The Chronicle of Fredegar
925174
The fourth book of the Chronicle of Fredegar continues where the Gregory of Tour's History of the Franks ends. The translator spends most of the introduction discussing the opinions of others in the authorship of the chronicle, which sections were written by who from where, etc however, he fails to talk more than a few pages about the actual content and it's importance in the affairs of the Franks. However, I am a student of Latin and found that his extensive discussion of the corruptions in Fredegar's Latin were fascinating (the absorption of the fifth declension into the 2nd etc..)

The actual chronicle is a fascinating piece of work and the four stars only goes to the translator's introduction. This is the only real source we have between approximately 584-642. The continuation of Fredegar's chronicle is by another author who paraphrased the Neustrian Liber Historiae Francorum and then continued in an original manner until 768. The first three books, not in this translation, are simply paraphrases with a few new stories (which the translator points out) of works by Isidore, Gregory of Tours, etc... The Chronicle seems to flesh out certain years while leaving others devoid of information but the information it does give is vital to the understanding of this period.
30531
I truly enjoyed this book and grew quite fond of Fred!  I hope Mr. Bergstrom will continue Fred's saga and include Jeannine in his life.  May they have many happy adventures together!
2707927
Well outlined, well written, fast moving account of one of the most amazing few centuries of Northern Europe that came upon the Middle Ages suddenly and without warning. This people group changed the world as we know it. Lars includes sufficient anecdotal evidence to show how these warriors were the barbaric version of the Navy Seals of their day in terms of technology, adaptability, small and large group war fighting tactics, and physical size and prowess.  No Geneva Convention within these pages. Brace yourself.

He traces them from raiders to conquerors to explorers to traders over time and around the Arctic Circle.

Most history gives just a little mention of  these Arctic pillagers, perhaps due to their illiteracy. For example, Philip Schaff's 8 volume epic History of the Christian Church gives these Scandinavians a scant 20 or so pages, but does allude to the uncountable number of martyrs that gave their lives to convert these unfettered warriors.  Some of the individual stories of their 'conversions' in Sea Wolves are memorable and tinged with ironic twists humor.

Well written.
4861746
This essay (that's about what it is) is a short vignette about how Fred got to be Fred in the books. It reads like a proposal to the series (probably along with a planned chapter list) that was presented to the publisher. It's worth buying and reading for the backstory, just don't expect a lot from it.
2940333
I really enjoyed this book.  I live in the area and it is fascinating to read these stories of lore and to know that they were written up in the local newspapers.  The author explained the stories behind these lores and the most recent sitings.
2668522
This would be a 4 Star review except for the way the Kragor character reappeared into the "flesh" in the story.  Actually I had hoped that when the unidentified whatsit poisoned Kragor that he would would pop awake just before internment or some-such.
Overall I really enjoy Mr. Halstead's writing so far, the sum extent being VoidHawk and VoidHawk the Elder Race.  I have decided to purchase the last two segments although it feels rather pricey for they are only approximately 150 pages or so.  (IMHO)  Thank you.
421868
This is a fascinating story of the creation and early millennia of Tolkeien's universe. It tells of how the Creator, Illuvatar, made the Ainur, the Holy Ones, who helped him create and guide the universe. It talks about the creation of the various races of Middle Earth, and some of the battles among the Ainur, which also resulted in battles among the inhabitants of Middle Earth. The book concludes with Sauron and the making of the Rings of Power.

The book is not easy reading and the myriad of characters makes the story somewhat difficult to follow, but if you want background information about the Lord of the Rings Triology, this is the book to read.
771262
Good writing,, good editing and a fast read. More insight into other characters in Soren's story. I was disappointed that it was a prequel to the forest is forever. I will read the next.
3725343
It gives a nice account of Piro and Largo and Miho's adventures in the game during the pre-comic time-line.  The writing is OK, but it's not the same without Fred's drawings.  Worth reading by anyone who's a fan of Megatokyo.
2494863
This is a really interesting addition to Heroscape as it goes a long way in rounding out Einar's forces and providing a better picture of this faction with new heroes and a mixture of air and long range fighters. THe new forces for Utgar both builds on his existing troops and take them in a new and darker direction. The terror of zombies swarming over your troops devouring and perhaps corrupting them or the fear of losing control of your forces to either wraiths or a new hero with mind control abilities. The only slight I see in this set is perhaps from a lack of room for additional figures with the exception of a single hero for Jandar only Utgar and Einar really gain additional troops in this set.
1716053
This novel is the second of a trilogy about the life of Thorgils Leifsson, an illegitimate son of Leif Eriksson.  In this novel Thorgils has escaped from the monks in Ireland and finds himself in England, where he promptly has a love affair with Aelfgifu, the young wife of King Knut, the Scandinavian King of England.  The story continues to be roughly faithful to the sagas, and I enjoyed this novel a lot.  Having said that, I thought that the first novel was better.  No matter, this one holds the reader's interest and certainly constitutes a good and satisfying read.  I found the sub-plot about Grettir the Strong to be somewhat plodding, but it is in the sagas and so the author obviously felt compelled to include it here.  Grettir's situation certainly is one of the key components of much of the plot of this second novel.

