Review

Review – The Forever Queen

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The Forever Queen

By Helen Hollick

Source Books

ISBN: 1402240686

4.5 stars

Emma was 13 years-old when her brother, the Norman King, married her off to the English King Æthelred.  Besides her being anointed Queen in her own right, it’s a terrible match that at times humiliates and terrifies Emma.  Her husband, who spent his life being ruled by his mother, has no idea what it takes to be a king let alone a decent man.  When Danish invaders take control, he capitulates and later dies a sad and very lonely death.  Not knowing what will become of her or her children now that the Danish king is in control of her land, Emma offers herself in marriage to Cnut, the Danish King, making him through her the new English King.  Her second marriage is much happier than her first and she and her country spend many content years with Cnut as their king.

When Cnut dies, Emma fears the loss of her crown and understands deeply the threat her country faces the day that Cnut’s son from his first marriage appears to lay claim to the thrown which he believes to be rightly his.  When her son with Cnut, Harthacnut, does not return to England to fight for the crown, she recalls her long abandoned sons from her first marriage, Edward and Alfred, to return with disastrous consequences forcing Emma to once again fight to keep her crown and position as Queen.

I usually don’t write such long descriptions in my reviews but I felt this one, being as long as it is (793 pages on my Nook) and the length of Emma’s rule, deserved a longer than normal introduction.  Emma, while not a likable character — she’s disgusted by her husband and her sons from her first marriage, isn’t motherly, is outwardly cruel to her husband and sons (the husband deserving though), and cares in some cases more for her crown and title as Queen above all else — is intensely interesting.  Her life is anything but boring; sad yes, horrid in some cases, lonely, and when she finds happiness there is always something that threatens it (another wife, more sons).  While I still don’t know if I liked her, I couldn’t put this book down wondering what would happen to her next.

Hollick is a great writer of historical fiction and since reading her Arthurian legend trilogy last year, she’s shot up my list of favorite authors.  While there were a few slow parts and an incredible list of characters to keep track of, I still liked this book a lot.  She picks subjects and characters whose parts in actual history may have been forgettable but gives them a fictional voice that makes them unforgettable.

Review – Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife

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SpookSpook: Science Tackles the Afterlife

By Mary Roach

W.W. Norton & Company

ISBN: 0393059626

4.75 stars

While I don’t foster much belief in the afterlife, I do have a thing about ghosts.  I don’t know whether or not I actually believe in them, but I love stories about them.  This is what partly led me to read Spook, that and I love Mary Roach’s approach to non-fiction.  She doesn’t go all crazy and make you feel as if you must believe everything she’s writing about because it’s non-fiction — in some cases you even wonder if she believes it all — which is refreshing.

In Spook, she takes a look at what science has to say about the afterlife.  She starts out with reincarnation, moves on to measuring the weight of a soul, discusses debunking mediums and psychics, looks at the science of ectoplasm, tries to communicate with the dead, and wraps up with the effects of electromagnetic fields on humans.  For some of the topics, the weight of the soul and ectoplasm in particular, the science is rather thin and doesn’t leave you with a lot of hope or really any good scale for noting how much the soul would possibly weigh.  It seems very little but that doesn’t deter the author here.  She goes with it and at times even pokes fun at some of the methods used to determine such things and why someone would even be interested in finding out the information in the first place.

While I found the chapter on reincarnation interesting, what I loved was the section on debunking mediums.  I’m always fascinated by this, the debunking not crackpot mediums, and the lengths that people will go to to defraud someone, especially someone hurting from the loss of a loved one.  Communicating with the dead was another good chapter especially when she gets into describing the activities involved with talking to, or at least trying, to hear the dead.

Roach approaches her subject with a bit of humor but never lets it overcome what she’s set out to prove or disprove.  I’m not sure that I can say this book made me want to re-visit my belief system but it did provide me with some good info to talk to my sister about who also loves ghost stories.

 

Review – A Discovery of Witches

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A Discovery of Witches

By Deborah Harkness

Viking

ISBN: 9780670002241-0

5 stars

Diana Bishop is from one of the most powerful witch families known to exist and she may be one of the family’s most powerful witches ever, but she goes out of her way not to practice magic. She’s become a well-known scholar in the fields of history and science, in particular the intersection of science and witchcraft, and while she might not practice magic intentionally, she’s aware of it all around her. While doing research in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, Diana recalls a manuscript — Ashmole 782 — which has been considered lost for the last 150 years. Finding it bound by a spell, she breaks it unknowingly, and once the book is open, she can’t say why but something about it is all wrong. Slightly shaken by her discovery and the magic, Diana sends the book back to the stacks bothered by its contents and the influx of witches, daemons, and vampires that have suddenly gathered in her vicinity. Unsettled by what she’s seen, Diana leaves the library and plans to forget the book and hopes that the attention from the other creatures will fade too.

