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David McK (3251 KP) rated The Eagle in the Sand (Eagle, #7) in Books

Jan 30, 2019

Last book (so far) in Simon Scarrows Macro and Cato series to include the use of the word 'Eagle' in the title - before the series as a whole was rebranded - and the first book to be set in the Eastern provinces (unlike the earlier novels, set in and around Europe).

The events of this one, instead, take place in Judea, mainly centring around a small fort on the outpost of the Roman Empire. While its not essential to have read the earlier novels, it may help, with the occassional passing reference to earlier events.

I also have to say that it could be easy to take offence at the way certain famous historical personages - one in particular - are portrayed, but at the end of the day, this is only a work of fiction and doesn't purport to be anything but.

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Erika (17788 KP) rated The Murder of King Tut in Books

Jan 21, 2019 (Updated Jan 21, 2019)

The Murder of King Tut

James Patterson | 2009 | History & Politics

4.8

(4 Ratings)

Book Rating

To start off with, this book made me realize I absolutely hate the way James Patterson writes, and this is the last book I touched with him listed as an author.
This is, without a doubt, one of the worst books I've every read on King Tut. I've studied Egyptian History, due to being an archaeology minor, and this is the biggest load of bologna next to 'slaves built the pyramids' theories, well, or the ancient astronaut theory. Possible? Sure, maybe, but Tut was a sickly dude, and they didn't happen to have advanced medicine at the time.

Please, for the love of god, do not trust a fiction writer, paired with whomever the other dude is, for history.

By the way, I read this book right when it came out, and it still pisses me off nearly 10 years later.

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Show all 7 comments.

Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) Jan 21, 2019

That's really good question!

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Erika (17788 KP) Jan 21, 2019

This book he 'wrote' along with someone else. I think it's happening more often than not.

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Erika (17788 KP) rated The Locksmith's Daughter in Books

Jan 21, 2019

The Locksmith's Daughter

Karen Brooks | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

An Elizabethan novel without royals as the main characters.

Recently, I haven't wanted to read any historical fiction novels. I feel like recently, a lot of them are either focused on royals, or on WWII. Harper Collins sent one of their promo emails at the beginning of this month, and after reading the description, I had to have it.
I really liked the main character, Mallory, made some dumb decisions, like everyone, but it was nice to see that she legitimately learned from her mistakes.
After Mallory ruined her reputation, her father seeks out the Spymaster of Elizabethan England, Sir Francis Walsingham, to give her a job. She becomes a spy, seeking out Catholics. Again, I was thankful that the Queen only appeared in person once.

Harper Collins totally got me on this one, and I was glad to read it.

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Allison Knapp (118 KP) Jan 21, 2019

Sounds interesting. I will have to read it.

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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Powersat (The Grand Tour #1) in Books

Nov 25, 2019

Powersat (The Grand Tour #1)

Ben Bova | 2005 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller

6.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Dan Randolph has a dream - cheap power for all delivered via a series of orbital sun-powered 'Powersats' that will beam their energy down to Earth. However this is a huge project and there are any number of things that can go wrong. Dan will need to summon all his resources as a businessman and format astronaut to ensure his brainchild has a future.

This is a pretty solid start to the Grand Tour series of books, which seek to show the reader every corner of the solar system together with a gripping story. The science is accurate and plot is certainly gripping.

However this is a fairly workmanlike book, feeling a lot like Bova was writing with gritted teeth to actually get it finished. As a result it is a good but not great work of fiction.

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Sarah (7798 KP) rated Modern Romance in Books

Dec 14, 2019

Modern Romance

Aziz Ansari | 2016 | Health & Fitness

8.0

(6 Ratings)

Book Rating

Interesting and funny

I had to do a double take when I first saw a recommendation to read this book - a factual non-fiction book written by a comedian isn't something you hear about every day. But it's actually a fun and hugely interesting read.

There's a great balance in this between facts, data and laughs, and there are some very clever insights in this into modern dating and romance. It was also interesting to read about dating in other foreign cities that I didn't know much about. Aziz is a relatively endearing author, coming across as rather friendly and inviting and you get the feeling that he really cares about the subject matter. There's a lot of truth in this book and whilst I don't think anything in this is massively groundbreaking, it's still an insightful and entertaining read.