October 2008 Archives
A great read for the flight home from Tashkent, on Uzbekistan Airways..... I needed something to distract me, and In the Company of the Courtesan did just that.
Initially set in the decadent days of Renessaince Rome during the early 16th century, the action moves to Venice when courtesan Fiammetta and her dwarf protector-cum-friend Bucino flee from the sack of the Eternal City by the army of the Holy Roman Empire.
Once safely in Venice, the plot turns to tell how Fiammetta rebuilds her business and her wealth by taking a number of lovers ranging from a Saracen to a senator, and taking in Titian and Aretino en route.
(Sadly In the Company of the Courtesan didn't quite keep me going for the whole flight, and although I tried to get similarly stuck into James Bradley's The Resurrectionist, both during and after the flight, it turned out to be one of those few novels that I give up on and leave unfinished....)
Amazon.co.uk link: In the Company of the Courtesan - Sarah Dunant
Borrowed from Steph in Samarkand at the end of our Central Asia Overland trip, Bones to Ashes was my first taste of Kathy Reichs, and a bit of American medical-based criminal investigation was just what the doctor ordered. Well, apart from the child abuse and pornography that turns out to be behind the deaths of a number of young girls/women.... not a pleasant part of the plot, but I'd read more about Dr Temperance Brennan.
If you like Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta series, you'll probably like this too.
Amazon.co.uk link: Bones to Ashes - Kathy Reichs
Another great find from our Herefordshire holiday, this is the first in the Shardlake series, and even knowing some of the twists and turns from later books, this novel is still a fine read. The historical setting is strong and the criminal plot excellent.
London lawyer Shardlake is summoned by King Henry VIII's right hand man, Thomas Cromwell, and ordered to investigate (hush up) the murder of one of his men at Scarnsea monastery, a religious house in Cromwell's reforming sights as part of his/Henry's dissolution of the monasteries....
Amazon.co.uk links:
I thought that this was just a one off, but no it turns out to be the start of The Saxon Chronicles, Bernard Cornwell's telling of the creation of the Kingdom of England under King Alfred the Great. The Last Kingdom introduces us to Uhtred, born a Northumbrian (Christian) but brought up a Dane (Viking) - a clash of cultures that continues through the series (and is a handy device for highlighting the various perspectives in play in the second half of the 9th century).
Amazon.co.uk links
Newly-made Lieutenant Sharpe, a strong box of secrets, a Spanish Major and snow. Oh, and the first encounter between Richard Sharpe and the South Essex, including Pat (not yet Sergeant) Harper... things do not start well.... Yes, it's the start of the Sharpe series as we know it!
Amazon.co.uk links:
Perfect reading for my Central Asia Overland trip. Colin Thubron always manages to combine knowledge and experience with a real feel for the people he meets and the places he visits on his travels.
Maybe one to read again, now that I'm back (01 Feb 2009....).
Amazon.co.uk link: The Lost Heart of Asia - Colin Thubron