I’ve read (and listened to) a lot of great books this year. If I had to pick a favorite, I’d choose Bernard Cornwell’s, Lords of the North, the third book in his Saxon series.
Here’s the book blurb:
The Lords of the North begins soon after the events described in The Pale Horseman. Uhtred, having helped Alfred secure Wessex as an independent Saxon kingdom, returns north in an attempt to find his stepsister. Instead he discovers chaos, civil war and treachery in Northumbria. He takes the side of Guthred, once a slave and now a man who would be king, and in return expects Guthred's help in capturing Dunholm, the lair of the dark Viking lord, Kjartan. There is [fencing, fighting,] betrayal, romance [possibly true love] and war, and all of it, as usual, based on real events.
I’ve always liked historical fiction and there’s something about the way Mr. Cornwell contrives to make his poor characters suffer (usually by making them long for something they can never get) that I find irresistible, as anyone who’s enjoyed his Sharpe or Starbuck Chronicles novels will agree.
I'm sure there are those who don't care for his work, and I'm the first to admit that Mr. Cornwell loves his adverbs, but so what? The man writes compelling stories that keep you coming back for more, and that should be good enough for everyone, don't you think?
The next Uhtred novel, The Burning Land, comes out in the US next month.
I’m already excited about reading it. I thoroughly recommend the whole series.
How about you?
What’s the best book you’ve read this year?
Here’s the book blurb:
The Lords of the North begins soon after the events described in The Pale Horseman. Uhtred, having helped Alfred secure Wessex as an independent Saxon kingdom, returns north in an attempt to find his stepsister. Instead he discovers chaos, civil war and treachery in Northumbria. He takes the side of Guthred, once a slave and now a man who would be king, and in return expects Guthred's help in capturing Dunholm, the lair of the dark Viking lord, Kjartan. There is [fencing, fighting,] betrayal, romance [possibly true love] and war, and all of it, as usual, based on real events.
I’ve always liked historical fiction and there’s something about the way Mr. Cornwell contrives to make his poor characters suffer (usually by making them long for something they can never get) that I find irresistible, as anyone who’s enjoyed his Sharpe or Starbuck Chronicles novels will agree.
I'm sure there are those who don't care for his work, and I'm the first to admit that Mr. Cornwell loves his adverbs, but so what? The man writes compelling stories that keep you coming back for more, and that should be good enough for everyone, don't you think?
The next Uhtred novel, The Burning Land, comes out in the US next month.
I’m already excited about reading it. I thoroughly recommend the whole series.
How about you?
What’s the best book you’ve read this year?
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jongibbs- Jon Gibbs
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Things What I Wrote and Other Stuff
No longer in print but there are still some copies floating around out there
No longer in print but there are still some copies floating around out there
THE MEAGER PUDDLE OF LIMELIGHT AWARDS
No longer in print but there are still some copies floating around out there
THE MEAGER PUDDLE OF LIMELIGHT AWARDS
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Death narrates the story. . .Yes, Death. He follows a girl during WWII, Germandy and sees the war through her eyes. It is a SAD ending but the writing is so superb, I just cried my way through it. The premise is the power of words. The girl learns to read and uses her ability to calm people during bombings. In the background you have Hitler and his propaganda destroying people with words. And then the writing is beautiful. So it shows the power of words from all angles.
People either love it or can't stand it. There is no, "Oh, yeah, I liked it . . ."