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David McK (3188 KP) rated Commander (Jack Lark #10) in Books
Aug 7, 2022
Book number 10 in Paul Fraser Collard's Jack Lark series - a series which has, over time, moved away from its earlier Richard Sharpe stylings, which (and, at least, in The Scarlet Thief) it seemed to wear proudly on its sleeve.
To be clear: that's neither a con nor a pro: just something to be aware of!
In this one, the latest at the time of reviewing, Jack Lark is in Egypt, between employment (well, of a salubrious sort), when he is offered the opportunity to join an expedition into the Sudan, taking charge of new recruits in doing so.
What follows is the delays and danger (both of the natural variety as well as the man-made) of such an expedition into the wilderness, including the hunting of Elephants for ivory (on an industrial scale), slave trading and other such unsavoury pursuits which the expedition both aims to take part in and to stop.
As for Lark himself? He comes across as more melancholy than I remember from previous entries; more given to introspection than before. However, he also seems to end the novel in a better place than when he started: let's see how long that lasts!
To be clear: that's neither a con nor a pro: just something to be aware of!
In this one, the latest at the time of reviewing, Jack Lark is in Egypt, between employment (well, of a salubrious sort), when he is offered the opportunity to join an expedition into the Sudan, taking charge of new recruits in doing so.
What follows is the delays and danger (both of the natural variety as well as the man-made) of such an expedition into the wilderness, including the hunting of Elephants for ivory (on an industrial scale), slave trading and other such unsavoury pursuits which the expedition both aims to take part in and to stop.
As for Lark himself? He comes across as more melancholy than I remember from previous entries; more given to introspection than before. However, he also seems to end the novel in a better place than when he started: let's see how long that lasts!
David McK (3188 KP) rated The Scarlet Thief (Jack Lark, #1) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
While I had heard (read) this described as 'the new Richard Sharpe', this is a novel that, if I'm honest, I was unsure of whether to purchase or not - those are some big boots to fill, after all, and I'd both read and later been disappointed in other books that made the same claim.
However, when I read the short prequel novella [b: Jack Lark: Rogue|23646134|Jack Lark Rogue|Paul Fraser Collard|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1424476493s/23646134.jpg|43253728], that was enough to convince me to start in on the series proper.
having now read this, it is very obvious where the template comes from, even down to the evil Sergeant Slater who is really Hakeswill in all but name. As the first in the series, however (even before said prequels), I am prepared to make allowances.
The novel actually starts with Jack Lark leading his troops to cross the Alma river (in the Crimea), before moving back to six months before to show the events that led up to this: events that see Lark (who is from the East End slums) deciding to impersonate his officer when said officer dies on the way to his new posting.
As for the battle of Alma itself: while it is one that I had heard of, it's not one that I am overly familiar with; not one as famous as (say) Waterloo or even the Battle of Balaclava that would later occur during the same war (the Crimean). As such, and interwoven in the latter part of the novel - I actually find the history just as interesting as the fiction.
I think I will be picking more of these up :)
However, when I read the short prequel novella [b: Jack Lark: Rogue|23646134|Jack Lark Rogue|Paul Fraser Collard|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1424476493s/23646134.jpg|43253728], that was enough to convince me to start in on the series proper.
having now read this, it is very obvious where the template comes from, even down to the evil Sergeant Slater who is really Hakeswill in all but name. As the first in the series, however (even before said prequels), I am prepared to make allowances.
The novel actually starts with Jack Lark leading his troops to cross the Alma river (in the Crimea), before moving back to six months before to show the events that led up to this: events that see Lark (who is from the East End slums) deciding to impersonate his officer when said officer dies on the way to his new posting.
As for the battle of Alma itself: while it is one that I had heard of, it's not one that I am overly familiar with; not one as famous as (say) Waterloo or even the Battle of Balaclava that would later occur during the same war (the Crimean). As such, and interwoven in the latter part of the novel - I actually find the history just as interesting as the fiction.
I think I will be picking more of these up :)
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated American Horror Story - Season 4 in TV
Nov 18, 2019 (Updated Nov 18, 2019)
Season 4 of AHS, subtitled 'Freak Show' gets a bad wrap in my opinion.
