Mike Leigh recommended The Third Policeman: The Third Policeman in Books (curated)
The Chocolate Lady (94 KP) rated Neither Here Nor There in Books
Oct 7, 2020
Star Wars: Before the Awakening
Greg Rucka and Phil Noto (illustrations)
7.7
Rate It
Book
A companion piece to the "Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens" character novels, Star Wars:...
Star Wars
Electric Girl, Volume 3
8.0
Rate It
Book
The hilarious adventures of Virginia the Electric Girl, Oogleeoog the mischievous magical gremlin,...
Sharpe's Rifles
7.5
Rate It
TV Show
TV adaptation of the Bernard Cornwell novels, about a solder promoted from the ranks ( an extremely...
Pamela Hansford Johnson: Her Life, Work and Times
Book
This first biography of Pamela Hansford Johnson (1912-1981) has been written with the full...
David McK (3562 KP) rated Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron (Alphabet Squadron #1) in Books
Dec 23, 2019
Most of those novels concentrated on Han, Luke, Leia and co.
Most, but not all.
Alongside those, there was also two separate series of books, initially taking Wedge Antilles as a key character, concentrating instead on the fighter pilots of (initially) Rogue Squadron and (later) Wraith Squadron, taking inspiration for the X-Wing and TIE fighter computer games of the time.
And those novels themselves - now considered 'Legends' i.e. no longer canon - could very well have provided inspiration for this, the first of a spin-off trilogy (I think) from a series of graphic novels.
Whereas Rogue and Wraith squadron both had their pilots flying the same type of fighter craft, and both were very cinematic in their presentation, this novel - definitely in the first half (which, I felt, dragged somewhat) - concentrates more on its members psychology, with the so-called Alphabet squadron headed up by an ex-Imperial keen to prove her loyalty to the New Republic. And why is it called Alphabet Squadron? Because the pilots fly a mix of starfighter, from an A-Wing (i.e. that which crashes into the Star Destroyer bridge in Return of the Jedi) to a B Wing (the cross-shaped bomber glimpsed in flight), to an X-Wing (the type Luke Skywalker flies) to a U-Wing (The personnel carrier introduced in Rogue One) to a Y-Wing (the initial bombing run on the Death Star).
David McK (3562 KP) rated The Flame Bearer (the Last Kingdom Series, Book 10) in Books
Jan 28, 2019
The series as a whole has dealt with the forging of what ias now knwon as England, with Alfred (the Great) palying a key role in the earlier novels, and with the later novels dealing with events following his death. Although he is a pagan and Alfred was a Christian, Uhtred has played a key role in many of the events depicted - mostly (as with nearly all of [a:Bernard Cornwell|12542|Bernard Cornwell|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1240500522p2/12542.jpg]'s novels) all based on or around real historical events.
I say mostly, as this is one of the few rare exceptions (being nearly all fiction), with the author himself admitting as much in the Afterword to this particular tale.
David McK (3562 KP) rated The Winter King in Books
Sep 4, 2020
These are also novels that - despite being the author's own personal favourites of the (many) novels he has written - I have struggled with, never really getting into them or feeling any connection with the story or character in the same way as I do towards Uhtred of Bebbanburg, or to Richard Sharpe.
I don't know whether that's because these are so different than I was originally expecting (the magic and mysticism of the tales, here, are more to do with superstition and ignorance), or whether because it may be fairer to call these a tale of Derfel, who narrates the story in later life in a monastery and how - here- he first came to the service of Arthur, the King that never was.
Maybe also because of the Dark Ages setting, which - obviously, since so little is known of that period (hence the name Dark Ages!) - means that Cornwell can't really bring history to life like he does in most of his other works?
