Showing posts with label history books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history books. Show all posts

Tuesday, 21 April 2020

Outlander: Monsters and Heroes


"Lord, have mercy."


Hello everyone!

Back at it on Fraser's Ridge this week, we discover a great many things, such as locking doors might not have been a big thing back in the 18th century wilderness but it sure does help when your in-laws live just up the hill, babies, especially those that aren't firstborns come at a very high speed, and above all else, you need to watch where you're going.

I feel like that's a theme that's generally repeated today as well whenever you're in the woods, or at the very least it is where I live.

Granted, they usually explain you have to be wary about other little critters that could potentially give you some sort of disease. Snakes, as a rule, aren't that much of a danger here, but still ...

Meeting one in the middle of nothing would be scary even in the 21st century!

I'm trying to imagine the whole scene in my head and I'm failing miserably.

Meanwhile, you're probably wondering whether I've lost it. What's this about snakes, you say?

Well, wonder no longer, clan, though you probably already know.

On this week's Outlander, Monsters and Heroes, we get to meet a slithery kind of monster.

Monday, 28 October 2019

These Old Shades (Booktober)


"You offend my nostrils."





If you want some good old 18th century sarcasm and sass, there's absolutely no better book than Georgette Heyer's These Old Shades. The first in a series of Regency novels, this one introduces the two characters who will basically be the mama and papa of the lot of them later. I've read the other books, but none have captured my heart so much as this one, where Satanas prowls the streets of Paris and wreaks havoc over the English countryside just because he can, making sure everybody knows who's boss.

Want to take a jaunt with the Devil himself? Autumn is prime time for it!



Under the reign of Louis XV, corruption and intrigue have been allowed to blossom in France, and Justin Alastair, the notorious Duke of Avon and proud of his soubriquet 'Satanas' flourishes as well. Then, from a dark Parisian back alley, he plucks Léon, a red-headed urchin with strangely familiar looks. Among the splendours of Versailles and the dignified mansions of England, Justin begins to unfold his sinister plans against the Comte de St Vire - until, that is, Léon becomes the ravishing beauty Léonie ...
(from book jacket)

xx
*image not mine

Saturday, 26 October 2019

Boudica (Booktober)


"Your sister is Boudica, Bringer of Victory. Remember that."



Before Arthur and Merlin ... a warrior queen rose to defend her people. There have always been songs and tales coming from the mists of the British Isles, and Boudica is probably the most famous of all legends, not counting the fabled man who pulled the sword of the stone. But Boudica was flesh and blood, a woman who terrorized the Roman invaders and rose up in defiance against them when they tried to enslave her people. She paid dearly for that, of course, but even today, she remains a symbol of courage and bravery.

Long live the Queen!

Boudica means Bringer of Victory (from the early Celtic word “boudeg”). She is the last defender of the Celtic culture in Britain; the only woman openly to lead her warriors into battle and to stand successfully against the might of Imperial Rome -- and triumph.
(from Goodreads)

xx
*image not mine

The Lady of the Rivers (Booktober)

Friday, 25 October 2019

The Lady of the Rivers (Booktober)


"Some women cannot march to the beat of a man's drum. Do you understand?"




So every once in a while I will pull out a Gregory novel, although I have to admit I prefer her Plantagenet ones to her Tudor ones - and even then only the first few! But Lady of the Rivers was a fascinating story for me, and for some reason it makes me think about autumn and falling rain what with it happening in foggy, murky England almost all the time. I know it's definitely not all true, but if you keep an open mind it can certainly be entertaining, plus Elizabeth Woodville's mother really WAS formidable!

I mean hey, only way to give birth to a future Queen, right?




Jacquetta, daughter of the Count of Luxembourg and kinswoman to half the royalty of Europe, was married to the great Englishman John, Duke of Bedford, uncle to Henry VI. Widowed at the age of 19, she took the extraordinary risk of marrying a gentleman of her household for love, and then carved out a new life for herself; this is the story of the real-life mother to the White Queen.
(from Goodreads)

xx
*image not mine

Wednesday, 23 October 2019

The Red Knight of Germany (Booktober)


"You will be home before the leaves fall from the trees."




If you've ever picked up any history book ... you'll know that World War I wiped out practically an entire generation. You'll also remember that last year was the 100th anniversary of the peace treaty. In that vein, there've been many books published on the topic, or re-published, and I chose to focus on one that is absolutely stunning - and heartbreaking. The Red Knight of Germany tells the story of the best pilot the world had ever seen at the time. It tells the story of the men who lived and died in their planes, and the era when chivalry died.

Because they were indeed knights. Knights in the sky, the last of their kind.



1927. The story of Baron von Richthofen, Germany's great war bird. Manfred von Richthofen was known as the Red Knight or, more commonly, the Red Baron due to the color of his plane. As a German aviator in World War I, he was attributed with eighty kills, or enemy planes shot down, and ended up being killed in action in 1918.
(from Goodreads)

xx
*image not mine

Saturday, 19 October 2019

The Conqueror Series (Booktober)


"Tell them that I am Genghis and I will ride."



