Title: The Book of Shadows
Author: James Reese
Publisher: Harper Collins Date: Dec. 2002
I read this a few years ago and the lush imagery of this author's settings and character descriptions still haunts me. James Reese is a *master* of describing such things. It may sound a little odd of me, a Tolkeine-phile, to place such a title upon an author other then my favorite, but Mr. Reese well deserves it.
The Book of Shadows is the first of apparently a series about a young hermaphrodite witch called Herculine. The story of Herculine is described with elegant detail and fine craftsmanship. A highly readable work that drops the reader into a 17/18th century world of sensual horror and burgeoning madness. Some folks have compared Mr. Reese's work to Anne Rice's or Laurell K. Hamilton's. I think it would be better to compare it to Jacqueline Carey's luminous and yet dark novels of sensuality, betrayal, and violence.
I highly recommend this book. If you're looking for actual information about witchcraft, forget it. If you're looking for an amazingly good read, however, that can just suck you in for hours, pick this book up. It's well worth it.
Originally Published: 2/22/2007
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Book Review: Flags of Our Fathers
Title: Flags of Our Fathers
Author: James Bradley
Publisher: Bantam Books Date: May 2, 2002
This was probably one of the hardest books I've read in a long time.
Emotionally, it felt like I was hit with a hammer right in the gut. A sledge hammer, to be precise. As a person with a sibling in the military, reading the account of the battle of Iwo Jima was a sobering and harrowing thing. I found myself on the verge of tears as I read about how the brave men who fought that month long battle suffered.
It drive home quite clearly, in my less then humble opinion, that the current military engagements are nothing like what happened in World War II. Unless it is compared to the battle of Iwo Jima alone. This battle, in all of it's tactical nightmare-ish glory (I use the term 'glory' loosely.), can be a spectacular metaphore for the horror that is the meat-grinder of the current war.
Bad intelligence, poor initial execution, an overly early declaration of victory, and a misrepresentation of the combat by the press at large marked the events surrounding the battle known for a single image. It is tragic that it is so visibly evident as being present in the current military conflict.
All of this said, Flags of Our Fathers is an amazingly well written book. The language is very accessible and easy to follow. The story presented is well layed out. It is obvious that this was a labor of love for the author and a tribute to the life of his father. I highly recommend this book, even as it is emotionally challenging to read it.
Originally published: 2/16/2007
Author: James Bradley
Publisher: Bantam Books Date: May 2, 2002
This was probably one of the hardest books I've read in a long time.
Emotionally, it felt like I was hit with a hammer right in the gut. A sledge hammer, to be precise. As a person with a sibling in the military, reading the account of the battle of Iwo Jima was a sobering and harrowing thing. I found myself on the verge of tears as I read about how the brave men who fought that month long battle suffered.
It drive home quite clearly, in my less then humble opinion, that the current military engagements are nothing like what happened in World War II. Unless it is compared to the battle of Iwo Jima alone. This battle, in all of it's tactical nightmare-ish glory (I use the term 'glory' loosely.), can be a spectacular metaphore for the horror that is the meat-grinder of the current war.
Bad intelligence, poor initial execution, an overly early declaration of victory, and a misrepresentation of the combat by the press at large marked the events surrounding the battle known for a single image. It is tragic that it is so visibly evident as being present in the current military conflict.
All of this said, Flags of Our Fathers is an amazingly well written book. The language is very accessible and easy to follow. The story presented is well layed out. It is obvious that this was a labor of love for the author and a tribute to the life of his father. I highly recommend this book, even as it is emotionally challenging to read it.
Originally published: 2/16/2007
Book Review: City of God (book 7)
Chpt. 1 - 5
Augustine apologizes for possibly writing for a target audience lower then his readers in chapter one. Chapter two, three and four were discussing how the "common" gods co-mingled with the "superior" gods. Augustine notes how the "common" gosd have less stories of license and ill repute. In chapter five, Augustine revisits Varro's opinon of God as teh soul of the world.
Chpt. 6 - 10
Chapter six is a continuation of chapter five. Chapter seven discusses Janus and Terminus. Augustine argues that death is both a beginning and ending. As such, Augustine says that Janus and Terminus must be the same. Chapter eight discusses Janus in more detail. Janus argues that he is the fate of the world, Augustine repudiates this. Chapter eight is a comparison between Janus and Jove. It seems that Janus and Jove are popular foci for worship by Augustine's comtemporaries. Augustine seems to believe taht Janus is the preferrible option of the two. Chapter nine discusses this as well. Chapter ten questions if Janus or Jove should be distinguised as separate or not.
