Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (2221)

Content

The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories

Leo Tolstoy, Andrew Kahn and Nicolas Pasternak Slater

10.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

'no one pitied him as he would have liked to be pitied' As Ivan Ilyich lies dying he begins to...

Waiting for Walter

A.S. Balfour

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Set partly in late 1950's London, Waiting for Walter follows the fortunes of two people over a...

David McK (3540 KP) rated Lion of Macedon (Greek series #1) in Books

Jul 7, 2020

Lion of Macedon (Greek series #1)

David Gemmell | 1990 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

7.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

The first of David Gemmell's forays into ancient Greece, followed up by Dark Prince, with Gemmell returning to the setting (if not the characters) towards the end of his life with his Troy series (Lord of the Silver Bow, Shield of Thunder and Fall of Kings - the latter being completed by his wife following his death in 2006).

Unlike the Troy books, however, this is set (much) later in the ancient Greek world, even well after the battle of Thermopylae, and follows the life and times of the half-Spartan/half Macedonian Parmenion - the actual Lion of Macedon of the title - of whom little is apparently known, other than that he was an actual Macedonian general in the service of Philip II of Macedon (who doesn't even appear in this until about 2/3rd of the way through the book): the father (or was he?) of the most famous Macedonian of all: Alexander. As in Alexander the Great.

I add the 'or was he' question to the above as this novel provides an alternative patronage. It also, unlike his later Troy series, mixes on some of Gemmell's more 'fantastical' elements (I hesitate to even use that word), with the philosopher Aristotle reimagined and the inclusion of the Stones of Power (aka the Siptrassi Stones - as an aside, I'm not sure where these novels were written in relation to those?), albeit not to the extent of Dark Prince. The themes of redemption, honour, courage and Good (the Source) Vs Evil are as strong as any other in his oeuvre!

Kudos

Da Nang Diary: A Forward Air Controller's Gunsight View of Flying with Sog

Tom Yarborough

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

The classic, revised story of how an elite group of US Air Force pilots fought a secret air war over...

ClareR (5841 KP) rated Miss Benson's Beetle in Books

Dec 5, 2020

Miss Benson’s Beetle is an absolute delight, and completely unexpected! I have other Rachel Joyce books on my bookshelf, but I haven’t read them yet (this will be remedied!), so I wasn’t expecting the quirky, moving book that I listened to on Audible.

It must have been very unusual for a woman in 1950 to up sticks and travel to the other side of the world, searching for a beetle that might not even exist. And the fact that she does this with no prior travel experience, not knowing the language at her destination, and with very basic equipment, made me feel that Margery Benson was even more courageous. I loved her companion, Enid Pretty, too - although I think Margery really struggles with her huge personality (despite her diminutive size) for a large part of the book. Enid is confident where Margery is unsure, loud where Margery is quiet - and she teaches Margery the importance of female friendship.

In the wings is an ex-prisoner of war who had been held captive by the Japanese. He suffers from PTSD and a tropical disease, and there is a feeling of constant unease that he will do something to harm Margery or Enid. I felt so sorry for him though. He really wasn’t in a good place mentally or physically throughout.

This book is a story of courage, trials and tribulations, tragedy, and joy in the small things in life (not just beetles!) and I loved it. It’s a book with a lot of laughter and a good helping of tears.