Danny Hendriks
War. War never changes.
This book was rough — definitely not for the faint of heart. But because of this, it masterfully portrayed the horrors of the First World War. There were a few times I actually had to put the book down because it got so descriptive of the gore and terror that I felt it in my gut. In particular, the chapter set in the military hospital was gruesome.
The book also portrays the hardship of reentering society for veterans so well. I just felt so terrible for the main character and his squad, having lived through such horror, all for a war without arguably a cause, if there is ever a justifiable one.
I highly recommend this book to anyone even remotely interested in the world wars. But do note that it doesn't shy away from the terrible aspects. Those who nowadays romanticize war should definitely take the time to read this and reconsider their stance.
This should be required reading for any forestry or ecology student such as myself. Why it wasn't part of my BSc curriculum remains a mystery to me. This book beautifully illustrates the history of conservation and nature management, while also offering glimpses into how we might move forward in the field. In particular, his essay on The Land Ethic raises important points that deserve to be remembered and applied going forward. This book just really made me want to buy a plot of land and start ecological homesteading, while wearing a bever hat and using birch tree sap for lantern light.
Some of the subject matter Aldo writes about is quite outdated, and it shows that he was a man of his time. Here are a few instances: for one, he describes how grizzlies have been decimated in population in the U.S., but those numbers have largely recovered since. He also gives recipes using bear fat, which seems wildly contradictory to his earlier point. Furthermore, he mentions how there are no more wolves in Yellowstone, although they have since returned. Lastly, his disdain for European nature recreation was short-sighted and extremely generalized. I quote: “Europeans do not camp, cook, or do their own work in the woods if they can avoid doing so. Work chores are delegated to beaters and servants.” Brave words for a man who had only visited Germany once in his life.
I also had some difficulties getting through the book because of the language used. Maybe it had to do with the age of the book, but Aldo could have used some more “Jip en Janneke taal,” in my best Dutch. I understood the point he was trying to make—he just made it in an overcomplicated way.
Nonetheless, it was a great read that taught me a lot about the history of conservation. It also introduced me to different natural areas of the U.S. through anecdotes and experiences in the second part of the book.
Three chapters I want to highlight in particular are:
February (in Part One), where Aldo cuts down a tree on his land that had been struck by lightning. He then proceeds to tell the history of nature conservation through the tree's growth rings, which I found to be really clever.
The Flambeau (in Part Two), where he meets two youths on a nature retreat who are completely independent. He spends the rest of the chapter making the point that people need a connection to nature to remember where we as humans come from—because how can we protect what we don't know or understand?
The Land Ethic, where Aldo concludes the book with the powerful argument that viewing land solely through an economic lens will eventually prove detrimental. He proposes that seeing land as an ethical obligation for individuals—rather than just a responsibility of governments—is a better path forward.
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”
Such an absurd way to tell the story of the Russian Revolution, but definitely effective. This book managed to instill such feelings of suffocation and dread in me that I don't often feel with other books. Orwell beautifully shows how power corrupts those who wield it and how a ‘society' can fall into a totalitarian regime. I loved how some animals portrayed certain archetypes within the Soviet Republic, such as the horse Boxer portraying the hard-working Soviet man. I can see why Animal Farm is considered such a classic. I would definitely recommend this book even if totalitarian regimes aren't your thing, as it's also quite a low commitment (it being such a short story and all). 4.5 stars
“We should always make time for the things we like. If we don't, we might forget how to be happy.”
This is such a cute and wholesome story about magical children in an orphanage. It does an excellent job illustrating how prejudice can alienate people and the consequences of such alienation. The hero's journey that the main character undergoes is also immensely enjoyable to read. The protagonist is a man working a 9-to-5 job, stuck in the routine of being part of the system, but he breaks out of that rut when he meets the children of the orphanage. It was just very fun and entertaining!
However, the book did have some less interesting parts, in my opinion. The stakes remained quite low throughout the entire story, and some sections dragged on a bit too long. Despite this, the lower stakes felt refreshing between the intense narratives of the Dune and Ice and Fire books that I had been reading.
Probably the best book I have read this year thus far! I wish I could just forget that I ever read this book so I could experience it again! A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms include three stories of the hedge knight Dunk and his squire Egg set in the world of Ice and Fire. So I will review all three stories separately.
