To Far Off Lands

Trade Winds To Meluhha by Vasant Davé

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review. Review based on an old edition of the book. 

Summary: In the year 2138 BC, Samasin worked as a stable boy with a wealthy Babylonian named NERGAL. One day he was falsely implicated in the murder of a foreign trader. Tipped off by Nergal's divorced wife ELLA about risk to his life, he fled to the distant land of Meluhha in search of SIWA SAQRA whose name the dying man had uttered. During the voyage, he met a beautiful damsel, VELLI. He fell in her love but was dismayed to find that she was still devoted to a person who had jilted her. He also met ANN, a Mesopotamian woman who concealed her identity because she was determined to search out a couple of faceless men for revenge.

On the way, Samasin learnt about a board etched with ten glyphs (actually excavated on the site of Dholavira) and with Ann's help deciphered them, leading to an adventure in the ravines of the Saraswathi. He faced a series of obstacles including a few which almost killed him. Then he found that they were manoeuvred. Finally when he met Siwa Saqra, he learnt that there was more to the murder in Babylon than met the eye.

Circumstances brought all the characters together in Babylon when with awe they discovered the stark reality about the trade between Meluhha and Mesopotamia.

Review: A somewhat convoluted tale of murder, lust, and revenge set in the Bronze Age.

Trade Winds To Meluhha is a first for me. I know very little about the Bronze Age and certainly have not read any historical fiction novels set in the time period. The novel started with the idea of the possibility of trade between the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia. Those what ifs can make for good stories. Since, as I had mentioned earlier, I am not very knowledgeable about the Bronze Age, I wondered about the historical accuracy of the work. According to the summary, Dave has vetted the work with renowned archaeologist so I can rest easy with that.

There is certainly a lot of intrigue in Trade Winds To Meluhha with plenty of characters. I don’t mind books with large number of characters (I do enjoy space opera after all), but I do need the characters to stand out, be their own person. Unfortunately, a number of the characters blend together in this book. Samasin is a remarkably tenacious character. He gets up in a bad situation a number of times yet is still determined to deliver his message. The book ends on a happy note.

Rating:






Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those interested in historical fiction set in the Bronze Age.

X + Y = Z

The Man of Numbers: Fibonacci's Arithmetic Revolution by Keith J. Devlin

Summary: In 1202, a 32-year old Italian finished one of the most influential books of all time, which introduced modern arithmetic to Western Europe. Devised in India in the 7th and 8th centuries and brought to North Africa by Muslim traders, the Hindu-Arabic system helped transform the West into the dominant force in science, technology, and commerce, leaving behind Muslim cultures which had long known it but had failed to see its potential.The young Italian, Leonardo of Pisa (better known today as Fibonacci), had learned the Hindu number system when he traveled to North Africa with his father, a customs agent. The book he created wasLiber abbaci, the "Book of Calculation," and the revolution that followed its publication was enormous. Arithmetic made it possible for ordinary people to buy and sell goods, convert currencies, and keep accurate records of possessions more readily than ever before. Liber abbaci's publication led directly to large-scale international commerce and the scientific revolution of the Renaissance.Yet despite the ubiquity of his discoveries, Leonardo of Pisa remains an enigma. His name is best known today in association with an exercise in Liber abbaci whose solution gives rise to a sequence of numbers--the Fibonacci sequence--used by some to predict the rise and fall of financial markets, and evident in myriad biological structures.One of the great math popularizers of our time, Keith Devlin recreates the life and enduring legacy of an overlooked genius, and in the process makes clear how central numbers and mathematics are to our daily lives.

Review: A short tale of Fibonacci with a good dose of the Hindu-Arabic number system.

It really is incredible to think how different our lives would be without the Hindu-Arabic number system. I certainly can’t imagine having to do problems with Roman numerals. Fibonacci, or technically, Leonardo of Pisa, was one of the people who helped to popularize the Hindu-Arabic number system by bringing it to the attention of a large number of people. It took an incredible amount of research for scholars to realize how important Leonardo’s works are. I myself was giddy at the old and incredibly rare books that were mentioned.

Leonardo’s skill in math is certainly hard to deny. What is most incredible are the problems that Leonardo describes and solves in Liber abbaci. Some problems take paragraphs or even pages to solve. Today, those problems take only a few steps to solve using symbols. I can’t imagine how much went into solving such seemingly simple problems. Very little is actually known about Leonardo although the author does a good job of showing the world that Leonardo lived in. The history of abacus books is also mentioned. I found it to be a fascinating subset of rare books.

Rating: 

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those interested in the history of mathematics.

To Be Loved

Becoming Marie Antoinette (Marie Antoinette #1) by Juliet Grey

Summary: Why must it be me? I wondered. When I am so clearly inadequate to my destiny?

