Reviews and Comments

Mythic fantasy, the world of this novel overlaps with dark ages Europe, during the Viking raids on England and Europe. This novel was released the same year as Fellowship of the Ring, and is frankly a better story. Battle scenes and Norse gods share time with witches and curses, but it all comes back to one broken sword.

These elves and Tolkien's elves came from the same root folk, light and quick but not Fey or Sidhe. The Norse foster some action, but don't drive it, and are mostly absent from this legend. Christianity also fits into the mix, though the author reduced this in an edited version released in 1971. Fortunately, Gollancz put out a version in 2002 that restores the original work, giving readers the option of reading the original.

Since 2009, I have reviewed 399 books on WorldsWithoutEnd, an enjoyable mix of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. This book brings that total to 400, and I see no reason why it won't continue to grow. Of those 400, this is easily in the top 10, and is highly recommended.

The main characters are collectors of knowledge about Templars and other related groups, so this novel also collects an unwieldy amount of knowledge around the plot, primarily in dialog. This diffuses (or defuses ) what tension there is, slowing the pace to a crawl.

The first 580 pages are told in flashback, our author hiding in a darkened museum and waiting for midnight. Chapters are short, with both dialog and investigation. Around page 400, they hatch the Plan - collect all of the knowledge they have into one grand scheme. Templars and Satanists, Rosicrucians and Jesuits, Masons and the Illuminati, Hollow Earth and Ultima Thule, and even Cthulhu makes an appearance. This scheme goes awry when an unlikely group demands more knowledge.

Too much dialog and too many ideas. Someone who read this copy before me tried highlighting and annotating, but gave up 60 pages in. When asked about Dan Brown, Eco stated that he was a character in this book, also lost in the conspiracies. That said, at least Brown's books maintain an exciting pace. It's been said that this is a parody of the pursuit of the occult - I just wish it weren't so ponderous.

Had the subtitle of this been "A collection of essays about the world before The Great War" it would have rated 3 or possibly 4 stars, with individual essays ranging from 2 to 5 stars. Alas, instead of a portrait, we are given a paint-by-numbers which remains undone. Unsatisfying.

These were essays, previously published, and some are quite good - they just aren't connected. I really enjoyed essays on the Anarchist movement and the Dreyfus affair, and the last chapter on Jean Jaures and Socialism is also well done. The essay about the Hague conferences of 1899 and 1907 was interesting, and I learned a lot about Thomas Reed and his struggle to keep America from becoming a colonial power. Two essays focus on Great Britain (Lord Salisbury and the House of Lords in general) were not my cup of tea (as it were), and the essay about Strauss operas didn't work at all.

The bibliography and references are extensive, as with each of her histories. The Guns of August took me a month to read in depth; this took longer than a month and was often a chore. I plan to read other focused histories - such as Zimmerman or Stillwell - but will probably avoid other essay collections by this author. My suggestion for interested friends - pick a topic and read the essay related to it, but don't try to read this one cover to cover.

This second book in what is now a series of four was written six years after the first. In this double mystery are elements of the game, the park workings, and an in-park presentation being made to pitch "The Barsoom Project", a Mars colonization effort.

Read this one originally in or shortly after college. Star Trek TNG debuted while this was being written, and I wonder if their holodeck influenced the authors. The mystery and characters are good, and we see humor from the players of the game, one of whom is a comedian. An afterword talks about sources for the legends and science, and also the IFGS, a real-life society founded to try and create a real Dream Park sometime in the future.

This book references the original novel, but could almost stand alone. Purchased the third book also, but not sure whether I read it at the time. That mystery will be solved this year, when I attempt to finish off this series.

Gord leaves the "Old City" of Greyhawk about 90 pages in, and from that point this is a travelogue of the World of Greyhawk (or more properly, the Flanaess). There is character growth and conflict, and even a love interest or two, but in general this isn't a great novel.

In fact, most chapters read like individual stories. One or two involve discussions of large troop movements (which mirrors what was published for dungeon masters in Dragon magazine at the time). Besides being dull to read, one quickly wonders just who has this visibility into various armies - no radio, no satellites, and magic doesn't work quite that way.

While I read a lot of D&D related books back in the day, I somehow never read this series. Will read at least the next book, and at least consider the final three. Was reading this on GM's day, which is also the anniversary of the authors death.

Enjoyed the first book, rating brought down by several elements that didn't belong. Those are gone here, but this murder mystery isn't as good. Both books were released together (adding a short story between) in one volume later on. Unlike the other two, this novel would not stand on its own.

The tale kicks off with little introduction, nearly in media res. I fumbled to figure out whether Will was Wili (no) and Della was Della (yes), and where they fit in this timeline. Turns out they are now a LONG ways past the time of the first novel, and that past is eventually explored. Will is a cop, a police detective, and was a pretty good one. After he disappeared, his son wrote stories about him, making him out to be Sherlock Holmes. This element would have been great to introduce earlier.

If you haven't figured out from the previous paragraph, time plays a major role in this novel, and time travel is only one way - downstream. This is an interesting aspect, and the author uses this to discuss the end of humanity - were we taken out by an enemy or did we "move on" due to the singularity? The author's views seem clear by the end of the book. He also published an essay a few years later titled "The Coming Technological Singularity".

This book, the first book, the series - all good, but not great. The author is more well known for his trilogy starting with "A Fire Upon the Deep" and his short stories. I rated his collection "True Names and other Dangers" five stars, and would recommend anyone start there.

The introduction to another long series of books, radio and film, this story was disavowed by the author. Only his third novel, the introduction for a 1980 reprint states "I can see so much wrong with it that I am humbly astonished that it got published at all". While rough at times, it was a decent thriller, and contains passages that really shine.

