Showing posts with label historical fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label historical fiction. Show all posts

Thursday 26 January 2017

Book Review: How Missionaries Destroyed a Paradise by Katerina Sestakova Novotna


Synopsis

Laa, a girl from Bikini Atoll, is very naïve. She does not always understand men, philosophy of religion and the world in general since she has spent most of her life on an isolated island with limited access to information.
She has studied closely only three books: “The Marshallese Bible,” “Princes and Princesses” and “The Christmas Book.” Yet she does her best to interpret these sources, and confronts them with her own daily observations. 
It seems obvious to Laa that American missionaries were mistaken about many things. How could an all-good, all-wise and all-powerful God forget about Laa’s ancestors? Why did He not let them see the Star of Bethlehem thousands of years ago, if it is so important to know and accept Jesus? Were they all damned merely for being born in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Many questions puzzle the young woman while she is falling in love with an American man. He seems to take advantage of her gullible nature, and she soon goes through many other hardships, which make her wiser and stronger.
One day, Laa finally sees a colorful light in the sky that looks even more magical than the Star of Bethlehem in her Christmas Book. It is the star of Bikini. It seems to Laa that God has decided to address her doubts and answer all her questions. It does not really matter that the star turns out to be just a blast caused by one of sixty-six atomic bombs detonated on the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958.

Review

How Missionaries Destroyed a Paradise is an intriguing work from Katerina Sestakova Novotna. Set against the idyllic background of the Marshall Island, the story is about a sexual awakening of Laa, a local girl on the tiny locale named Bikini Atoll.

With a population of a mere 167, there are not many men to choose from on the island as potential sexual partners, certainly not a pool large enough to consider marrying one of them. As the story begins it is set in the 1940s, the book’s cover giving an ominous warning about the story’s backdrop – the horrors that unfolded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the Americans dropped the bomb on Japan. Yes, it ended the Japanese participation in WWII, but this has been well documented in history and recycled on the silver and small screen alike.

The author chooses to inform us about the little known Bikini Atoll and its Marshellese speaking people. As is quite rightly pointed out in the narrative, to most people, a bikini is a woman’s two-piece swimsuit, but if you have read the author’s other works, you’ll definitely be more informed and educated than you were prior to picking up the book.

Laa may be young and naïve, but she is aware of her sexuality and observes how other women close to her, for example her Grandma or her married sister Rostianna behave as adult women and also how they deal with the subjects of sex, love, marriage and of course, growing up.

"Throughout the story, one gets a sense that something terrible and yet undeniable is building."

It’s hard not to like Laa almost immediately. She has an innocent, old world charm about her that only covers her smouldering sexuality on the surface. To some readers the book may appear to be too overt in its approach to sex, but for this reader, I observed a woman who wanted the simple things in life – someone to love, someone to love her, someone to make her feel fulfilled sexually and also to share a life and grow together. Laa could see conflict with her married with children sister and her carefree and sage-like grandmother. It seemed she wanted parts of both women’s personality reflected in her own, whilst carving out a way for herself.

Laa certainly held strong views on many things, opinions that brought her into frequent conflict with the local pastor. It was not that Laa was necessarily anti-religion, it was more a case that she saw hypocrisy where the ones preaching it did not. It’s easy to be brainwashed if there is little between your ears in the first place.

As the story picks up apace, other men, namely American soldiers appear on the island. Laa had never seen such men, with their different coloured eyes, hair and skin. Not to mention that these men were not backward in coming forward in their affections towards Marshallese women. Indeed, it is one soldier, Benjamin, that Laa takes a particular interest in, having been let down by the local appple of her eye, Neljin. He seems scared of Laa’s interest in him but in some ways, he awakened her curiosity about the opposite sex.

This story has an array of well defined characters, none more so than Laa herself. He actions and behaviours may seem at conflict with her emotions at times, but I think this is what makes her more real as a character.

Throughout the story, one gets a sense that something terrible and yet undeniable is building. The cover gives an indication but the author’s wordcraft is far more clever than that, never dumbing down or insulting the reader’s intelligence. That said, this is a book strictly for adults only.