Matthew Clairmont is a pioneering researcher known for his work in the genetics field. He’s also a vampire looking for a way to get his hands on the Ashmole 782 manuscript and he thinks he may have found that way through Diana. What Matthew doesn’t expect is to fall in love with her in the process of looking for the book. Diana is an enigma to him — not only does she appeal to him both intellectually and physically but he stuns even himself when he can’t walk away from her even when he should.

Diana and Matthew find themselves in an unorthodox relationship, and because of it, are being hunted by the Congregation, a group of witches, daemons, and vampires that rule the world of creatures. Diana and Matthew find themselves in danger from not just from the discovery of Ashmole 782 but also their growing relationship. Knowing Diana will never be able to defend herself without knowledge of and control over her powers, Matthew convinces her they must go to her family for help.  Safe with Diana’s family of witches they try to understand what her connection is to the manuscript and why every vampire, witch, and daemon is after it.

I love books about books and throw in witches, daemons, and vampires and it appears I become very easy to please. Harkness throws a lot into the story — witchcraft, love, vampires, daemons, secret covens, lost spell-bounds books — but she makes it all work and very smoothly at that. It works thanks to the characters. Diana and Matthew are more than just witch and vampire and it’s about more than spells and bloodlust. While I’m not always a huge fan of love stories mixed with fantasy stories, it works very well here and manages to become the story without overwhelming it.

Matthew’s history combined with Diana’s research, lend the story a fantastic scope that spans generations but the science Harkness infuses into the story grounds it so it never feels as if it goes off on a strange tangent. There are explanations for the witchcraft as well as background for the hidden lives of the creatures (witches, vampires, daemons, and humans) that make the story feel less fantastic and more realistic. Well, as close as one can get to real in a story about creatures that don’t exist.

A Discovery of Witches is the first book in the All Souls Trilogy.  I for one will be waiting anxiously for the next two books in the series.

In addition to this blog, I also do reviews for The Book Reporter website. The above review was done for the Book Reporter which can be found here. The book was provided to me by the publisher.

Review – The Tudor Secret

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The Tudor Secret

By C.W. Gortner

St. Martin’s Griffin

ISBN: 978031265850-2

4 stars

A few years back, I overdosed on Tudor fiction but in the last few months I’ve been craving the drama, court intrigue, and ever present bedroom battles that come along with Henry VIII and his wives. What I liked about The Tudor Secret was that it wasn’t told from the perspective of the royal household, but from a 20 year-old with a blank past who is unceremoniously thrown into court life with the intent of letting it devour him.

Brendan Prescott knows nothing of his past other than he was abandoned as a baby and Mistress Alice, a woman who worked as a maid for the wealthy Dudley household, raised him. A child with no background or family, he knows only too well his lowly place in the household and society at-large. His hopes rise no higher than someday being a squire or a steward and even those positions don’t hold much interest for him. He would rather spend his days in the barn with the horses. When he is called to court by Lady Dudley to be a squire to her oldest son, Robert, his hopes of a peaceful life among horses are forgotten.

Knowing nothing of court life and with no one willing to teach him, he’s left alone among the court sharks looking to use him for their own gain, his Master Robert included. Robert promptly engages Brendan in court escapades that involve setting up a liaison with the Princess Elizabeth with whom he is in love. Brendan manages to find the Princess and deliver the message but he slowly begins to understand that nothing about court life is ever secret. Pulled unwillingly into a spy ring, Brendan becomes privy to the lives of his masters in ways he never imagined and ends up a double agent working not only for Master Robert but also to keep Princess Elizabeth safe and help her sister, Mary, to become Queen.

It is Brendan’s past though that keeps him involved long after he wants nothing more than to walk away. He wants to know who abandoned him that night so long ago but his real concern is for the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. They are targets of people who want nothing more than to overthrow Mary and Elizabeth and convince their brother Edward that neither are true heirs to the throne.

Court intrigue and espionage are always terms that are mandatory when talking about the Tudors. The spying, backstabbing, and face-to-face pleasantries while secretly whispering lies behind a person’s back are well-known traits of this family and the court they created. It’s also what makes them all so much fun to read about. The fodder they have provided for future generations is enormous and I think that’s why, while I might need a break to recover from the tension of crown politics, I never entirely tire of the Tudors. Gortner zeroes in on this tension and the moment that Brendan arrives at court, he starts to ramp it up making you turn pages wanting to desperately know what comes next. Telling the story from an outsider’s point of view also makes the character of Elizabeth much more interesting. She’s well-known but an enigma to Brendan which adds freshness to a character that can feel stiff and sometimes a little standoffish.

