Archives for reviews - Page 19
A Wilderness of Sin by M J Logue [Book Review]
A Wilderness of Sin by Logue My rating: 5 of 5 stars A Wilderness of Sin Two years have passed since Command the Raven. Hollie Babbitt is now a Colonel of Horse in the New Model Army and a father. A Wilderness of Sin picks up in the aftermath of the Battle of Naseby. Thankful Russell has been blinded by a shot to the head and Luce Pettitt is in love. English: Battle of Naseby, by an unknown artist. The victory of the Parliamentarian New Model Army, under Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, over the Royalist army, commanded by Prince Rupert, at the Battle of Naseby (June 14, 1645) marked the decisive turning point in the English Civil War. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) As with the previous two in the series these are social histories. A Wilderness of Sin features birth,…
Command the Raven by M J Logue [Book Review]
Command the Raven by Logue My rating: 5 of 5 stars Command the Raven is the second in the Uncivil Wars series by M J Logue. It follows on from Red Horse starting with the siege of Reading in Spring 1643. Command the Raven Although set during the first English Civil War, the Uncivil Wars books are more social history than military. Like its predecessor Command the Raven has its focus on the people, and horses, in Captain Hollie Babbitt's troop and their associates. Command the Raven opens with the siege of Reading and the troop's ennui with it. Luce Pettitt takes bad news from his widow very hard, and Hollie Babbitt wants away from the siege. A transfer from Essex's army to Fairfax in the north sees Babbitt change his fortunes. After a short period of recovery in Essex Babbitt marries. He then…
M J Logue – Author Interview
M J Logue is the subject of this week's interview. M J Logue is the author of several historical novels set in the 17th century. She's one of only two authors I know that write about Roundheads. English: Battle of Marston Moor, 1644 by John Barker (Photo credit: Wikipedia) M J Logue has been passionate about the English Civil War since writing her first novel over 20 years ago. After a brief flirtation with horror and dark fantasy, she returned to her first love, historical fiction, and now combines the two. She has a degree in English literature, trained as an archivist, and likes Jacobean theatre, loud music, and cheese. When not attempting to redeem the reputation of the Army of Parliament, she lives in Cornwall with her husband and son, three cats, and a toad under the back doorstep.…
Redshirts by John Scalzi [Book Review]
Redshirts by John Scalzi My rating: 3 of 5 stars Redshirts is a pastiche on the original Star Trek. As a premise it's interesting, and Scalzi executes it well. However it's not really enough for a full length book. I can see it working very well as a 90 minute movie though. Redshirts - Review All through Redshirts there are little chuckles and wry smiles. The plot is an observation of the sort of tricks series writers use to keep audience attention. So it is a meta story more than it is its own story. Redshirts is full of Scalzi's trademark snarkiness and cleverness, which I happen to like. Scalzi said in a recent blog post that he wrote Redshirts in five weeks. That makes Redshirts the fastest book he's written, and it sort of shows. I did like it, but only just.…
Red Horse by M.J. Logue [Book Review]
Red Horse by Logue My rating: 5 of 5 stars Red Horse is set at the beginning of the First English Civil War in 1642. The primary characters are Captain Hollie Babbitt and his young Cornet Luce Pettitt. Babbitt is a grizzled and damaged English mercenary back from the continent to fight for Parliament. Pettitt fights from conviction and conscience, he is a distant relation to the Earl of Essex. This sets us up nicely for a tale from a cavalry viewpoint with the odd glimpse of higher command. There are a troop of supporting characters as well. For the most part they simply give enough context for the main characters not to be in isolation. Both main characters are flawed, and this makes their character development engaging. Luce starts off naive and relatively innocent. I could identify my…