Nothing new here but Christ it's good. There's just a genuine magic to her prose: such a perfect marriage of authenticity to the period; the atmospherNothing new here but Christ it's good. There's just a genuine magic to her prose: such a perfect marriage of authenticity to the period; the atmosphere, the people, the way of life. Mantel just really nailed this style which totally absorbs you into that time period, and keeps you at the perfect distance from Cromwell - like a fat, gluttonous crow sitting on his shoulder, gobbling up all the carrion that he leaves in his wake. As a late medieval historian these days it just blows me away how well she's managed to make me feel like I'm really there and yet not overdo it with either dryness or overblown pomp and blockbuster writing. ...more
People sometimes ask me where to start with good histories of late medieval Scotland. There's a few places to begin, but for my money this is still eaPeople sometimes ask me where to start with good histories of late medieval Scotland. There's a few places to begin, but for my money this is still easily the best. It is not too long, incredibly well-researched and for an academic text it reads pretty smoothly.
Grant doesn't have as much of an angle as people like Barrow and Michael Brown (and certainly not more recent historians). But he manages to lay out nearly two centuries of medieval Scottish history in a digestable and always interesting way, which is more than I can say for almost any other academic text in the field. This whole line from Edinburgh University Press is pretty much the gold standard for Scottish medieval and early modern historical core texts....more
It's rare that I become so attached to a protagonist as quickly as I did Cordelia Naismith in Shards of Honor. She is fantastic and so well realised fIt's rare that I become so attached to a protagonist as quickly as I did Cordelia Naismith in Shards of Honor. She is fantastic and so well realised from page one. I'm really excited about this series (and just Bujold in general) now. ...more
I don't have much time to read fiction anymore (well I probably could, but it's the last thing I want to do after hours and days weeks of dealing withI don't have much time to read fiction anymore (well I probably could, but it's the last thing I want to do after hours and days weeks of dealing with historical material) and in fact only read one novel in 2018, Fool's Quest.
Luckily for me it was one of the best I've ever read, without a doubt. A masterful exercise in tying together and finishing many series-long threads, as well as tackling the supposed 'middle-book syndrome' with ease. There is a moment in this book which was so moving and profound for me, as a huge fan of FitzChivalry Farseer, that I had to read it several times and then close the book for a few hours.
I haven't had the time (or frankly, the energy!) to tackle the final book yet - I also really don't want it to end - but eventually I know I will and it's going to utterly ruin me. ...more
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