Today was a fairly uneventful day until it got to about 15.00. Then disaster struck.... I chipped a bit of my tooth!! Some of the filling is now exposed and this means I have to finally go and do what I have been putting off for the last 10 years: Make an appointment with the dentist. I have set aside tomorrow to make the dreaded phone call.... Wish me luck.
On the up side. I have not bought any more books! I have given myself a good talking to and have told myself to get the books to be read down before I can buy another one.... or two.... or three
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Best Ghost Stories - Charles Dickens
This was a great collection of ghost stories and this was my first reading of Dickens' most famous one of all, The Christmas Carol. Below is a brief run down of all of the ones in this collection. In true Dickensian style the stories meander on a bit at times but they are suitably gloomy for the dark days before Christmas.
The Queer Chair, the bagman's story
Tom Smart ends up staying overnight in a local inn. He rather likes the look of the landlady but she only has eyes for another man. Fortunately for Tom he has some lively and very chatty furniture in his room that advises him on how to win the lovely lady over.
A Madman's Manuscript
Kind of does what it says on the tin. There is a madman who manages to hide his madness long enough to marry a lovely girl who is really in love with someone else. He drives her mad before he unravels himself. the lady then comes and keeps him company in his cell.
The Goblins who stole a Sexton
On Christmas Eve the sexton, Gabriel decides that he wants to get ahead of the game and finish of a grave. some goblins show up and remind him to stop being a grump and teach him to be more cheerful. Gabriel then decides that he needs to explore new horizons to be truly happy and cheery but returns to the village an old and happier man in the end.
The Ghosts of the Mail, the story of the bagman's uncle
This one rambles on a bit but is still fairly entertaining. A man has a little nap on a closed lot of a wheelwright who works on old postal coaches. At night the place comes alive and the bagman's uncle is forced to come to aid of a damsel in distress. Just as he gets her to safety the lady mysteriously vanishes but the uncle never looks at another woman again.
The Baron of Grogzwig
The Baron marries a lady and his life changes forever. She makes his life decidedly less fun than it was. To add insult to injury the baron then loses all his money. the baron then decides that as there is no more fun to be had he might as well lock himself away from the world. When he does this he is visited by a ghost who helps him appreciate what he has and that life is not that bad after all.
A Christmas Carol
I think most people probably know the story from one movie version or another. Before I read the story I had only seen the Muppet version (Loving the Kermit) and I have to say that the written version is quite a bit better. I love the first line of it just making sure we all know that Marley is dead. Makes it clear that whatever happens next is going to be special. Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by Marley and then by three more ghosts of Christmas Present, Past and Future. These guys are creepy as hell and in some cases not very chatty but they certainly know how to get their point across.
The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain
This one meandered on a bit too much for my linking.
It is a long winded story about a chemist who thinks that he does not need the constant reminders of sorrow and wrong in his life. He wishes them away to a ghost and his life goes into disarray form there. It is not just his own life that is affected but he infects those around him as well. People become cold, distant and cruel and only one woman seems to be able to help them return back to normal. Naturally our chemist changes his mind in the end and all returns to normal.
To be Read at Dusk
In essence five ghosts telling ghost stories to each other.
okay but nothing too exciting.
The Ghost in the Bride's Chamber
Two gentleman are forced to listen to the story of a ghost who is cursed by having to dwell in limbo forever. The story is of a woman who was so ill used by her husband that he literally told her to die. The joke however is on the ghost as he is forced to keep retelling his story and if only he can get two men to listen the curse that keeps him earthbound will be broken unfortunately for our ghost that seems never to be.
The Haunted House
A man decides he wants to spice up his life and moves into a house that he knows is haunted. He gets all his friends to come and stay as well and they decide to see what happens with them. At the appearance of the ghost of a certain Mr B the tale goes off into some weird direction that seems to be wholly unrelated to the introduction of the tale. The whole thing then rambles on to the end and it does not really feel like anything is resolved or explained. Unsatisfactory ending to a weird tale.
The Trial for Murder
This was a good one about a man who is a juror in a murder trial and gets a little supernatural help in deciding if the accused is actually guilty. Nice tightly constructed tale and the final sentence is just about perfect.
The Signalman
I have read this one before and it is still good.
Lovely story about a signalman who sees the future cooped up down by the railway line. He does not make it to the end of the story due to an unfortunate encounter with a fast moving mode of transport.... guess he did not see that one coming.
All in all this was a great collection of ghost stories. Sure they meander on a bit at times but this just Dickens' writing style and it shows their age a bit... but not in a bad way. Secondly, I finally got to read Christmas Carol so it is all good in my book.
Title: Best Ghost Stories
Author: Charles Dickens
273 pages
Wordsworth Classics
ISBN# 1-85326-734-1
Books to be read: 152
Wednesday 30 October 2013
Tuesday 29 October 2013
Time ticking away
I have today decided to treat myself to a lovely frozen dinner. Not that I did not have the time tho go shopping today... I just couldn't be bothered to do it. On the menu today is a lovely Shepherds Pie. As it is going to take about 40 mins to heat up I seem to have some time on my hands to do some work.
Also, I have to confess I have bought another three books. the Sale was still on at the book stall and I actually saved myself money as normally their books are £2.95 and got them for £1 in their sale..... See, I actually saved money and still have three books to show for it.
New total: 154
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Closed Circle - Robert Goddard
I think the best way to describe this one is that it is a story that has plot inside a plot. It is not really a detective story but you are taken along on a mystery ride that is developing and unravelling all the time. There is a main story that is going on (get the girl, or at least get her money) and then at one point it all gets turned on its head (the girl gets her own back) and you find out that actually the players have been played.