Ah, yes. The sound of hooves thundering along a dusty plateau. The scene from Mulan when the snowy ridge is crossed by thousands of horsemen to sweep down on Shang and his little cohort. There are so many more evocative images brought about by Conn Iggulden's Conqueror series that it's impossible to list them all. The story of Genghis and the birth of a nation out of what looked like nothing but sheep herders and shaggy ponies is the story of how one man dared to rise against the world - and the only thing that kept the world standing was his untimely death.

Otherwise, if the Mongols had continued their eternal ride, who knows? It might have been a completely different place ...

Side note: only the first three books tell the story of Genghis - the next two focus on his sons and grandsons, and what became of his empire after his death, but Iggulden's story telling remains masterful throughout!

Hunted and alone, the young boy abandoned with his siblings on the harsh Mongolian plains dreamed of uniting the tribes into one house, one nation. He became a great warrior. 
He would become father to his people. He would be Genghis Khan.
(from book jacket)

xx
*image not mine

Thursday, 24 May 2018

Tome Thursday: Bloodline


Hello everyone!

Oh.

My.

GOD.

Can you believe it? I FINISHED THIS BOOK!

I'm not exaggerating when I tell you this one had a similar fate as it's predecessor, aka sitting there on my shelf all abandoned and neglected with a bookmark stuck about halfway through. It's testimony to the fact that I really, really hate leaving things unfinished that I went back and chewed through the rest of the book.

Which, technically speaking, did all happen within two or so days in the end.

Once I sit down to something, there's no telling with what kind of vengeance I'll do it!

Of course if you'll recall, I just always seem to have this kind of problem with the series in general. And what series, do you ask?

Why, Wars of the Roses, of course. And the book is called Bloodline.

Thursday, 12 April 2018

Tome Thursday: The Red Knight of Germany


Hello everyone!

Okay, so.

I'm back with another book based off World War One, and this one is slightly different than the exploration I did about the topic of what started the war.

This one is about aviation.

Also, it's about the man probably hailed as one of the greatest pilots of all time, especially because he was flying when planes certainly weren't as well-equipped as they are today.

I'm talking about a time when the aviators themselves were the ones discovering new tricks and weapons and practiced flying at high altitudes and high speeds, when soldiers in the trenches would look up above them and see the "birds" flying back and forth as they sought out their prey.

I'm also talking about a time when your first flight could pretty much also be your last, and for a large number of pilots it was exactly what happened.

The book we'll be talking about tonight is The Red Knight of Germany.

Friday, 12 January 2018

Tome Thursday: Empire of Silver


Hello everyone!

Suffice to say, when I'm bored out of my skull (and, by Murphy's law, want to read EXACTLY those books I currently can't), dangerous things will happen.

This does include cutting into every single chocolate in my chocolate box to ensure I only get the good stuff, but that's beside the point, as when I'm THIS bored, I usually pull out books that have been known to kick me out of my reading slump before.

My sister is probably rolling her eyes so she can examine the back of her skull.

She KNOWS what this means.

Usually she'd also be right - as she always is, natch - but I haven't gotten that far yet. What I HAVE done, however, is re-read one of my favourite series of all time. Or, I'm re-reading it now, actually, as I'm still munching through the last, fifth book.

I'm talking about Conn Iggulden's Conqueror series, more specifically Empire of Silver.

Thursday, 17 March 2016

Tome Thursday: The Venetian Contract


Hello everyone!

Ugh these last two days have been somewhere between horrible and barely tolerable; I've been working off a headache that was trying to turn into a full-blown migraine, and it was so NOT fun. I don't usually get these since I attempt to stay hydrated and get away from the computer as much as I can, but for some reason (I suspect something though) this has just been impossible and I've only very recently (like, maybe a few hours ago) started feeling more like a human being again.

Enough so, at any rate, to try and get a blog post up, considering it's Thursday! I kept getting distracted throughout the day by self-medicating the headache, giggling over Shadowhunters and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. comedic lines, and listening to very low-tuned music.

Apparently, it helped (plus I took painkillers).

So now I'm fit enough for the time being to type this up and hopefully it's going to make some sense somewhere, otherwise ... well, otherwise I'm in trouble aren't I?

Tonight I'll talk about a historic fiction book, The Venetian Contract.

Thursday, 5 November 2015

Tome Thursday: The Autobiography of Henry VIII


Hello everyone!

OKAY.

I will admit. This one took me forever. I actually checked on Goodreads and I started reading it in September.

IT'S NOVEMBER NOW, GUYS.

Yeah, I was bad with this. Really, really bad. My only excuse? I kept getting distracted. It's not that the book wasn't interesting or that I was forcing myself to crunch through it. That wasn't the case at all. The problem was that every hundred or two hundred pages, my brain literally wanted to fritz out with all the information and personality complex.

