Review: The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett

Narrator: Samuel Gillies
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: Yes, The Lymond Chronicles #1
Length: 25 hours
Copyright: 1961 (book), 2000 (audio)
Publisher: Recorded Books
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads.
Dunnett introduces her irresistible hero Francis Crawford of Lymond, a scapegrace nobleman of elastic morals and dangerous talents whose tongue is as sharp as his rapier. In 1547 Lymond is returning to his native Scotland, which is threatened by an English invasion. Accused of treason, Lymond leads a band of outlaws in a desperate race to redeem his reputation and save his land.


Feelings:
This audiobook was a little slow at first, but once the characters were introduced it started moving faster. Lymond is loquacious and verbose. He values his intelligence and wit above all other things. He uses them to deceive and pillage throughout Scotland in his quest to clear his name with the Scottish court.

There are both pluses and minuses to this book. I know that giving it a five bird rating might make you think this book is for everyone. It isn't. However, there were many things in this novel to respect and love. I think the cons for the book are very few and the amount of enjoyment I got from this book far out ways my initial opinion. Most of the cons I had, vocabulary, Scottish accent, use of Latin, Spanish, and French, and following the narrative as it switched perspective were things that resolved themselves as I became acquainted with the writing style. Yes, if I had a dictionary while I was listening and the desire to look up every word I didn't know I would have been pausing all the time. You can find huge lists of words in other reviews of this book. However, it think exposing oneself to new vocabulary is a good thing. We all have the potential for growth and this book presents a story that is engaging while offering a challenge.

Things I really enjoyed about this audiobook were the characters. They make mistakes and they are human in the way they deal with these mistakes. There are regrets and characters grow and work to correct their past blunders. Many times in stories characters only learn from or grow from mistakes when it suits the narrative. I didn't feel that way about this novel.

The story itself was very interesting and the history surrounding the story seemed to be only a small part of the story. I was glad for that because if the plot climax was dependent on history it would not be a surprise. I like to be surprised by the climax and this was able to do that.

Samuel Gillies did an amazing job reading this audio book. This seems like it would be a difficult book to read given the vocabulary of our characters. I don't know that I would have enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed listening to it.

I highly recommend the audiobook. The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett was amazingly crafted and the story and characters were wonderful to follow as they travel the country.

Review: The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert

Narrator: Anne Twomey
Genre: Nonfiction, Evoluntionary History
Series: No
Copyright: 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Buy: Amazon Audio or Amazon Book

Summary: from Good Reads
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE
From the author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe, a powerful and important work about the future of the world, blending intellectual and natural history and field reporting into a compelling account of the mass extinction unfolding before our eyes.

Over the last half a billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us.

The Sixth Extinction draws on the work of scores of researchers in half a dozen disciplines–geologists who study deep ocean cores, botanists who follow the tree line as it climbs up the Andes, and marine biologists who dive off the Great Barrier Reef. Elizabeth Kolbert, two-time winner of the National Magazine Award and New Yorker writer, accompanies many of these researchers into the field, and introduces you to a dozen species–some already gone, others facing extinction–that are being affected by the sixth extinction.

Through these stories, Kolbert provides a moving account of the disappearances occurring all around us and traces the evolution of extinction as concept, from its first articulation by Georges Cuvier in revolutionary Paris up through the present day. The sixth extinction is likely to be mankind's most lasting legacy; as Kolbert observes, it compels us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.

Feelings:
I really enjoyed The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert. At first I wondered if it would be mostly fact or conjecture. The author does venture into conjecture at points, but most of this is based on facts. Through an examination of past extinction events the author is able to make comparisons between current events, the sixth extinction event, and past extinctions. These comparisons show that this extinction is different in one way but has similarities. I was most familiar with the extinction at the end of the cretaceous period, the one that killed the dinosaurs. That extinction was caused by a catastrophic event. Catastrophic events, however, didn't cause all past extinctions nor are they causing the current extinction event.