The players on this occasion are Mr Guy Horton and Mr Max Wingate. Acouple of handsome rogues that are travelling back to the UK after having spent several years in the US involved in some slightly dodgy deals. When on an opulent ocean liner filled with people with more money than sense the two friends decide to pick out a female mark and see how much money they will be able to get out of her old man. The object of their affection is the lovely Diana Charnwood. Our two chums have played this game before and they are pretty sure that with Diana they have struck it big. Her father is a big time investment guru and is sure not to want his only daughter to end up married to a drifting con artist. The boys have high hopes for a decent pay out. One of the things they did not bargain for is that old devil called love. Out of the blue Max decides to grow a sense of honour and he ends up really falling in love with Diana. Guy, who can see the big pay check walking right out the door is reluctantly left to help them meet in secret and left to see their relationship blossom. Then daddy dearest decides to put a damper on things and engages Guy to see if he can set his conscience aside and break up the happy couple. Of course he is only to happy too accommodate as he knows he can get money from daddy Fabian and break his friend's heart at the same time.
Then the story gets turned on its head. During a planned elopement things go a bit wrong and daddy dearest ends up head first in a ditch and Max is fingered as the murderer. Diana seems rather calm about all of it and that is a bit sus. Also the aunt who is on the scene as well was a bit too calm for my liking but the story carries on and we think no more about it. Max is on the run and a fugitive from then on, with not a friend in the world. Then dear Diana puts the moves on Guy and you start to wonder what she is really up to, how much she knows and what her involvement with the whole thing is. Something is wrong, Max is being set up and as a reader you can see that. Whatever it is, you keep getting the feeling that she is not on the level and I repeatedly had to tell Guy off for chasing that bit of skirt but, did he listen to me???
Then there is also the bit with the Concentric Alliance. The kind of secret society that descends a book into chaos. Apparently there is a group of very powerful men who with their influence through sheer economic power planted the seed for the start of the First World War. Far fetched as this may sound... They are real enough to Guy and he is hunted down by these guys as they think he knows where Diana's father and (more importantly) their money is. As a reader you are continually left to wonder who knows what about the alliance and who is doing what for who and whose pocket the money is going to in the meantime.
There really are no good guys in this book. Everyone seems to be after someone or something. There is no trust between any of the main characters in the book and there is certainly no honour amongst the thieves. Each character you meet seems to be in the game to make things better for themselves. The only one who manages to do what is right in the end is someone we only meet on a few occasions and who is initially the prime candidate for bad guy of the year, Fabian Charnwood. His conscience is the only one that seems to have engaged at one point and he has decided to do the right thing by leaving the bad bad guys without a penny and Guy's brother better of than he has ever been. Also he leaves his daughter without a penny. Which is no more than she deserves.
The story goes along at a really good pace and it kept me hooked... I even skimped on a few hours sleep because I really wanted to know what was going to happen in the end. It is an ending that leaves you without a lot of hope for humanity and I think that as it is set in the times after the Great Crash, during the years of economic despair that gave us WW2 that is really not that big a surprise.
A good read, cracking pace, good characters and plenty of plot.
Title: Closed Circle
Author: Robert Goddard
430 pages
ISBN# 978-0-552-13840-6
Corgi Books
Books to be read: 153
Also, I have to confess I have bought another three books. the Sale was still on at the book stall and I actually saved myself money as normally their books are £2.95 and got them for £1 in their sale..... See, I actually saved money and still have three books to show for it.
New total: 154
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Closed Circle - Robert Goddard
I think the best way to describe this one is that it is a story that has plot inside a plot. It is not really a detective story but you are taken along on a mystery ride that is developing and unravelling all the time. There is a main story that is going on (get the girl, or at least get her money) and then at one point it all gets turned on its head (the girl gets her own back) and you find out that actually the players have been played.
The players on this occasion are Mr Guy Horton and Mr Max Wingate. Acouple of handsome rogues that are travelling back to the UK after having spent several years in the US involved in some slightly dodgy deals. When on an opulent ocean liner filled with people with more money than sense the two friends decide to pick out a female mark and see how much money they will be able to get out of her old man. The object of their affection is the lovely Diana Charnwood. Our two chums have played this game before and they are pretty sure that with Diana they have struck it big. Her father is a big time investment guru and is sure not to want his only daughter to end up married to a drifting con artist. The boys have high hopes for a decent pay out. One of the things they did not bargain for is that old devil called love. Out of the blue Max decides to grow a sense of honour and he ends up really falling in love with Diana. Guy, who can see the big pay check walking right out the door is reluctantly left to help them meet in secret and left to see their relationship blossom. Then daddy dearest decides to put a damper on things and engages Guy to see if he can set his conscience aside and break up the happy couple. Of course he is only to happy too accommodate as he knows he can get money from daddy Fabian and break his friend's heart at the same time.
Then the story gets turned on its head. During a planned elopement things go a bit wrong and daddy dearest ends up head first in a ditch and Max is fingered as the murderer. Diana seems rather calm about all of it and that is a bit sus. Also the aunt who is on the scene as well was a bit too calm for my liking but the story carries on and we think no more about it. Max is on the run and a fugitive from then on, with not a friend in the world. Then dear Diana puts the moves on Guy and you start to wonder what she is really up to, how much she knows and what her involvement with the whole thing is. Something is wrong, Max is being set up and as a reader you can see that. Whatever it is, you keep getting the feeling that she is not on the level and I repeatedly had to tell Guy off for chasing that bit of skirt but, did he listen to me???
