Susan Hated Literature

I usually don’t listen to the radio on the way home from work^[1], but because of the attacks in London I did today. Luckily, they aren’t anywhere near the scale of the previous explosions. While listening I heard Matt Cooper talking about some treaty that McDowell has signed, allowing American agents to operate in Ireland. The big talking point was whether or not the CIA would be able to question Irish people, in Ireland.

There is a bit of discussion on the topic over at Back Seat Drivers, and at Irish Eyes, and I’d say elsewhere as well.

Course what I now want to know is will the Gardaí get reciprocal rights to act in the States? Somehow I doubt it?

_{[1] - But I always listen to Ray D’Arcy on the way in. (back)
Oh, and the title is a line from Hey Ronnie Reagan, you can hear a version here (reg req’d), but I prefer the Christy Moore version. Lyrics are here}

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Author: Mary Gentle
ISBN: 00575072512
DDS: 823.914

According to the mathematic calculations of the Hermetic astrologer Robert Fludd, 1610 is the pivotal year in deciding the world’s future. It is the year that the King of England must die. And as his assassin he picks Valentin Rochefort, spy and duellist of no-little fame in France. He is also responsible for the death of King Henri IV of France.
That however was an accident of sorts, and now Rochefort is on the run. Already burdened with Dariole, a young arrogant duellist, Fludd’s interference is not what Rochefort wants.

Told from Rochefort’s point of view, with the odd historical document added to give a different perspective, this book has almost everything you could want. Violence, sword fights, duellists, conspiracies, sex, death, Samurai swordsmen, and the prospect of altering the future.

If you’ve read Gentle’s Ash: A Secret History then you’ll have an idea of the style of this book. Although here there is much less fantasy, and most of the novel is more of an historical one rather than a fantasy.

As with most books that I really love the characters here are utterly engaging and well-drawn. Rochefort and Dariole as the main characters are of course stars in the book, but the supporting cast are all excellent too. And the blending of historical fact with fiction is more than believable. This was a reread for me, but I only really noticed that King James of England is the son of Mary, Queen of Scotland and the Isles, whose memoirs (by Margaret George) I read a while ago.

Not only is this a great fantasy/historical read, but there is also the issue of gender. And of sexuality. And of course honour and when is utterly ridiculous.

Believable, engaging and entertaining. Why haven’t you read it yet?

Scifi.com | InfinityPlus review | Simian studies’ review | The Wild Machines

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Author: Georgette Heyer

DDC: 823.912
ISBN: 0099426145
The thing about these Heyer books is that you always know how it is going to end up, but it doesn’t matter. When Sir Horace heads off to South America he leaves his daughter behind with her Aunt and cousins. Almost immediately she creates a stir, but always in a good cause. Some do not approve of her actions, she is accused on more than one occasion of almost being fast, yet somehow she always manages to sort every situation out.

The plots of Heyer’s books are not important, imo, it is the language she uses and the characters she creates that stand out. In The Grand Sophy the characters are really well drawn, not quite so cliched as in other books by her. Sophy is assertive, head-strong and full of confidence but never irritatingly so. Mr. Charles Rivenhall is stuffy and reserved, but we always know he won’t remain that way, and he is shown to be not quite so tyrannical as first impressions may have led us to believe.

Although towards the end I was slightly hoping that Sophy would be wrong at least once, this is still a very entertaining read.

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• Juan Villegas …. Juan “Coco” Villegas
• Walter Donado …. Walter Donado
• Micol Estévez …. Graciela ‘Gracielita’
• Kita Ca …. Señora de la estancia

Set in Patagonia is this the story of an unemployed mechanic (Villegas) who is given a dog as reward for a good deed. This dog, Bombón Le Chein is a pedigree dogo, and the son of champions. He immeadietly gets Villegas noticed, and soon the opportunity to show the dog arises.

It is a simple story, and Villegas does really well at looking out of place and uncertain for many scenes. The opening scene shows him trying to sell his hand-carved knives, with little success. The market has been flooded with cheap knives from Brazil we are informed later.

The plot is uncomplicated, just a man and a dog and his attempts to make some money. But it is that simplicity that is at the heart of the film. There are no great twists or double-crossing characters, nothing to distract from Villegas and his story, and that of his dog.

In a strange way, there is almost nothing to this film, but it is still very enjoyable.

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