Chpt. 11 - 14
Chapter eleven states that all surnames of Jove refered to him as one diety. Augustine argues this is a mutually exclusive thing, where Jove can not be in charge of X at the same time as god Z is incharge of it. [...]
Chapter twelve is full of yet more of Augustine's scathing sarcasm. He discusses Jove's title of coin with the apparently popular argument of how he can do all things. Augustine confronts this with the argument of how the wealthy worry about losing or acquiring more wealth, where as the poor are not troubled with it. He concludes with welath lies in wisdom as coming from God. Chapters thirteen and fourteen continue the previous arguments. Essentually, he is using the physical principle of the conservation of matter with respect to dieties and their realm of influence.
Ch. 15 - 20
Chapter fifteen decries the description of stars as gods to be foolishness. Confusing the created with the creator perhaps? Chapter sisteen continues the argument but with the assignment of deities to things like water, mountains, etc. Chapter seventeen does this as well. Chapter eighteen argues that Varro states that the gods are ambiguious. It leads me to question if Varro would agree with Augustine's argument of people confusing the object with creator. In chapter nineteen, Augustine' statement that paganisim is a result of ignorance and the deception of the masses for socio-political gain. Augustine then applies this argument to the worship of Saturn and Ceres in chapter twenty. [It is facinating that Augustine's statements are echoed many generations by Karl Marx with respect to all forms of religion.]
Chpt. 21 - 25
Chapter twenty one takes the arguments of the last chapter and adds a dimension. Augusine examines Bacchus's worship and states that it is forced debauchery compounding the deceptions of the earlier argument. Augustine argues in chapter twenty two the same of the worship of Neptune. Chapter twenty three and twenty four discuss the pagan view of the earth. Augustine seems to be arguing again a violation of the conservation and for an identity crisis for the gods. Augustine touches briefly on the matter of eunchs in the service of the earth cult. He notes rather bitterly in the conclusion of chapter twenty four and in all of chapter twenty five how an eunch is a worthless example of fertility because of their sterility.
Chpt. 26 - 30
Chapter twenty six is an invecting against the worship of the earth cults. Chapter twenty seven is an argument that "natural" philosophy is a "false hope" of the true way. Augustine uses this to support his argument in chapter twenty eight that Varro doesn't have a leg to stand on. Chapter twenty nine shows the flaws taht Augustien sees. Mainly this is that people are confusing the object with the creator. Chapter thirty cautions us to remember that God is separate from creation and acts thru his intermediatries and will.
Ch. 31 - 35
Augustine's invective against philosophy is impressive. As he proceeds through the remainder of book seven and thru books eight and nine, Augustine tears down the popular classes of philosophy from his era.
Book seven predominantly concerns itself with the confusing of the object with the creator. It discusses the errors that proceed from this stance:
- The qualities ascribed to the parts of the world as holy/divine (nature deities) are actuality qualities of God.
- The multiplicity of nature gods results in confusion as to the reign/power of these gods.
- The overlapping associations of power suggest a unifying deitie that reigns/has power ofer the whole.
- The variety between the standard for "good" between worship, priests, and philosophers is a result of multiple gods.
Augustine's argument against "natural philosophy" as described by Varro is summarized by the following:
The powers associated with the nature gods are the property and qualities of one god. This god is good. The confusion of good and the profanity attending the nature gods is due to the deception of men by devils.
Originally Published: 11/4/2006 (All content is original to the initial post, including the horrible spelling.)
Augustine apologizes for possibly writing for a target audience lower then his readers in chapter one. Chapter two, three and four were discussing how the "common" gods co-mingled with the "superior" gods. Augustine notes how the "common" gosd have less stories of license and ill repute. In chapter five, Augustine revisits Varro's opinon of God as teh soul of the world.
Chpt. 6 - 10
Chapter six is a continuation of chapter five. Chapter seven discusses Janus and Terminus. Augustine argues that death is both a beginning and ending. As such, Augustine says that Janus and Terminus must be the same. Chapter eight discusses Janus in more detail. Janus argues that he is the fate of the world, Augustine repudiates this. Chapter eight is a comparison between Janus and Jove. It seems that Janus and Jove are popular foci for worship by Augustine's comtemporaries. Augustine seems to believe taht Janus is the preferrible option of the two. Chapter nine discusses this as well. Chapter ten questions if Janus or Jove should be distinguised as separate or not.
