Leave 'Em Wanting More

So, my first book of 2015 was 'The Empty Throne' by Bernard Cornwell, the latest novel in the bloody marvellous Saxon Stories series.

'The Empty Throne'
by Bernard Cornwell
(HarperCollins, 2014)

The future looks bleak for Mercia.  Its ruler, Aethelred, is dying without a male heir and too many people want to fill the soon-to-be-empty throne.  Nobles at home and abroad are manoeuvring themselves and a coup seems inevitable.  Yet the candidates are all politicians, not the warlords Mercia needs to defeat its Danish invaders and prevent them taking over the whole country.  Although Aethelred's wife, the formidable Aethelflaed, is a proven warrior and inspirational leader, no woman has ever ruled and her greatest supporter, Uhtred of Bebbanburg is wounded.  So is this the end for Mercia?

There's little I can say here that I haven't said before about other Bernard Cornwell books.  That sounds like a bad thing, but it's actually a compliment.  His work is consistently absorbing, energetic, interesting and enjoyable, so that really only the action and locations change.  It's like reading one book in instalments rather than a series of books over a number of years.

In a way, the fact that this book is part of a series is its weak spot.  The story, while gripping and eventful, feels like a bridge between one plot point and another rather than a destination in itself.  Even so, it still gives Uhtred fans all the things we've come to expect - treachery, battles, political machinations, sea voyages, a quest and a wonderful sense of time and place.

But because it feels like a stepping stone, it really leaves you wanting more.  Not just more from different characters, but literally what happens next because it feels half done.  I'm like an excitable youngster in a shieldwall, held back by a more experienced commander who knows when it's best to strike.  I'm sure Mr Cornwell knows what he's doing, but, goodness, the next couple of years will feel a long wait!  Just as well I have plenty of other things to read in the mean time!

Related Posts

'Sword Song' by Bernard Cornwell (Saxon Story Four)

'The Burning Land' by Bernard Cornwell (Saxon Story Five)

'The Death of Kings' by Bernard Cornwell (Saxon Story Six)

'The Pagan Lord' by Bernard Cornwell (Saxon Story Seven)

Review of the Year 2014!

Here we are again, can you believe it?  The end of one year and the start of another.  And what a year it's been for my reading project!

This has been my most successful twelve months so far.  I've read 33 books, a whole ten more than in 2013. Admittedly, eight of them were gifts sent to me by various publishers and retailers (thank you!) plus there were a couple of books that weren't on my list at the start of the year, but overall everything balanced out.  The extra ten books I read were new, so the remaining 23 came off my list. So it all sort of worked out nicely in the end.

As always, I've hit the variety button!  The non-fiction covered everything from journalese to murder to psychics to psychology, as well as positive thinking and chocolate (not the same book, honest!).  I've enjoyed new and established writers, short stories and full length novels.  I read thrillers, science fiction, horror and, of course, my favourite, historical fiction, plus a couple of books that defy genre.  These included an original retelling of Romeo and Juliet which I think is very underrated.  Looking back, it's been a very eclectic year and I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.

Last year, I decided to try reading series of books to give me some intermediate and (hopefully) more achievable targets.  I would like to go back to Philippa Gregory's Cousins' War series soon and am keeping up with Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories, but this year has been the year of James Bond.  I've always loved the films and had heard a lot about the books, so really wanted to give them a go.  I'm lucky enough to have a lot of them on CD, so this was the series I started in 2014.  I've now heard six of the books and am part way through a seventh ('From Russia with Love').  There are just six more after that, so perhaps I'll finish them all in the next year.  You never know!

I'd also like to return to Cornwall and see how the Poldarks are getting on.  A new TV adaptation is looming, so I would really like to be able to watch it without spoiling the books!

So, as well as finishing Fleming and Graham's back catalogues, what else does 2015 hold?  Well, I'd really like to read at least one classic next year, as well as more non-fiction history.  I've got some great looking history on the shelves and would really like to see if it lives up to expectations!

As always, thank you for joining me on this journey.  I hope you're still enjoying the blog and finding my posts useful and entertaining.  If you've got any feedback, you can find me on Twitter as @Girl_LovesBooks.  Take care and have a fun and fabulous new year!

