It's my 22nd Birthday today so yay me. Or boo me, one of the two. Going to sit with my father on the sofa and watch England play Egypt tonight, should be a good game between our scandal battered side and the African champions. On Saturday, will have a nice meal with the family and open my presents, with some wine.

Been awhile since I did some book reviews so thought I would do some more

Fiction

Finished the sequel for the excellent Cry of the Newborn: this one was called Shout for the Dead. Set ten years after the first, it was impressive how Barclay found a very small (but once mentioned, easily recalled) part of the first book and inserted a line or two about it. That attention to detail helped link up the two books well, his strengths are still there, his vivid descriptions, his entertaining characters returning, the excellent conversations. Yes it also has the brilliantly depressing moments, the deaths and the need to sometimes go to cry about it.

The first book was one of the best fantasy books I have read. This 600+ book is still good but is shorter and not near the brilliance of the first one. If the Newborn was a 10, this one is a 7.5, well worth a read in it's own right though. The new characters had some good additions to the cast but too many of them lacked the time or the personality to make as much impact as the old ones, who also reappeared to stronger effect. The author seems to have dropped one storyline completely about a quarter of the way through and left two of the major characters hanging without ever solving what happens. He added in swearing whereas the first book had nearly none but the big issue is that while, at it's best, the book matches the first in tragic moments, the sequel seems to lack the emotional intensity of the first. The ending wraps things up and suits the purpose but is far from great, wish it had more oomph and just seems to wind down in last few pages.

History

The Warlords: Hindenburg and Ludendorff by John Lee. Partly about the two famous German generals of WWI, the calm commander and the workaholic strategist but more about how the system allowed two generals to control the country. As a bio for each general, it gives a good overview of their life before the war and a decent one after it but it's strength is the two of them during the war. Probably difficult to reflect the assets Hindenburg gives when in a short book based on a theory rather then solely around the general but Lee manages it fairly well. It is a decent biography in itself, shows their strengths and weaknesses as generals though doesn't go into their personal lives.

The theory is the strong part of it and Lee argues his case well. The first chapter shows how the Prussian army turned itself around from Napoleon's day into arguably the greatest infantry in the world by WW1 and how the General Staff evolved. He shows evidence of incidents in the past were the General Staff felt political considerations should go below military, how such behavior shaped their plans for World War 1 and how it affected the mindset of the generals. Such a mindset hurt Germany badly, getting them into too many wars and failing to make peace. It saw able men like Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg under attack by Generals who truly believed what they were doing was correct. An interesting book and well worth a read

Antony & Cleopatra by Patricia Southern. The writer specialises in Rome and had done a separate biography for those two before, also done works on Ceaser and Augustus. Her idea was to do a joint biography of Antony and Cleopatra rather then just concentrate on one as she had before came about when she realized she couldn't find a jiont biography. Combining two people's lives into one work risks overlap but Southern avoids it for all but the opening two chapters.

It's a nice idea and she does shine a lot on the two's abilities, she is informative about the political situations, about the administration and usually about campaigns. With information not always clear and what Roman sources there are being rather biased, she has to dismiss certain things and come up with convincing theory's as to why, in particular, Antony did something. It is informative rather then compelling, she seems to feel rather frustrated about not always being able to get at their personalities and the ending is a little disappointing, like she was running out of pages or time. She comes across to me as, in a bid to offer a more balanced account then Roman history, as having gone too far the other way. The facts she doesn't change and most of the book does seem fair but it shows in things like giving the couple the best of motives, overly willing to praise the positives and perhaps a little eager to dismiss the nasty aspects. Still, if you want the facts behind the legendary romance, this is well worth a read.

Catherine de Medici by Leonie Frieda. Known as the Black Queen and confused with various other Italian ladies, she was the wife of Henri II,mother of three kings and two queens. She is most famous for the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre and accusations of murder of various rivals. It is not a happy tale, her husband was in love with someone else and when he died in a joust, she would rule as a Regent for three sons during a time of religious conflict and political chaos, in the end only two of her ten children outlived her.

This was Frieda's first work and it is an impressive start, it is well written and she argues her side well. Starting off with the fateful joust was a nice touch before doing the rest of the book more conventionally, from birth to death. She handles the Massacre with aplomb, conveying the chaos and the horror, putting the events in the correct context, dismissing some chargers but correctly pointing out where Medici deserves blame. While that's the big moment, it sums up the book quite well, well written, fair minded and able to convey the emotional moments though her subject becomes less likable as she gets older.

