What's the last book you read?

[ASCLEPIADES]

alve, Amici

currently reading Niccolo Capponi's book called 'victory of the west' in regards to the battle of lepanto, about a 1/3 of the way in and so far so good, he gives alot of info on the build up to the battle which is good in the case it sets the scene, but the details of the battle, just have to wait and see

Does anybody know if there's a Turkish account on that battle?

[Honorius]

Asclepiades i am yet to come across a contemporary account thats been translated from turkish into english, which is sad, Id like to read one from a turks perspective

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

Having had a quick round of my fave literary fiction in recent weeks, I have now returned to the historical with Saylor's Roma. I thought I might review this when I've finished, as a gentle reintroduction to reviews for the Forum. So far I am tempted to use a word picked up from my teenagers - 'Meh' - but I will reserve judgement until the end and post my findings for you all, guys and gals. I am quite a fan of his Gordianus series, but this one... well, watch this space.

"Meh!!!!"That's pretty much what I thought at first, Augusta!

I read Saylor's 'Roma' a few months back, and I myself very nearly jacked it in after the first few chapters but I decided to stick it out and I'm glad I did. I found myself warming to the book more and more and come the end I was pleasantly pleased with it. It's not Saylor's best work, The 'Roma Sub Rosa' is head and shoulders above. But after a slow start I found Roma to be an entertaing and at sometimes educational journey through Rome from it's founding right through to the last days of the republic.

 

Stick with Augusta.

[Honorius]

Just finish Capponis book on Lepanto - altogether it was a fantastic read and one i would recommend to anyone interested in the 16th century, though i do have a few disapointments

 

1. Maps - the maps Capponi uses for the actual battle itself are so small and boring, In comparison Hugh Bicheno who also wrote about the battle uses maps which actually point out the position of individuals and galleys in the battle aswell as other maps of both seiges of Famagusta and Malta

 

2. the actual battle - Capponi dedicates very little bookspace to the actual battle of Lepanto to which he calls although perhaps rightly so but irritatingly Curzolaris (referring to the nearby islands that the battle was fought near) i just expected a bit more in this area

 

those are really my only two complaints, it was nice to see Capponi expanding on the characters of the battle and actually telling us what happened to them in the end from the Marquis of Santa Cruz to the turkish vizier Sokullu mehmed and the lowly common soldiers

 

anyway...ive just picked up a copy of Judith Herrin's 'The Formation of Christendom' which deals with the late empire to the crowning of Charlemagne in 800, so far so good only about 30 pages in.

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

Just finished "Roman Britain and the English Settlements by Collingwood and Myres, It's a 1936 first edition that I picked up a while ago in my local secondhand book store for the ridiculous price of

[Ursus]

"Daughters of Isis" by Joyce Tyldesley. A Culture and Daily Life book on Ancient Egypt with a focus on the female experience. Informative, entertaining, well-written, although the editing/arrangement leaves something to be desired.

[The Augusta]

I also recently just finished a novel called The Light Bearer by Donna Gillespie which was highly recommended by Lanista (I think??) And rightly so!! I'll go as far as to say that it's one of the best historical novels that I've ever read. I would advise any lover of Roman fiction to read this book, and the fact that it was Donna Gillespie's first ever release just makes it all the more impressive.

 

And yet it is out of print? Hmm.... a bit new age and pretentious for me. I'm afraid she won't stand the test of time with her work. Shame - I had such high hopes.

[Artimi]

I have just finished rereading Rosemany Sutcliff's The Nineth Legion and then went on to read the The Silver Branch and The Lantern Bearers.

 

Were there and /or are there people or men like like the Centurion Marcus Flavius Aquila and his descendants? I hope so.

[cornelius_sulla]

Just finished reading Animal Farm and Keep The Apidistra Flying by Orwell again. Sobering stuff. Some animals are more equal than others....

Edited December 28, 2008 by cornelius_sulla

[Northern Neil]

I have just finished rereading Rosemany Sutcliff's The Nineth Legion and then went on to read the The Silver Branch and The Lantern Bearers.

 

Were there and /or are there people or men like like the Centurion Marcus Flavius Aquila and his descendants? I hope so.

There is also another book in this series you might like called 'Frontier Wolf', set between the time of Silver Branch and Lantern Bearers (about 340). I found Silver Branch a bit disjointed and the story slightly preposterous, but Frontier Wolf returns to the same style as Eagle of the Ninth.

[Artimi]

shoot, do you know how long my list of books to read is? lol

I will add this one too.

 

Always looking for referrals.

[DecimusCaesar]

Just recieved John Man's Genghis Khan (I wrote a review of his Attila book last year). I will be getting into that tonight.

[Gladius Hispaniensis]

Currently reading Shakespeare's "King Lear" Oh well.

[Moonlapse]

Just finished reading Animal Farm and Keep The Apidistra Flying by Orwell again. Sobering stuff. Some animals are more equal than others....

Keep the Aspidistra Flying is one of my favorites, perhaps because it really hit home at the particular time that I read it.

[Lanista]

And yet it is out of print? Hmm.... a bit new age and pretentious for me. I'm afraid she won't stand the test of time with her work. Shame - I had such high hopes.

 

I don't think it is out of print - Amazon has copies for sure. Also, the sequel "Lady of the Light" is still available.

 

Not standing the test of time is debatable: TLB came out in 1994 and the sequel in 2007. So I reckon that any publisher willing to release a continuation that long after the first would disagree. I know that Donna is working on the third book right now.

 

I can't praise Gillespie's work highly enough. Both books have been successful critically and commercially - which is rare for novels with this subject matter.

 

I believe that Donna Gillespie will be recongised as the Mary Renault for our times.

 

---As for books recently read, I finished Paul Kearney's "The Ten Thousand" - a historical fantasy based on Xenophon's march. Great stuff and due its fantasy setting it doesn't have to answer any accuracy questions. That said, I think that it was fairly true to actual events. I really enjoyed it.

 

Cheers

 

Russ