I learned a lot about earth history from this book. Since I was a in school, there have been changes to the way we think about past extinction events. When you look at an extinction event caused by a catastrophe it is relatively quick, but an event caused by other factors takes a long time. Thus to the human perception, the current extinction event does not appear to be a quick event, thought it is much quicker than the base level of extinctions.

Looking at different animals as they move towards extinction, the author draws conclusions about our world today. I had heard briefly about much of what she wrote, but it was full of new information, and I found it fascinating. I wish textbooks were as interesting as this book. I think if students read books like this, where they saw what the research and conclusions were as well as the facts, they would be more likely to go into science. Books like this add to everyday knowledge while not being overly dry and boring.

I highly recommend this book. The audiobook was also very good, and  would recommend it if you don't have the time to sit down and read this book.

Review: The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi

Genre: Science Fiction
Series: No
Pages: 371
Copyright: 2015 
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
In the American Southwest, Nevada, Arizona, and California skirmish for dwindling shares of the Colorado River. Into the fray steps Angel Velasquez, detective, leg-breaker, assassin and spy. A Las Vegas water knife, Angel "cuts" water for his boss, Catherine Case, ensuring that her lush, luxurious arcology developments can bloom in the desert, so the rich can stay wet, while the poor get nothing but dust. When rumors of a game-changing water source surface in drought-ravaged Phoenix, Angel is sent to investigate. There, he encounters Lucy Monroe, a hardened journalist with no love for Vegas and every reason to hate Angel, and Maria Villarosa, a young Texas refugee who survives by her wits and street smarts in a city that despises everything that she represents. With bodies piling up, bullets flying, and Phoenix teetering on collapse, it seems like California is making a power play to monopolize the life-giving flow of a river. For Angel, Lucy, and Maria time is running out and their only hope for survival rests in each other’s hands. But when water is more valuable than gold, alliances shift like sand, and the only thing for certain is that someone will have to bleed if anyone hopes to drink.

Feelings: 
Are you thirsty? Get a glass of water or maybe a gallon or two, and take a glimpse into a possible future.  

This was an amazing book. I think it will probably be the best book I read all year. I finished reading this in January 2016, so I've got 11 months before I find another book I love as much. At times, The Water Knife was a bit scary because the world created was close to the reality of our possible future. Water is more valuable than gold in the American Southwest and the large cities are fighting to control the Colorado River. Does this sound familiar? Maybe just a little bit. Other books I've read by Paolo Bacigalupi had a similar dystopian environmental catastrophe feel to them. This one felt like a reality that could easily be created and had less of the fantasy elements than his previous novels.  

I did not have expectations for this book when I picked it out. I was browsing the library's new books and realized I had just a few minutes before I needed to be somewhere, so I grabbed the first book that had a science fiction sticker on the spine. Not really your typical way of picking a book but a success in this case. I may be implementing this technique again in the future based on the results this time. That being said, I knew nothing about the book when I picked it up. When I read the inside flap, I wasn't sure because it sounded a little like a thriller and I don't normally read them. However, the topic of water shortages in the future intrigued me enough that I decided to give it a try. I'm very glad I did.  

Reading the first chapter I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the book or not. Angel is not an easy character to connect with. Self-righteous and dangerous seem like apt descriptions of him. The story switches points of view between three characters and through Lucy and Maria I was able to engage with the story at the beginning. By the end of the novel my opinions of the characters had changed and Angel, while not an Angel, had become a character I felt much more connected with. Much of the story follows Angel and Lucy. Lucy, a journalist documenting the fall of Phoenix, has realized she is tired of hiding what she sees happening in the city and risks her life to report on what is really happening. They end up together when they realize they may need each other to survive in the city. I tend to like books with strong characters and this book had strong characters.  

After the first three chapters I did not want to put the book down. While I am glad I do not live in the world created in this novel, I loved reading about it. The book included violence (dystopian society that is falling apart) but I did not feel like it became the story. That being said, while I absolutely think this book is amazing, I know that for those that do not want to read about violence this will not be the book for them.  

