Tag archives for book review - Page 29
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Book Review – In the Face of the Enemy by Ernest Powdrill
In the Face of the Enemy: A Battery Sergeant Major in Action in the Second World War by Ernest A. Powdrill My rating: 5 of 5 stars I borrowed this from the library and liked it so much that I bought my own copy. I found it very interesting because it is unusual for an other rank to write a memoir. Especially one where the author was a battery sergeant major who also had access to the battery clerk's notes. So, much of the 1944-45 campaign is very well documented with grid references for gun positions, ammo expenditure and times of moves. It is a fantastic reference book for WW2 operations of a Royal Horse Artillery battery in self propelled guns. There is also some of the human element to it as well. I was especially moved by the mystery…
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Book Review – Young Lions by Andrew Mackay
A book review of Young Lions by Andrew Mackay, the first in a series of four books featuring the two characters so far. Overview Young Lions is an alternate history set in a WW2 where Operation Sealion worked and the Germans managed to invade the UK. The book followed two teenage boys that are members of their school's cadet force and get involved in both the initial fighting and then the British Resistance to occupation. Book Review This is a boy's own adventure, with a horrific body count. Andrew Mackay is a history teacher, and it shows in the level of detail in the story. The history is very well researched and the detail ensures that the story remains consistent throughout and nothing jars the narrative flow. The Young Lions of the title are both teenage boys in their fourth…
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Book Review – New Model Army by Adam Roberts
In summary Adam Robert's New Model Army is a fabulous concept that doesn't quite work for me. Book Review New Model Army has a Fab Concept. However it doesn't quite work. Some of it is too heavy handed and not well enough researched to be credible. New Model Armies I bought this book because I liked the premise, a change in the nature of warfare brought about by better information available to the whole army through a wiki style network. It has promise for some very interesting stories, but the author instead wrote a political polemic based on very old fashioned stereotypes and without bothering to do his research. Accepting that our narrator is probably unreliable, given he is definitely going insane, and the twist that happens at the end (no spoilers) it is clear that we cannot rely on…
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Book Review: The Quarry by Iain Banks
Sadly The Quarry is the last book Iain Banks ever wrote, and it is certainly a very poignant read. You can imagine him going through the same turmoil as Guy, one of the main characters who is dying of cancer. It certainly isn't my most favourite book by Iain (M) Banks, but it works better than some of the other non-SF books that I have read of his. The basic premise is one of a bunch of university friends gathering for a long weekend at the house they all lived in as students, which backs onto a Quarry - hence the book title. One of their number, Guy, still lives there with his son (who is the POV character for the whole story). Guy is dying from cancer and is nearing his final stages when the gang all arrive for…
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Little Brother by Cory Doctorow [Book Review]
;Little Brother by Cory Doctorow My rating: 4 of 5 stars I've been following Cory Doctorow for a while. Little Brother has been sitting on my shelves waiting to make it to the top of the list. I'm very happy that it finally made it to the top of the reading pile. It was a quick and easy read that I enjoyed. The premise is that the terrorists have won, because the security state that they have spawned has stolen away all our freedoms. (more…)