Welsh Princes #1: Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman

Read: 18 March, 2010

Joanna, King John's illigitimate daughter, is married to prince Llywelyn Fawr of Wales to secure an alliance. But John didn't count on his daughter falling in love. When the relations between the two men start to deteriorate, Joanna is caught between her love for her father and her love for her husband.

As Wikipedia points out, one of the draws of Here Be Dragons is that it's virgin territory; there are very few novels out there about historical Wales and, I confess, it was a milieu that I knew almost nothing about.

The historical aspects of the novel were fabulous, but it did occasionally cross into the territory of romance. Fair enough, I realize that many do like that sort of thing, but I found it rather boring and frustrating. Apparently, it's a staple of the romance genre that people who are in love absolutely refuse to communicate with each other and, instead, simply assume the worst of the other person. I'll never understand how this sort of thing came to be called "love" in our culture, but there you have it.

I realize that I'm not one to complain given how wooden and choppy my own writing style is, but I found Penman's style in this book to be rather difficult to read. She has the awful tendency to force what should have been several sentences into one, joining them awkwardly. For example, she writes: "He even tried to forget the atrocity stories that were so much a part of his heritage, tales of English conquest and cruelties." It works fine for effect now and then, but she uses it nearly every other sentence!

The book is meticulously researched and Penman is able to really bring the setting to life. The story, although about a class that is all-but extinct living lives that are so unlike anything we are familiar with, is, at the same time, very accessible. The conflict of allegiance between one's parents and one's spouse is something that I think most readers would be able to sympathize with.

Despite it's flaws, I'd put Here Be Dragons as one of the better historical fiction novels on the market, well worth the read for anyone interested in the Middle Ages.

Mistress of the Art of Death #4: A Murderous Procession by Ariana Franklin

Read: 24 June, 2010

Adelia Aguilar has been enjoying a simple life with her daughter and friends, but King Henry II has come for her again. This time, he needs her to accompany his sister, Joanna, to Sicily. To ensure that Adelia returns when the task is completed, he keeps her daughter in England as a hostage. As the procession makes its way, strange things start to happen and Adelia is suspected of witchcraft.

There isn't much to say about this that hasn't been said for the last three books. If you've enjoyed the last three, you'll enjoy this one too.

Mistress of the Art of Death #3: Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin

Read: 21 November, 2009

Two bodies have been found in Glastonbury, and King Henry II sends Adelia Aguilar to confirm that the two mysterious skeletons belong to King Arthur and his lady Guinevere. If Henry can prove once and for all that Arthur is nothing more than a pile of bones, it will crush the Celt rebellion for good.

But things are never quite so simple. What should have been just a short trip to identify some remains quickly turns into a life or death struggle for Adelia and her companions.

Grave Goods is another excellent addition to the Mistress of the Art of Death series. Adelia is still something of a Mary Sue, but the plot is so interesting that this is quickly forgotten.

Throughout the series, I've been particularly impressed with the portrayal of Henry II. It certainly isn't one that I'd seen before.

The Jesus Puzzle by Earl Doherty

Read: 27 September, 2009

Imagine if people living a couple hundreds of years from now forgot that the Harry Potter series was fiction. Imagine that they started to worship Harry Potter, to seek out relics from Hogwarts, and fought wars against those who did not believe that the historical Harry really did have magical powers.

That's essentially the premise of The Jesus Puzzle. According to Doherty, Jesus was a mythic character, invented consciously by individuals who were  embodying the teachings of their sect in an archetypal character. But then, as the religion spread outside of this original community, the allegory was forgotten and adherents came to see Jesus as an actual historical figure. This is how Doherty explains the discrepancies between the gospels and the lack of biographical information given in the epistles of Paul.

To a lay reader, the argument is convincing. That being said, it's worth noting that Doherty is not a scholar, the accolades on the book jacket are written by individuals (David B., Mary B., Jan K., and Rusty A., whoever they are), and he is something of a laughing stock among biblical scholars. "Mythers," as they are called within scholarly circles, tend not to be very well received.

Indeed, even a lay reader may grasp that something is amiss after Doherty's umpteenth reference to his persecution at the hands of academics. My own skeptical alarm bells tend to ring when authors imagine vast conspiracies against themselves or their ideas.

I'm not sure that I'd be willing to dismiss the book entirely, simply because Doherty does provide a perspective on many New Testament passages. I've found it useful in my reading of scripture over at my other blog, if only to have additional points of view to mull over while forming my own readings. Just keep in mind that Doherty is expressing a fringe opinion that is not taken seriously by those who know the material best.

On the experience of books

My mother recently bought herself a Kindle and has been urging me to get one. She says that the ability to resize the text makes it far more readable than print. It seems to have many of the benefits of print books, such as the ability to highlight passages and write notes. It's also far more convenient to travel with than a backpack full of paperbacks.

