Book Recs
Hey look! Something mildly useful!
Bah, I amuse me.
In any case, I do have some book recs I think you people out there might enjoy to take a look at.
"His Majesty's Dragon" (called "Temeraire" in the UK) by Naomi Novik. I picked it up quite by accident- saw the word 'dragon' on the cover of a pretty book on that cart that books to be returned to the shelf at the library go on, and grabbed it. I was just finishing up some research (the start of, anyway) on folkore that I'm doing for fun, and was in a bit of a rush to leave, so I could eat my KitKat bar that had been tempting for the past few hours... I also noticed a DragonLance book lying on the cart, which made me realize I could go search through the catalogue for some that I hadn't read... but more on that later. In any case, it wasn't until I actually got home that I read the summary on the back of the book, and guess what? I giggled insanely.
This book combines dragons with the Napoleonic Wars. Yep. The main character begins as a Navy captain (name of Will Laurence). I sat down and didn't stop reading (except once for banana splits) until I was done- which was about 11:00 in the evening. IT IS FRIKKIN AWESOME. Extremely historically accurate and absolutely brilliant at the new way of using dragons. Simply amazing. And even better- there's two other books published and a third coming in September (US release)/November (UK release). It's published by Del Ray here in North America, and by HarperCollinsUK over in the UK. If anyone has the vaguest interest in either the Napoleonic Wars or dragons (or both) they MUST READ THIS BOOK. It is amazing. And to top it off guess what? The author's got a LJ.
Quoted directly from the Acknowledgements: "...thanks first and foremost to the group of beta readers..." That got my attention, since its a term I've only heard in fandom, or on LJ (where I presume it originated- haven't been on here long enough to know). And then, further down the page "...and everyone else on livejournal who contributed title suggestions..." That made me grin like a fool. Turns out her lj is naominovik- but she seems busy, so I'm not bugging her. ^^ Her webpage is http://www.temeraire.org, for the official info and all that. AND she freely admits in the Author's Note (or somewhere) to being a fan of Patrick O'Brian, the esteemed creator of Master & Commander. So, go get it. Good book. I'm running down to my library later to see if they have the others (if they don't I shall scream).
Now, in continuation of my earlier story, I found the DragonLance book and decided to search for some others. While I looked in the section "FIC Ken" (wrong section it turned out- I want the paperback section) I came across what appeared to be seafaring novels the likes of Aubrey-Maturin and Hornblower. I found the two first ones, and took them home. I just started the very first this morning, but it seems to be quite fun so far, and the style and incidents (this is pre-Napeolonic war breakout, though it comes up later in the series) are different from Aubrey-Maturin and Hornblower in turn. The books? By Alexander Kent, and all focused on Richard Bolitho. The two I have out are "Richard Bolitho, Midshipman" and "Midshipman Bolitho and the Avenger". It appears that, like the Hornblower books, they were written out of chronological order, but that's how I prefer to read them (in order, sorry, not out) so I grabbed these two. I figure anyone who's read O'Brian or Forester should take at least a peak at these- they are older books (not as old as Hornblower, mind) with the first American edition pub. 1976 and the copyright (on the copy in front of me, at least) 1975 by Bolitho Maritime Productions Ltd. From the reviews, I figure they are pre-O'Brian, certainly the style of writing is more reminiscent of Forester. They are, by the way, for 12 and up. *wink*
And on a side note- found an interesting little 'cure' for freckles in a book about Irish folklore (it was a kid's book, but seemed quite good). It made me think of a certain red-headed Lieutenant, and the fact that he's often given freckles when a child. Here it is:
For Freckles: Anoint the freckled face with the blood of a bull or a rabbit.
Pleasent, eh? I also found some other folk cures, that I didn't bother to write down, except for one on 'How To Go Invisible' which made me cackle and think evil Gillette!ficlet related thoughts...
Bah, I amuse me.
In any case, I do have some book recs I think you people out there might enjoy to take a look at.
"His Majesty's Dragon" (called "Temeraire" in the UK) by Naomi Novik. I picked it up quite by accident- saw the word 'dragon' on the cover of a pretty book on that cart that books to be returned to the shelf at the library go on, and grabbed it. I was just finishing up some research (the start of, anyway) on folkore that I'm doing for fun, and was in a bit of a rush to leave, so I could eat my KitKat bar that had been tempting for the past few hours... I also noticed a DragonLance book lying on the cart, which made me realize I could go search through the catalogue for some that I hadn't read... but more on that later. In any case, it wasn't until I actually got home that I read the summary on the back of the book, and guess what? I giggled insanely.
This book combines dragons with the Napoleonic Wars. Yep. The main character begins as a Navy captain (name of Will Laurence). I sat down and didn't stop reading (except once for banana splits) until I was done- which was about 11:00 in the evening. IT IS FRIKKIN AWESOME. Extremely historically accurate and absolutely brilliant at the new way of using dragons. Simply amazing. And even better- there's two other books published and a third coming in September (US release)/November (UK release). It's published by Del Ray here in North America, and by HarperCollinsUK over in the UK. If anyone has the vaguest interest in either the Napoleonic Wars or dragons (or both) they MUST READ THIS BOOK. It is amazing. And to top it off guess what? The author's got a LJ.
Quoted directly from the Acknowledgements: "...thanks first and foremost to the group of beta readers..." That got my attention, since its a term I've only heard in fandom, or on LJ (where I presume it originated- haven't been on here long enough to know). And then, further down the page "...and everyone else on livejournal who contributed title suggestions..." That made me grin like a fool. Turns out her lj is naominovik- but she seems busy, so I'm not bugging her. ^^ Her webpage is http://www.temeraire.org, for the official info and all that. AND she freely admits in the Author's Note (or somewhere) to being a fan of Patrick O'Brian, the esteemed creator of Master & Commander. So, go get it. Good book. I'm running down to my library later to see if they have the others (if they don't I shall scream).
Now, in continuation of my earlier story, I found the DragonLance book and decided to search for some others. While I looked in the section "FIC Ken" (wrong section it turned out- I want the paperback section) I came across what appeared to be seafaring novels the likes of Aubrey-Maturin and Hornblower. I found the two first ones, and took them home. I just started the very first this morning, but it seems to be quite fun so far, and the style and incidents (this is pre-Napeolonic war breakout, though it comes up later in the series) are different from Aubrey-Maturin and Hornblower in turn. The books? By Alexander Kent, and all focused on Richard Bolitho. The two I have out are "Richard Bolitho, Midshipman" and "Midshipman Bolitho and the Avenger". It appears that, like the Hornblower books, they were written out of chronological order, but that's how I prefer to read them (in order, sorry, not out) so I grabbed these two. I figure anyone who's read O'Brian or Forester should take at least a peak at these- they are older books (not as old as Hornblower, mind) with the first American edition pub. 1976 and the copyright (on the copy in front of me, at least) 1975 by Bolitho Maritime Productions Ltd. From the reviews, I figure they are pre-O'Brian, certainly the style of writing is more reminiscent of Forester. They are, by the way, for 12 and up. *wink*
And on a side note- found an interesting little 'cure' for freckles in a book about Irish folklore (it was a kid's book, but seemed quite good). It made me think of a certain red-headed Lieutenant, and the fact that he's often given freckles when a child. Here it is:
For Freckles: Anoint the freckled face with the blood of a bull or a rabbit.
Pleasent, eh? I also found some other folk cures, that I didn't bother to write down, except for one on 'How To Go Invisible' which made me cackle and think evil Gillette!ficlet related thoughts...