Then there is also the bit with the Concentric Alliance. The kind of secret society that descends a book into chaos. Apparently there is a group of very powerful men who with their influence through sheer economic power planted the seed for the start of the First World War. Far fetched as this may sound... They are real enough to Guy and he is hunted down by these guys as they think he knows where Diana's father and (more importantly) their money is. As a reader you are continually left to wonder who knows what about the alliance and who is doing what for who and whose pocket the money is going to in the meantime.
There really are no good guys in this book. Everyone seems to be after someone or something. There is no trust between any of the main characters in the book and there is certainly no honour amongst the thieves. Each character you meet seems to be in the game to make things better for themselves. The only one who manages to do what is right in the end is someone we only meet on a few occasions and who is initially the prime candidate for bad guy of the year, Fabian Charnwood. His conscience is the only one that seems to have engaged at one point and he has decided to do the right thing by leaving the bad bad guys without a penny and Guy's brother better of than he has ever been. Also he leaves his daughter without a penny. Which is no more than she deserves.
The story goes along at a really good pace and it kept me hooked... I even skimped on a few hours sleep because I really wanted to know what was going to happen in the end. It is an ending that leaves you without a lot of hope for humanity and I think that as it is set in the times after the Great Crash, during the years of economic despair that gave us WW2 that is really not that big a surprise.
A good read, cracking pace, good characters and plenty of plot.
Title: Closed Circle
Author: Robert Goddard
430 pages
ISBN# 978-0-552-13840-6
Corgi Books
Books to be read: 153
Wednesday 23 October 2013
Them mad Dutchies and their sailing machines
The next one on the list to be reviewed is on I remember buying years ago. Back in 2002 actually.... this is one of the ones that I brought back from on of my holiday trips back to Holland. I bought it when I went to a shipyard in Holland where they had built a replica of one of the ships that were used by the VOC to sail to the colonies. It was fun to wander around the ship and to try to imagine what living like that for months might be like. I am not a big fan of ships and/or boats at the best of times but this story has put my right off 'm!
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
The Company, The Story of a Murderer - Arabella Edge
When I was a few pages into this one I was not quite sure if I was going to get on with it. I did not really manage to have any kind of sympathy for the main character. He seemed a pompous, silly, weirdo who thought himself the centre of the universe. When I then found out he liked to hurt living things, animal and people alike, I definitely had my doubts about getting to the end of this one in one piece. However, I did get to the end of it and it was an amazing ride!
The book tells us the tale of the apothecary Jeronimus Cornelisz who has to kind of get himself scarce as he seems to have a talent for following the wrong leaders. He has been involved with some guy who seems as pompous as he is and has learnt a few poisoning tricks on the way there. there is lust, sex, weird rituals and lots of other stuff that does not sit well with the good citizens of Amsterdam and Jeronimus is forced to try a make a new life for himself and the colonies seem the best place to do it.
So, off he goes on a ship on his way to a place where he will be appreciated for what he is. So far, so relatively normal. Accept that he gets involved in a mutiny which then goes south and when a hurricane hits they all end up stranded on an island somewhere halfway to the colonies. Although Jeronimus is not the first one to set a foot on land he certainly is the one who ends up having the most influence on what happens on the island. He manipulates those around him in a splendid way to give himself all the luxuries that he wants and to make life better for those who are like minded to him. He, of course handpicks these people as not just anybody is ready to experience life as he sees it.
Once Jeronimus has figured out who he is deserving and who is not he sets about getting rid of those he does not want. The idea is brilliantly cunning and ruthless. He convinces some of the people that there is water and food on some of the other islands too and he gets one group marooned at one and a second group at another. That frees up a lot of rations for those left behind on the main island. However, Jeronimus is not done until he gets a wife and he sets about doing this in a brutal fashion. unfortunately the object of his affections is fairly capable of resisting him and it takes some time for him to achieve his goal. He has to force her to like him in the end. He does not even break her himself but gets one of his followers to do the dirty work for him. You see, apart form everything else, Jeronimus is a coward too.
Jeronimus is one of the most brutal characters I have ever met in a book. He is mad as a hatter, thinks he has the divine right to decided what is right for everybody else and he is heartless, calculating and inhuman almost. Yet, however much I loathed the character I had to keep reading. I had to see if he would get his comeuppance and that is the strength of the book. Even though you really do not like Jeronimus you want to see him get his just deserts. He does in the end. He gets cocky and thinks he has everyone on their knees and fooled when in the end the joke is on him. Everyone turns against him and he is hanged by his fellow islanders.
The book is actually based on a true story but is has been embellished here and there.... and probably everywhere as well. Nevertheless it is a really interesting look into what might happen to people who get stranded. How people act when there is nobody watching and when they are left to their own devices. Strong characters may become weak and the weak may become more powerful that they can imagine. It is a tale of mankind and what he may be capable of when put in an extraordinary situation.
The story is harsh, brutal and not very pleasant reading at times but it was really good!
Title: The Company, the Story of a Murderer
Author: Arabella Edge
369 pages
Simon & Schuster
ISBN# 0-7432-1342-4
Books to be read: 151
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
The Company, The Story of a Murderer - Arabella Edge
When I was a few pages into this one I was not quite sure if I was going to get on with it. I did not really manage to have any kind of sympathy for the main character. He seemed a pompous, silly, weirdo who thought himself the centre of the universe. When I then found out he liked to hurt living things, animal and people alike, I definitely had my doubts about getting to the end of this one in one piece. However, I did get to the end of it and it was an amazing ride!