It doesn't reach the lofty heights of the first two seasons, but there's plenty to love and it tries something new.
The bulk of the series revolves around Elsa Mars (Jessica Lange) and her group of travelling sideshow performers, all who have some sort of abnormality. As they arrive in 1951 Florida to set up shop and make a living amongst a world that fears and targets them, they are also being eyed up by Richard Spencer (Denis O'Hare), a shady businessman attempting to profit from their misfortune, and Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock), who harbours an unhealthy obsession with the Freak Show, and in particular, conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler (Sarah Paulson).
All the while, a murderous and sinister clown called Twisty (John Carroll Lynch) is on the loose, causing the finger to be pointed at another Freak Show member, Jimmy Darling (Evan Peters).
All of these plot lines running at once actually run side by side pretty smoothly, making for an engaging narrative, with plenty of plot twists along the way.
The Twisty plot line is proper classic slasher horror, and is unfortunately tied up pretty quickly, but it makes way for a surprisingly touching story about family, and what it means to be different.
I found myself caring about almost everybody during Freak Show. It's very well written.
The cast are as usual, pretty great. As well as the cast members mentioned above, we have returning AHS in the likes of Kathy Bates, Francis Conroy, Emma Roberts, Angela Bassett, and Naomi Grossman, as well as some new blood in the form of Michael Chiklis, Erika Ervin, Mat Fraser, Wes Bentley, and Neil Patrick-Harris.
Sarah Paulson is the undisputed highlight during this season, playing two characters at once, with some fantastic effects work going on.
The only character I really struggled to get on board with here was Elsa, which is a shame as she's front and centre. No fault of the great Jessica Lange of course.
The season drags for a while in the mid section, but with so many likable characters, it's not a huge issue.
Freak Show is also the first season that has a concrete connection to other seasons in the AHS story, confirming finally that all the seasons take place in the same universe, which is incredibly exciting, and opens the door for a lot of possibilities.
The gore effects and horror elements continue to be a big plus for AHS, and as always, the anthology format keeps it feeling fresh. Another win for Ryan Murphy and co.
It doesn't reach the lofty heights of the first two seasons, but there's plenty to love and it tries something new.
The bulk of the series revolves around Elsa Mars (Jessica Lange) and her group of travelling sideshow performers, all who have some sort of abnormality. As they arrive in 1951 Florida to set up shop and make a living amongst a world that fears and targets them, they are also being eyed up by Richard Spencer (Denis O'Hare), a shady businessman attempting to profit from their misfortune, and Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock), who harbours an unhealthy obsession with the Freak Show, and in particular, conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler (Sarah Paulson).
All the while, a murderous and sinister clown called Twisty (John Carroll Lynch) is on the loose, causing the finger to be pointed at another Freak Show member, Jimmy Darling (Evan Peters).
All of these plot lines running at once actually run side by side pretty smoothly, making for an engaging narrative, with plenty of plot twists along the way.
The Twisty plot line is proper classic slasher horror, and is unfortunately tied up pretty quickly, but it makes way for a surprisingly touching story about family, and what it means to be different.
I found myself caring about almost everybody during Freak Show. It's very well written.
The cast are as usual, pretty great. As well as the cast members mentioned above, we have returning AHS in the likes of Kathy Bates, Francis Conroy, Emma Roberts, Angela Bassett, and Naomi Grossman, as well as some new blood in the form of Michael Chiklis, Erika Ervin, Mat Fraser, Wes Bentley, and Neil Patrick-Harris.
Sarah Paulson is the undisputed highlight during this season, playing two characters at once, with some fantastic effects work going on.
The only character I really struggled to get on board with here was Elsa, which is a shame as she's front and centre. No fault of the great Jessica Lange of course.
The season drags for a while in the mid section, but with so many likable characters, it's not a huge issue.
Freak Show is also the first season that has a concrete connection to other seasons in the AHS story, confirming finally that all the seasons take place in the same universe, which is incredibly exciting, and opens the door for a lot of possibilities.
The gore effects and horror elements continue to be a big plus for AHS, and as always, the anthology format keeps it feeling fresh. Another win for Ryan Murphy and co.