Simon Templar in this novel is more a dilettante than the Robin Hood character he would become. Established in a small seaside English village, he is there to root out the Tiger, a gang leader who stole a large sum of gold in Chicago - then return that gold for a 20% reward. In this story, we don't know who the Tiger is - and neither does Simon. This town has a large cast of characters with an interest in this business.

These characters are also hit and miss, some pure caricature. One is a direct nod to the writing of contemporary Wodehouse (What ho?). The strongest character is Patricia Holm, and she carried much of the latter half of the story. She occurred frequently in later stories, but never in the radio or television stories.

Much like Sherlock Holmes, the Saint's stories appear in a scatter of novels, novellas and short stories. While not the fully fledged gentleman bandit he would be come, there are enough pieces of him here to make the book worth reading (despite what the author said). One must also ignore the wrap up to the story, as Charteris didn't plan on a series when he wrote this novel. I have a trove of these stories on my eReader, and look forward to many more pleasurable evenings spent with The Saint.

With information gathered in the previous two books, our heroes now take the fight to the invaders! Unfortunately, this is no more plausible today than it was when first written. It concludes the series well, but flaws abound.

Among those is the lack of female characters. Book 2 and 3 both suffer from this, while the first book didn't. The overly simplistic description of the "pool of fire" (or is it an atomic pile?) can be forgiven. More major than those are how implausible a civilization, years in the future and yet reduced to a technology of the middle ages, is able to recreate some of the lost science in less than three years to defeat the interstellar reinforcements. The game "Sphere Chase" was invented in book 2, and really never comes up again.

The main character, flawed with rashness, hasn't improved much in the last two books. This counts against him often, and he regrets it. Our pessimistic author concludes with a few paragraphs displacing a one-world government with the squabbling factions similar to the world when he wrote it - although Russia and a cold war are conspicuously absent.

The series as a whole rates 3 stars, and was ahead of its time in some ways. Having read all three (and the prequel). I would say that skipping books 2 and 3 would not be a bad thing. I am more likely to try the Zx Spectrum game than to seek out the TV series based on these books.

A collection of essays about baseball, from 1962 to 1971. This era saw expansion, a new round of playoffs, dominating performance from pitchers or hitters, and the first hints of free agency. His prose is often poetic. The last essay is the best, looking back at baseball in his father's era and describing the true timelessness of the game.

Much of this book focuses on the Mets, from an expansion cellar dweller to the amazing season of 1969. Baltimore, a dominant team in this era, also receives plenty of ink. This book is not just about the teams, though - he looks at the fans, the stadiums, the media, and even sport in general. His comments on growing homogenization and increasing playoffs also ring true in our era.

Already a writer, these essays represent his first foray into baseball, and start (appropriately enough) with spring training. His observations are from a perspective that Ring Lardner and others didn't have, as embroiled as they were in the game. The last essay was partially about what the 70s would bring, and also reflected on what the 20s held for his father's generation. This is a quote from that essay:

“Since baseball time is measured only in outs, all you have to do is succeed utterly; keep hitting, keep the rally alive, and you have defeated time. You remain forever young. Sitting in the stands, we sense this, if only dimly. The players below us—Mays, DiMaggio, Ruth, Snodgrass—swim and blur in memory, the ball floats over to Terry Turner, and the end of this game may never come.”

I look forward to reading (and rereading) more from this author.

Completed thirty years after the battle, A Bridge Too Far has complete coverage of Operation Market Garden, from the discussions leading up to it through the aftermath and results. This was Ryan's last book (cancer) and exceedingly well researched, though perhaps a little too complete.

Personal recollections, military records, and sources from both sides of the battle make this volume an excellent resource. Unfortunately, so much information can drag down the narrative a little; perhaps some of it belonged in an appendix or end notes. The author also used this platform to debunk other books written about the event that had or propagated erroneous information.

Some have reported that prior to the mid 1970s, this battle didn't get the sort of coverage or attention that others did, perhaps because it was not an allied win. I couldn't say before that point, but have seen plenty of coverage since, especially in excellent war games by Avalon Hill and others. Reading this book helped fill in some of the gaps, and it was well written with style and even humor. Recommended to those with an interest in the event.

John Gardner picks up the pen for James Bond, and does an adequate job. The second half of the book is better than the first, and fits with Fleming's fiction well. Something about the beginning, the new era or agencies, just doesn't work for me.

I think it starts with Bond's introduction to the case as a hired assassin, which doesn't fit my perspective of the spy. I see his "license to kill" as an option, one which he often takes to save England. Considering the plots he finds himself trapped in, this is often the only choice.

This beginning (and squabbling agencies) are left behind as M directs Bond to figure out what is going on and report back. From that point, the novel feels like a Bond book to me. In total, not worse that the worst Ian Fleming Bond book, but far from the best of them. I plan to read more.

Well written and thrilling, this tells the true story of prisoners in Stalag Luft III and their 100th attempt to escape. Photos, drawings, maps, the related Hitler decrees and the post war trials are also included. I finished this book on January 27th, UN Holocaust Remembrance day.

While this book mostly glosses over the very difficult parts of prison life (I found myself picturing Hogan's Heroes too often), the details of the escape read like a thriller. It is also fairly short, and worth reading. It references some of the other escape attempts detailed elsewhere, such as the Wooden Horse. I can see why this tale was made into a movie.

Speaking of that, I haven't seen it, but am looking forward to it. I have also found out there is a miniseries with Christopher Reeve from 1988 titled The Great Escape Part II, covering the trial in more detail. Even The Wooden Horse was made into a film - and I've seen none of them (yet).

On the night of the escape, eighty men managed to get through the tunnel and outside the camp, each taking separate routes. Three reached the allies and freedom. Fifty were executed by the Gestapo. This book is dedicated to them.