The book tells us the tale of the apothecary Jeronimus Cornelisz who has to kind of get himself scarce as he seems to have a talent for following the wrong leaders. He has been involved with some guy who seems as pompous as he is and has learnt a few poisoning tricks on the way there. there is lust, sex, weird rituals and lots of other stuff that does not sit well with the good citizens of Amsterdam and Jeronimus is forced to try a make a new life for himself and the colonies seem the best place to do it.
So, off he goes on a ship on his way to a place where he will be appreciated for what he is. So far, so relatively normal. Accept that he gets involved in a mutiny which then goes south and when a hurricane hits they all end up stranded on an island somewhere halfway to the colonies. Although Jeronimus is not the first one to set a foot on land he certainly is the one who ends up having the most influence on what happens on the island. He manipulates those around him in a splendid way to give himself all the luxuries that he wants and to make life better for those who are like minded to him. He, of course handpicks these people as not just anybody is ready to experience life as he sees it.
Once Jeronimus has figured out who he is deserving and who is not he sets about getting rid of those he does not want. The idea is brilliantly cunning and ruthless. He convinces some of the people that there is water and food on some of the other islands too and he gets one group marooned at one and a second group at another. That frees up a lot of rations for those left behind on the main island. However, Jeronimus is not done until he gets a wife and he sets about doing this in a brutal fashion. unfortunately the object of his affections is fairly capable of resisting him and it takes some time for him to achieve his goal. He has to force her to like him in the end. He does not even break her himself but gets one of his followers to do the dirty work for him. You see, apart form everything else, Jeronimus is a coward too.
Jeronimus is one of the most brutal characters I have ever met in a book. He is mad as a hatter, thinks he has the divine right to decided what is right for everybody else and he is heartless, calculating and inhuman almost. Yet, however much I loathed the character I had to keep reading. I had to see if he would get his comeuppance and that is the strength of the book. Even though you really do not like Jeronimus you want to see him get his just deserts. He does in the end. He gets cocky and thinks he has everyone on their knees and fooled when in the end the joke is on him. Everyone turns against him and he is hanged by his fellow islanders.
The book is actually based on a true story but is has been embellished here and there.... and probably everywhere as well. Nevertheless it is a really interesting look into what might happen to people who get stranded. How people act when there is nobody watching and when they are left to their own devices. Strong characters may become weak and the weak may become more powerful that they can imagine. It is a tale of mankind and what he may be capable of when put in an extraordinary situation.
The story is harsh, brutal and not very pleasant reading at times but it was really good!
Title: The Company, the Story of a Murderer
Author: Arabella Edge
369 pages
Simon & Schuster
ISBN# 0-7432-1342-4
Books to be read: 151
Need for Speed
As I am still enjoying some time off I am finding that I am reading more and that irrespective of my best intentions the "to be reviewed" stack is getting higher and higher. Fortunately it is not yet as high as the stacks of books to be red so I am okay for now. I just have to give it some welly!
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
The Drop - Michael Connelly
This is the second Harry Bosch one I have read from this author and it was nice to meet him again. Harry seems to have changed a little since we last met. he now has his daughter living with him and he seems a bit more tired, angry and frustrated with crime and the politics in the department.
This is a two part story and manages to do justice to both. The first case that Harry and his partner (David Chu) are assigned to is one that has to do with cold case involving a young girl and a gruesome end. Some DNA evidence has come back and the detectives are not quite sure what to make of it at first. This part of the story gets Chu and Bosch on the trail of a serial offender and ends up with them uncovering some of the most heinous crimes either of them has even seen. It turns out that the evidence points towards someone who could not possibly have been the killer as he (Clayton) was only 8 years old at the time of the murder. This means that our detectives have to use some creative thinking to figure out what really happened and on how to interpret the evidence they find. Naturally Harry is the one who kind of figures it out and they find the bad guy... who proves to be a real piece of work nicknamed Chill. He is just that, a chilling individual with an overactive imagination and a lust for killing. It is kind of nice to see how Harry's opinions are tested when he meets Clayton first. Our Harry does not hold very high opinions of repeat offenders. However, as he learns of the work that is done he kind of seems to soften his opinion somewhat. It shows that Harry may be an old dog but that he might just be able to learn some new tricks. It may also be that his opinion is somewhat influenced by his falling for one of the therapists there. This is the part that the book does not really need. Harry and Hannah. The story would be able to stand up fine without it and if I remember correctly I found that to be the case with the other Harry Bosch one I read as well? The nice thing about this Clayton-Chill case is that there are not too many twists and turns in it. The boys investigate, probe and discover the truth. The sting in this one is in the end when Clayton Pell decides to take matters in his own hands.
The second case Harry and Chu get is one of an apparent suicide of a high profile councilman's son. This one is a bit more complicated and the one where the political games are being played. Harry gets called to the scene as a favour to a councilman that does not even like him. His son has committed suicide and the councilman wants to be sure that it what it was. Apparenty Harry is the man for the job as the councilman trusts him to do right by him even though Harry dislikes him. When Harry and Chu investigate this one they find a number of clues that seem to be going either way. They stumble upon some dodgy dealings with government contracts and a taxi firm as well as falling out as partners when Harry finds out Chu has been feeding info to the press. In the end they find that it was just a simple suicide after all. Once again it is shown that it is kind of difficult to do a proper investigation into a case if you have to have on hand tied behind your back and people keep things from you but our Harry gets it out of them and this case is out to bed as well. One little niggle that Harry now has to live with that one of his closest allies in the force turns out to be able to do politics as well as the next guy and we come away with the feeling that perhaps Harry has been played.