Raised alongside her numerous brothers and sisters by the formidable empress of Austria, ten-year-old Maria Antonia knew that her idyllic existence would one day be sacrificed to her mother’s political ambitions. What she never anticipated was that the day in question would come so soon.

Before she can journey from sunlit picnics with her sisters in Vienna to the glitter, glamour, and gossip of Versailles, Antonia must changeeverything about herself in order to be accepted as dauphine of France and the wife of the awkward teenage boy who will one day be Louis XVI. Yet nothing can prepare her for the ingenuity and influence it will take to become queen.

Filled with smart history, treacherous rivalries, lavish clothes, and sparkling jewels, Becoming Marie Antoinette will utterly captivate fiction and history lovers alike.

Review: An enjoyable historical fiction novel with a very sympathetic, perhaps too sympathetic, Marie Antoinette.

I’ve read a few historical fiction novels about Marie Antoinette. I believe I’ve read one or two nonfiction books about her. I do want to read more about her and the French Revolution as well. The views on Marie Antoinette can fall into two extremes: an innocent woman caught up in events beyond her control or a woman who cared only for her own pleasures. From what I’ve learned so far, I believe it to be a bit of both. Of course, as long as the author does it well, I can read either perspective.

Becoming Marie Antoinette takes the perspective of Marie Antoinette being innocent of what is going on around her. I found her to be a sympathetic character that was forced into a role that no teaching could fully prepare her for. The difference between the French and Austrian courts seems to be incredibly vast (and I certainly plan to learn more about 18th century Europe). Marie Antoinette was being pulled between varying self-interests. As I said before, the author made her sympathetic, but at times I found her to be too good.

Rating:






Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that enjoy reading about Marie Antoinette.

Ads in your Head

Ephemera by Jeffery M. Anderson

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review. 

Summary: Ephemera is not a 1984, knock off, dystopian novel. It is dark, gritty and satirical future fiction, performed by an off-beat cast of unforgettable characters. This is future fiction in the hands of a talented literary writer.

Nester Cab, a second rate magazine writer, goes about his mundane life, disenfranchised and hiding from the roaring city he lives in. But, a mysterious note left in his office awakens his ravenous curiosity and sets him on a journey to find a missing soldier. In his travels, he becomes entangled with a clandestine anti-government organization, witnesses a delusional and violent American society and stumbles ever deeper into unfathomable government conspiracies.

Taking inspiration from internet conspiracy theorists, talk radio and the media, Anderson has created an edgy and frightening world where no one and nothing are as they appear. It is a world where the extreme is the every day, where the preoccupation with the meaningless novelty has consumed society. Meanwhile, the government conducts its business behind the curtain, with ominous intentions, All of it will feel uncomfortably familiar to the modern reader. Darkly humorous and palpably real, Ephemera is an epic journey that will have you believing even the most outrageous conspiracies just might happen.

Review: A rather depressing dystopian like read with a silly yet utterly tragic ending.

Ephemera had some elements of a dystopian novel in it. I personally considered it more of a “what could happen” in the near future science fiction sort of story. And it is depressing. Advertising has taken over everyone’s lives and no one really seems to mind. I do agree with a number of the sentiments in this book, mainly how genius creates new inventions that makes our lives easier and oftentimes, makes us lazier as well. Our lives are speeding up and people are trying to cram more and more into what time we do have.

Ephemera did start off slowly. There were a lot of disparate elements that had to be brought together. It took a while to bring everything together, but it was worth the wait. I wasn’t sure exactly what the novel was building up to, but I must admit to being surprised by the ending. I was certainly not expecting that. Stillman and his group reminded me of the paranoia that people have that a group of a few people are running the world. I personally don’t believe that theory, but Ephemera does a good job of making it seem all too likely.

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this to those that enjoy dystopian novels or near future science fiction stories.

The Dangerous Kind of Vampires

Restraint: A Novel by Sandra Madera

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review. 

Summary: Tragic circumstances bring two sisters, Laura and Linda, to a foreign land where they are stripped of their fortune and are at the mercy of their estranged uncle. However, strange happenings force Laura to believe their current situation was no accident. Something is after her. (YA Fiction Novel, intended for ages 16 and up)

After the abrupt death of her father, Laura Carter and her sister, Linda, are shipped off to England by an uncle they barely know. They are taken to a large house in Annesley to begin a life of service. When Laura becomes a governess to a young boy named Marcus, she begins to experience strange things in the night... horrible things.
Creatures in the night. Bite marks on her body.
Laura is about to discover a secret that has existed in her family for generations... Something wants to possess her. It wants her blood, but it didn't expect her to resist and lose all restraint.

Review: A suspenseful young adult vampire novel.

Vampire novels are a dime a dozen these days, especially young adult vampire novels. I know the craze has turned to other creatures including angels, demons, and werewolves. As much as I shamelessly enjoy reading YA paranormal novels, it is nice to find one that isn’t cookie cutter with perfect female characters who don’t realize how perfect they really are. I liked the setting and the fairy tale feel (one sister is loved by her father, while the other sister seems to be despised by her father). I like the love interest and found him to be a sweet guy although I am not sure if any relationship will ever occur.