The Hedge Knight:
“Every knight needs a squire ser and you look like you need one most of all”
The first of the bunch and definitely my favourite. It sees Dunk a young hedge knight setting out on his own after the knight that he squired for died. After meeting his own soon to be squire Egg he enters a tourney to make some money for his travels before he catches the wrath of an arrogant Targaryen prince.
Martin as always does an amazing job describing the various set pieces of his medieval world. When I read of the banter and heraldry's of all the different houses I felt as though I was actually there. Even though I knew what was going to happen through the fire and ice history book I still held my breath when the trail of the seven started. I cannot express how much tension that I felt when I read those pages and the illustrations do a great job enhancing that feeling.
Every Dunk & Egg story deals with its own themes regarding the meaning of being a knight. In the world of Ice and Fire feudal class system hedge knights deal with prejudice and hatred for having a reputation of disloyalty and being lower class. But the hedge knight shows that birth or class does not have to determine what kind of person you have to become. Which I think is a beautiful message.
The Sworn Sword:
“A great battle is a terrible thing,” the old knight said, “but in the midst of blood and carnage, there is sometimes also beauty, beauty that could break your heart.”
This was my least favourite of the three. Still really good but quite slow at times. It sees our heroes two years after the events of the Hedge Knight serving a minor knight named Eustace.
In these two years a plaque hit the Seven Kingdoms killing the king and the crown prince. Leaving a weak second son as king who lets his bastard uncle rule his Kingdom for him. This little intro sets the tone for the rest of the novella as these are uncertain times for the seven kingdoms and our heroes.
A big theme of this novella is that good and evil are not always black and white. And that as a knight you have to make your own conclusions and not get influenced by reputation. History is written by the winners after all. Dunk and Egg have to mitigate a conflict between two lords but when the allegiances of said lords become unclear and muddled they have to make a choose whether they are on the morally good side.
The mystery knight:
“I am going to clout you in the ear so hard your head will turn around backwards, and you'll spend the rest of your life looking where you've been”
The third and last(for now) of the Dunk & Egg stories. It sees our heroes heading toward the North to help the Starks. But they are caught up in an tourney to celebrate a certain lords daughter's wedding. But things are not what it seems during these celebration...
I loved seeing a different side of Dunk in this novella. He has been a bit of the bland good hearted protagonist in the last few books. But him being angry brought out a whole new side of him which was very refreshing. I thought Dunk & Eggs relationship growth was depicted really well in this last novella. They have been travelling together for more than two years and it shown as they have just the most wholesome brotherly relationship now. A few of the illustrations are just the cutest damn thing ever. There was also a throwback to the hedge knight at the end of this novella which was just beautifully done.
I big theme of the Dunk & Egg series overall is the exploration of honour, loyalty, and the complexities of knighthood in a world rife with political intrigue and social stratification. Through the eyes of Dunk and Egg, we witness the struggles of ordinary people amidst the grandeur of noble tournaments and courtly machinations. Each story adds layers to the world of Westeros and provides insights into its history, often with nods to events and characters from George R.R. Martin's larger “A Song of Ice and Fire” series.
In The Mystery Knight, particularly, we delve deeper into the undercurrents of power and deceit that pervade the Seven Kingdoms. Dunk's transformation from a simple hedge knight to a figure of reluctant heroism is emblematic of the series overarching theme: the emergence of greatness from unexpected places, and the enduring spirit of chivalry in a world tainted by ambition and betrayal.
Overall, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms offers a captivating journey through the lesser-known corners of Westeros, brought to life by Martin's rich prose and vivid storytelling. It's a testament to the enduring appeal of his world-building and the timeless allure of knightly tales.
“I live in an apocalyptic dream”
The second instalment of the Dune series by Frank Herbert. Dune Messiah continues 14 years after the events of the first book and starts of strong off with a plot hook of a conspiracy against the Maud Dib. The characters involved are varied and interesting, unsure of how their alliances lie toward each other. It was exciting to see these plans unfold through the course of Messiah.
It was also interesting to see how the Fremen culture and customs changed with the terraforming of Arrakis and the consequences this had on the zeitgeist of the population. I would have loved a more detailed the description of how this process happened. Dune Messiah is definitely less ‘‘epic'' then the first one, there are less action set pieces and you notice that Messiah takes a much more slower approach to storytelling. Characters could be having philosophical debates about governance, religion, ancient earth (Hitler and Genghis Khan even get mentioned a few times) and space merchant federations for whole chapters. I've seen a lot of people complaining about this but I for one loved it and I can't wait for Messiah to get its own movie adaptation. There are a few moments that I know could be amazing on the big screen.