Covering about two weeks worth of time, the story does feel a bit forced in places though and in particular Brendan who while understanding nothing of the Tudor court, manages to become involved and an integral part of a spy ring. He blunders too much in the beginning and to see him mature so quickly and in a mere matter of days, feels unlikely. But, he’s somehow still very likable and that’s what makes it work. He doesn’t immediately grasp the implications of every move made at court and that sets him apart from the others and you can’t help but side with him. If you’re looking for a book that will pull you back into the Tudor’s, this one’s a good choice.

In addition to this blog, I also do reviews for The Book Reporter website. The above review was done for The Book Reporter which can be found here. The book was provided to me by the publisher.

Review – The Lost World

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The Lost World

By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

B&R Samizdat Express

E-Book

After reading The Lost City of Z by David Grann last year, I immediately downloaded The Lost World to my Nook.  Grann references the book in his story about Percy Fawcett whom Conan Doyle credits with the idea for his story that became The Lost World.  On a night when I needed something to read and was craving more non-fiction than fiction but couldn’t even feign hope in the book I picked, I browsed the Nook and found my copy of The Lost World.  A short book, my version is a mere 174 pages, I thought it would be the perfect distraction.

I was right on one level — it was distracting but in a good way.  Conan Doyle, is known better to me as the author of the Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories, surprised me in that the story he was telling felt familiar and foreign all at the same time.  The Lost World is the story a newspaper reporter looking for his big story break and thanks to a tip from an editor, he finds himself wrapped up in the tale of Professor Challenger who believes he found a prehistoric world on a plateau in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.  And if you’re wondering, yes it comes complete with caveman and a t-rex.

What makes the story work is the length.  Conan Doyle’s stories were published in segments and you can easily get the feel of that here but it works without feeling punctuated.  The four men that take on the expedition, Professor Challenger, Professor Summerlee, Lord John Roxton, and Edward Malone are interesting characters.  Challenger and Summerlee both have agendas and are out to prove something — for Challenger it’s to prove the world he’s been ridiculed for discovering exists and Summerlee is out to prove Challenger is the fraud he believes him to be.  While Malone is chasing the story of his life to appease the woman he loves with the hopes of a marriage, Roxton is the true explorer who wants to satiate a curiosity.  The four men, and yes it’s a story all about men, come together to form an interesting tale that will keep you interested even if you know the end.

This year I’m trying to delve deeper into author backlists and while my Sherlock Holmes knowledge is still rather shallow, this was a fun little story and I’m glad I took the time to read it.

Review – The Last Pendragon: A Tale of Dark Age Wales

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The Last Pendragon: A Tale of Dark Age Wales

By Sarah Woodbury

Smashwords Edition

EAN: 2940011110184

3.5 stars

Rhiann’s father, the King of Gwynedd, is a cruel man and sees her only virtue as what she can bring him through marriage.  She spends her dreary days turning down any available man her father brings to his hall.  As a bastard child, her choices are running low and she may find herself married to the next man her father brings to his hall.  When Cadwaladr (Cade), the last of the Pendragons, is drug bleeding into her father’s hall, she’s stunned by his appearance.  When she is sent to help him with his wounds and he refuses her help, Rhiann finds she wants to help him even more.  With the help of her stepmother, who also happens to be Cadwaladr’s mother, she escapes with him.  She soon finds out that he’s not exactly who she thought he was.  He’s brave, prepared to fight, a man born to lead men, and he’s also not quite human.

Many re-tellings of Arthurian legend tend to include some form of the supernatural.  It’s sometimes magic used by Merlin, some form of a seer, the sword which in some stories is pulled from an enchanted stone or is given to Arthur by a goddess.  In others, Morgaine or Morgan le Fay, Arthur’s sister, is the one in possession of the magical abilities and there is usually a goddess that has chosen Arthur, or his decedents, for the task of reuniting the people of his land, and more often than not, Saxons are involved.  Woodbury includes most of these elements in some fashion, and while I tend to prefer the non-magical Arthurian legend stories, this one has an interesting twist that made it appealing.  Cade is a form of a daemon which makes him invincible to a degree baring his head doesn’t become dislodged from his body or his heart pierced.  Cade also feels drained by the sunlight and while clearly not a vampire, felt a little too close for me in terms of symptoms/afflictions.

I like character driven stories and once I become attached, even if I was a little leery, I stayed till the end.  One thing that did bother me, and bothered me a lot, was this — the names were all very similar.  I appreciate that the author was staying true to the story by using Welsh names, even if I can’t pronounce them, but they were all too similar and it took me a long time to get them straight.  Even Cade’s horse’s name (Cadfan) was too close to his own name for me.