I highly recommend this book. Did I say that I think it will be the best book I read all year? I think I did. I did not want The Water Knife to end, and while the ending was satisfying, I would be happy to spend a little more time with these characters. I know I'm not going to think about a glass of water as just a glass of water for a while. You should read it!

Review: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Narrator: Christopher Hurt
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: No
Copyright: 2005 (first published 1953)
Publisher:  Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Buy: Amazon

Summary:
In an alternate time line Guy Montag is a fireman. Instead of putting out fires he starts them. In a day when all houses are fire proof one must take different measures if they wish to get rid of things that the government bans. He and the fire department are in charge of making sure everyone follows the rules. This means no books, and those who have books must be punished. Guy Montag enjoys starting fires to burn the houses with books. He enjoys the heat, the smell of kerosene. He does not question the reason why he must burn the books he just does it, until he meets a 17 year old girl who moves in next door to him and a professor who no longer teaches but hides in fear like everyone else. The girl is different and she makes him think about the world around him and how it got to be the way it is.

Feelings:
I really enjoyed listening to Fahrenheit 451. The descriptions were amazing. There is nothing like a good book burning when described with such beauty. This is the first Ray Bradbury book I have heard/read. I have to admit I'm surprised I didn't find him sooner. Guy Montag is an interesting man who starts out just like everyone else in the book he doesn't think for himself. He doesn't love. He doesn't feel anything. The world Bradbury creates is so like our own yet so different. I wonder if we are moving towards a world like the one in Fahrenheit 451 or if books will survive in this area of immediate pleasure. The characters in here were vibrant and full of life until the very end. The mechanical hound with eight legs is such a strange hound we wonder how it can be a hound. The fire engine named after the mythical salamander that breathed fire is such an interesting image. I don't imagine wheels but legs that crawl down the roads to start the next fire and then back to the station. I would recommend this to anyone that likes science fiction. It is a vibrant colorful book.  

Review: Tears of the Desert by Halima Bashir with Damien Lewis

Genre: Memoir
Series: No
Pages: 316
Copyright: 2008
Publisher: One World Books, Random House
Buy: Amazon

Summary:
Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur is a brave book of self exposure. Many would have been scared to share what Halima Bashir has shared in her memoir. The book follows Halima from her childhood in a Zaghawa tribe village in Darfur. Halima is a good student and she is sent off to school by her father who believes because she has one white eye lash she has good fortune and will do great things. Away from her village and in the town of Hashma, Halima studied working her way to the top to the school even though she was not Arabic and they were often favored by the teachers. The conflict between Arabs and African's starts about the time she is finishing school. Her father wanted her to become a doctor and after finishing and passing the exams she applies for college. She is accepted to medical school and travels to the capital city of Khartoum where she will study. She is now very far from her family and the conflict in the south is increasing but it has not affected her home. On the university campus she observes a lack of racial tension that she had felt other places but as the conflict spreads this dissipates. She finishes her studies and returns to her village to wait for placement within a hospital. She worries that the janaweed who have raided and killed near by villages will come to hers but the fighting is still somewhat removed from her village. Halima is placed in Hashma and this is when her troubles start that lead to her fleeing the country.

Feelings:
This is a powerful book that should have helped many who were unsure of the damage of the conflict in Sudan to see the destruction of the lives of the people there. This book will make you smile, cry, and yearn to help those within its pages. Dr. Halima Bashir has escaped to a safer life in England but many in her country have not. Something that shocked me was that she does not know where her family is? Her mother and sister who ran to try and safe her from the government and her two brothers who joined the resistance. It is hard for me to imagine not knowing where my family was. I tried to do a few searches to see if maybe in the four years since it had been published she had been able to locate her family, I was unable to find any indication that she had. I found that I didn't want to stop reading the story even though it was heart breaking at times. It is detailed but not so much so that we are overwhelmed by the grotesque events that take place. There is a genuine dislike for the janaweed  as well as the government police and military who abuse the Africans just because of the color of their skin.

