On the morning August 9, 1945, the American bomber Bockscar dropped a thousand pound bomb, nicknamed “Fat Man” over the city of Nagasaki. When the bomb was about 1,600 feet above ground it exploded and, “the entire city convulsed.” Windows shattered miles away from the epicenter. It’s estimated that some 74,000 died in the initial detonation. They may have been some of the lucky ones. Those who survived the initial blast faced horrific injuries. The city roared with the moans and cries of the injured. […]
A feminist romance novel? Maybe?
I read somewhere that Joanna Bourne wrote feministish historical romances. I grew up on Georgette Heyer, on the Grand Sophy and Devil’s Cub, so I do have high standards for my strong women and men who let them be. I took a break of a day between those first lines: what has changed? I think my boyfriend may be breaking up with me. So this review may be a bit disjointed, bear with me. I had planned to talk about the problem areas in the […]
A marriage of convenience story done right
4.5 stars Ildiko is a human woman, the less than favoured niece of the Gauri king. To cement an important political alliance she’s been promised in marriage to Prince Brishen of Bast-Haradis, a Kai warrior and the younger son to the ruthless ruling couple. Humans and Kai, for all that they share similar anatomical traits are very different, both in looks and cultural values. The Kai have black, unreadable eyes, sharp features, grey skin, long claws and a mouth full of sharp fangs and are […]
Stick with Doris Kearns Goodwin
One of the issues with being a history nut (besides the fact that people tell you to get a better hobby, have you tried knitting?) is that you end up covering the same ground a lot. Normally that’s pretty interesting; I’ve read way too many books about the Roosevelts, but I’m able to glean something new from each new book. Unfortunately, sometimes you read a history book that’s decent, but it doesn’t really give you something new. Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and […]
In which Temeraire has a lot of sex.
Gotta say, this one disappointed me. It is a truth universally acknowledged, the length of a series is inversely proportional to the quality of writing. Maybe not universally acknowledged, but it should be? We know Naomi Novik has mastered pacing, and can write, and is good at creating well-fleshed characters. However, if you didn’t know this about her and read this book, no one would blame you for thinking she was still figuring out her voice. Temeraire loses Laurence to a storm off the coast of […]
Reading at the Round Table
As a rule, I do not enjoy having someone read to me. I never really liked it very much as a small child, I hated when other people were chosen to read aloud in school, and I’m not a particular fan of audiobooks either. I do, however, belong to a storytelling group–one that leans heavily on stories, songs, and sagas from the Middle Ages. When the leader of our group expressed an interest in having a group reading of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I […]
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