The fun thing about reading a much later Harry Bosch novel is that I can see that Harry has changed a bit. Like I said, he now has his daughter living with him (who is naturally interested in police work and will be a better him when she gets through police school.. and she will.. eventually). It is briefly mentioned why she now lives with him but it may be interesting to read a few books back to see when this happened as I get the feeling it has changed and re-set Harry's singleton life quite dramatically. Harry definitely seems to be more grumpy than I remember him, and more morose, frustrated and sombre. Though that could be because he knows he has only a few more years to go in the force. He is also really not getting on that well with his partner so it may be interesting to see where that goes.
I do like Connelly's style. He writes at a good pace and his story flows well. Harry hops and skips between the two cases and this manages to keep the tension for the reader focused and you never know what case he will be working on the next chapter. I liked the variation between the two cases and felt it kept things interesting.
By the way... the title refers to the drop of Clayton Pell's blood that is found on the belt that killed the girl in case number one, the body that dropped in the suicide and the fact that Harry gets his retirement, his DROP in a few years. Very clever Mr Connelly. Just leave out the love interest next time please... Thank You.
Title: The Drop
Author: Michael Connelly
418 pages
Orion
ISBN # 978-1-4091-3630-9
Books to be read: 152
Sunday 20 October 2013
More bookish friends
As this Sunday cannot seem to make its mind up on whether it wants to chuck it down or not I feel it is best not to risk getting wet and have planned to stay inside for now. The way this weekend is going it is probably a good thing. My back was giving me trouble on Friday and then yesterday I had a migraine in the evening so that did not help matters any. I am determined to have a better day today... shouldn't be too hard.
On a more positive note, I did manage to get as far as the market on Friday and did think that perhaps the buying of some more books would ease my pain somewhat. I bought three more books just to see if it would work ..... It didn't in the end but it was worth a try.
New total - books to be read: 154
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
The Hiram Key - Christopher Knight & Robert Lomas
This is actually a non-fiction one so I guess it does not really require a spoiler alert. However, If you like to adhere to the generally accepted view of the Bible and Jesus' life then it is probably best you do not read this book!
I found this one interesting yet long-winded... or should that be the other way around? The book explores the connections between Freemasonry, the Bible, Knight Templar, Egyptian times and the Dead Sea Scrolls. It uses the rites that are used in Freemasonry and tries to discover where they come from. This quests leads them to stop of in various places in history. In the Egyptian time they trace the figure of Hiram Abif and show that what happened to him in his lifetime resonates through to today's Masonic rituals. As usual there is a secret that is to be guarded in the mix as well and apparently our boy Hiram died protecting a big secret which was consequently lost anyway. They then touch upon the actions of the Knight Templar and what they did to protect some secret knowledge. They then discuss the Dead Sea Scrolls as well and use them to show that event in the life of Jesus fit in with the trail of the Freemasons secret they are trying to discover. On reading all of it I did think at one time that it seemed a bit silly that all these groups have fight to protect a secret that is now not even the original secret any more.... because that was lost in the time of Hiram Abif (if I understand our authors correctly).
In a way it is not that surprising so me that the authors have managed to find parallels to the rituals of the present by looking at the past. Is that not what man has always done? Look to the past for inspiration and for patterns. Which culture in the world does not have the story of a big and all encompassing flood in it? Which culture does not have tales of human or superhuman heroes and deeds of great daring that took place? If you look at the old Greek myths are there not parallels with more recently written fairy tales? Part of me thinks that if you look hard enough you will find what you are looking for. You can make your theory fit if you look at the right evidence. I did think at one point that they were going to look at mythology and fairy tales as well to see if there was possibly anything in there that would afford them an explanation of where the Freemasons' rituals were based on. But maybe that will be the next book? I think it was Umberto Eco who once managed to propose a connection between Mickey Mouse and the Templars so who knows what is next?
As any good story that involves the Templars and Freemasons we end up in Rosslyn Chapel at one point. This is where the authors contend the answer to all our questions might be. The Chapel was "obviously" built as a replica of Herod's Temple and it said to have a secret vault somewhere that they believe holds the answers to the secret that has been hidden for so long. So far, I think no big secrets have been found.
Having said that, it is interesting to see how these two authors have ploughed their way through history looking for connections, and finding them. It was interesting to learn more about the Freemason rituals and about the additional stories that are in the Dead Sea Scrolls that put a slightly different spin on the life of Jesus and biblical history. All in all, good, interesting and intriguing!
Title: The Hiram Key
Author: Christopher Knight & Robert Lomas
481 pages
Arrow Books Limited
ISBN# 0-09-917562-2
Books to be read: 153
On a more positive note, I did manage to get as far as the market on Friday and did think that perhaps the buying of some more books would ease my pain somewhat. I bought three more books just to see if it would work ..... It didn't in the end but it was worth a try.
New total - books to be read: 154
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
The Hiram Key - Christopher Knight & Robert Lomas
This is actually a non-fiction one so I guess it does not really require a spoiler alert. However, If you like to adhere to the generally accepted view of the Bible and Jesus' life then it is probably best you do not read this book!
