Review: A Concise History of Republican Rome, by Georgina Masson

I actually finished this a couple of weeks ago but between F1 and having the short term memory of a boiled cabbage I, er, only got around to reviewing it now.

Despite the name the book actually covers the royal period too, making it just about seven centuries of history contained within fewer than 200 pages, so the concise part of the title is entirely accurate. As might be expected, there are some periods that receive significantly more attention than others, as differing historical periods vary not only according to how interesting they are but also the availability of sources.

Although I like reading of the Punic Wars I know relatively little of the latter 2^nd century BC through to Caesar’s time and the sections covering the Gracchi, Marius, Sulla, and the triumvirates were very engaging indeed, and showed a surprisingly rapid transformation of the Roman political structure (which had been absolutely rock solid during the Second Punic War). This was fascinating stuff, and I raced through it.

Probably because I was more familiar with much of the rest, I read it at a slower pace. The book’s well-suited, given its nature, to newcomers either to history or this particular (lengthy) period. Maps do not feature but there are many black and white photographs throughout. Also worth noting it’s an older book so if you go for it then second hand may be the optimal route.

This was one of many still on a literal to-read pile and I was a bit unsure how I’d like it. After a slightly slow start, the decline and fall of the republican era was very engaging indeed.

Thaddeus

Review: The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England, by Marc Morris

I’ve got a few books by the author, this being the fourth, and, as with the others, this is an easy to read book so whether you’re looking to bridge the Roman-Norman gap on your bookshelf or are buying this as a first foray into history it’s a sound purchase.

The period covered includes a useful section preceding the arrival of Angles and Saxons explaining what the Roman state of play was, their departure, and the unexpectedly ‘free’ Britons of the 5^th century AD. From there it goes up to the Norman Conquest but there’s little after 1066 (although the author does have an excellent book dedicated to the Norman Conquest which I can heartily recommend).

After the Romans left, the central authority was gone and trade declined substantially. This impoverished and weakened Britain and enabled the Saxons, and others, to roll up, invade, and carve out significant territory (more or less modern day England). After a brief period of many low level ‘nobles’ power began to be aggregated into larger realms by aggressive kings. As time passed, the number of kingdoms declined and the power of individual kings waxed. And then the Vikings showed up and everything went arse over kettle.

It was interesting to read how the heptarchy, which I’ve often heard of, is more or less fictional, a simplification based on something existent in a brief period of time during significant political flux.

Maps are presented roughly at the start of each chapter and reflect the changing political state of play, which fluctuates wildly from the start to the finish. Useful for both British and non-British readers as there are some places that either don’t exist any more or were far more important in the past than they are today (it’s surprising how many settlements have lasted the millennium or more to still be around).

Incidentally, anyone after a similar time frame (400-1000 AD) but covering a much wider geographical area should definitely consider Chris Wickham’s The Inheritance of Rome, which is a cracking book.

Thaddeus

Review: The Middle Ages (Everyday Life in Medieval Europe), by Jeffrey L. Singman

Recently, as a belated (for obvious reasons) Christmas present I received The Middle Ages (Everyday Life in Medieval Europe) by Jeffrey L. Singman. As I found Ian Mortimer’s The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England very engaging I had high hopes for this. Did it fulfil them?

In a word, yes.

The period covered is a little broader than Mortimer’s 14^th century, covering the high Middle Ages (10^th to early 14^th). It’s also, interestingly, both more and less focused, using examples from across western and northern Europe. But the two-thirds of the book dedicated to specific chapters on life in village, castle, monastery, and town use specific examples from history to explore what life was like (in England for the first two and France for the latter two).

It’s a very easy to read book, with helpful information presented in tables (how much English/French money was worth, prices, the monastic calendar etc). Unusual terms are explained, and the author does a very good job of putting the reader in a medieval person’s shoes. If you’re into world-building then this would be a very worthwhile book to buy. But even if you’re not, it’s highly engaging, with many little details that help bring the dim and distant past alive (monks were only allowed to run if one of them was about to imminently die, or the monastery was on fire, for example).

In addition to the specific setting chapters there are a few others covering a more general medieval worldview, and certain big differences that might not be immediately obvious (labour and land were cheap, objects were very expensive so possessions tended to be far fewer than today).

Very interesting book, and well worth reading.

 
Thaddeus

Review: Rhythm of War (Stormlight Archive book 4), by Brandon Sanderson.

This one took me a while to read because it’s quite hefty at over 1,200 pages. Returning to the world of Roshar, there are spoilers aplenty for preceding books in this review. So, beyond the cover below this paragraph, be aware of that.

 

We find war ongoing between the coalition of countries/leaders, led by Dalinar (master of the ancient tower of Urithiru), and the immortal (but also partly insane) Fused, led by the domineering god Odium.

The enemy is no fool, and has a number of intelligent leaders who aim to use a combination of treachery and sly, bold manoeuvres to rob the Urithiru alliance of their single greatest asset.

Advancing technology in a fictional world, particularly one with a developed magic system, is an interesting part of the story, and from the flying ship to certain other innovations, they add to the plot in a credible way, mingling magic and science.

There’s quite a lot in the way of mental health as a major theme, with addiction (Teft), being ground down (Kaladin), and what feels to me like the dulled, almost drug-like state of functional existence of Moash (we spend a lot less time with him). Perhaps most of all, the multiple personalities of Shallan. By and large it does fit in with the world and story, although there are parts where it feels Kaladin’s situation gets too much word count, which slows the pace.

However, I should stress this is very much not a problem in the last couple of hundred pages where there’s an excellent sense of crescendo building as the various plot points come to a head and leave them very nicely poised for the next instalment.

I also very much enjoyed (again) Taravangian, the elderly man who can vary from Machiavellian ruthless genius to eminently likeable yet pathetically ineffectual. In addition, portraying the enemy not as uniformly evil or mindless villains helps to make both the storylines more complicated and the world/plot more credible.

The Stormlight Archive is one of a few fantasy series I have on the go, and I’m looking forward to the next part.

Thaddeus