Tag Archives: war

BOOK TO FILM: Parade’s End – Ford Madox Ford

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Ela

Since I’ve caved in and subscribed to Amazon Prime, I’ve been watching a lot of films and US TV shows this way. One of those included in the subscription was Parade’s End, a dramatisation of three of the novels comprising … Continue reading →

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REVIEW: Kushiel’s Dart – Jacqueline Carey

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Ela

Phèdre is the child of a Servant of Naamah, and was sold by her mother into indentured servitude at Cereus House, oldest of the Court of Night-Blooming Flowers in the City of Elua. A nobleman named Anafiel Delaunay recognised her … Continue reading →

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The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps – Michel Faber

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Ela

(Canongate 2008, originally published 2001) “This book exists because Keith Wilson, Artist in Residence at Whitby Abbey during summer 2000, asked me to come and write a short story inspired by the English Heritage dig…” writes Faber in the Acknowledgements. … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Fiction, Read on my Kindle, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Song for Arbonne – Guy Gavriel Kay

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Ela

(HarperCollins 2011, originally published 1992) Like most of Kay’s work, A Song for Arbonne is what I’d call ‘historical fantasy’ – taking history of our world and transplanting it into an invented world like ours, but different. This book takes … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical fiction, Read on my Kindle, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Silmarillion – J. R. R. Tolkien

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Ela

(HarperCollins audiobook 2001, read by Martin Shaw) Let me say right now that I don’t much like audiobooks. The read word tends to distract me from other things, and I prefer to listen to music while doing chores or repetitive … Continue reading →

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‘Tigana’ – Guy Gavriel Kay

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Ela

(minor spoiler at the end) In the peninsula of The Palm, there are a number of warring city-states – much like Italy in the mediaeval period – with a common language and religion. Sensing weakness, two enemies strike to conquer … Continue reading →

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‘The Far Country’ – Nevil Shute

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Ela

This novel begins in Australia, on the sheep and cattle station ‘Leonora’ in Victoria, which belongs to Jack and Jane Darman. After many years of hardship and poverty, they have finally paid off their mortgage, and due to the high … Continue reading →

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‘The Curse of Chalion’ and ‘Paladin of Souls’ – Lois McMaster Bujold

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Ela

Many readers may know Bujold through her series of SF novels featuring Miles Vorkosigan (I’ve read three of this series, Shards of Honor, Barrayar and Ethan of Athos), but these two books of hers are set in a fantasy world … Continue reading →

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Churchill’s Wizards – Nicholas Rankin

Posted on August 6, 2009 by Ela

Subtitled ‘The British Genius for Deception 1914-1945’, this is a history of those men (and they were nearly all men) who began and continued the arts of wartime deception: propaganda, camouflage, ruses, misdirection, rumour-mongering, double-agents, false suggestion, and so on. … Continue reading →

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