After having finished reading Tearsof the Desert, I wondered what had happened in the country since then. There hasn't been as much media coverage recently. The president of Sudan Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir has been convicted of war crimes and genocide by the International Criminal Court, he is the only sitting leader of a country to be convicted on such acts by the court.  There is an issue for his arrest but so far Sudan has refused to act upon it.

With the independence of South Sudan in 2011 from Sudan the conflict has changed. The Sundanese government is denying having bombed villages in South Sudan and South Sudan is considering stopping talks with the north over oil (for more on the conflict this is a good source Sudan: Murder by Proxy. Much is not being covered by the media, this site lists events by day).

Today in Darfur region the conflict is not the Arab janaweed fighting the African tribes, specifically the Fur and Zaghawa ethnic groups. This new strategy uses the Tunjur, Bergid, and Berti tribes to fight the Fur and Zaghawa, making it an African fighting African conflict. The militia is still supported heavily by the government of Sudan (Sudan: Murder by Proxy). The government in "Khartoum has done all it can to ensure that there is no news reporting from Darfur that it does not control, that there are no human rights reporters, and that every humanitarian nongovernmental organization understands full well that any reporting-even on basic humanitarian conditions-will result in its expulsion and perhaps that of others" (allAfrica South Sudan: Darfur Moves Yet Deeper Into the Shadow of Lies). Many international organizations and media sources clam that the Darfur crisis is winding down and is no longer an international issue. This is not the case and the fact that the Sudanese government is doing all it can to keep the media out, as well as the newly appointed expert for the UN human rights on a visit in June 2012 is evidence that the conflict is far from over (allAfrica South Sudan: Darfur Moves Yet Deeper Into the Shadow of Lies). What has happens is that there is less media coverage of Darfur, where are our brave journalists that report in conflict areas so that the international community sees what is happening? I have to admit that I too would have naively thought that since I was no longer seeing reports in the media that the conflict was resolving, if I had not read this book. There is still much that the international community needs to address in Darfur before refugees will be able to return home in safety. One wonders if anything will happen to resolve this conflict.

Review: Half The Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Genre: Non-Fiction International Development
Series: No
Pages: 294
Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
Buy: Amazon

Summary: 
Through story and example Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity For Women Worldwide looks at how women in the majority of developing countries, as well as some developed countries, do not have as many rights as men. The book focuses on four main issues which women face. 1. Sex Trade: women who are sold into the sex trade, often across borders and are unpaid. 2. Women's Honor: women are supposed to remain chased but men often rape them leading to marriages to the rapist or women killing themselves. 3. Health Care: health care standards for women are often shatteringly dismal. Maternal health care is not at the standard it should be and many more women die in child birth than should. 4. Education: education is often seen as optional for women. When families are stressed financially girls are the first to loss access to education were as male family members will continue to attend.

By addressing these issues and putting forward creative solutions from examples of women who succeeded Kristof and WuDunn are looking at the most powerful tool for global reduction of poverty and an increase in potential. Women are half of the population and by oppressing them we are reducing the potential for creativity and innovation by half.

Feelings: 
Half the Sky was a really fast read. I enjoyed it much more than I expected to. Non-fiction is often slow with detail after detail rather than stories that can be remembered later. The stories included to illustrated the points they are making are amazing and heart breaking. We get to read about women who have succeeded and gone on to make a new life for themselves. It also looks at women who struggled in childbirth and are majorly injured because they did not have proper care and are then outcasts because of the injury. The book also provides some tools and suggestions for individuals who want to help make a change in the lives of women worldwide. The book would not be such a powerful statement in support of women's rights if it were not for the stories included here. This book should be read by all men and women who think women (and men) in the third world are a second class citizens.

