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Vagabond

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Vagabond

Vagabond

By Bernard Cornwell

HarperCollins Publishers

ISBN: 0-06-621080-1

4 stars

Vagabond is the second book in the Grail series by Cornwell. It picks up after the final battle in The Archer’s Tale.

Thomas, an archer in the English army, is searching for the Holy Grail. He’s not sure if he believes it exists, and his friend and traveling companion, Father Hobbes, keeps reminding him of the promise he made to his dying father which involved another holy relic.

Most of France is under siege by the English and it’s not safe to be traveling for Thomas, Father Hobbes, and Eleanor, Thomas’s soon to be wife. They run into a band of English soldiers who are very interested in the treasure he is seeking. He soon finds himself back in an archer line and, during the battle, both Father Hobbes and Eleanor are killed by another group seeking the Grail. Wrought with grief, he finds new determination. He plans on hunting down the ruthless murderers and exacting revenge for Eleanor’s life.

I liked The Archer’s Tale, the first in the series, but didn’t get into it much. Vagabond moved much faster for me and I began liking Thomas instead of feeling sorry for him. There was still a lot to feel sorry for, but he becomes stronger and more determined which made him much more likable.

It’s a true quest book. Thomas is forever walking somewhere and somehow always seems to find himself in an archer line. He gets closer to the Grail with each fight and deals with an enormous amount a guilt along the way. People around him constantly die and you expect him to give up at any moment.

It’s a violent story. The life of an archer and man-at-arms is not clean, fun, or healthy but it makes for good reading. Cornwell has a way of clearly and very realistically describing battles, sword fights, and the damage an English bow can do. It’s not for the squeamish.

The Archer’s Tale

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The Archer's Tale

The Archer’s Tale

By Bernard Cornwell

HarperCollins Publishers

ISBN: 0-06-621084-4

3.75 stars

Thomas is protecting the Treasure of Hookton, a holy relic, on the eve of Easter when his English village is attacked by the French. The place is ransacked, men murdered, women raped and kidnapped, homes burned, and everything worth stealing, stolen, including the Treasure. In an attempt to save his home, Thomas takes up his bow against the invaders. A son of a priest, Thomas promises his dying father to bring the relic back. He also silently swears to avenge his death.

He soon finds himself in the English army marching through France. Smart and very skilled with his bow, he rises fast among the archers. His conscience, in the form of a friend and fellow soldier named Father Hobbes, keeps reminding him of his promise to his father and his god, which Thomas would rather forget. Unfortunately for Thomas, his road to redemption is not easy. He runs afoul of a knight, and in an effort to help a lady, finds himself hanged. He survives and once again finds himself an archer only this time facing enemies he didn’t know he had and a large French army wanting very much to kill him.

The last month, every book I checked out of the library was set in the 14th Century. It was all coincidence but I’m enjoying the setting.

This is my fifth Cornwell novel this year. I like his writing, enjoy the characters immensely, and like the action, which in some way is always attached to an army. While I liked this book, I didn’t like it as much as the others I read. No reason really, just didn’t get into it as much.

Thomas is an engaging character but I felt bad for him the entire time. His family was killed, home wrecked, a friend constantly reminds of any bit of guilt he might feel, and he’s not so lucky with the ladies. There is a good villain though, Sir Simon, who has it out for Thomas and a few other characters which make it interesting. There’s a lot of information and characters in this book that will obviously feature heavily in the sequel so I’m looking forward to Vagabond to tie up a few loose ends.

Kristin Lavransdatter: I The Bridal Wreath

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Kristin Lavransdatter: I The Bridal Wreath

Kristin Lavransdatter: I The Bridal Wreath

By Sigrid Undset

Vintage Books

ISBN: 0-394-75299-6

2.5 stars

Set in 14th Century Norway, Kristin Lavransdatter is a medieval love story. Kristin is the daughter of Lavrans and Ragnfrid and is well-loved and a bit spoiled by her father. For years, the family lives a quiet life in their small village going about their daily routines. When Ulvhild, the much beloved second daughter of Lavrans and Ragnfrid is injured, their life is turned upside down and many years pass before the family begins to recover.