Chpt. 11 - 14
Chapter eleven states that all surnames of Jove refered to him as one diety. Augustine argues this is a mutually exclusive thing, where Jove can not be in charge of X at the same time as god Z is incharge of it. [...]
Chapter twelve is full of yet more of Augustine's scathing sarcasm. He discusses Jove's title of coin with the apparently popular argument of how he can do all things. Augustine confronts this with the argument of how the wealthy worry about losing or acquiring more wealth, where as the poor are not troubled with it. He concludes with welath lies in wisdom as coming from God. Chapters thirteen and fourteen continue the previous arguments. Essentually, he is using the physical principle of the conservation of matter with respect to dieties and their realm of influence.
Ch. 15 - 20
Chapter fifteen decries the description of stars as gods to be foolishness. Confusing the created with the creator perhaps? Chapter sisteen continues the argument but with the assignment of deities to things like water, mountains, etc. Chapter seventeen does this as well. Chapter eighteen argues that Varro states that the gods are ambiguious. It leads me to question if Varro would agree with Augustine's argument of people confusing the object with creator. In chapter nineteen, Augustine' statement that paganisim is a result of ignorance and the deception of the masses for socio-political gain. Augustine then applies this argument to the worship of Saturn and Ceres in chapter twenty. [It is facinating that Augustine's statements are echoed many generations by Karl Marx with respect to all forms of religion.]
Chpt. 21 - 25
Chapter twenty one takes the arguments of the last chapter and adds a dimension. Augusine examines Bacchus's worship and states that it is forced debauchery compounding the deceptions of the earlier argument. Augustine argues in chapter twenty two the same of the worship of Neptune. Chapter twenty three and twenty four discuss the pagan view of the earth. Augustine seems to be arguing again a violation of the conservation and for an identity crisis for the gods. Augustine touches briefly on the matter of eunchs in the service of the earth cult. He notes rather bitterly in the conclusion of chapter twenty four and in all of chapter twenty five how an eunch is a worthless example of fertility because of their sterility.
Chpt. 26 - 30
Chapter twenty six is an invecting against the worship of the earth cults. Chapter twenty seven is an argument that "natural" philosophy is a "false hope" of the true way. Augustine uses this to support his argument in chapter twenty eight that Varro doesn't have a leg to stand on. Chapter twenty nine shows the flaws taht Augustien sees. Mainly this is that people are confusing the object with the creator. Chapter thirty cautions us to remember that God is separate from creation and acts thru his intermediatries and will.
Ch. 31 - 35
Augustine's invective against philosophy is impressive. As he proceeds through the remainder of book seven and thru books eight and nine, Augustine tears down the popular classes of philosophy from his era.
Book seven predominantly concerns itself with the confusing of the object with the creator. It discusses the errors that proceed from this stance:
- The qualities ascribed to the parts of the world as holy/divine (nature deities) are actuality qualities of God.
- The multiplicity of nature gods results in confusion as to the reign/power of these gods.
- The overlapping associations of power suggest a unifying deitie that reigns/has power ofer the whole.
- The variety between the standard for "good" between worship, priests, and philosophers is a result of multiple gods.
Augustine's argument against "natural philosophy" as described by Varro is summarized by the following:
The powers associated with the nature gods are the property and qualities of one god. This god is good. The confusion of good and the profanity attending the nature gods is due to the deception of men by devils.
Originally Published: 11/4/2006 (All content is original to the initial post, including the horrible spelling.)
Books update.
Dear Reader,
Aside from spamming you with NaNoWriMo/NaBloPoMo content, I figured I'd take a moment to let you know how things are going on the book writing front. I have officially been cheating at NaNoWriMo this year. I have been spending my time trying to get things caught up and finished. I finished two nonfiction works earlier this month. Now I'm working on book seven of the Umbrel Chronicles. I've hit some vexing situations here with this manuscript.
I had written out a nicely detailed plot map. Now everything has gone off the rails. New gods have introduced themselves into the story long before they were supposed to show up on scene. Old characters that were just supposed to be random filler to advance the plot are turning into important support characters. And I am getting frustrated because none of my characters are doing what they're supposed to be doing according to the plot I had planned out.