I found this one interesting yet long-winded... or should that be the other way around? The book explores the connections between Freemasonry, the Bible, Knight Templar, Egyptian times and the Dead Sea Scrolls. It uses the rites that are used in Freemasonry and tries to discover where they come from. This quests leads them to stop of in various places in history. In the Egyptian time they trace the figure of Hiram Abif and show that what happened to him in his lifetime resonates through to today's Masonic rituals. As usual there is a secret that is to be guarded in the mix as well and apparently our boy Hiram died protecting a big secret which was consequently lost anyway. They then touch upon the actions of the Knight Templar and what they did to protect some secret knowledge. They then discuss the Dead Sea Scrolls as well and use them to show that event in the life of Jesus fit in with the trail of the Freemasons secret they are trying to discover. On reading all of it I did think at one time that it seemed a bit silly that all these groups have fight to protect a secret that is now not even the original secret any more.... because that was lost in the time of Hiram Abif (if I understand our authors correctly).
In a way it is not that surprising so me that the authors have managed to find parallels to the rituals of the present by looking at the past. Is that not what man has always done? Look to the past for inspiration and for patterns. Which culture in the world does not have the story of a big and all encompassing flood in it? Which culture does not have tales of human or superhuman heroes and deeds of great daring that took place? If you look at the old Greek myths are there not parallels with more recently written fairy tales? Part of me thinks that if you look hard enough you will find what you are looking for. You can make your theory fit if you look at the right evidence. I did think at one point that they were going to look at mythology and fairy tales as well to see if there was possibly anything in there that would afford them an explanation of where the Freemasons' rituals were based on. But maybe that will be the next book? I think it was Umberto Eco who once managed to propose a connection between Mickey Mouse and the Templars so who knows what is next?
As any good story that involves the Templars and Freemasons we end up in Rosslyn Chapel at one point. This is where the authors contend the answer to all our questions might be. The Chapel was "obviously" built as a replica of Herod's Temple and it said to have a secret vault somewhere that they believe holds the answers to the secret that has been hidden for so long. So far, I think no big secrets have been found.
Having said that, it is interesting to see how these two authors have ploughed their way through history looking for connections, and finding them. It was interesting to learn more about the Freemason rituals and about the additional stories that are in the Dead Sea Scrolls that put a slightly different spin on the life of Jesus and biblical history. All in all, good, interesting and intriguing!
Title: The Hiram Key
Author: Christopher Knight & Robert Lomas
481 pages
Arrow Books Limited
ISBN# 0-09-917562-2
Books to be read: 153
Tuesday 15 October 2013
Time for another catch up
I have been busy reading and have managed to get through a fair few over the last few weeks, six in fact. Last week I had three coffee dates and caught up with several of my friends and this did take me away from my reading a little bit. But this week I am on track again and I also decided to finally tackle the growing stack of books to be reviewed. It's a different and more solitary kind of catch up but one equally necessary.
However, first things first. My bargain of the week (after last week's three books for £1 each) is definitely the new album by Foy Vance. It is amazing and wonderful and amazingly good. In short: It's AMAZING. I have had it on non-stop for the past few days and am still not tired of it.
Then all I need to do is wait for James Vincent McMorrow's new album due to be released early next year to get another dose of magical music.
But, duty and honour call me to the reviewing so of we go...
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Five Little Pigs - Agatha Christie
I had got this one earlier in the year on one of my bookshop roaming trips. Then I went to see the play a few months ago and now I have read the book too. It was kind of a shame I had seen the play as I knew who had done it before I started it but I have to say that I liked the way the book was set up way better than the play.
The book tells the story of Carla Lemarchant who is trying to find out if there is any truth in her mother's assertions that she was not guilty of killing her husband. Sixteen years ago Caroline Crale was convicted of the murder of Amyas Crale. Apparently she had poisoned him as revenge for taking up with a new, younger woman who had been posing for a picture with Amyas. Not that it seems to matter much any more if she was guilty or innocent as mummy dearest is dead even before the books begins. But.... Carla believes that her mother would not have proclaimed her innocence had it not been the truth so the asks the help of our favourite foreign detective Hercule Poirot. It seems that Carla wants to know what happened so she can understand herself better and perhaps understand what kind of person she comes from. Poirot is looking upon the whole thing as an interesting intellectual exercise if nothing else and decides to help her piece together what happened. So, off Poirot trots to do the rounds and find all the people that were in the house at the time of the murder, and the lawyers, policemen involved in the case. This way he gets a picture of the case and is able to bring it to its final conclusion.
This way we hear from all those involved and the picture of what happened on the final days of Amyas Crale is laid out in front of us. Philip Blake seems very intent on making Caroline look bad and you get the feeling that this is due to his own scorned interest in her. Elsa Greer (the other woman) is equally intent to paint Caroline as a vindictive woman. And indeed, how unreasonable of a married woman not to give up her husband to any new brazen hussy that comes through the front door eh Elsa. Mr Meredith Blake seems to be trying to find excuses for her but has to accept there is no other person to have done it but she. Angela Warren is Caroline's sister and is convinced she did not do it but cannot see who else might have been the murdered. She is one of the few who has anything good to say about Caroline. Finally we have the nanny, Miss Cecilia Williams who seems to be the dedicated servant who can see what is happening but has also reached the conclusion that from her behaviour at the time Caroline has shown that she is guilty.
The nice thing of the book is that you get the same story told from each person's perspective. You would think that Poirot wants them to be as neutral and factual as possible but no... he seems to encourage them to recall their memories of what happened and get their specific perspective on what happened. Poirot gets everyone together in the final showdown and poses a few scenarios to those present.
One of the great things is that looking at the stories of all those involved, any of them could have at one point had the opportunity to poison Amyas and the motive too. Poirot plays on this nicely as he lays out the events of the day before those present and brings it all to a lovely neatly wrapped up conclusion. We see that finally, as if by magic, Poirot is able to get to the truth of what happened on the day. I have no idea what or how Poirot picks up on the things that he does or how he draws the conclusions that he does. It's clever, very clever. Slightly unbelievable... but clever nonetheless.
