“Empires and Barbarians: The Fall of Rome and the Birth of Europe” by Peter Heather (Oxford University Press, 2010)

As time passes, more research is done, more artifacts and items are discovered, and more is known about the beginning of the Middle Ages, often know as the so-called “Dark Ages.”  The simple explanation that is spouted in most simple history books is the idea that when the Roman Empire fell, all of Western Europe regressed to barbarian savages and everything was lost, and it was not until around a thousand years later that this continent achieved a civilized status once more.  But as more study, archaeology, and discoveries are made, the idea of these “Dark Ages” is turning out to be a gross misnomer.  Thankfully, books like Peter Heather’s Empires and Barbarians are doing their part to strike the use of this term from the record.

Peter Heather, a professor of Medieval History at King’s College London, begins with an important recapping of the waning centuries of the Roman Empire, setting the stage with what was going on and why the giant machine came to a grinding, crumbling halt.  Heather then launches into a discussion on the birth of Europe and what exactly was going on, using thorough and up to date research.  The book is divided into eleven large chapters covering the big social groups of Europe including the Franks, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Huns, and others.  It is commonly conceived that many of these groups moved in massive migration patterns easily around the continent, displacing other ethnic groups that were already there; new evidence and research, however, says otherwise; this is what Empires and Barbarians is about.

Heather spends many pages discussing and educating the reader on the migration patterns of these social groups, which were not in such large numbers as previously thought.  Heather never proclaims, but is a good historian with theories and suppositions on the evidence, going into detail that it was more likely these large groups weren’t displaced or killed, but joined up with the smaller invading social groups.  The result was a new ruling class, the best example of which is the Norman invasion (thanks to the Doomsday Book), that became a part of the society it was invading, not seeking to eradicate it so much as to rule over it and become part of its culture.

Empires and Barbarians is a thick and thorough history book on this important period in history, backed up with maps and a lengthy bibliography.  Peter Heather doesn’t hold back on what he thinks and has to say, but the key is to stick with it and you end up learning more about the early medieval world than you ever would’ve expected.

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Originally written on June 28 2010 ©Alex C. Telander.

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“The Name of the Wind” by Patrick Rothfuss (DAW, 2007)

The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss’ debut, initially falls into all the tropes of the fantasy epic that turns so many people away and makes readers give it a ten or twenty page attempt and then give up: it is the first in the Kingkiller Chronicles trilogy (the second, Wise Man’s Fear is due out March, 2011); the hardcover edition weighs in at 662 pages; the book employs a framing device, recounting a long story that has already happened; the book begins in an inn with a farmer named Old Cobb.  And this book has gone on to become one of the more read fantasy books to be published in the last few years, gaining in popularity through bestseller status as well as word of mouth, to the point where the sequel has been overdue for over a year now, and the natives are becoming restless akin to the clamoring George R. R. Martin fans.  The key to The Name of the Wind is to stick with it and it eventually turns into a refreshingly new fantasy epic well worth reading.

Kvothe begins his story as a young boy in a family of musicians and soon reveals his incredible talent with the lute and singing, following in the family tradition.  While mastering these talents a member of the University joins the troop and begins teaching Kvothe a material and science based form of magic, as well as the secret of naming, creating a drive in Kvothe to discover the Name of the Wind.  At the same time, his father Arliden is composing a song about the Chandrian, a mythical race of evil beings who may or may not exist.  This is soon proven when the Chandrian find the troop and slaughter them all.  Kvothe is the only one to survive, hiding in the woods.

He spends his next three years eking out a living begging and scratching by on the streets of Tarbean, until his interest in magic and study is reignited once more by a storyteller.  Using his experience in bargaining and negotiating to survive, Kvothe gets himself into University where he leans all he can while trying to make enough money to cover the tuition by playing and singing.  It is while playing he is reunited with an old friend, Denna, who he is very taken with.  During his studies, he also begins research on the Chandrian to avenge the death of his parents.  The book comes to a close as Kvothe investigates a place of death and destruction where a wedding was abruptly brought to an end by the Chandrian, coming face to face with a drug-addicted dragon.