The author is not shy in including characters we may not necessarily like, but neither are they included as a mere contrived plot device. By the story’s latter third, I defy anyone not to be feeling for Laa and her people as the ‘tests’ now being carried out in ‘safety’ by the soldiers begins to take hold.

I especially liked the factual epilogue that rounded off this exceptional story. It’s long, but it never feels that way. If you want to read something different, if you want to read and be informed about a lesser known event in history, if you want to read a work of fiction that is beautiful and terrifying in equal measure, then grab this book today.




Wednesday 29 July 2015

Book Review: Ten For The Devil by Deborah R Mitton

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Synopsis (from the author): Ten For The Devil is a labyrinthine murder/revenge ride from an idyllic English Village to the industrious shipbuilding port of Saint John, NB (then St. John), in the newly formed country of Canada, over a span of fifty years.

Chief Inspector Michael McLaughlin has believed that his nemesis was dead, but discovers that Seth 
Shaw is alive and in the very city that Michael and his family are visiting. His loves ones at risk, Michael closes in on a collision course with a serial murderer while the city is in flames.
Book 1 - Michael was an eleven year old boy when he witnessed a murder and the lives of the families - friends, of both our murderer and witness are intertwined throughout generations from 1850 to modern day. 

A dark tale of obsession, revenge, murder, seduction, a love curse, reparation and survival. Our young boy grows up to join Scotland Yard and is obsessed with bringing Seth Shaw to justice. There is a sense of paranormal forces at work protecting our villain. 
The story’s climax will occur during the fire of June 20, 1877: a fire - second - only in size and damages to the famous Boston fire.

Review: Reading many books over the years, I cannot quite recall coming across a stronger representation of evil than the primary antagonist in Ten For The Devil. The story itself is a truly remarkable work in depth and in scope. This is the first book in the series and yet manages to cover a huge amount of time within this one volume.

Reading it back, and actually feeling sorry for Seth, I wondered why he had become so evil? We hear in modern media that the reason killers do what they do can be explained away through some medical imbalance in the brain. Others may state there was an emotional disconnect at home, where the father constantly beat the child for every minor infraction, or the mother never offered a simple hug.

In Ten For The Devil, I think the answer is far more simple. The main antagonist is evil, but not pure and certainly not simple.

I found it remarkable how the author drafted other characters into the story, some  who were an unknown witness to several brutal and unnerving kills, and as the reader I felt like I was over their shoulder too - that if the antagonist saw me reading this stuff, he would come after me too.

No-one is safe from his brutal ways, yet he displays many signs of  the psychopath - he is self assured, full of himself, has a total lack of respect for all kinds of life, and is vain in the extreme.

This is, however, just one facet of the story, and it would be inaccurate to list Ten For The Devil as a one man show. I will admit, however, that as rotten as he was, I missed him when he was not part of the narrative.

The story ends satisfyingly, though there is a lot more to come from the author, the extremely talented Deborah R Mitton.

Ten For The Devil features bizarre and sometimes distasteful elements of romance,  but in no way does the author try to colour her main baddie with shades of grey. Yes, he is handsome, charming, disarming. But he is also a killer, and we must never forget that. 

He is not someone you can root for, but you cannot ignore him either.

The story does not lack humour though, and one of the lines I liked:-

Referring to Pastor Brown: 'His voice carried the whole breadth and width of the church and a parishioner had once speculated that the pigeons in the bell tower flew to safer perches when he preached.'

But it is full of beautiful lines like this, too:-

The candle on the side table gave the sleeping pair a halo of golden light before it flickered and died, enveloping the room in darkness.

The book is choc-full of lines like this. Eerily beautiful, I have to say.

Beautiful, eerie, strange, dark, deliciously compelling. Buy Ten For The Devil today!






Monday 20 July 2015

Book Review: The Hidden Blade by Sherry Thomas (Heart of Blade Duology, #1)

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Synopsis:

In the waning days of the last dynasty, in a quiet, beautiful corner of imperial Peking, a young girl's blissful ignorance is shattered when she learns that she is the illegitimate daughter of an English adventurer and a Chinese courtesan. What future is there for such a girl? But a mysterious figure steps forward and offers to instruct her in the highest forms of martial arts--a path to a life of strength and independence.