What the book does really well is bring to life the characters that are no longer that, Caroline and Amyas. Through the stories of those involved you build up a picture of a turbulent marriage that would probably have weathered the storm. It is also a book about sacrifice, the love of one sister for another, of the danger of drawing the wrong conclusions and of getting some sort of justice in the end.
I liked it!
Title: Five Little Pigs
Author: Agatha Christie
233 pages
Harper Collins Publishers
ISBN #0-00-765950-4
Books to be read: 151
However, first things first. My bargain of the week (after last week's three books for £1 each) is definitely the new album by Foy Vance. It is amazing and wonderful and amazingly good. In short: It's AMAZING. I have had it on non-stop for the past few days and am still not tired of it.
Then all I need to do is wait for James Vincent McMorrow's new album due to be released early next year to get another dose of magical music.
But, duty and honour call me to the reviewing so of we go...
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Five Little Pigs - Agatha Christie
I had got this one earlier in the year on one of my bookshop roaming trips. Then I went to see the play a few months ago and now I have read the book too. It was kind of a shame I had seen the play as I knew who had done it before I started it but I have to say that I liked the way the book was set up way better than the play.
The book tells the story of Carla Lemarchant who is trying to find out if there is any truth in her mother's assertions that she was not guilty of killing her husband. Sixteen years ago Caroline Crale was convicted of the murder of Amyas Crale. Apparently she had poisoned him as revenge for taking up with a new, younger woman who had been posing for a picture with Amyas. Not that it seems to matter much any more if she was guilty or innocent as mummy dearest is dead even before the books begins. But.... Carla believes that her mother would not have proclaimed her innocence had it not been the truth so the asks the help of our favourite foreign detective Hercule Poirot. It seems that Carla wants to know what happened so she can understand herself better and perhaps understand what kind of person she comes from. Poirot is looking upon the whole thing as an interesting intellectual exercise if nothing else and decides to help her piece together what happened. So, off Poirot trots to do the rounds and find all the people that were in the house at the time of the murder, and the lawyers, policemen involved in the case. This way he gets a picture of the case and is able to bring it to its final conclusion.
This way we hear from all those involved and the picture of what happened on the final days of Amyas Crale is laid out in front of us. Philip Blake seems very intent on making Caroline look bad and you get the feeling that this is due to his own scorned interest in her. Elsa Greer (the other woman) is equally intent to paint Caroline as a vindictive woman. And indeed, how unreasonable of a married woman not to give up her husband to any new brazen hussy that comes through the front door eh Elsa. Mr Meredith Blake seems to be trying to find excuses for her but has to accept there is no other person to have done it but she. Angela Warren is Caroline's sister and is convinced she did not do it but cannot see who else might have been the murdered. She is one of the few who has anything good to say about Caroline. Finally we have the nanny, Miss Cecilia Williams who seems to be the dedicated servant who can see what is happening but has also reached the conclusion that from her behaviour at the time Caroline has shown that she is guilty.
The nice thing of the book is that you get the same story told from each person's perspective. You would think that Poirot wants them to be as neutral and factual as possible but no... he seems to encourage them to recall their memories of what happened and get their specific perspective on what happened. Poirot gets everyone together in the final showdown and poses a few scenarios to those present.
One of the great things is that looking at the stories of all those involved, any of them could have at one point had the opportunity to poison Amyas and the motive too. Poirot plays on this nicely as he lays out the events of the day before those present and brings it all to a lovely neatly wrapped up conclusion. We see that finally, as if by magic, Poirot is able to get to the truth of what happened on the day. I have no idea what or how Poirot picks up on the things that he does or how he draws the conclusions that he does. It's clever, very clever. Slightly unbelievable... but clever nonetheless.
What the book does really well is bring to life the characters that are no longer that, Caroline and Amyas. Through the stories of those involved you build up a picture of a turbulent marriage that would probably have weathered the storm. It is also a book about sacrifice, the love of one sister for another, of the danger of drawing the wrong conclusions and of getting some sort of justice in the end.
I liked it!
Title: Five Little Pigs
Author: Agatha Christie
233 pages
Harper Collins Publishers
ISBN #0-00-765950-4
Books to be read: 151
Friday 11 October 2013
Happy Accidents
When walking along the city market yesterday I happened to go past the bookstall and found that they had closing down sale on. So, I now have another 3 orphans to nurture at home. I thought I had been quite restrained in buying three! In fact, I think I have been positively brilliant in not buying more than 3. Maybe I should go and treat myself? Let me think.... what could I possibly get for myself that would make me feel good about myself???
Books to be read: 152
Wednesday 2 October 2013
New Beginnings
I am sorry to report that after only a few weeks of dedicated service Bertha has been replaced. Lennie has now entered the game and he is proving to be rather a flashy character with a mind of his own. Suffice it so say that Windows8 and I are not the best of friends just yet.
I have had some time recently to read some more and I am starting to get a backlog of books again so let us begin our review journey today and see how far we get. I think I have about an hour or so before the telly calls so let's get cracking.
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett
Let me start of by saying that this would have been a far more enjoyable read had it not been for the many spelling errors in it! I am pretty sure they are not Hammett's.. Bad editor... bad bad publisher!!
This story introduces us to Sam Spade, a hard boiled detective trying to make sense of a confusing situation where everyone is trying to get one over on the others. In a way Sam is caught in the middle, in a way he is the one who gets out with his life pretty much in tact and his bank balance vastly improved.