Review: A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Narrator: Roy Dotrice
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Yes Book One of A Song Of Fire and Ice
Copyright: 2011(for audiobook recording only)
Publisher: Random House Audio
Buy: Amazon Audio or Amazon Book or 5-Book Boxed Set (Song of Ice and Fire series)

Summery:
This saga is told from the point of view of different characters. This time we followed members of the Stark family: Eddard the lord of Winterfell, his wife Catelyn, and their children Bran, Arya, Sansa, and Eddard's bastard son Jon. Danerys Targaryen who was forced to leave the King's Landing and the throne that is rightfully a Targaryen's before she was even born. Lastly, we follow Tyrion Lannister, dwarf from the family of the wife of the king. When the story starts there have been seven years of summer, and they are coming to an end. At the Wall, which protects the kingdom from the cold wasteland, they are beginning to see the effects of the end summer. At King's Landing the hand of the king has died. King Robert Baratheon comes to Winterfell to ask his old friend Eddard to be his new hand. What follows is full of adventure, plotting, treachery, and deceit.

Feelings:
I could not bring myself to read A Game of Thrones, but have really enjoyed listening to it. I had a hard time getting used to having a male read the voices of young women. Once I got through the first 3-4 chapters I started enjoying listening to Roy Dotrice reading. Something I really didn't appreciated was the night walkers or white walkers. For heaven's sake, they are just glorified zombies, so why not call them such. I have a personal aversion to zombies, and try to avoid them. However, I did like this book. I'm not sure if I will like the books when winter is in full force and night walkers roam free. I will note that the book felt really masculine to me, and I think that is part of the reason I had trouble actually reading the book. Listening to the book, some of the masculine language seem toned down a bit.

I really did enjoy this, and I would recommend it to others looking for something to listen to on a long drive. I would recommend that if you are female and have tried to read the book but couldn't,  go straight for the audio book, which is a much better choice. I will definitely be listening to the next book.

Review: Wildfire by Sarah Micklem

Genre: Fantasy
Series: Yes, first Firethorn, third yet to be released
Pages: 520
Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Scribner
Buy: Amazon

Here is a link to my review of the first in the series Firethorn

Summary:
This book tells the story of Firethorn after she is told to stay behind by Sire Galan, who has given her land which she can stay on. Firethorn does not listen and follows Galan. On the crossing she is struck by lightening. This makes much of the beginning of the story hard to follow. It seems like she is stumbling over what she wants to say and even her thoughts at times, but as the book progresses this fades. Not much more can be said in summary without giving away to much of the story.

Feelings:
I thought that this was a better story than Firethorn, the first in the series. Part of this may have been that I was more satisfied with the ending. Firethorn is tried and tested in many ways which I did not expect at the beginning of the story. It is hard not to appreciate her and what she goes through. This story moves and the plot is not as lingering. There are still the same descriptions which highlighted the first book. The movement between places makes this book move at a faster pace. The King of Icus Corvus becomes a person who isn't only the enemy, as he was viewed in Firethorn. I really enjoyed reading this book as I did the first one and hope that the next in the series arrives soon.

Review: Islands In the Stream by Ernest Hemingway

Genre: Fiction 
Series: No 
Pages: 448
Copyright: 1997 for this edition. Originally 1970. 
Buy: Amazon

Summary:
This book tells the story of Thomas Hudson in three sections. Each section builds on his life. This is a hard book to create a summary of because it is the life story of one central character. It is a well told story with characters being an important part, even though there is very little that remains from one section to the next. Each section is a piece of Thomas Hudson's life: happiness, grief, and escape. Each is set in a different location and time.

Feelings:
This was a very frustrating book at times. It was divided into three sections, and at the beginning of every new section there were all new characters, or almost all new characters. For a while you were left wondering what happened to the old characters, but then you began to like the new characters. The entire book was very well written, and the sections were all very striking. They built on Thomas Hudson’s grief, making it greater after every section. The ending was very striking because you knew that there was nothing that would change what was happening, and it was very true for the main character.

“Oh shit.” Willie said. “You never understand people that love you.”

It made the end very final and sad. The character was never going to experience the one thing he loved any more, painting, and his joy, his children were dead. The anti-submarine activity he had to achieve was complete. This was a book I put off reading for a long time because it was about an artist and didn’t seem at first glance to be as well developed as the other Hemingway books. After reading Islands in the Stream, it seems more mature, but the main character was left with nothing at the end like in most of the books I’ve read by Hemingway.