Which was why I always needed a break in between the reading sections, and that was why it took FOREVER to finish this, but I actually made a gameplan and sat down, expressively, to finish reading so that Maegan wouldn't send me over to kingdom come.

She can be a little impatient with her Tudor stuff, so let's get on with the Autobiography of Henry VIII!

Thursday, 22 October 2015

Tome Thursday: The Virgin's Daughter


Hello everyone!

This week, I actually had quite a pick when I was choosing a book to write about in the review section, because at this point, I've amassed SO many notes that my poor notebook is basically falling apart from the middle out.

But it's good, because it means I don't have to scramble as much as I did in the beginning!

And I will confess, I'm under the Tudor influence at the moment, as you can probably tell by looking to the right of this blog to my Goodreads currently reading bookshelf. My friend Maegan told me about the fictional Autobiography of Henry VIII she had read, and I thought to myself, sure, why not, so I'm currently munching my way through it. According to my Kobo e-reader, I'm 60% through. The plan: finish it this weekend.

In the meantime, however, I checked to see whether or not I wrote down some notes about another Tudor-esque book I read a while back, during summer, and I did!

Allow me to start with my review of Laura Andersen's The Virgin's Daughter.

Thursday, 27 August 2015

Tome Thursday: Elizabeth of York


Hello everyone!

Back to book reviews, and I've suddenly realized I don't have all that many from the seaside it looks like. What just happened?

I know for a fact that I had taken roughly about forty new titles with me on vacation, but that doesn't mean I managed to read them all, which, I'm pretty sure, will be a surprise to a lot of people who know me, because I'm always reading something. Usually more than one thing at a time.

And now it looks like I still have a mountain to climb!

Shocking, I know.

I blame it on The Lord of the Rings, because I always take it with me on summer vacation and end up usually reading it over the spen of a week, just to keep it flowing and also to keep my mind sane (no dreaming about Rangers or Elves, if I'm careful).

But one of the books I did manage to read was Alison Weir's Elizabeth of York.

Thursday, 18 June 2015

Tome Thursday: A Night To Remember


Hello everyone!

I'm still reading too many books at a time, and revisiting some old books that I really, really love but have been around for a while, although granted I've found one that I'm definitely going to be devouring as soon as I get my hands on a copy. I'll tell you all about it later, however, as today's blog post is dedicated to a book which I had ran across by complete accident when I was a teenager, and didn't quite understand at the time of the first read. Now, however, things have changed and I'm definitely more grown up than I was ten years or so ago, and I've been in the mood currently, so I revisited it.

I'm talking about Walter Lord's 'A Night To Remember'.

For some inexplicable reason, I've been in a Titanic phase for a while now, and so I went back to our personal 'library' (no other word for the amoung of books at the house) and dug through it to find the old book which is falling apart at the seams,and the crispness of the paper makes you think it might have actually been written way back when the ship first sank. In my language, it's titled 'Titanic', and not a direct translation of the novel's actual calling. But despite the age of the translation, the message it gives out is still crystal clear.

Thursday, 4 June 2015

Tome Thursday: Ross Poldark


Hello everyone!

I'm back with a book review again since it's Thursday, and honestly, I've been so into a couple of series at the moment that it's difficult to pinpoint one single book out of them to talk about! But I figure you don't want to read about series anymore at the moment, seeing as I'm cheating on my other blog entries with them, haha! Ergo, I figured I'd go to a book that's the beginning of a series, but I haven't actually read any of the others yet, so it's a safe bet that I'll only talk about this one.

Now, I didn't even know these books existed, first and foremost. And then I saw a promo video on Facebook about a new BBC series titled 'Poldark', a revival of an old one from the seventies and eighties. 

My thoughts? Well, generally I didn't have any until Aidan Turner popped up on the screen, and I swear my eyes just went somewhere between O.O and *.* (For those of you who don't know, Aidan played Kili in The Hobbit trilogy, among other roles).

Thursday, 28 May 2015

Tome Thursday: Under the Eagle


Hello everyone!

Since this week is all about going back to basics, it's back to the usual 'Tome Thursday' blog posts as well, now that all the finales have been accounted for and pretty much nicely shelved under the roof. I've been reading a lot of different books at this time as well, bouncing back and forth between authors and, with the added luxury of an electronic book reader, being able to honestly read more than one book at a time without the need to pick it up in physical form. At the moment, I'm sort of going through a throwback phase, however, reading Rick Riordan and his Greek and Roman gods series, though I definitely am rediscovering just why I don't like the second one as much as the first. This phase is probably subconscious preparation for his new series, coming this summer, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, and I mean, you KNOW it will be good if you have Thor and Odin running around. 

That being said, while I'm surfing through Greek mythology again, I've also gone back and done some other reading, too. Currently in the works is Conn Iggulden's 'Trinity', a continuation to 'Stormbird', but another series I started is from author Simon Scarrow. And if you've been following any kind of historical book updates, you'll know he writes a series about Romans.