I had blast reading this book and would recommend the Dune series to anyone who is remotely interested in sci-fi. I would give it 4.5 stars as sometimes the conversations between characters could drag on a bit too long. And the philosophical conversations did go a bit over my head sometimes but that might just be on me. ;)
“The Greeks created gods that were in their image; warlike but creative, wise but ferocious, loving but jealous, tender but brutal, compassionate, but vengeful.”
Loved it! Such a amazing journey through some Greek myths and legends. I can't wait to start with the companions books that Fry has written. Some of my favorite stories included: Sisyphus, the bloom of youth the origin of the bee and the creation of man with Prometheus punishment. It was fun learning about these Greek myths I had heard about through games like age of mythology as a kid.
Stephen Fry does a fantastic job to bring these stories to life and his love for the subject matter is palpable. Some of the stories are explored more that others however. As some can quite short and come down to “and that's where that plants name came from”. What I did love however was how flawed the gods were portrayed in these stories. They could be envious, devious, wrathful, spiteful and truly degenerative but also beautiful and merciful (on the strangest occasions) just like human. It is said they created us after their image off course. So maybe each of us carries something godly with us no matter how flawed we are.
In conclusion I highly recommend this book if you have even a surface level interest in Greek mythology!
“In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.”
What a strange reading experience I'll start with what i liked. I really liked the scenario this book shapes of the USA post the hippie counter-culture movement of the sixties. I had to google I lot of stuff (including drug names) because I was unfamiliar with the subject matter. But nonetheless it was a really intresting take of Thompson. The wave speech of chapter 8 part 1 was as iconic as I heard about and captured the hippie zeitgeist very well.
Other than that the book can be very nonsensical at times. It being a lot of anecdotes from Thompson's time as a Gonzo Journalist, being interwoven in a drugfilled adventure to find the “american dream”. The two main characters (one being a Thompson self insert) were also two of the worst human beings you can imagine. Through the book they will commit heinous crimes and it can be hard to stomach sometimes. But beyond the crazy and drugfilled escapades I had a blast reading through Fear and Loathing.
“It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people.”
Loved it! Such a fun and refreshing read with witty humor and interesting characters. I particularly like the nature vs nurture theme that Terry and Neil do a amazing job of exploring. I also loved the dynamic between the Crowley and Aziraphale.
The humor can maybe a bit to “british” at times. But then again that is just personal taste and maybe I am simply not british enough. Nonetheless I hope that the show which I will be watching next holds up compared to the book.
“Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.”
This was indeed as disturbing as I heard beforehand. I weirdly kept placing myself in the situations that the kids where in, hoping that I would be able to keep them from killing each other. As a sort of travel guide on a eerie paradise island. But alas my manifesting did not stive of their apocalypse.
Nevertheless Lord of the Flies was a good read. Bit hard to follow sometimes as you are reading and experiencing the world through the eyes of the children for the most part. I would have loved a “where are they now” moment. To see if some of these little shits got what they deserved. But I realise how this would defeat the purpose of the book. To see how children without the presence of an adult figure would dissolve into savagery and barbarism.
''No more terrible disaster could befall your people than for them to fall into the hands of a hero'‘
Truly one of the greats among sci-fi stories.
I had heard a lot about Dune and it's influences on other properties such as Star Wars and Game of Thrones. So i was very excited to start and see how the original handled these same themes. Needless to say it did not dissapoint.
The book still holds up in my opinion even as a stand-alone story. It does however drag on sometimes with schemes and monologues within schemes and monologues. Which can be very difficult to follow. But the story as a whole was still very enjoyable.
It was also great to see Frank Herbert love and background in ecology shine through with his writing. Such as when the terraforming of Arrakis or it's ecology in general is being explained.
absolutely loved it. Grew up with the movie so when I started with the book I was very curious to say the least. But it definitely did not disappoint.
This story is such a refershing whisical take on a fantasy story about wizards and witches. Which just filled me with joy and childlike wonder. There are some strange plot points throughout the book but it did not diminish my enjoyment At all.
All though I must say when Howl turned out to me a Welchman I was properly thrown off gaurd!
“The Norse myths are the myths of a chilly place, with long, long winter nights and endless summer days, myths of a people who did not entirely trust or even like their gods, although they respected and feared them.”
Exceptional storytelling by Neil Gaiman. His love for the Norse Mythology is palpable within these pages. Absolutely adored it!