A friend, who also keeps a book review blog, has recommended listening to audio books for the speed (he speeds up the audio, burning through books at an incredible pace). Another reason is the ability to listen while driving or, more relevant in my case, while standing because no seats where available on the bus. Since my son was born with an apparent aversion to spending even so much as a few seconds without being held, I thought I would give it a try, attracted to the hands-free nature of audio.

But despite all the points in favour of both e-readers and audio books, I just can't get into them. With my ridiculously long introduction out of the way, here are my reasons for preferring to read it old school:

1. Memory: I learn best when I'm reading - so much so that I developed the habit of transcribing my professors' lectures in university and reading my notes after the class was over. I found that this significantly improved my retention rate. Combined with the mnemonic act of writing, I rarely needed to study for exams. So when I 'read' by audio book, I quickly forget what's going on. Unless I write my review within a day or two, I won't remember enough about the book to form a coherent commentary.


2. Finding a passage quickly: I tend to associate what I'm reading with many other factors that are going on around the text. So if I think of a specific passage and I want to find it in a book, I can normally remember a) the weight of the book in each hand, telling me approximately what page the passage is on, and b) the location of the passage relative to the page (left page or right page, upper quadrant or lower). When I read via audio book or on a screen, these other experiences aren't present, making it almost impossible for me to find a specific passage. This is something of a deal-breaker when I'm reading non-fiction.


3. Other people's notes: I enjoy buying second-hand books to read the notes that other people have left. I used to find it annoying, but I've grown to enjoy them - particularly when the author is reflecting on the text. I believe that Kindles allow for downloading other people's notes, so perhaps this complaint is only applicable to audio books.


4. The book's history: Second hand books bear the marks of their history. Do they smell heavily perfumed? Are they dog-eared or neat? Is the spine cared for? Are passages underlined or highlighted? Have any bookmarks, photographs, or shopping lists been left in the book? All these things appeal to my inner detective and enrich my experience of a book, which in turn  relates back to points one and two. The more I experience of the books, the better my memory is of it and its contents.


5. Décor: I just love the look of books. The wall of colours add quite an interesting focal point for rooms that are otherwise kept in Builder's White so as not to break my rental agreement.


6. Sentimentality: The various book smells (new paper versus old, binding glue, cover card), the sensation of cracking a spine for the very first time, and the feel of its weight in my hands. While entirely irrational, these experiences are hard to give up.

All this isn't to say that I'm opposed to Kindles and audio books. As I said, the convenience of audio books have forced my hand somewhat since my son was born, and I wouldn't refuse to use a Kindle were one gifted to me. But I don't think that I'm quite ready to give up the experience of physical books just yet...

Earth’s Children #3: The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M. Auel

Read: 13 July, 2010

Leaving the valley, Ayla and Jondalar decide to spend the winter with the mammoth hunters, the Mamutoi. During the long winter, they are estranged and Ayla encounters a strange man with dark skin. The tribe's shaman, Mamut, recognizes power in Ayla and adopts her into his hearth to begin her training.

Ayla has been something of a Mary Sue from the beginning, but it really comes out in this book. She has everything - the ability to hunt, the ability to be a shaman, perfect beauty, great strength, etc. She and Jondalar seem to be single-handedly responsible for inventing far more than seems plausible for just two people.

Ayla and Jondalar refuse to communicate, preferring instead to simply assume what the other must be thinking. As a result, they spend most of the winter angry at each other and wondering if the other still loves them. I find this kind of romance to be incredibly frustrating to read, because the obstacles are purely of their own making.

It was also a little disconcerting when Jondalar rapes Ayla, but we're supposed to continue thinking of him as a good character because he only did it because he really really loves her and it's okay anyway because she wanted it. Somehow, this makes it okay (even though she never consented and he believed, at the time, that he was raping her). Bit of a skewed moral sense there.

The book wasn't totally bad. Learning about the Mamutoi was interesting, and Ayla's interaction with Rydag (a half-Clan half-Other child) was excellent to read.

Earth's Children #2: The Valley of Horses by Jean M. Auel

Read: 19 June, 2010

Cast out from the only people she's ever known, Ayla heads north in the hopes of finding the people she was born to, the Others. But when she finds no one after weeks of travelling and she feels winter approaching, she makes a new home for herself in a sheltered valley.

Loneliness soon sets in and, after killing a mare and discovering the orphaned foal, she is inspired to adopt an animal for company - something that no human has ever done before. Whinny becomes her trusted companion and hunting partner, and the two are joined by Baby, a cave lion cub. Meanwhile, Jondalar sets off with his brother to take a journey, following the Great Mother River all the way to its end. The two brothers are attacked by a cave lion, and Jondalar is saved by Ayla's control over the animals.

Though not nearly as good as Clan of the Cave Bear, Jean Auel's meticulously researched second novel is still fairly interesting. There's a lot to learn about the Ice Age and its inhabitants (both human and non).