Half a world away in England, a young boy's idyllic summer on the Sussex downs implodes with the firing of a single bullet. Torn from his family, he becomes the hostage of a urbanely sadistic uncle. He dreams of escaping to find his beloved friend--but the friend is in China, ten thousand miles away.

The girl trains to be deadly. The boy flees across continents. They do not know it yet, but their lives are already inextricably bound together, and will collide one fateful night when they least expect it.

'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' meets 'Downton Abbey,' this remarkable tale of friendship, danger, and coming of age will stay with you long after you have finished the last page.

A prequel to MY BEAUTIFUL ENEMY.

Review:

I was recommended this book having read the author's Luckiest Lady in London (review to come at some point!) but also because the one recommending it to me knew I had a background in martial arts, to put it mildly.

Sherry Thomas has a writing style that I can only believe creates a sense of sheer wonder for readers, but partial envy for other authors who read her works. Truly, this is an author who can craft a story with such style and panache, that sometimes you have to take a step back from what one has read,

Although not a long book, I read and consumed The Hidden Blade over several days, and I'll admit the martial arts aspect of the tale was a huge draw for me. As part one of a duology, The Hidden Blade works wonderfully as a historical piece that is lighter on romance than one might expect from Miss Thomas. I do expect part two - My Beautiful Enemy to fulfil the wishes of any reader who wanted more romance in this book.

That is not to say the book lacks romance, far from it. Telling the story of young Chinese girl Ying-Ying who is taken under the considerable wing of her teacher Amah, there is a dual story running with a pace-perfect and a seamless narrative, as the story of upper class English gent Leighton goes through many jumps and hoops (not all of them pleasant).

For me, whilst the story of Ying-Ying and Leighton is engaging (but in the best tradition of tales like Brief Encounter, where there is an attraction but barely exploited....and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon..with Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai definitely attracted to each other but restrained by age old customs and beliefs) - the romance is hinted at here, but I expect it will be more craftily developed in the follow-up.

What makes The Hidden Blade an exceptional book....well, where to start. Ying-Ying is cool, and whilst I can understand the nod to wuxia films like CTHD, it is but one of many that were made in China, it just so happens that particular film was made with a Western audience in mind. The martial arts scenes are brilliantly depicted - I especially loved a scene between Ying-Ying and her master where her Chi (Qi) was being developed. 

Contrary to popular Western belief, it's really hard - nigh on impossible in fact, to find a martial arts master of repute in China. It took me seven years to find my current one. But for reasons that the story must move forward, Ying-Ying is introduced to her teacher early on in the story.

As Leighton makes his improbable but necessary journey to the East - no doubt to reckon with his destiny, I am wanting to know how the worlds of a Chinese girl and Western man will collide.

He seems bit down on his luck, unable to catch a break for large parts of the tale. You'll root for him, as I did. But you will also want Ying-Ying to outgrow her master one day, and in this regard, Amah teaches her student (brutally) well. It seems a mis-match to me, which makes it all the more intriguing.

I rarely have such high praise for a book, but it is so well done, if I could give it six stars, I would. Let''s see how the series wraps up with the intriguing title of My Beautiful Enemy.

Rating: Five Jade-coloured stars.


Thursday 16 July 2015

Book Review: Newborn Nazi by Rhoda D'Ettore

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There's a number of reviews here and as I scan through them, I am not sure what I can add.

What I can say for my own part is that Newborn Nazi starts with and continues for many of its pages at a blistering pace. This is a remarkable feat given the rather dry and unsettling nature of the SS.

It is a very dark tale, but told with great style and panache. The author, Rhoda D'Ettore, is an exceptional story teller.

The book has a little 'middle of the story' lag but maybe this is welcome.

After a particularly delicious build up between Hedwig and Johann, I still could not predict what was coming. After the event, I was unsure where the story would go.

But herein lies the author's talent. Through a myriad of excellent main and support characters, the author weaves a multi-layered and intelligent story.

