As if I don't have more than enough to do already being on deadline to write a new book, I decided to start a new blog. It's called Fictional Appearances By... Real People In Historical Fiction. I will be posting book reviews that fit that description and occasional articles there. I hope you will stop by.
http://fictionalappearances.blogspot.com
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Being Elizabeth by Barbara Taylor Bradford
This novel by bestselling author Barbara Taylor Bradford (A Woman of Substance) takes the always enthralling Tudor saga and transplants Elizabeth I to the 20th century as young, brilliant, auburn-haired, marriage-phobic Elizabeth Turner, heiress to Deravenels, an old and esteemed multi-million dollar corporate trading company. Her sister, the late but not lamented Mary Turner-Alvarez, (Mary Tudor) almost ran the company into the ground with a $75 million gift to her husband, Spanish tycoon Philip Alvarez, to use on his overly ambitious building projects. Now that Mary is dead, it is up to Elizabeth, aided by her loyal secretary Cecil Williams (Sir William Cecil), and her childhood friend and lover, Robert Dunley (Robert Dudley), to restore Deravenels to its former glory. Along the way she faces a life threatening illness, competition from rival claimant to the Deravenel-Turner fortune, Marie Stewart (Mary, Queen of Scots), a deluded none too bright Scottish-French mantrap, and rumors about the mysterious death of Robert's estranged wife, Amy Robson (Amy Robsart). But don't worry, there's a happy ending tacked on at the end.
While the premise sounds intriguing, it was enough to make me buy the book without a second thought, somehow, uprooted from 16th century Tudor England, it doesn't really work, the story loses some of its luster and magic. Another problem I had with this book was that every crisis that looms up, making the reader think "now we're getting somewhere" is settled easily, with little muss or fuss, usually within a few pages of first rearing its ugly head, so throughout the book one is left with the feeling of waiting for something to happen.
I find most novels with contemporary settings to be swift reads for me, but this one just seemed to drag. I kept looking at the page count and marveling at my lack of progress; at less than 350 pages I should have been able to fly through this book in a couple of days but instead found myself plodding through it for over a week wishing that either something really engaging would happen or that it would just end.
I really wanted to like this book, I applaud any new spin on the oft-told tale of the Tudors, but despite its clever concept this one was rather a dull and dreary read. I'm sorry to say that I honestly can't even recommend it as mind-cotton-candy happily-ever-after beach-read fluff.
While the premise sounds intriguing, it was enough to make me buy the book without a second thought, somehow, uprooted from 16th century Tudor England, it doesn't really work, the story loses some of its luster and magic. Another problem I had with this book was that every crisis that looms up, making the reader think "now we're getting somewhere" is settled easily, with little muss or fuss, usually within a few pages of first rearing its ugly head, so throughout the book one is left with the feeling of waiting for something to happen.
I find most novels with contemporary settings to be swift reads for me, but this one just seemed to drag. I kept looking at the page count and marveling at my lack of progress; at less than 350 pages I should have been able to fly through this book in a couple of days but instead found myself plodding through it for over a week wishing that either something really engaging would happen or that it would just end.
I really wanted to like this book, I applaud any new spin on the oft-told tale of the Tudors, but despite its clever concept this one was rather a dull and dreary read. I'm sorry to say that I honestly can't even recommend it as mind-cotton-candy happily-ever-after beach-read fluff.
Fear The Worst by Linwood Barclay
"Fear The Worst" is a gripping thriller about an ordinary man caught up in extraordinary circumstances.
Divorced used car salesman Tim Blake of Milford, Connecticut is delighted when his seventeen-year-old daughter Sydney comes to spend the summer with him. After an early morning tiff at the breakfast table, Tim tries to atone with a pizza for dinner, only to discover that his daughter is not working at the front desk of the Just Inn Time hotel as she claimed, and no one there has ever heard of her. So begins every parent's worst nightmare.
Sydney Blake seems to have fallen off the face of the earth and her mysterious disappearance seems destined for the cold case file. The drama escalates as Tim follows up on an Internet tip that his daughter has been seen in a Seattle teen shelter. A photo sent via email seems to prove the tip is legitimate and Tim races to Seattle to investigate. But when he arrives at the teen shelter he discovers that no one by the tipster's name works there or ever has and no one has ever seen his daughter. Frustrated and bewildered, Tim returns home to find his house trashed and cocaine hidden in his pillow and himself the subject of police suspicion.
