Miscellaneous > The Sallyport
anything else?
Ian:
Sir William,
I finished that book. Here are my thoughts on it:
**MINOR SPOILERS**
So, the typos and grammatical errors aside, there were some things that made the story less than satisfying. One thing that ripped me out of the story was a detail when the author describes the French line at Agincourt. He's talking about the various troops, and then illustrates a couple of Scottish mercenaries fighting for the French. Right down to the tartan kilts, and blue face paint... /facepalm As soon as I read that I was just like "c'mon, seriously.... "
My biggest complaint with the book is the female characters though. Their so unbelievably flat and one dimensional, and their motivations really don't make any sense. Claire, the 'love interest' is scheming to bed Sir Edward one second, and then lusting after his squire the next, and then seemingly risks everything for Sir Edward by threatening his mother... it's just so scattered it's not believable at all. Sir Edward's mother is equally as flighty and one-dimensional, and there's no real resolution to the female character's story-arc.
If he left them out entirely or at least gave them some more depth, erased the silly braveheart style highlander Scots and fixed the unnecessary typos and grammar errors, the book would have been a good 4/5 star read, but I would give it a solid 3 as is. Light entertainment but not much more.
I'm interested in reading Bernard Cornwell's 1356 now. I've never read Cornwell and have heard all kinds of good things. I didn't realize he did medieval, I only knew of the Sharpe's series of novels.
Sir William:
Sir Ian, thanks for the review...I'm going to read it- soon as I finish Goodkind's First Confessor; I've had it on the wishlist since it came out and I finished the Red Knight (that book...such a good read) so I figured, lets see what the prequel to the Sword of Truth series is like. If you're a student or believer of Objectivism, you'll love this book. If you're a fan of the mythos, you'll like this book. I don't want to color your impresssions should you ever decide to read it so I'll leave it at that.
1356...Bernard Cornwell is perhaps the best or maybe slightly second-best medieval author I've ever read and I've read my share of both good and bad. 1356 is actually the 4th of the Archer series (Archer's Tale, Vagabond, Heretic) - I found it to be an engrossing, riveting read. He seems to have done his research w/regard to archery and its use on the medieval battlefield; you might find his ideas of period armor leave something to be desired (not that it is out and out wrong, but well...you be the judge) but all in all, interesting characters, good pacing and the denouement to a story that has spanned 4 novels, 1356 is a good read. You could, ostensibly, pick it up right now and you'd still enjoy the book, although the references to earlier novels might leave you somewhat in the dark. I heartily suggest reading the first three- not only to get the background, but each one is similarly entertaining in their own right.
Cornwell has also written a trilogy on the Arthurian legend (probably my favorite of all the Arthur tales) as well as a series of Saxon tales featuring Alfred the Great set during the 9th century. I think there might be 6 books to that one, starring a figure from history, but with some creative licensing. I couldn't tell you which was the greater story...all of them are equally compelling. I'm also a fan of his Sharpe series, having read several of those some decades back- but I did not put two and two together until I read his bio. I'm also a Ken Follett fan, for his two epics, 'Pillars of the Earth' and 'World Without End' - but not necessarily for his suspense novels. They're good...but not really my area of interest so I'm not the guy to talk to about novels of that nature.
Sir Vander Linde:
Pastimes :
shoot trap (very fun)
make things (usually shields)
Draw (cartoons)
Other:
a friend of mine makes mascot costumes ( her 2d job when she is not a veterinarian) and every once and a while when I'm in her part of town we would do a stop by the hospital and try to cheer up some kids. makes you feel good.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[*] Previous page
Go to full version