In time, a third daughter is born to the couple, Ramborg, and Kristin begins preparing for her marriage to Simon Andressön. Kristin doesn’t show much interest in marriage but knows her father found her a good match even if Simon is someone she is not interested in — physically, emotionally, or intellectually. Her father and Simon agree that Kristin needs to experience the world at large, and she is put into a convent the year before her marriage. While there, Kristin falls in love with Erlend Nikulaussön, a man of her family’s caliber but not one in good standing with the community. Shortly before her marriage to Simon is to take place, she musters the courage to break off the engagement only to be told by her father that he will not allow her to marry Erlend. Years pass before the two are able to marry but somehow it doesn’t feel happy.

The entire time I was reading I kept wondering if it was the translation. It felt awkward and clunky and I had to go back a few times to reacquaint myself with some people and places. It was also very slow moving. Years pass where nothing much happens but somehow I keep reading. It wasn’t the characters that held my interest though — it was the setting. I haven’t read many books set in Norway and I found the lifestyles and small details of life intriguing.

I didn’t really care for Kristin. She seemed vapid to me, caring only about one thing — Erlend. She almost ruined her family by calling off her marriage, and yet, when she got what she wanted, she didn’t seem to be able to appreciate it. She spends her days before the wedding moping around and pining for something else as is she doesn’t really understand what marriage is about. She has very romanticized notions of life and when reality sets in, she panics and feels sorry for herself. I actually wanted to feel sorry for her but couldn’t. Her mother was much the same way and in the end I came to dislike both of them. I also didn’t like the way her life was decided for her but it was the 14th Century and women didn’t make decisions about their own lives. This is something I find I need to remind myself of when reading historical fiction sometimes.

My library has all three books but I don’t know yet if I will continue reading the story. It felt too much like a history lesson for me. Character wise, I didn’t find it a fulfilling read either. Maybe next year.

Covenant With The Vampire: The Diaries of the Family Dracul

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Covenant With The Vampire: The Diaries of the Family Dracul

Covenant With The Vampire: The Diaries of the Family Dracul

By Jeanne Kalogridis

Delacourt Press

ISBN: 0-385-31313-6

3.75 stars

Arkady Tsepesh is returning home to Romania with his pregnant wife, Mary, for the burial of his father. Having lived in London for many years, he is both excited and saddened by the trip. On one hand, he wants to share his life with Mary and introduce her to his sister and uncle, and on the other, he is heartbroken over the loss of his father whom he has not seen for many years.

Mary takes an immediate liking to Arkady’s sister, Zsuzsanna, who is sickly and crippled but a very kind soul. When Zsuzsanna becomes increasingly ill, Mary worries for her. When she finds out the cause of her sickness, she is disturbed in ways she never imagined. Worried for her husband, and with grave doubts about a member of his family, Mary finds her marriage strained. With the pending delivery of their child, she also fears for their lives. Arkady spends much time in denial, until the final moments when he comes face to face with the reality that is his family and what is to become of his life.

Told through diary entries as Bram Stoker’s Dracula, you get to experience the emotions of several characters at once and see the story told from different points of view. While I don’t think that anything new is added to the telling her, it is an interesting take on the Dracul family dynamics. The diary entries are interesting for their revelations but they feel very familiar. I don’t consider that bad, but if you’ve read any number of vampire books with the original Dracula character, I think in many ways they all begin to feel the same. It was still an interesting read and Kalogridis’s style brings a fresh voice to the story.

Well, I spent my October looking for a new vampire book and while this one came along in November, I still found it a good read. I enjoy Kalogridis’s writing style and I liked the new additions to the family she added which gave an often-told tale an interesting twist.

Shiver

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Shiver

Shiver

By Maggie Stiefvater

Scholastic Press

ISBN: 978-0-545-12326-6

4.5 stars

Grace is a normal high school girl. Her parents, while loving, are lax in the parenting department and and she’s learned to raise herself. She’s a good student, has friends, and a thing for the wolves in the backyard — specifically the one with yellow eyes. As a child, she was attacked by a pack of wolves and she’s convinced the yellow-eyed one saved her. Now, she spends many nights in the backyard trying to befriend him. When a student from her class is attacked, the town sets out to destroy the wolves and Grace is determined to stop them fearing her wolf will be hurt or even killed.