Related Posts

Review of the Year 2013
Review of the Year 2012

2014: The Year in Books

January
'Alex and Me' by Irene M Pepperberg

February
'Romps, Tots and Boffins' by Robert Hutton
'The Pagan Lord' by Bernard Cornwell
'For Your Eyes Only' by Ian Fleming

March
'The Devil in the Marshalsea' by Antonia Hodgson
'Gin O'Clock' by The Queen of Twitter
'The Bluffer's Guide to Chocolate'

April
'Casino Royale' by Ian Fleming
'Bird Box' by Josh Malerman

May
'Mr Briggs' Hat: A Sensational Account of Britain's First Railway Murder' by Kate Colquhoun
'Live and Let Die' by Ian Fleming

June
'A Host of Voices' by Doris Stokes
'Dr No' by Ian Fleming
'The Psychic Tourist' by William Little
'The Essential Marx' by Groucho Marx, selected by Stefan Kanfer

July
'All My Friends are Superheroes' by Andrew Kaufman
'The Art of Being Brilliant' by Andy Cope and Andy Whittaker
'Warleggan' by Winston Graham
'My Baby Shot Me Down' by Blinding Books

August
'Wake' by Anna Hope
'Octopussy, the Living Daylights and Other Stories' by Ian Fleming
'Moranthology' by Caitlin Moran

September
'The Illustrated Man' by Ray Bradbury
'Thunderball' by Ian Fleming
'Love and Treasure' by Ayelet Waldman
'Warm Bodies' Isaac Marion

October
'Office Politics' by Oliver James
'We Bought a Zoo' by Benjamin Mee
'The Tiny Wife' by Andrew Kaufman

November
'How to Read a Graveyard' by Peter Stanford
'Moonraker' by Ian Fleming

December
'The Miniaturist' by Jessie Burton

Our House

Earlier this week, I finished reading 'The Miniaturist' by Jessie Burton.  Burton's first book has caused quite a stir, gaining many passionate fans and winning the Waterstones' Book of the Year title.  This should've reassured me, but I couldn't ignore the niggle in the pit of my stomach telling me not to get my hopes up too much...

'The Miniaturist' by Jessie Burton
(Picador, 2014)

'The Miniaturist' is set in late 1600s Amsterdam at a time when capitalism, faith and superstition are in constant conflict, building walls and expectations between people and families. Eighteen year old Nella arrives in the city eager to begin life with her new husband, the merchant Johannes Brandt. But her reception is unexpectedly cold; Johannes is absent and neither her aloof sister-in-law Marin nor the household servants Cornelia and Otto make her welcome.  Before long, Nella feels unwanted and useless, a mere bauble to demonstrate her husband's success, her hopes of children and love whithering away.  In an attempt at kindness, Johannes buys her a cabinet containing a replica of their own home, perhaps hoping to paint over the cracks in their relationship.  With little else to do, Nella decides to furnish it and begins placing orders with a miniaturist.  But when unrequested furniture and figurines start arriving which suggest more is going on in the real household than Nella realises, she determines to find out more about the elusive artisan...

I'm delighted to say that 'The Miniaturist' is an excellent book.  It's easy to identify with Nella, the stranger in a strange city, and I found it impossible to abandon her, especially once the web of secrets surrounding the Brandt household began to unravel.  Events are heartbreaking and raw, but the young bride is made of sterner stuff than even she realises and the reader roots for her to the very last page.

The story is expertly crafted, full of characters with public images often at odds with their private passions and grand designs.  Despite everything, the book manages to end with hope.  In the hands of a lesser writer, it could easily have become depressing.  Instead, it has all the tension of a thriller, the tenderness of a romance and the texture of an historical drama.

Complex, unexpected and sometimes shocking, 'The Miniaturist' is a book for people who like ideas and stories which make them think, stories which leave room for mystery and don't necessarily answer every question.  If that sounds like you, then it is highly recommended.

It's hard to believe that this is Ms Burton's first novel and I eagerly await her next.  Although I really do need to read a few more books first!

Now for a trip back to Anglo-Saxon Englaland with everyone's favourite war lord...