I liked that Laura was so suspicious of the situation with her father, her “uncle”, and one of the servants. She does a very good job of speaking out when she feels something is wrong. I don’t like how she eventually gives in though, although that might have something to do with the time period and the view of women at that time. There is a lot of build up to the action that occurs in the prologue. I love that Laura was able to escape the situation on her own.

Rating:






Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that enjoy young adult vampire novels.

The Great and Infamous Speculation

Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings by Alison Weir

Summary: Sister to Queen Anne Boleyn, she was seduced by two kings and was an intimate player in one of history’s most gripping dramas. Yet much of what we know about Mary Boleyn has been fostered through garbled gossip, romantic fiction, and the misconceptions repeated by historians. Now, in her latest book, New York Times bestselling author and noted British historian Alison Weir gives us the first ever full-scale, in-depth biography of Henry VIII’s famous mistress, in which Weir explodes much of the mythology that surrounds Mary Boleyn and uncovers the truth about one of the most misunderstood figures of the Tudor age.
With the same brand of extensive forensic research she brought to her acclaimed book The Lady in the Tower, Weir facilitates here a new portrayal of her subjects, revealing how Mary was treated by her ambitious family and the likely nature of the relationship between the Boleyn sisters. She also posits new evidence regarding the reputation of Mary’s mother, Elizabeth Howard, who was rumored to have been an early mistress of Henry VIII.

Weir unravels the truth about Mary’s much-vaunted notoriety at the French court and her relations with King François I. She offers plausible theories as to what happened to Mary during the undocumented years of her life, and shows that, far from marrying an insignificant and complacent nonentity, she made a brilliant match with a young man who was the King’s cousin and a rising star at court.

Weir also explores Mary’s own position and role at the English court, and how she became Henry VIII’s mistress. She tracks the probable course of their affair and investigates Mary’s real reputation. With new and compelling evidence, Weir presents the most conclusive answer to date on the paternity of Mary’s children, long speculated to have been Henry VIII’s progeny.

Alison Weir has drawn fascinating information from the original sources of the period to piece together a life steeped in mystery and misfortune, debunking centuries-old myths and disproving accepted assertions, to give us the truth about Mary Boleyn, the so-called great and infamous whore

Review: A biography that was mostly speculation with a few very sparse facts.

The idea of a book about Mary Boleyn sounds like a great idea. Mary Boleyn is a very interesting historical figure and a book about her is one that Tudor fanatics would probably read. I was certainly interested in reading it. It turns out that very little is actually known about Mary Boleyn and writing a full length book about her is probably a stretch. I think it would have been better for Weir to add a chapter about her in a book that is dealing with Anne Boleyn or her family.

So very little is known about Mary Boleyn. A lot of sources are conflicting. Some sources purposely report malicious gossip or are merely repeating from what they have heard or learned from other people. Weir does a good job of figuring out what is true, what is false, or usually, what is most likely true or false. It is hard for Weir to be certain of anything with so little information. I assume most of her guesses are correct, but I don’t like how certain Weir is after she decides that something must be true or false.

Rating:

Recommendation: I would only recommend this to those that are looking for any information about Mary Boleyn. 

To Cage the Spirit

Touchstone by Letitia Coyne

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review. 

Summary: When war is all you've ever known, the promise of peace is more terrifying than any battle. For Freya, there is no life worth remembering before the army, and none worth imagining after. Born to the lowest caste of a brutally bigoted society, she's found no more horror on the battlefield than she knew on the streets.And she's earned a lot more respect with a sword in her hand.As a young man, Dragan was blooded on the rush of adrenaline and sated by the euphoria of victory. With Freya beside him as his partner, he was indestructible. But age and mortality are gaining ground, and cracks have started to appear.He's had fifteen years of war and he's earned his retirement.Together they survived the war. But can they survive peace when it means different things to each of them?

Review: A poignant story with a bittersweet ending.

I was warned that there was a sad ending so all throughout the book I was keeping an eye out for it. I was able to figure out what the sad ending would be. The ending was more bittersweet than actually sad. Although I am sure we all wish for a happy ending (unless we really dislike the characters), Touchstone needed the ending it had. Anything else would have been casting more characters into misery. I can only hope that Freya will be able to find true happiness and that Dragan will be able to find his own peace.

Touchstone, although not specific to any place, time, or country, does an incredible job of showing what war can do to people and how it affects them differently. Dragan wishes for peace and an end to his fighting. Freya wishes to continue doing what she knows best even as her body ages and injuries plague her. It was hard reading this book. Dragan was well meaning, but he still has the same prejudices as other men in the book. He never did see Freya for who see really is and that is a tragedy.

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those who want a realistic tale of how war affects people.