At times, the dialogue is a little too much, but given the length of the story, blocks of heavy narration may have been off putting, so I congratulate the author for making a motley crew so engaging to read.

The ending is interesting, not what I expected, and very well done.

If you want a story that takes you away from a YA story filled with werewolves and mermaids, go for this very unique tale.

I loved it and think you will too!

Sunday 26 April 2015

Book Review: The Paradise Will by Elizabeth Hanbury


From the start of the book, you can tell that  The Paradise Will is going to be a very different kind of regency romance, something I have to say is a trend of the author, Elizabeth Hanbury. I have read all of her books now, and must say that the twists and surprises in the story make for an entertaining read.

Alyssa Paradise is the inheritor of a vast estate from the recent death of her uncle. Whilst this sounds wonderful, and is clearly a wonderful gain in a period where women were still subservient to men, there is a devilish caveat employed in the will - that Alyssa must spend time with the rather oafish Sir Giles Maxton.

If this sounds weird, it gets more strange that she must dine with him every week for six months. Twenty-four months in the company of someone you hate - perhaps hate is too strong a word, but Alyssa certainly dislikes being around Giles, even if he has a title, good looks, money and so on.

It's like her dear (now, not so dear) departed uncle has played a rather nasty trick on her.

This was one book from the start where I did not want Alyssa and Giles to get together. I thought she was far too good for him. But that would be too early to say that was how the book was going to end. This is a longish tale, so it is inevitable other characters will be introduced that will cause conflict between these two principal characters and around them.

Note: I loved the mention of Chancery Lane (I was there in April 2015) and it's just typical of Alyssa to get hamstrung by the lawyers that are in residence there!

Things are complicated further by the fact that other parties are involved. I can't imagine in today's world where a partner / fiance/e or spouse would be allowed to have dinner on such a regular basis with someone of the opposite sex, so God only knows how it would have been received back then!

Speaking with others in the story, they find it an incredible arrangement too, exclaiming "Would Tom (her uncle) want you to have dinner with some old fossil?"

These kind of lines and great humour are throughout Miss Hanbury's books, and amongst the exciting drama of her writing, it takes an author of real skill to drop in cool humour at key points.

The key driver of the book for me was not 'will they or won't they get together', it was more about how they would come to agreement over the rather preposterous instructions of the will. Fortunately, Alyssa is the best of heroines, spirited and steadfast without being overbearing or heavily opinionated.

Giles is a character one warms to, but not easily, and maybe that's the intention. I thought the regular dinners would be a source of both fun and conflict and it makes for a very enjoyable and interesting book.

I think of all of Miss Hanbury's books, this is the one with the heaviest Georgette Heyer influence, which is no bad thing. In fact, the way The Paradise Will is so masterfully crafted, it's great to know that a regency period author of great skill will entertain for many more years to come.

Alyssa is a heroine that no-one cannot fail to fall for (gosh, that's a lot of f's in one sentence!) but not because she is cherry blossom in her appeal. She's a practical girl who knows what she wants, and also what repulses her. In the end, she wants what is bequeathed to her, and no-one could blame her for the choices she makes.



My other reviews of Author Elizabeth Hanbury



Friday 27 March 2015

Book Review: Isca - The Roman Fortress by Ceri Bladen


Isca, by talented author Ceri Bladen, is one of those wonderful tales that sweeps you effortlessly into the world she has created.

That often quoted line 'the devil is in the detail' rings very true here. The world building is impressive. You are left with no illusions with regards to the historical setting. You can literally smell the sand, feel the heat from the sun, and, as befits a story set in Roman times, you are never far from the clashing of swords and severing of heads. And yet, this is not Tunisia, or Rome, or Greece. The story takes place during the Roman's occupation of Britain.


At Isca's heart is a romantic story between Branwen and Marcus. I really loved much of the dialogue between these two. The characters were well drawn and the interplay never came across as syrupy. I even thought some of the exchanges were humorous. It's uncertain as to whether this was the author's intention. Lines such as:-


"Egypt?"

"Yes, it is another land far off."
"Have you been there?"

Marcus shook his head. "No, Italy and here really. I have marched through other countries, but we don't have time to look around because we are off marching again the next day."