At the heart of The Name of the Wind are a lot of almost clichés one would expect with an epic fantasy novel, but at the same time there are a lot of new, refreshing and completely different ideas and plots.  The magic of this world – unlike that of say Harry Potter – is one of balance, based in science with quantities and a variety of materials; it is a type of magic that at times seems quite realistic and believable.  The world has familiar places but with unique situations and events involving some strong characters and unusual creatures that keep the reader interested.  By the end of the book, the reader has become quite attached to this world and its people, wanting more stories and tales from Kvothe the innkeeper, but alas they must wait until Wise Man’s Fear, due March 2011, hopefully without delay.

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Originally written on June 28 2010 ©Alex C. Telander.

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“Treasury of the Lost Litter Box” by Darby Conley (Abrams, 2010)

It’s been a couple of years since the last Get Fuzzy treasury collection, bringing together a complete roundup of this great comic strip, and now fans can rejoice with Treasury of the Lost Litter Box. Whether you’re a Get Fuzzy veteran and looking to increase your collection (like me), or discovering this entertaining comic strip for the first time, Treasury of the Lost Litter Box is a worthy book, sucking you in right from the start and letting you delve into the lives of these unusual characters.  There’s Rob, the owner and master of this humble abode who is a nerd to extreme measures seeming to enjoy his bachelor life – though I’m sure he’d welcome someone of the female persuasion – and believes himself to be in control of his pets.  He is not.  There is Satchel, an overweight dog with serious self-esteem issues.  And then there’s Bucky, a unique cat with delusions of grandeur, egomania, and world domination.  In this collection we get to meet some other great characters, like Shakespug, a pug that can only quote the bard; and Mac Manc McManx, Bucky’s cousin from Manchester England.  This is a collection you won’t soon forget.

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Originally written on June 28 2010 ©Alex C. Telander.

Originally published in the Sacramento Book Review.

“The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt” by William Nothdurft, John Smith, et. al. (Random House, 2002)

One would not think it that surprising to discover that dinosaur fossils had been discovered within the Sahara Desert of Egypt, considering the immense history this country already has, but apparently from an archaeological perspective, this is pretty rare.  What is even more amazing is that these dinosaur fossils were actually the largest ever found.  Yet they remain relatively unknown due to the stupid efforts of archaeologists and patrons during the early twentieth century when they were discovered.  Sadly, this book lacks in that it could be a third shorter and pertain more to the actual subject at hand than going on fictional tangents.  It creates a question of what is real and what is not, most important in the study of fossils many millions of years old.

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Originally published on November 25^th, 2002.

Originally published in the Long Beach Union.

“A Dictionary of African Mythology” by Harold Sheub (Oxford University Press, 2002)

There are not many people who know a lot about African countries today, and there are far less who are aware of the immense mythology that exists on this ancient continent.  A Dictionary of African Mythology changes this.  In paperback form and being not that long, this edition serves as a handy reference tool, with a thorough index, for anyone writing papers on this subject.  But it also serves as a most interesting book about a giant continent whose mythology is not really known about.  In an easy-to-read dictionary form, you can either start at the beginning, or flip to a random page.  Whatever you choose to do, it will ultimately open new worlds to, and tales of countries you were never even sure existed before.

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Originally published on November 25^th, 2002.

Originally published in the Long Beach Union.

06/25 on the Bookshelf . . . “Velocity” & “Ancestor”

After enjoying The 7th Victim and really enjoying Crush, the first of the Karen Vail novels by Alan Jacobson, I look forward to the third installment in Velocity, due out in October.  And for those wanting to check out BookBanter’s interview with Alan Jacobson, click here.

