarperCollins, 2005). A straightforward narrative account of the Trojan War told by one of Odysseus's cronies. In spite of one or two anachronisms, I thoroughly enjoyed this interpretation of Homer's epic tale. Recommended.
8) The Favoured Child by Phillipa Gregory (Harper Collins, 2001). Late eighteenth century epic tale revolving around a feisty heroine. Disappointing - the heroine was irritating & predictable (Mary Boleyn by another name), and I spent most of the book wanting to strangle her.
9) The Priestess & The Slave by Jenny Blackford (Hadley Rille Books, 2009). A lovely, lyrical book, set in Classical Greece in the run-up to the Pelopennesian War. But like a delicious hors de'ouevres at a classy restaurant, it was over much too soon. I wanted MORE!!! Highly recommended.
10) Zorro by Isabel Allende (Harpertorch, 2005). I'm not a fan of Zorro - either the film or the telly series - so I approached this book (which was given to me) with trepidation. But... It worked! It placed Zorro back into a historical context, and it was a great read. Highly recommended.
11) All Things Are Lights by Robert Shea (Collins, 1986). Standard historical fiction set in medieval France, featuring Cathars, Crusades etcetera. A bit of a slog.
12) Labyrinth by Kate Mosse (Orion, 2005). It probably needs no introduction. It was my second reading, for reference purposes. An enjoyable read, but it all seemed a wee bit superficial, and the characters a bit cliched. I much preferred the historical fiction sections - I suspect the author did too!
13) Bored of the Rings by HM Beard & D C Kenny (Gollancz, 1999). Tongue in cheek look at Tolkein. Loved by The Boss - doesn't do anything for me, I'm afraid.
14) The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night Time by Mark Haddon (Vintage, 2002). Autistic boy witnesses death of a neighbour's poodle and decides to investigate, opening a large and festering can of worms. One of the rare occasions when a book actually lives up to its hype. The narrative style is brilliant, and it's hysterically funny in places, and deeply painful in others. Highly recommended.
15) Fight Club by Chuch Palahniuk (Vintage 1997). It took me a while to get in to, as the viewpoint character was so unpleasant. As modern fiction, I wouldn't have been able to hack it. As science fiction, I could. As a view of a dystopian society, it's up there with A Clockwork Orange - but the writing style kind of lets it down, I fear. Recommended.
16) The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff (Puffin, 1977). Just as good today as it was when I first encountered it. Beautiful writing, lots of depth to the narrative, a classic in every sense of the word. Historical fiction at its very best. Highly recommended.
17) Fatal Majesty by Reay Tannahill (Orion, 1998). Another book following the fortunes of Mary Queen of Scots. Brilliantly written, from the viewpoint of one of her courtiers. It captures the essence of sixteenth century Scotland perfectly - the intrigue, the backstabbing, the political shenanigans. AND it has a sense of humour - in places!! Just the kind of thing I wish I'd written myself... Highly Recommended.
18) Pompeii by Robert Harris (Random House, 2004). Set in and around Pompeii in the days leading up to the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. I wasn't expecting great things from this, but it turned out to be a fantastic read. Harris seems to have captured the spirit of the Roman world perfectly. Highly Recommended.
19) The Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula LeGuin (Book Club Associates 1977). (Comprising The Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, and The Farthest Shore) I read a lot of fantasy when I was a kid, but it's a genre that quite often leaves me cold now. I returned to Earthsea with trepidation, but I was delighted to find that LeGuin's works were still an excellent read. I found tWoE and tToA to be much stronger works than tFS - I just couldn't engage with the latter book in the same way. Highly Recommended.
So there you have it. It was a busy year for reading - I guess this shows just how much I found myself out on site, shut in the cab of a lonely Ford van during tea and lunch breaks...