As in the first installment of the series, the author does an outstanding job bringing the tenth century Viking Age to life.  These stories really give the reader insight as to how people of that age thought and what their lives were like.  That is the real point of these excellent stories.  RJB.
1199824
I love this whole Saxon Chronicle Series except it is coming out too slowly and I can't wait for the next installment. This is the second of the series but you can read it standing along and it still makes a complete story because the events in this book is of pivotol importance in the life of Alfred The Great. In fact, these are the events that made him what he is.

Bernard Cornwell is a masculine storyteller who writes at the guttural level with the visceral style which suited the upheaval times and violent tempo of the society and gives us a down and dirty look of what life was like in those turbulent times. The Danes and the Norsemen seeing the success the Anglos and Saxons had had in the British Isle decided to join the hunt. The Anglos and the Saxons even though had only taken the rich land from the Celts and the Britons by conquest and had settled the fertile territories into small kingdoms for only 200 to 300 years, they had come to see Britain as their homeland and fiercely fought and defended their new territories against the new invaders who wanted the same thing. The native Celts and Britons were pushed west into Wales and southwest into Cornwall to fend for themselves. The British Isle was divided into Dane law in the north, Saxon rules in the south, and Welsh land in the west.

This book focuses on Alfred's early struggles to survive and to revive Wessex, The contrasting characters of Alfred and Uthred gives the story the dramatic tension. However the depiction of Alfred in this book, his fastedius personality, somber workaholism, adapt at using people, and attention to details in his grand visions, is so reminiscent of Aurelius Ambrosius in Mary Stewart's delightful book "The Crystal Cave". By diligence and dedication, serious Ambrosius was able to return from exile in Less Britain (Brittany) to reclaim his lost kingdom from Vortigorn and set it up for his brother Uther and later for Arthur. And by the same serious work ethics and patience, Alfred was able to emerge from the swamp to defeat the Danes and to rebuilt Wessex and set it up for his son and grandson. And Ambrosius's dream as King of Britain and of One Britain seems to have been picked up by Alfred's dream as King of All English and of One England. It is curious that the Welsh and the Britons chose to fight for their old enemy the Saxons due to religious affinity against the new enemy the pagan Danes. It is interesting that when the Normans (descents of Viking Norsemen) invaded British and defeated the Saxons 200 years later, they trotted out the old Arthurian legend to superimpose their claim.

Uthred, the hero of the chronicle, was forced by Alfred to swear an oath to him. Of course, being a proud pagan, Uthred continues to run afoul of pious Alfred and his pompous Christian court. But it seems that each time the bad luck of Uthred that freed him into a new adventure would turned out to be good luck for Alfred. The Christian priests of course would claim it's all God's glorious work.

Considering that the writer is presenting a male point of view in a warriors' world of violence and death, there are many strong and interesting women characters who managed to work around the male domination and held their own.

I especially enjoy reading the "Historical Notes" which places the stories in a true historical context. The historical notes set up the pacing of the chronicle as each story starts with a tentative peace shattered by treachery and fight starts again to accumulate into a major full scale war of some importance. Each story ends when the battle ends and a tentative peace returns. This gives the characters and us time to breath and relax and wait for the next installment.
3774660
It is a lovely book which offers a special and personal glimpse into the architect behind Middle Earth. Included are his reactions to some world events such as the Manhattan Project ("Babel builders") and WW2. It includes personal letters between Tolkein and his family members as well as humorous letters between Tolkein and his publishers regarding his issues with deadlines.