Agincourt: The King. The Campaign. The Battle by Juliet Barker. The author made her name with literary biographies but had written on chivalry before and now seems to be concentrating on medieval stuff. The book is centered on the famous (if your English) battle where Henry V's small and exhausted army massacred the cream of the French nobility and their larger force. It starts off by showing Henry's military experience, the less then ideal circumstances he inherited from Henry IV and his work, administrative, military and politically. She shows the French civil war and their efforts on dealing with Henry, which is usually overlooked in English history books/programs. She then shows the campaign on both sides and at the end, shows how it affected the people involved.

The book's fairly decent and very informative, does well to concentrate on both sides point of view. One chapter early on is perhaps overly filled with administrative detail for some (including me) but generally, concentrates on the people, the battles and the politic. She fleshes out the characters well enough, explains things well and seems to have a good understanding of the time. She argues one of her main points, that chivalry was still a real thing that did drive knights and still had it's PR use, well enough to make it credible. At it's best when showing the horror of the battle and the initial aftermath in a 3/5 type book. The real problem with the book is that the author seems to think Henry V descended into this world from above, with angels singing and never did anything wrong or foolish in his life. She may have a point in some of her defenses but by the time she gets to the big allegations, and on matters I agree with her, she seems to gave failed to admit a single crime, bad motive or flaw that he did or had. Doesn't change by the end of the book either, had to fight hard not to hate Henry V simply for how perfect she tries to make him

My Overlord 2 Review

I enjoyed Overlord 1 quite a bit, it was a game that overcame it's flaws to become an enjoyable and funny experience. There was something rather fun at not being the hero but a villain (then again, I tend to play a bad hero) and needing to trust your minions, adorable little creatures that they are, to do most of the work for you. Each area felt different from the others, the system worked (more or less), the storyline was pretty good. The thing that made it, for me, punch above it's weight was the characters, the other villains, the two mistresses and of course, Gnarl. The other key ingredient was that the game was funny, it was great pushing forward and hearing or see some new joke.

Reviewers liked it and so it seems did enough people for a sequel, something I was delighted about and had really been looking forward to. I had been a little concerned by the reviews suggesting Overlord 2 had lost some of the magic and by the demo, which seemed ok but no more. When I finally got the game, I decided to take the domination route rather then the destruction path I had taken in Overlord 1, sometimes I regret not going back and trying the path of taking Rose rather then Velvet, though at least this time it didn't make me choose one mistress over another for points in one direction.

In fairness to Triumph Studios, they did a lot of things right to improve the game. They made enough changes to try and freshen things up, introducing a lot of new features even if some were underplayed, bringing in minion resurrection, fixing a lot of the first games flaws and adding to what people liked. They even made some effort to fix the pain of grinding for gold or minion essence, which I greatly appreciate as I spent a fair amount of time resurrecting all my minions. Once again, with the exception of a few bugs and average graphics, the game was improved and even more solid...yet something was missing for me.

It wasn't the characters, I enjoyed those. They fleshed out some of the main minions while each area's creatures were different and sometimes could be quite memorable for something they did. The minions were adorable and the wide range of bosses added to the game, differing from each other with none of them being boring. Gnarl was arguably even better then in the first, his wise advice, perversion and habits could suddenly make me giggle or shake my head with a wry smile as he stole the show. The mistresses were good, each getting a nice story in the build up to getting them, each with a contrasting personality that allows for some rivalry. Even better, it allowed for three choices for each decoration for my Dark Tower and once I splurged out, it looked rather lovely if I do say so myself. Always nice to pretty up the home base when games allow you too.

Where I think something was missing was the humour. It must be difficult for writers in any sphere to write humour, I think we can all recall a joke in some medium that was dreadful or a time when it seemed the writer was trying too hard to be funny. That didn't happen here but I recall the first Overlord being a funnier game, more jokes with more impact. That isn't to say Overlord 2 wasn't funny, it had me chortling at times and at times was very funny, Gnarl in particular delivered some good lines, but simply less so. Maybe it was just me and others felt Overlord 2 had the better humour but that is where the game just went a little wrong in comparison to the first.