After trying to stop the culling, she returns home to find a naked boy on her back porch bleeding. Oddly, he has the same yellow eyes as her wolf. Grace takes him to the hospital, and when he reveals his miraculous healing ability, she takes him home. Sam, her wolf, has been in love with her since the day he saved her and knowing this will be his last year to become human, wants to spend every waking moment with her. Grace, knowing she has finally found her wolf, refuses to let him go even when it might mean death.

Werewolves are now it for me. I don’t know why I haven’t been reading more all along. Or maybe I’ve just been reading the wrong werewolf books.

Either way, while the werewolves were fascinating, the relationship is was what really hooked me. Yes, the boy is a wolf, but somehow when Grace and Sam are together, you believe these two individuals belong together and the rest of the cold, cruel world fades away. You don’t want to see them part and when the inevitable happens, it’s heartbreaking and somehow very real.

I had to remind myself that I was reading a young adult book in a few places. The romance is pretty tempered, they are high school kids, but intimate in many ways I didn’t expect. After I finished the book, I felt I would have liked to know more about the wolves, how they came about, and a little bit more about why they changed. The ending felt a tad out of place for me but that’s really my only criticism here and it didn’t hit me until after I had finished. I was so into the book that at the time it seemed plausible. I plan to check out more of Stiefvater’s books. I really like her style and way with characters.

The White Queen

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The White Queen

The White Queen

By Philippa Gregory

Thorndike Windsor Paragon

ISBN: 978-1-4104-1930-9

3 stars

Elizabeth Woodville is young, beautiful, and a widow with two small boys when she plans to petition the newly crowned King Edward to get her lands back from her former mother-in-law. She waits patiently with her two boys by the side of the road knowing he will pass by with his army. While the Woodvilles fought on the side of Henry, Edward’s cousin and now defeated king of England, she has hopes that her beauty will make him stop and help her.

The two fall in love, marry in secret, and wait for Edward to secure his crown before announcing the marriage. Elizabeth is a commoner and the marriage is not popular with the King’s counselors who do all they can to convince him to leave her. He doesn’t and the two begin building strong alliances by marrying off every supporter, brother, sister, and friend to anyone they see as a future problem. In the end, the war they fought so hard to end, never does. After Edward’s death, the world Elizabeth knows is gone but she keeps fighting wanting to continue and secure the Plantagenet line that she and Edward worked so hard to protect.

This is the first Philippa Gregory book I’ve read. I love historical fiction but somehow I’ve managed to pass her over. I picked this one up with very high hopes. I won’t say the hopes were dashed, but it may be a while before I read another.

I liked the time period, I liked the royals fighting, I liked the court, and I liked the characters. Edward and Elizabeth had good chemistry and the court intrigue was really interesting but there was something that was holding me back from really liking it and I think it was the magical element to the story. It felt silly and contrived to me. I usually like the fantasy, magic, and witchcraft additions to a story but here it didn’t work for me. I vaguely remember reading that either Elizabeth or her mother were accused of witchcraft and I understand the need to include it in the story but I couldn’t get into it here.

I almost put this book down a few times but I decided to finish it and I’m glad I did. Gregory’s writing style can pull you in and in a few places I felt I was really liking the book and then the queen and her mother would get to cursing someone and I quickly backed away again. I don’t know what it was here but in a few months time I think I will give her another chance.

Cleopatra’s Daughter

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Cleopatra's Daughter

Cleopatra’s Daughter

By Michelle Moran

Crown Publishers

ISBN: 978-0-307-40912-6

4 stars

After the deaths of Marc Antony and Cleopatra, Egypt’s new conqueror, Octavian, takes their three children, twins Alexander and Selene, and the youngest Ptolemy, to Rome as prisoners. Ptolemy dies on the journey causing Alexander and Selene to cling to each other even more knowing Octavian can order their deaths on a whim. After being paraded through the streets of Rome in chains, Alexander and Selene are sent to live with Octavia, Octavian’s sister who loves them as her own. While their life is by no means difficult — Octavia goes out of her way to make them feel at home — they still live in fear of death and desperately long for Egypt.