I’ve read two of Scott Sigler’s previous books, Infected and Contagious, and am interested in seeing what he does with Ancestor.

“Richard I” by John Gillingham (Yale University Press, 2002)

For quite a few decades now the scholastically renowned Yale University Press has been publishing fabulous biographies as part of their Yale English Monarchs.  In 2001 the expensive hardback of Richard I came out, then in April a more affordable and easier to handle paperback was published.

The author is John Gillingham, formerly a professor of medieval history at the London School of Economics and is currently the leading authority on Richard’s reign; who better to write an extensive biography on one of Britain’s greatest monarchs.  As a matter of fact, a larger than life statue currently stands outside London’s Houses of Parliament depicting the valiant and honorable King Richard on horseback with sword drawn.

The statue is much like this biography: complete, majestic, encompassing, and overpowering.  Written in a hand that threatens to become over-complicated but never does, here is Richard the Lionhearted under a microscope, from his early years with his mother and father, through his older years warring with his bothers, and then through his later years on crusade against the devilish Saladin whom he never actually met.  Richard is a great and just king whom all should know about.

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Originally published on November 18^th, 2002.

Originally published in the Long Beach Union.

“White Horse” Progress Report 9: 858 words

Finished off the chapter, bringing it to a big of a climax, and then in the next chapter I’ll be going back a little to explain stuff that happened before, and it won’t be until the succeeding chapter that the climax will be resolved.  Can’t wait to find out what happens next, as well as find out what’s already happened in this world.

I still think I’m one of the only people he comes to when he as a problem, the only person he’s willing to confide in.  I definitely respected that.  And while he is ultimately my boss, he’s also one of the few people who knows me pretty well.  If he had full confidence in my carrying out this mission, then I wasn’t one to argue.

I just had to find the confidence in myself to do this and face this stranger, before I met him face to face on the mainland.

“Riding the Bullet” by Stephen King, read by Josh Hamilton (Simon & Schuster, 2002)

Originally only available in e-book, the short story “Riding the Bullet” was published this year in Stephen King’s latest collection of short stories, Everything’s Eventual. It has now been released for the first time in audiobook.

It is the story of a college boy in Maine who discovers that his mother has had a stroke and is ill in the hospital up north.  Without hesitation he leaves school and starts making his way north in the only way he knows how, since he doesn’t have a car: hitchhiking.  He’s done this before, and while it is illegal, he knows when to look out for cops, which guys are good to get rides with, and which are bad.

But this time he hitches a ride with an unexpected driver: one who is already dead.  This driver poses an ultimatum to him: to let his mother live he must sacrifice himself, or let his mother die while he continues to live.  Ultimately it is a decision he will have to think about for a long time, but time is what he doesn’t have.  Once his decision has been made he finds himself on the roadside, his head dripping with blood from a knock on a tombstone in the cemetery he’d been passing through.  Was it all a dream?  Or is the decision he made coming true at this very moment?  All will be revealed when you ride the bullet!

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Originally published on November 11^th, 2002.

Originally published in the Long Beach Union.

“The Bloody Ground, Book Four: Battle of Antietam, 1862” by Bernard Cornwell (Harper Perennial, 2002)

The Nathaniel Starbuck Chronicles:
Part Four of Four

In the final book of Nathaniel Starbuck’s Civil War adventures, he is given command of a collection of cowards, thieves, deserters and murderers, known as a punishment battalion.  Starbuck and his men team up with General Robert E. Lee’s army and join Stonewall Jackson at Harper’s Ferry, where the Union garrison is defeated.  Then they move onto Sharpsburg, beside Antietam Creek, infamously remembered as the bloodiest single day of the war.

The Battle of Antietam will be the final showdown for this conclusive novel of the renowned Nathaniel Starbuck series.  As to whether Starbuck triumphs or dies, you’ll just have to read the book and find out.

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Originally published on November 4^th, 2002.

Originally published in the Long Beach Union.