Sam is approached by a woman with a hard luck story which turns into a search for a statue that is believed to be invaluable. There are so many twists and turns in this one that I almost lost track of what was going on and doubted that our Sam even knew what was going on. But, him being the hero that he is, naturally he knew exactly what to do and who to try and con.
So, we have Sam Spade and his partner Miles Archer who are hired by a lovely young lady, Miss Wonderly who tells them she wants to find her sister who has fallen in with the wrong guy, might be in danger etc etc. Spade can smell a ruse a mile off but still decides to take the case. Archer is sent off to find out the target, bullets fly and Mr Archer snuffs it about 7 pages into the story. Leaving Sam to console the widow Archer whom, so we find out later, he knows quite intimately already. Next we find out that Miss Wonderly is actually Miss O'Shaughnessy) and that she is trying to get her hands on a little item that was lost. Also after said item is Mr Joel Cairo. He is described as a queer little man, and he comes across as a bit of a weasel. He also comes across as a man who would do anything for money and double cross his own mother in a heartbeat. Mr Cairo wants Spade to help him locate a little ornament that has been misplaced. Joel is working for a man who is very eager to get this ornament back and is willing to offer Sam $5000 to help him. Sam seems to have no problems taking money from either party in this little game so he promises to see what he can do for Joel's boss Mr Gutman. Sam and Mr Gutman play a very nice game a bluff poker and in the end Sam finds out what he needs to know about what it actually is he is trying to find. By some weird coincidence the item in question lands itself right on Spade's doorstep and we can go to the final play.
In a brilliant few chapters Spade and the others involved together decide on how the game is to be played and who is going to be sacrificed to the cops. Then, just when you think there is going to be a happy ever after for Sam he turns the tables on you again and lays into Miss O. In the end we get the whole story from her side and even she is sacrificed to the cops as she turns out to have killed his partner Miles. As Sam says... "I won't play the sap for you".
I loved this one. The dialogue is snappy and lively, Sam has a great sense of humour and a real presence in the book. the other characters are great fun to read and the interactions between Sam and Mr Gutman and Joel Cairo are really well written. There is fun, blood, people being knocked out and betrayed. We have the bungling policeman (classic good cop - bad cop) who get spun a story and buy it and above all we have Sam who gets away with his life in tact... Go Sam!
Title: The Maltese Falcon
Author: Dashiell Hammett
197 pages
Thinking Ink Media
ISBN #978-1-907590-32-0
Books to be read: 149
I have had some time recently to read some more and I am starting to get a backlog of books again so let us begin our review journey today and see how far we get. I think I have about an hour or so before the telly calls so let's get cracking.
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett
Let me start of by saying that this would have been a far more enjoyable read had it not been for the many spelling errors in it! I am pretty sure they are not Hammett's.. Bad editor... bad bad publisher!!
This story introduces us to Sam Spade, a hard boiled detective trying to make sense of a confusing situation where everyone is trying to get one over on the others. In a way Sam is caught in the middle, in a way he is the one who gets out with his life pretty much in tact and his bank balance vastly improved.
Sam is approached by a woman with a hard luck story which turns into a search for a statue that is believed to be invaluable. There are so many twists and turns in this one that I almost lost track of what was going on and doubted that our Sam even knew what was going on. But, him being the hero that he is, naturally he knew exactly what to do and who to try and con.
So, we have Sam Spade and his partner Miles Archer who are hired by a lovely young lady, Miss Wonderly who tells them she wants to find her sister who has fallen in with the wrong guy, might be in danger etc etc. Spade can smell a ruse a mile off but still decides to take the case. Archer is sent off to find out the target, bullets fly and Mr Archer snuffs it about 7 pages into the story. Leaving Sam to console the widow Archer whom, so we find out later, he knows quite intimately already. Next we find out that Miss Wonderly is actually Miss O'Shaughnessy) and that she is trying to get her hands on a little item that was lost. Also after said item is Mr Joel Cairo. He is described as a queer little man, and he comes across as a bit of a weasel. He also comes across as a man who would do anything for money and double cross his own mother in a heartbeat. Mr Cairo wants Spade to help him locate a little ornament that has been misplaced. Joel is working for a man who is very eager to get this ornament back and is willing to offer Sam $5000 to help him. Sam seems to have no problems taking money from either party in this little game so he promises to see what he can do for Joel's boss Mr Gutman. Sam and Mr Gutman play a very nice game a bluff poker and in the end Sam finds out what he needs to know about what it actually is he is trying to find. By some weird coincidence the item in question lands itself right on Spade's doorstep and we can go to the final play.
In a brilliant few chapters Spade and the others involved together decide on how the game is to be played and who is going to be sacrificed to the cops. Then, just when you think there is going to be a happy ever after for Sam he turns the tables on you again and lays into Miss O. In the end we get the whole story from her side and even she is sacrificed to the cops as she turns out to have killed his partner Miles. As Sam says... "I won't play the sap for you".
I loved this one. The dialogue is snappy and lively, Sam has a great sense of humour and a real presence in the book. the other characters are great fun to read and the interactions between Sam and Mr Gutman and Joel Cairo are really well written. There is fun, blood, people being knocked out and betrayed. We have the bungling policeman (classic good cop - bad cop) who get spun a story and buy it and above all we have Sam who gets away with his life in tact... Go Sam!
Title: The Maltese Falcon
Author: Dashiell Hammett
197 pages
Thinking Ink Media
ISBN #978-1-907590-32-0
Books to be read: 149
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