The story becomes even more tangled and bizarre as Sydney's best friend, the promiscuous party girl Patty, also vanishes, Tim himself almost becomes an abduction and murder victim, the blood of a shady character known to deal in human trafficking, bringing illegal immigrants into the USA and hiring them out as his virtual slaves, is found in Sydney's abandoned car, and when Tim's kookie, self-absorbed on-and-off girlfriend Kate is found dead with a gunshot wound to the head in Tim's house, the spotlight of suspicion is taken off finding Sydney Blake and fixed glaringly on her father. And Tim finds himself running a race against time, to find his daughter before he is arrested.
"Fear The Worst" is a gripping edge-of-your seat thriller and I hope to read more of Mr. Barclay's books in the future.
Divorced used car salesman Tim Blake of Milford, Connecticut is delighted when his seventeen-year-old daughter Sydney comes to spend the summer with him. After an early morning tiff at the breakfast table, Tim tries to atone with a pizza for dinner, only to discover that his daughter is not working at the front desk of the Just Inn Time hotel as she claimed, and no one there has ever heard of her. So begins every parent's worst nightmare.
Sydney Blake seems to have fallen off the face of the earth and her mysterious disappearance seems destined for the cold case file. The drama escalates as Tim follows up on an Internet tip that his daughter has been seen in a Seattle teen shelter. A photo sent via email seems to prove the tip is legitimate and Tim races to Seattle to investigate. But when he arrives at the teen shelter he discovers that no one by the tipster's name works there or ever has and no one has ever seen his daughter. Frustrated and bewildered, Tim returns home to find his house trashed and cocaine hidden in his pillow and himself the subject of police suspicion.
The story becomes even more tangled and bizarre as Sydney's best friend, the promiscuous party girl Patty, also vanishes, Tim himself almost becomes an abduction and murder victim, the blood of a shady character known to deal in human trafficking, bringing illegal immigrants into the USA and hiring them out as his virtual slaves, is found in Sydney's abandoned car, and when Tim's kookie, self-absorbed on-and-off girlfriend Kate is found dead with a gunshot wound to the head in Tim's house, the spotlight of suspicion is taken off finding Sydney Blake and fixed glaringly on her father. And Tim finds himself running a race against time, to find his daughter before he is arrested.
"Fear The Worst" is a gripping edge-of-your seat thriller and I hope to read more of Mr. Barclay's books in the future.
Unmasked The Final Years of Michael Jackson by Ian Halperin
Sometimes I surprise myself. This wasn't a book I expected to read as I have never been much of a Michael Jackson fan, though I have liked the occasional song over the years, but when I found myself in a busy optometrist's waiting room waiting for my father to have his glasses adjusted, and me without a book to read, I nipped over to the nearest store, and this was the most enticing volume on the rack.
The stories that have swirled around Michael Jackson over the years have always reminded me of something straight out of a carnival sideshow. I can't say how much is fact and fiction, hyperbole and sensationalism dreamed up by journalists in need of a tabloid tall tale to sell more papers, and outright lies or muddied truths told by disgruntled employees, discarded friends, and extortionists, all I can say is that Michael Jackson was a man who marched to his own drum, even if that meant marching right off the edge of a cliff.
Although the truth is murky, the evidence, as presented by Ian Halperin, tends to suggest that Michael Jackson was innocent of the child molestation charges that have dogged him for so many years. Mr. Halperin makes a good case for this in his book, though in my personal opinion we will never know for sure; a disturbing niggling doubt will always cling to Mr. Jackson's reputation. However, even after putting these highly distressing episodes behind him, Michael Jackson continued to put himself in a position that both courted and supported the widespread suspicions of guilt; leading many to conclude that there is no smoke without fire. He may very well have been an innocent child-like man, a Peter Pan trapped in an adult male's body, but in a world peopled with predators and monsters who prey on children it is hard to see a middle-aged man having sleepovers with little boys as entirely innocent, pure, and wholesome; and that is the only genuine truth I fear that we can glean out of these murky waters.
