I Shall Wear Midnight by: Sir Terry Pratchett

7 stars

I Shall Wear Midnight is a discworld novel by my fantasy favorite Terry Pratchett. The main character, Tiffany Aching, is a young witch in training. This is Pratchett's fourth novel about Tiffany Aching. In this particular novel Tiffany and the Nac Mac Feegles (tiny angry blue faeries) must battle an ancient ghost of a witchhunter.

Like all of Pratchett's novels, it is filled with fun, humor, and has an excellent point. Since it is the fourth Tiffany Aching novel, I wouldn't recommend it to those who haven't read any of the other Tiffany Aching novels. I will say that the Tiffany Aching novels are great read for both adults and children. They were written with a young audience and will be easy for kids and adults to enjoy.

Of this book in particular, I think that I liked the other three Tiffany Aching novels more than this one. However, I still greatly enjoyed it and can comfortably give it a 7.

Finally, I was pleasantly surprised when reading the bio of Terry Pratchett on the back cover to learn that last year Terry Pratchett was knighted for his "contributions to literature". He is now Sir Terry Pratchett. I couldn't agree more.

Life of a Colossus by: Adrian Goldsworthy

8 stars

Life of a Colossus is a biography of Julius Caesar. Though I have not read any other biographies of Caesar, I am tempted to call it the authoritative biography. It chronicles everything we know about Caesar, from his early years on the run from the dictator Sulla to his conquests in Gaul and Britannia as a proconsul to the civil war against Pompey to his assassination at the hands of Brutus. In short, Caesar lived a very exciting life during an exciting time in history.

Adrian Goldsworthy manages a good balance storytelling and historical accuracy. He has no qualms admitting when our knowledge is limited or missing, but he doesn't bogged down in scholarly quagmires. Goldsworthy focuses on Caesar, but you will also learn a good deal about the Roman Republic in its last years, as well as several other famous Romans, including Pompey, Crassus Curio, Cicero, Cato, Mark Antony, Brutus, and Sulla. Though the book is long, it is well paced and there is always something interesting happening. I thoroughly enjoy it all, and often I found myself wishing I was a Roman aristocrat rubbing elbows with these men.

I would add a small warning. At a little over 500 pages of nonfiction, the book is not for the faint of heart. Those who love history, especially ancient history, will enjoy it, but it is surely not a causal reading.

The Hounds of the Mórrígan by Pat O'Shea

7 Stars

Ten-year-old Pidge picks up a worn, discarded book in an old second-hand bookshop in Galway, Ireland, before returning home. This unwitting action eventually leads him to become the unlikely hero on a quest against the Mórrígan (pronounced MOR-ree-an), the Irish goddess of death and discord. As Pidge, and his younger sister, Brigit, traipse across the realms of the Fey, they encounter both good and evil, learn to trust themselves and each other, and enjoy the kind of adventure all children dream of. The Hounds of the Morrigan was published in 1985, having taken O'Shea ten years to complete. Many characters in the book are culled straight from Celtic mythology. (Taken partially from Wikipedia. And I apologize for the lousy synopsis. I really wanted to just copy the back of the book, but apparently there are NO copies of that description anywhere on the internet. Perhaps I will re-write when my brain is more prepared to do so...)

This book was most definitely worth a read! It pulls you in perfectly. The setting is enchanting and Pidge is just lovable and charming from the outset. The plot's exciting, the history/mythology is unique, the baddies are both truly awful and knee-slappingly funny, and it's just an overall great read. The only reason this was a 7 and not a 9 for me is because it is quite long, and, unfortunately begins to feel its length before too long. Every encounter Brigit and Pidge have would be fascinating on its own, especially if you are at all interested in Celtic or Irish mythology, but taken all at once, it's drags a tad. I almost wish the author had somehow managed to make it into more than one book... Don't really know that that would have worked, but the point is that I want to love this book, and ended up just really liking it, instead. You should definitely read it once, though! It was especially fitting as a Halloween read. (Look at the cover with a little more depth; you'll see what I mean...)

