ClareR (5996 KP) rated Melmoth: A Novel in Books
Nov 2, 2018
Melmoth is omnipresent throughout the novel. Helen, the main character, seems to have something in her past that she is punishing herself for. She makes sure that she has no enjoyment in her life: from food to clothes, to friendships. She does have some friends, though: Thea and Karel.
Karel finds some documents about Melmoth the Wanderer, and so an obsession begins.
For a dark, depressing novel, there is a lot of hope in it too. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It got to the stage where I was sure I could see a dark shadow in my peripheral vision - could it be Melmoth looking for company in her lonely wanderings?
This is a compelling read - once started, I really didn't want to stop. I enjoyed the historical detail in Karel's documents too.
Another great story from Sarah Perry.
Becs (244 KP) rated A Room Away From the Wolves in Books
Jan 4, 2019
The only reason why this novel isn't sitting at a 5-star rating is that it was a little confusing in the beginning. I didn't quite understand the story-line and plot and the characters seemed to be lacking. But once I actually delved deeper into the novel, I got my answers and everything became clear yet again.
Want to read more? Head over to my blog: bookingwayreads.wordpress.com
David McK (3623 KP) rated Hunting the Eagles: 2: Eagles of Rome in Books
Jan 30, 2019
This is the second in Ben Kane's 'Eagles of Rome' series, that deals with - in the first novel (Eagles at War) perhaps Rome's most famous defeat of all: that which led (according to legend) the Emperor Augustus Caesar to cry 'Varus, give me back my legions' after that general lost three legions and - horror of horrors! - their eagles in the battle (ambush) of Teutoberg Forest.
This novel follows some key characters from that novel (and survivors of the ambush), from a revolt by the Legionaries through to another battle in a forest/bog land and is told from both the point of view of the Romans and from the German war leader Arminius (who successfully carried out that ambush).
Like the previous entry in the series, Ben Kane's knowledge of the period definitely shines through in this!
David McK (3623 KP) rated Brothers in Arms in Books
Jan 30, 2019
However, an unlike a Sharpe novel, this one never really gripped me: I never really seemed to connect with the title character at all. While it is written as one, this book could also easily be split into three main sections: the first part concentrating on the battle of Oudenarde, the middle part with Steel going undercover in Paris, and the final part with the siege of Lille: it's just a pity that none of these really grips and so, while I may read some more in the series, I won't be going out of my way to look for them.
The Rest of Us Just Live Here
7.8
Rate It
Book
Award-winning writer Patrick Ness's bold and irreverent novel powerfully reminds us that there are...
American Fiction in Transition: Observer-Hero Narrative, the 1990s, and Postmodernism
Book
American Fiction in Transition is a study of the observer-hero narrative, a highly significant but...
Ezra Pound's and Olga Rudge's the Blue Spill: A Manuscript
Ezra Pound, Olga Rudge, Mark Byron and Sophia Barnes
Book
Written during the Italian winter of 1930, The Blue Spill is an unfinished detective novel written...
Nightmare Abbey
Thomas Love Peacock and Nicholas A. Joukovsky
Book
Thomas Love Peacock (1785-1866) is one of the most distinctive prose satirists of the Romantic...
Samuel Richardson in Context
Peter Sabor and Betty A. Schellenberg
Book
Since the publication of his novel Pamela; or Virtue Rewarded in 1740, Samuel Richardson's place in...
The Pianoplayers
Book
This novel is one of Anthony Burgess's most accessible and entertaining works. By turns bawdy,...