Mr. Halperin's book also presents some interesting theories about the role the cult of Scientology may have played in the marriage between Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson, and also offers some evidence, supposedly obtained from former lovers, of Jackson's alleged homosexuality. He also claims Jackson's health in his final years was worse than the general public suspected, and that he suffered from a debilitating genetic lung disease known as Alpha-1.
Although this book was updated after Michael Jackson's death, it went to press before the autopsy results became known, and there is no mention of the role the surgical sedative Diprivan may have played in his demise. Instead, Mr. Halperin makes a tantalizing claim that Jackson's death was tantamount to assisted suicide. Burdened by debts and failing health, and faced with a series of concerts he lacked the stamina for, Halperin proposes Michael Jackson simply gave up and went quietly into the night.
Mr. Halperin's book is a swift and intriguing read, but neither emotionally or factually earth-shaking or ground-breaking. I've read better biographies and I've read worse. For me, this was just a swift read to pass the time in a waiting room and it served its purpose.
The stories that have swirled around Michael Jackson over the years have always reminded me of something straight out of a carnival sideshow. I can't say how much is fact and fiction, hyperbole and sensationalism dreamed up by journalists in need of a tabloid tall tale to sell more papers, and outright lies or muddied truths told by disgruntled employees, discarded friends, and extortionists, all I can say is that Michael Jackson was a man who marched to his own drum, even if that meant marching right off the edge of a cliff.
Although the truth is murky, the evidence, as presented by Ian Halperin, tends to suggest that Michael Jackson was innocent of the child molestation charges that have dogged him for so many years. Mr. Halperin makes a good case for this in his book, though in my personal opinion we will never know for sure; a disturbing niggling doubt will always cling to Mr. Jackson's reputation. However, even after putting these highly distressing episodes behind him, Michael Jackson continued to put himself in a position that both courted and supported the widespread suspicions of guilt; leading many to conclude that there is no smoke without fire. He may very well have been an innocent child-like man, a Peter Pan trapped in an adult male's body, but in a world peopled with predators and monsters who prey on children it is hard to see a middle-aged man having sleepovers with little boys as entirely innocent, pure, and wholesome; and that is the only genuine truth I fear that we can glean out of these murky waters.
Mr. Halperin's book also presents some interesting theories about the role the cult of Scientology may have played in the marriage between Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson, and also offers some evidence, supposedly obtained from former lovers, of Jackson's alleged homosexuality. He also claims Jackson's health in his final years was worse than the general public suspected, and that he suffered from a debilitating genetic lung disease known as Alpha-1.
Although this book was updated after Michael Jackson's death, it went to press before the autopsy results became known, and there is no mention of the role the surgical sedative Diprivan may have played in his demise. Instead, Mr. Halperin makes a tantalizing claim that Jackson's death was tantamount to assisted suicide. Burdened by debts and failing health, and faced with a series of concerts he lacked the stamina for, Halperin proposes Michael Jackson simply gave up and went quietly into the night.
Mr. Halperin's book is a swift and intriguing read, but neither emotionally or factually earth-shaking or ground-breaking. I've read better biographies and I've read worse. For me, this was just a swift read to pass the time in a waiting room and it served its purpose.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Two More Reviews for The Boleyn Wife
Here are two more reviews by historical fiction bloggers to whom I sent Advance Reader Copies. My apologies for the delay in posting these.