In Defense of Elitism by: William A. Henry III

3 Stars

I picked up In Defense of Elitism because it sounded like an interesting philosophical read. The basic premise is this: Those people who are more valuable to society deserve greater privileges and respect. In the past such value was measured by blood and lineage, but in modern America this can simply be those who contribute the most to society. The author does a good job of outlining this premise. I was hoping that he would offer multiple arguments to support this premise, as well as discuss multiple arguments against it, ideally offering counters to such arguments.

Instead, the author focuses on only one argument in favor of this premise: elitism works better than egalitarianism. To support this argument, Henry examines the state of the work force, school systems, culture, and other things. He paints the failings of all of these areas due to a leaning towards egalitarianism and away from elitism, and suggests that by focusing on more elite systems the failings would disappear.

Though it was not the book I had hoped to read, I have a different, rather larger problem with the book. All information and research contrary to his argument he assaults with a hefty sledgehammer of skepticism. He attacks any and every possible weakness, at times dismissing strong reasonable pieces of research. After he does this, he presents his own information, but does very little to support or defend it. He merely asserts his claims and assumes that we should accept it. As a result, I felt that he was being unfair to the opposition and overly generous to his own claims.

In addition to this, I felt that he was arguing for some unsavory things that didn't necessarily have all that much to do with the arguments concerning elitism and egalitarianism. I won't go into detail, but at times it felt more like a personal rant than anything else. As a result, I found the book quite disappointing, and I would not recommend it to anyone.

Dark Lady's Chosen by: Gail Z Martin

Series rating: 6 stars

Dark Lady's Chosen is the fourth book of the Chronicles of the Necromancer series. In thought I would review the series, since I haven't reviewed any of the other books on this blog. The first three books are The Summoner, The Blood King, and Dark Haven. The Summoner and The Blood King were excellent fantasy books. I wouldn't say that they were particularly unique in any way, or groundbreaking, but well written, fairly paced, and very entertaining. If the series rating was based solely on those two, I think that I would give the series a 7 or an 8.

Unfortunately, the third book, Dark Haven, was a 500+ page book with probably about 100 pages of plot development. It was a long book with very little to show for it. Dark Haven was also too wordy, though not nearly to the same degree. In my opinion, Dark Haven and Dark Lady's Chosen should have been one book. I feel like there was only one book worth of content between the two of them.

Despite the excessive wordiness of the last two books, they were still enjoyable. I think I would recommend the series to fantasy lovers. Those uninterested in fantasy novels should probably give these a skip.

As end note, I would just like to say that Gail Martin's middle initial "Z" is a bit silly. I don't know what she or her publishers were thinking.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

7 Stars

Nobody Owens (Bod, for short) finds himself suddenly orphaned as a toddler. He then has the great fortune to wander into a graveyard, where he is immediately adopted by the resident ghosts. This book follows his up-bringing by this bizarre community, through both the tender and the terrifying. The Graveyard Book was the 2009 Newberry-Medal Winner. (Deservedly, in my opinion.)

A very interesting concept, this book lives up to that pique. Gaiman is a great story-teller. He weaves in noticeable and plot-driving details without making them annoyingly obvious, and his imagination in throwing in folk lore about the dead--and other grisly graveyard inhabitants--is limitless. He also has a good sense of humor, and plays it well here. This book definitely made me want to read more of his work; unfortunately, I've heard that Coraline is terrifying and Stardust just plain crude. But, if he writes another book for children anytime soon, I will be seeking it out! (I've been wavering between giving it 7 and 8 stars and decided to err on the side of caution. But it really is very good, and I would definitely recommend it to people with a taste for the eerie!)

The Classics Reclassified by Richard Armour

7 stars

The Classics Reclassified is for those who hate classics. It is also for those who love classics. The Iliad, Julius Caesar, Ivanhoe, The Scarlet Letter, Moby Dick, Silas Marner, and David Copperfield all receive a humorous summary. Richard Armour's sharp wit spears the plot holes, the characters that don't make sense, the things that ought to have been left out, the excessive details, and everything else that your English teacher was too proud to point out.

Those of you who love the classics will enjoy a hearty chuckle. Those of you who hate the classics can laugh at their expense. Either way, laughter will ensue.