I was in a slight reading slump when I picked this one up.  I was thoroughly relying on my love of Arthurian legend to pull me through.  It did.  It won’t rank high on my list of best of Arthurian legend stories but it was an interesting re-telling.

Review – Garden Spells

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Garden Spells

By Sarah Addison Allen

A Bantam Book

eISBN: 9780553904123

5 stars

Sarah Addison Allen is a new to me author but I don’t foresee that being the case for very long.  Her style is lyrical, almost poetic, and her characters are amazing creatures of habit that make you love their ways.

Claire Waverly enjoys her quiet life in her family’s old Victorian house in North Carolina, she loves even more the garden out back which produces flowers and herbs and when incorporated into family recipes, can bring about certain feelings in people.  A caterer in town, she’s happy to live her quiet life but when her long lost sister Sydney shows up with her five year old daughter, Bay, her life is thrown into a new orbit.  She’s no longer the sole keeper of the house, her sister is keeping some secret she won’t share, and Bay shows budding family traits of the Waverly women — magical powers of a sort with flowers and an ability to know where everything and everyone belongs.  Sydney keeps fighting her Waverly roots but soon starts to realize that she’s going to need to embrace who she is.

I don’t want to gush all over this book but I’m going to.  Claire and Sydney are sisters who don’t act like it but there is a love between them and when it grows it’s almost as lovely as the garden.  Next door, a new neighbor, Tyler, brings love to Claire and she’s a woman whose life is sorely in need of human contact, even if he is a little bit too pushy for my taste.  Sydney is a woman hurting from an abusive relationship and she doesn’t want to share anything for fear that she and her daughter might be found.  It’s a story of family, love, strength, and learning to embrace life and who you are.  It doesn’t feel odd even for all of its magical elements.  Addison Allen infuses just enough to make it work but she doesn’t make it overbearing or the focus of the story.  It all works.  Magical realism can sometimes over compensate for other story elements but here is all feels right; just life with a little extra.

This is one I highly recommend.  If Sarah Addison Allen is a new to you author, read this one.

Review – The Woman in Black

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The Women in Black

By Susan Hill

Illustrations by John Lawrence

David R. Godine

ISBN: 0879235764

4.5 stars

Arthur Krupps is an ambitious, young lawyer looking forward to providing a secure future for his fiancé.  When his employer sends him to a small, isolated town in the north of England, he looks at it as an opportunity to make a name for himself in his firm.  On the long train ride north, he meets a man named Samuel Daily of the town of Crythin Gifford who becomes rather secretive when Arthur reveals the reason for his visit.  Arthur thinks nothing of Samuel’s odd behavior and, in fact, he finds the town a quiet, peaceful place and expects to enjoy his short stay.  He soon finds out that everyone in town is unwilling to talk about a woman named Alice Drablow, a recluse who lived at Eel Marsh House and the woman whose estate Arthur’s come to settle.  Arthur thinks it odd but brushes it off as nothing more than small town politics and just wants to get through the formalities of his work and return to London.  While attending the funeral of Mrs. Drablow, Arthur spots a woman in black but she disappears before he’s able to speak with her.  He spots her again while walking around Eel Marsh House later that afternoon but she’s much more intimidating on the marshes around the house than at the church.  Thoroughly spooked, he returns to town but is determined to return and finish his work.  When he does return, he finds a house full of sinister secrets and a ghost bent on revenge.

This story, while very short, is full of long, lush sentences that cast a creepy spell.  Arthur wants to believe what’s going on is in his mind but there are too many things happening that make him wonder, in some cases about his own sanity and well-being.  The town’s people won’t talk about the house on the marsh or what happened there and it adds a strange coldness to the story setting Arthur apart from everyone in town.  His search for answers only causes more distress and in the end, all he wants to do is run.  While Arthur’s story begins on a bright cheery note, you know his story won’t end happily.

It’s a good little Victorian story.  Angst, guilt, and anguish with a tad of soul searching thrown in make it a story you don’t want to put down.  If you like ghost stories this is it.  If you don’t, I think it will still hold some value as a story about a man coming to terms with a particular time in his life that he would prefer to forget.  If you don’t like ghost stories, consider it a story about a man and his past with a haunting element that adds atmosphere.

I came across this book while hunting for a dark ghost story.  Susan Hill has several other books, many of which seem to be well-known in England where she lives.  I plan to see what else my library has as she’s definitely a writer I want to read more of.  She has a wonderful style that is lulling but not in the way that puts you to sleep but in the way that pulls you into the story and traps you there until she’s ready to release you.