October 15, 2008

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever

This is a great series that came out in the 80s. Im reading the first 6 books. The best one which is called The Illearth War. I'm reading these because Steven Donaldson is now writing a final series called The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Two of the books are already out in a projected 4 part series. Its a fantasy series that takes place in whats called The Land. Thomas Covenant is a leper that finds himself in this world and he controls the white gold. He must fight Lord Foul.

September 24, 2006

Hannibal: Enemy of Rome by Leonard Cottrell

This is a great book that gives the history of one of the greatest leaders in the ancient world.  The author really gets into the mind and motivation of Hannibal and brings the battles to life.  At the time Carthage and Rome were the two great powers in the Mediterranean and it would only be time before the two fought for dominance.  Hannibal took his army, which included elephants, over the Alps and invaded the Italian peninsula winning battle after battle.  The only drawback was that Hannibal wasn’t equipped with the means to break through the walls of Rome and invade the city.  For a while it didn’t matter since he destroyed any Roman army that dared to confront him.  The greatest battle was when the Roman soldiers outnumbered Hannibal’s 10 to one.  Hannibal won, defeating an army ten times his size.  In the end bad luck started to happen and after years Hannibal lost and Carthage was destroyed, leaving Rome as the only power in the Mediterranean.  This was the beginning of the Roman Empire.

Crusades: The illustrated History by Thomas F. Madden.

This is a fascinating overview of the all of the Crusades with lots of pictures of art, weapons, statues, maps, and locations bringing the conflict to life.  After the Roman empire fell in the west, what rose were small feudal kingdoms and the Roman Catholic Church led by the Popes.  The Eastern Roman empire didn’t fall and continued on with the Capitol in Constantinople.  Even though they called themselves Romans, the Eastern Roman empire became what we call today the Byzantine Empire.  The Byzantine was different from the west being mainly Greek with their own religious practices.  These differences with the West grew through the centuries.   At the same time the rise of Islam started in the East and quickly spread taking over much of the Byzantine Empire, northern Africa and even into Spain.  Muslims took over Israel and both Islam and Christianity considered Jerusalem one of the holiest places for their religions.  All of this laid the groundwork for what would become the crusades.  Both sides wanted control of this holy land.

In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great by Michael Woods

Alexander the Great forged an empire Greece all the way to India, defeating the Persian Empire, crowned pharaoh in Egypt, visited the ruins of Troy where his hero Achilles fought centuries before, lived in Baghdad and defeated any army that stood in his way in a matter of a few short years.  Michael Woods follows Alexander’s path over thousands of miles of land visiting the sites.  This book has wonderful pictures and illustrations and is highly recommended if you want to know the history of Alexander the Great.

April 22, 2006

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown – This is another religious mystery page turner by the famed author of “The Davinci Code.” “Angels and Demons” takes place before “The Davinci Code” and has the same main character. The pope has died and Lungdrin has to solve a mystery in Vatican City uncovering centuries of secrets before millions are killed by a doomsday device being used by secret organization that is the enemy to every organized religion. The chapters are short and there are several plot lines keeping me glued to the book. Highly recommend!

Cell by Stephen King – This is a great thriller and one of my favorite Stephen King stories. It is fast pace and the story takes some interesting turns that I didn’t expect. A pulse strikes all cell phones and anyone who is using one at the time goes insane and starts attacking anyone nearby. Chaos erupts and increases as people try using their cell phones to call for help and then are struck by the pulse. The millions of crazy people evolve into almost a zombie-like group thought. The survivors have to try to survive in a world gone mad. Stephen King focuses on one group of people who are soon to be single out by the zombie group. There is a father/son subplot that plays nicely through the story. The ending is one of King’s best.

March 3, 2006

Raising Atlantis by Thomas Greanias– The premise of this story, finding a pyramid buried under the ice in Antartica, is very interesting. The story is fast paced with short chapters and lots of action. The only problem is that the farther I got into it, the less interesting the story became. A lot of the conclusions and plot twists are very far fetched and seem contrived. So what could’ve been very interesting turns into a standard chase scene.

The Last Templar Raymond Khoury – I really enjoyed this book until I reached the end. It’s a religious mystery thriller very similar to “The DaVinci Code.” The chapters are short and it makes you want to find out what was the Templars great secret that made them wealthy and powerful throughout Europe before they were slaughtered and destroyed by the French King. When you find out, it’s kind of a let down. The author tells you what it is but doesn’t go into much detail. I wanted more information, but there wasn’t any. So this secret that has been hidden for hundreds of years is on shaky ground. The reader is just suppose to take it as truth within the story although it’s not backed up with much evidence. So the ending was a big let down.

From A Buick 8 by Stephen King – I love Stephen King Books. I’ve read so many but he’s such a prolific writer that I can’t keep up. This story is classic Stephen King about a Buick 8 that isn’t quite right that has been sitting in a shed behind a police station for several years. It’s amazing how Stephen King can make a Buick inside a shed scary. The narration is very strong flashing back to the past and to the present. The ending is very satisfying.

December 2, 2005

I just finished reading “Christ The Lord: Out of Egypt” by Anne Rice.  This is an amazing book that I highly recommend.  Anne Rice did her research and portrays a young Christ perfectly.  My favorite scene was when the Rabbi questions the boy Jesus, who gives brilliant answers.  The other great passage in the story is when Satan confronts Jesus for the first time in a dream.  This book impressed me and I can’t wait for the sequel.

I’m about to read “The Silmarillion” by J.R.R. Tolkein for the third time.  I bought the deluxe edition that has over thirty paintings done by Ted Nasmith.  “The Silmarillion” is my favorite book.  It’s Tolkein’s masterpiece.  It’s a hard read and few people I know have read it unfortunately.  Tolkein spent his life working on this and he wrote “The Lord of the Rings” as a sequel to “The Silmarillion.”  It much more epic and darker then “The Lord of the Rings.”   In this story most of the good guys don’t make it home.   There is so much to the story that you have to read it over to even begin to grasp everything that is going on at so many different levels.  Tolkein in “The Silmarillion” masterfully reveals the portrayal of evil, the human condition and God.  The story takes place in the First Age of Middle Earth and follows the Elves as they battle Morgoth, the ultimate evil.  If you do read it, take your time, refer to the map and list of names and don’t proceed to the next paragraph until you understand the paragraph your currently reading. 

I’m also about to start reading “A Feast For Crows” by George R.R. Martin.  I’ve read a lot of fantasy series and this is the only one that is equal to Tolkein’s.  It’s original, gritty and dark with several plot lines going on all at once.  What I like about this story is that the plot will unfold one way and then throw you a curveball and go an entirely, unexpected way.  A lot of books you basically know what’s going to happen but not with this series.  Also, main characters, which would never die in any other book, are killed, which is very shocking when it happens.  Many of the characters are very original and not your usual generic clones that you find in most other fantasy series.  I highly recommend these books and once you start reading them you won’t be able to stop.