I capture the castle

All clear by

Sequel to Blackout, and set in the Mr. Dunworthy ‘verse. Or at least that’s what I’m calling this series-ish of books. This is my first read for the 2012 Science Fiction...

Grave’s end by

In 1982 Elaine Mercado and her family moved from an apartment into what they hoped would be their dream home. This house, in the Gravesend section of south Brooklyn, needed some...

The Islandman by

Translated from the Irish (An tOileánach) by Robin Flower Tomás Ó Criomhthain, or, if you’d prefer an anglicised version, Thomas O’Crohan, was born on the Great Blasket Island in 1856. He...

Blackout by

Set in the same ‘verse as Doomsday Book and To say nothing of the dog this is a book about historians. But not the sort of historian you or I might...

Julie of the wolves by

Received free from NetGalley Written in 1972 this is the story of Miyax, whose English name is Julie, and her attempt to run away to San Fransicso. When the story begins...

Behemoth by

The sequel to Leviathan No recapping on account of this being the second in a series, and if you haven’t read Leviathan then you’ll be spoiled, and I wouldn’t want to...

Captain America : The First Avenger dir. by

captain_america_first_avenger_poster

Too short, too unfit, too ill for military service, all Steve Rogers wants is to join up and serve his country in fighting the Nazis. He has been picked on all his life, but refuses to back down, once you start running, he believes, you’ll never stop. When Dr. Abraham Erskine discovers this desire he begins to pull strings and gets Rogers into the army, into a special, experiemental unit, to be precise. Soon Rogers is no longer too small, or too unfit, he is in fact a super-soldier. Although what can one man do? Well, propaganda. He is sent off touring the states in an effort to try and persuade the public to buy war bonds. And then, on to Europe to entertain the troops. But they aren’t interested in his performance, they want to see the girls. Rogers, however, is very interested in the news that this is the 107th, the very same unit his best friend joined, but of Bucky there is no sign. Rogers decides that he has had enough of Captain America the stage hero and decides to go in and rescue the missing soldiers.

But you don’t really need that back story do you? I mean, we’ve all heard of Captain America, the superhero who fought the Nazis, right?

Old Burnside by

A memoir of a Southern Girlhoodold burnside

In 1913 Harriette Simpson Arnow moved to Old Burnside, Kentucky, with her family. This is her recollections of life in the once bustling lumber town. She was only four years old at the time, and yet she still manages to recreate the town and people she knew back then. It is a small book, only 125 pages in the edition I read, but there is plenty going on.

I capture the castle by

I capture the castle

Cassandra Mortmain’s father is a famous writer; unfortunatley he has been suffering from writer’s block for years. Her mother is dead, but she has a lovely stepmother now in Topaz. She also has a younger brother Thomas, and and older sister, Rose. And then there is Stephen, who has grown up with them, not forgetting the dog Heloise and the cat Abelard. They live in a ruin of a castle in England, and have no income. Which means no money for clothes, repairs, rent, or food. They have sold everything worth selling. And then the two Cotton brothers arrive on the scene.