Told through Selene’s eyes, the story focuses on her brother and their small group of friends. While Alexander spends his time and money with Octavia’s son Marcellus at the Circus Maximus, Selene spends her time studying and attempting to make herself useful to Octavian hoping he will send her and her brother home. When their 15th birthday arrives and they are declared adults, Selene and Alexander’s lives take on a heightened urgency. Knowing a marriage will soon be in her future, Selene prepares for a difficult life, and Alexander attempts to live out his days happily instead of worrying about the future knowing he may not have one as the last living son of Marc Antony.

I enjoyed this book and the incredible detail Moran adds to the story. Selene is strong, stubborn, and unwilling to forget who and what she is — a princess of Egypt and daughter of Cleopatra. She questions Octavian’s orders, is outspoken to her guards, and always makes it known that she wants to return to Egypt. The years they spend in Rome are eventful and eye opening, even the smallest trip to the forum is interesting creating an incredible picture of Roman life.

I wanted to read this book because I loved The Heretic Queen so much. I don’t think I liked this book as much but it was still a great read. Moran has a way of describing events and details so well that you can picture everything clearly. She drops you right into the story. Selene is a captive princess in a foreign land and you feel her loss, fear, hope, and eagerness to learn and be useful. There were two small things that bothered me though. I did wonder about Selene’s maturity level at the beginning (she is 10 when Octavian invades Egypt) as she seems way too precocious for her age, and I didn’t like her eager acceptance of her chosen husband at the end. These two things didn’t deter from my reading, just made me wonder, but in the end had no impact on my liking the story any less.

Moran is fast becoming one of my new favorite authors. Now, I’m off to buy a copy of Nefertiti since my library doesn’t have it.

The Haunting of Hill House

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The Haunting of Hill House

The Haunting of Hill House

By Shirley Jackson

Penguin Books

ISBN: 0-14-30-3998-9

4.5 stars

Eleanor Vance has no life. After the death of her mother, whom she physically cared for the last few years, she moves in with her sister, brother-in-law, and niece. She owns nothing, has no job, and desperately wants to belong somewhere. When a letter from a Dr. John Montague arrives in the mail inviting her to spend the summer at Hill House, she readily accepts thinking this is her chance at a new life. Her sister balks at the idea and tries to stop her by telling her that she cannot borrow the car. Eleanor decides to defy her sister and herself. She takes the car and goes to Hill House not understanding or prepared for what she is about to face.

Dr. Montague is studying the paranormal and plans to write a book documenting the events at Hill House which is widely reported to be haunted. The individuals he invites to spend the summer at the house have all experienced some sort of paranormal activity and he hopes to tap into their collective abilities. With the arrival of Theodora and Luke Sanderson, the experiment begins and quickly takes a strange and frightening turn. Over the next few days, Eleanor gets pulled in deeper and begins to lose her grip on reality. When the others try to help, the experiment takes a tragic turn.

As the reader, you hear Eleanor’s thoughts and they are sad, scary, and deluded. She is always imaging the happy life she thinks she should be living but she’s so incredibly unstable that you feel uncomfortable knowing her thoughts. It’s these same thoughts that keep you hooked though. There’s something so very wrong about the house but also Eleanor that the two become almost one in the book. When the paranormal activity picks up, you do wonder if it’s all in Eleanor’s head.

When reality takes over, you feel bad for Eleanor because what happens to her is almost inevitable. There is no way out and no escape from her depressing life. She exercises the only option she can see and while she does, for one brief moment, question her choice, it’s already too late for her.

I didn’t find The Haunting of Hill House scary for the paranormal activity but Eleanor’s thoughts and life which give the book a tragic and creepy feel. The backdrop of the haunted house only adds to the effect and brings to life the raving thoughts of a person so depressed and scared of life that she has to imagine a new one every second of the day.