The book also provides information regarding Middle Earth that cannot be found in any other published volumes. For those looking for real insight regarding some little known trivia this is a real find.
2034458
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first part of The Lord of the Rings, continues the chronicles of the small folk known as Hobbits and their role in the War of the Ring.  Longer, more complicated, and far darker than The Hobbit ("the enchanting prelude to The Lord of the Rings," as Ballantine Books' marketing division puts it), this first installment of three places the destiny of Middle-Earth in the hands of a hobbit.
It's been over 50 years since Gandalf the Wizard and a party of 12 Dwarves enlisted Bilbo Baggins to serve as their "burglar" in their quest to recover the Dwarves' treasure hoard from the dragon Smaug, who terrorized the lands near the Lonely Mountain.  After facing trolls, giant spiders, and orcs (called goblins in The Hobbit), the survivors of that adventure returned home and went on with their lives....
But even though Bilbo Baggins returned to Hobbiton with a bit of treasure and a tale to set down on paper for future generations, he also brought back a dangerous piece of jewelry, a ring he had found in a cave during one of his misadventures as the "burglar."  Plain and apparently ordinary, the ring had the ability to render its wearer invisible.  This power helped Bilbo escape from the ring's previous owner, the strange creature known as Gollum, and saved the hobbit and his friends from several sticky situations.
The Fellowship of the Ring's narrative begins with a long introduction that explains the book's connections to The Hobbit. Tolkien gives us more background information on hobbits, their history and traditions, and even a short treatise on pipeweed, the Middle-Earth version of tobacco.  After this explanatory preface, the narrative focuses on the next generation of hobbit adventurers, especially Bilbo's nephew and heir Frodo, his gardener and loyal friend Samwise Gamgee, and his cousins Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took.
Gandalf, the Wizard who'd enlisted Bilbo more than 50 years earlier, returns to serve as both mentor and protector for Frodo, and it is he who reveals to the younger Baggins the true nature of Bilbo's ring.  It is, as all Tolkien readers know, no ordinary magic ring, but a dangerous Ring of Power, forged in secret by the Dark Lord Sauron to control the other Rings of Power crafted by Elves he had deceived into making for him to rule over the three major races of Middle-Earth.  It's also Gandalf who enlists Frodo to go on a perilous quest to take the One Ring out of the Shire and to find a way to destroy it forever.
Tolkien's tale is entertaining and at the same time a challenging piece of literature. He uses different styles of writing to tell his tale, ranging from straightforward narrative prose to poems full of references to Middle-Earth mythology, some of which makes more sense after reading his posthumous work The Silmarillion. Some readers (especially younger ones) may feel overwhelmed by all the songs and epic saga-style poetry, but patience with this book is a virtue with its own reward. The Lord of the Rings is one of those rare fantasy tales that has stood the test of time, as proved by its enduring popularity and the popular and critical success of Peter Jackson's film adaptations.
558667
The story began on the evening of April 30, 1805 in Lichfield. Gerald Musgrave was in his study working on a manuscript about his ancestors Dom Manuel and Madame Niafer. However, he couldn't concentrate on his work  because he wanted out of his illicit love-affair with Evelyn Townsend, his  second cousin.  He wanted to become a major author and an accomplished  magician but his time spent with Evelyn was taking too much of his time.  However, she did not want to end the affair, and the conventions of that  time placed the choice for ending it upon the female.  A Sylan materialized  in Gerald's study and offered to take his place in Lichfield and Gerald  could take his in the spiritual world.  Gerald agreed and found himself on  the road of greater myths to Antan where he was to become its ruler.  Horvendile, Lord of the Marches of Antan provided him with a silver  stallion named Kalki for him to ride.  On his way to Antan, he met Eradne  who invited him join her in the rites of pleasure.  He declined. In  Doonham, he met Princess Evershah from whom he secured a vial of six drops  of water from the Churning of the Ocean, but was forced to destroy her. In  the land of Dersam, he met Evarvan of the mirror, but managed to escape  from her after a series of adventures. In Lytreia, he saved the holy relic  of the Temple of the Holy Nose, but outraged its devotees by pointing out  that it was really a tongue; however, before he left Lytreia, he destoyed  Evaine, a sorceress who held the Veiled Mirror which he found to be a  painting. In the country of Tourine everyone was so concerned with  learning to become a better sorcerer that no one would talk to him. Next,  he encountered the Sphinx with whom he had an unsatisfying conversation. On  Mispec Moor, he met Maya of the Fair Breasts and settled down with her for  30 years. When he wasn't engaged in domestic activities, he amused himself  by talking to poets, gods and the eminent on the way to Antan. He  especially enjoyed his talk with the Emperor Nero, Francois Villon and  Merlin. Gerald never arrived in Antan and became responsible for its  destruction.  After Maya disappeared, Horvendile gave Gerald a word of  power that enabled him to return to Lichfield.  Back in Lichfield, Gerald  learned that his body had become an ethnographer of great reputation and  had a son by Evelyn.  Gerald returned to his body and sent the Sylan on his  way, and took up where his body had left off.
3971507
I've been playing Guild Wars for quite some time.  This book was a fun read because it showed tidbits of the world after you had played in it.  I personally quite liked it.
2191638
Forfatteren maa have laest "novels for dummies" for den forudsigelige opbygning af historien, medvirker yderligere til at der er skrevet en kedelig bog, der mest virker som en drengebog, a'la Kim boegerne, blot i et daarligere sprog med et ringere ordforraad, paa trods af forfatterens ihaerdige brug af afrikanske gloser.