My characters did what characters will do and took on a life of their own. Again. Here's hoping that the story doesn't turn out to be garbage after the editing process. Right now, I feel like I'm writing with out a net. It is mildly nerve wracking.
Aside from this, I am increasingly vexed with the self publishing process. I am clearly not doing something right in my efforts to convert files to a format friendly to ebook format. I'd hire someone to help me if I had the funds, instead I will hammer away at this until I figure out what in the nine levels of Dante's hell I am doing. Given the weather, I think I am heading down towards the ninth level.
Aside from spamming you with NaNoWriMo/NaBloPoMo content, I figured I'd take a moment to let you know how things are going on the book writing front. I have officially been cheating at NaNoWriMo this year. I have been spending my time trying to get things caught up and finished. I finished two nonfiction works earlier this month. Now I'm working on book seven of the Umbrel Chronicles. I've hit some vexing situations here with this manuscript.
I had written out a nicely detailed plot map. Now everything has gone off the rails. New gods have introduced themselves into the story long before they were supposed to show up on scene. Old characters that were just supposed to be random filler to advance the plot are turning into important support characters. And I am getting frustrated because none of my characters are doing what they're supposed to be doing according to the plot I had planned out.
My characters did what characters will do and took on a life of their own. Again. Here's hoping that the story doesn't turn out to be garbage after the editing process. Right now, I feel like I'm writing with out a net. It is mildly nerve wracking.
Aside from this, I am increasingly vexed with the self publishing process. I am clearly not doing something right in my efforts to convert files to a format friendly to ebook format. I'd hire someone to help me if I had the funds, instead I will hammer away at this until I figure out what in the nine levels of Dante's hell I am doing. Given the weather, I think I am heading down towards the ninth level.
What is your writing play list?
Here's what's on mine right now:
As It Fades from VNV Nation
Prelude from Rob Dougan
Dreamer from Epic Soul Factory
Gortoz A Ran (Theme from Black Hawk Down)
Forgotten Mountain from Mayrain
Silent Flight, Sleeping Dawn from MONO
What is inspiring your work? Any suggestions for me to add to my play list?
As It Fades from VNV Nation
Prelude from Rob Dougan
Dreamer from Epic Soul Factory
Gortoz A Ran (Theme from Black Hawk Down)
Forgotten Mountain from Mayrain
Silent Flight, Sleeping Dawn from MONO
What is inspiring your work? Any suggestions for me to add to my play list?
Prompt Thursday.
It's still NaBloPoMo. I'm still behind. But here's some prompts if you're playing along too. (It is also perfectly fair to post memes and call it done.)
- The worst pet name in the world is ...
- Musical pet peeves
- If you were a color, what color would you be?
For my fellow NaNoWriMo challengers, here's a prompt for you to work into your story:
Your main character is snowed in with the primary antagonist. They can't kill each other because they have to find away to work together to survive the conditions. What do they do?
Excelsior ad infinitum.
Dear Reader,
If you are a nerd like me, the recent death of Stan Lee may have you feeling dismayed. Mr. Lee's work inspired countless artists and authors around the world. His work was passionate and filled with life. From all accounts, Mr. Lee was a gentleman and a great friend to his fans. I aspire to be half as influential and inspirational as Stan Lee. As much as we may argue if the movies were better than the comic books and quibble over which character is better, I think we can all agree that the real hero was Stan Lee and his infinite genius.
He created characters and stories that excelled at both entertaining us and informing us as to something about the human condition. His work tackled cultural issues with as much vigor as they entertained us. It is my sincerest hope that what ever afterlife Mr. Lee is welcomed to, he is greeted with as much joy and has as much joy as he has given the world with his life's work.
Excelsior ad infinitum.
If you are a nerd like me, the recent death of Stan Lee may have you feeling dismayed. Mr. Lee's work inspired countless artists and authors around the world. His work was passionate and filled with life. From all accounts, Mr. Lee was a gentleman and a great friend to his fans. I aspire to be half as influential and inspirational as Stan Lee. As much as we may argue if the movies were better than the comic books and quibble over which character is better, I think we can all agree that the real hero was Stan Lee and his infinite genius.
He created characters and stories that excelled at both entertaining us and informing us as to something about the human condition. His work tackled cultural issues with as much vigor as they entertained us. It is my sincerest hope that what ever afterlife Mr. Lee is welcomed to, he is greeted with as much joy and has as much joy as he has given the world with his life's work.
Excelsior ad infinitum.
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