I could understand Marcus' frustration. But couldn't help but chuckle at that. If not for all the marching and fighting, Marcus could go sight seeing :)


I have to say I was not a huge fan of those big budget Hollywood films like Ben Hur and so on. But Isca, given a budget and a great director is one film I could see on the big screen.


There is scope to develop this tale still further, but it is complete story in itself. Jump in, you'll love it!



Sunday 12 October 2014

Book Review #27: Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage by Jennifer Ashley

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Jennifer Ashley is best known for her romance novels, but she writes paranormal on occasion too. This book was recommended to me so I purchased it. This review is for the paperback edition.

I'll sometimes lend my books out. In my mum's case, I'm trying to broaden her reading beyond Catherine Cookson, Maeve Binchy and Danielle Steele. So I lend her the occasional book.

A good thing I read this first then - from the first few pages the rating could be considered as extremely hot, and not the kind of book to lend to Mum!

So this review is based on the second book in the series, and is my first JA read.

Isabella is a strong, independent young woman, and doesn't give in to the affections from men easily. However, in this book, it seems she will wilt in the end, although I won't spoil the ending! 

The book could be considered a Highland romance, as our 'hero' paints whilst wearing a kilt. Fair enough!

It also means he can get his clothes off more quickly, which, if Isabella is as hot as we are led to believe, I'd probably be going for her too!

I like the descriptions of England, which are extremely well done, you really feel like you are there. I suppose it must be hard for American authors to write with true authenticity if they haven't been to the country they write about. But her descriptions are so vivid that the author must have been here.

The ending was actually rather unpredictable. And it's that thought I'll leave you with. Jennifer Ashley has sold tonnes of books, so she must be doing something right. It's an enjoyable romance that has lots of intensity, which puts it above many of its peers, but lack just that bit extra to make it awesome.

A very good read, nonetheless!


Tuesday 15 October 2013

Book Review #6: Waterfall by Lisa T Bergren



You can't beat a great fantasy, and this series has all the makings of one. Our heroine, Gabi, is a real firebrand and yet you don't get the sense of the epicness of the story until you are some pages in.

When the story opens, we learn that Gabi's father was a much respected archeologist had died, but her mother continued with his work regardless, bringing both Gabi and her sister Lia along for the ride.

I like that the story starts with its base in Italy, a country I had the good fortune to visit in 2010. I loved the energy from the outset, with 5:00am starts being the norm for the two sisters to go out on digs with their mother.

As I was reading, I couldn't help but think of Indiana Jones or Lara Croft. That's no bad thing. I spent many enjoyable hours watching Raiders of the Lost Ark, and playing Tomb Raider for hours on end.

The great descriptions Miss Bergren uses dropped me straight over the shoulder of the trio when at an important site, and there's loads of those in a super old country like Italy.

So I felt immediately drawn in.

There is a huge MacGuffin at the start of the story and it's so big, I couldn't let on here, you'll just have to read it.

But suffice to say that Gabi's first encounter with Italy's past comes to face her, head on, literally.

We find ourselves back in time with Gabi seeing and experiencing at first hand how the ruins used to look, before they were actually ruins.

At this point I wondered where the story was going.

That's when I was happiest. This YA aimed book doesn't foist some hack handed dystopian world on you. Whilst that's no bad thing, there's been rather too much of it in YA for a while, so this acted like a breath of fresh air with its detailed historical perspective on things.

This is where the book is at its strongest, so I forgive certain things like that Gabi fights with much apparent ease. She is skilled in fencing, but that wouldn't necessarily translate to being a great swordfighter, much like practising Tai Chi forms wouldn't make you a super skilled martial artist that was ready for battle.

That wouldn't be so plausible, and yet, the story is told which such style and verve, it just carries you along.

I'm being picky of course. James Bond has had many situations where he could have been killed, but you buy it because it is 007 ! So whilst Waterfall has its flaws, I think it is leading to a much bigger story with scope I cannot yet imagine, and it is that which will make me read others in the Rivers of Time series.

Fun, fearless, cool, and different. My favourite fantasy book of 2013.