Elizabeth at http://historicallyobsessed.blogspot.com/ found the book a tad too risque for her personal tastes, but enjoyed the ghosts of Anne Boleyn and her brother George that appear in the Tower of London to torment Lady Rochford. To read her full review please visit http://historicallyobsessed.blogspot.com/2009/10/book-review-boleyn-wife-by-brandy-purdy.html
Robinbird at http://almostcrazymommy.blogspot.com/ found Jane Boleyn (Lady Rochford) to be an interesting and thoroughly unsympathetic villainess. To read her full review please visit http://almostcrazymommy.blogspot.com/2009/11/book-review-boleyn-wife.html I also did a brief interview with her, it can be read at http://almostcrazymommy.blogspot.com/2009/11/author-interview-brandy-purdy.html
The Boleyn Wife by Brandy Purdy will be published in the USA on January 26, 2010 by Kensington Books, and in the UK on April 1, 2010 by Avon/Harper under the title of The Tudor Wife by Emily Purdy.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran
Michelle Moran's third novel tells the story of Kleopatra (Cleopatra) and Marc Antony's sun and moon twins--Alexander Helios and Kleopatra Selene (Cleopatra VIII). Ten years old at the time of their parents' deaths and Rome's conquest of Egypt, they are taken to Rome as Octavian's prisoners/guests. Too young to pose any real threat, they are adopted by Octavian's kind sister, Octavia, the wife Marc Antony spurned for the Queen of Egypt, to be raised and educated alongside her children while they await their monumental fifteenth birthday, the age at which they will be considered adults, and when Octavian will decide their fate--will they live or die?
Although the characters are interesting, this novel lacked a certain something, to me the pace felt somewhat slow and the emotion and drama lacked the necessary depth and emphasis to make the story truly sparkle. For example, although it is mentioned repeatedly that Selene suffers the pangs of unrequited love for Octavian's nephew and heir apparent, charming, generous, handsome Marcellus, I never truly felt the angst of a teenage girl in the throes of her first love. And the siblings' transition from Egyptian royalty to Roman citizens went a little too smoothly, in my opinion, to be completely believable. Though the young are adaptable and said to heal quickly, I think the twins would have suffered more through their various ordeals and life-altering changes. Nonetheless, though not of the same caliber as Ms. Moran's previous novels, "Cleopatra's Daughter" is still an engaging and enjoyable read especially for fans of Ancient Egypt and those who are fascinated by its most famous queen and have wondered what fate befell her offspring.
Although the characters are interesting, this novel lacked a certain something, to me the pace felt somewhat slow and the emotion and drama lacked the necessary depth and emphasis to make the story truly sparkle. For example, although it is mentioned repeatedly that Selene suffers the pangs of unrequited love for Octavian's nephew and heir apparent, charming, generous, handsome Marcellus, I never truly felt the angst of a teenage girl in the throes of her first love. And the siblings' transition from Egyptian royalty to Roman citizens went a little too smoothly, in my opinion, to be completely believable. Though the young are adaptable and said to heal quickly, I think the twins would have suffered more through their various ordeals and life-altering changes. Nonetheless, though not of the same caliber as Ms. Moran's previous novels, "Cleopatra's Daughter" is still an engaging and enjoyable read especially for fans of Ancient Egypt and those who are fascinated by its most famous queen and have wondered what fate befell her offspring.
The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran
"I'm just a leftover princess from a dynasty of heretics," bewails brilliant but childishly rambunctious Princess Nefertari, niece of the infamous Nefertiti, wife of the "Heretic Pharaoh" Akhenaten, and daughter of the ill-fated Mutnodjmet (see Ms. Moran's first novel "Nefertiti" for her story). Regarded as an omen of misfortune by most of the court, who superstitiously shun anything associated with the heretical reign of Akhenaten, Nefertari is only tolerated because she is the closest friend of the crown prince, future Pharaoh Ramesses the Great.
But when Ramsesses falls under the spell of a court beauty, Iset, Nefertari sees her dreams of becoming Ramesses' wife crumble, until she is taken under the wing of Woserit, the wise Priestess of Hathor, in sort of an Ancient Egyptian version of "My Fair Lady," and tutored in the ways and manners that become a queen.
Happily, love conquers all, and Ramesses marries Nefertari, but problems persist, because of the people's mistrust of Nefertari's heretical heritage, Ramesses bows to pressure and delays naming a Chief Wife, a queen, so the rivalry between Iset and Nefertari persists, and it is up to Nefertari to win the people's trust and respect and prove herself a capable queen and helpmate in the Audience Chamber where she hears petitioners and her fluency in several languages stands her in good stead.
"The Heretic Queen" is a worthy successor to Ms. Moran's first novel, "Nefertiti," and I encourage fans of Ancient Egypt to give both a try.
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