In other news, finally downloaded the Heavy Rain demo. Took awhile that one for some reason, most of my other demo's on PSN are a lot quicker then that but look forward to giving it a whirl.

I hope that, whether with family or by yourself, that you all have a happy Christmas.

Recently I was watching my sister play Bioshock, helping her get the audio diaries and which plasmids she should get. She is enjoying the game and it is nice to spend time with her, she is going for the good ending like me but she doesn't find the game as scary as I did. As she was finishing up one level, she casually remarked there was more swearing in that level then in the rest of the game so far. Quickly thinking back, it did seem vaguely to be true but I couldn't swear that it is true, perhaps simply I don't remember them as much.

It didn't really matter but it did give me food for thought and reminded me of James Barclay's book, Shout of the Dead. Set ten years after the, in my opinion, superior Cry of the Newborn, it does contain some excellently tragic moments and interesting conversation as it's predecessor. While Cry of the Newborn was a classic for me, Shout of the Dead was good but didn't quite live up to the first. Song of the Dead was nearly ruined for me though, one of the returning characters, a favorite, began swearing nearly every scene he appeared in so by the end, I wanted him dead. While the change made sense, it was overdone which is a surprise considering how brilliantly Barclay handled most sensitive subjects in the book.

Swearing in itself in a book or a game is not a problem nowadays, the time when a swearword in a flim or tv show would provoke a public debate is long gone. I'm glad that is the case, those seeking to create art or entertainment should be allowed to convey what goes on in everyday life and to push boundaries. Once the initial fuss dies down, nudity and swearing (among other things) becomes just another string in the bow, it won't save a poor piece of work but done right, can be a nice part of a good film/book/game. The main thing I can say for swearing is that nowadays that I could not tell you if Modern Warfare, Cry of the Newborn, Troy, Heavenly Sword, Phantom of the Opera film or anything else had swearing in or not.

Yet the problem is that sometimes people can try to be too radical or, for whatever reason, try to include so much swearing. GTA San Andrea's always made me feel uncomfortable with it's language, maybe a bit odd with all the violence and certain other factors but after I had done the killing, I would fear the cutscenes for what came out of the characters mouths. That game was the worst I could think of for that but been a couple of other times, Saints Row 2 for example, where a game/book/movie has been a little too quick to begin cussing.

Perhaps I just dislike it when things cross the line with swearing as I can't turn the volume off without missing some important piece of dialog whereas other things, I can just look away. Or maybe I'm just too conservative in this but I just wish that sometimes cussing would be used just a little less.

Sorry about the rant

When I was younger, snow was very rare, it was quite an event if it snowed in England let alone in the local area. Now seems to snow every winter lately though right now, not deep enough for children to play with. Hopefully no snow on Saturday or I have to choose between wearing sandals, thus soaking my feet, or putting on shoes when I go to get my hair cut. Problem is, ever since I had toenails removed from my big toes, wearing shoes has become very painful so I wear sandals for just about everything.

Anyway this afternoon, snug under a duvet, I turned on my PS3 and realised I hadn't done much with PSN other then download demo's or trailers for a long time. After changing my avatar from a puppy face to one of the lemming avatars (those games where fun), I realised I had never added anyone from gamespot before. I may be an opinionated person but I have always been rather shy and reluctant to be a bother by making a friend request but today decided to go through my tracking list for people's PSN's.

I have tried to avoid making friend requests of people I have had very little contact with, unfair if I rarely comment and then make such a request after all. Hopefully I have avoided bugging people but sorry to anyone annoyed by the request. To those who didn't get one, I will gladly accept any request, I either missed your psn id or thought you might be annoyed.

I do plan to do a proper blog post very soon

Have a guess what this topic is about :P Just picked up a large selection at the library after finishing the books I was on.

Fiction

Cry of the Newborn by James Barclay. The first book in the Ascendants of Estorea world, so excellent I just grabbed it's sequel from the library. Fantasy genre, no other races, Romanish (Roman type armies, toga's, not so much the bloodthirsty infighting) with magic not in common usage, very large book at just over 800 pages.

If you want to be made to smile, steer well away from this book. It is a world where characters will suffer and they will die, some of the suffering is such I would not recommend it to anyone below 15 myself, I can't think of one chapter were I felt cheery afterwards. One battle song caused me to cry, a major plot point caused me to go and seek a huggle for comfort but that is part of the world he created, that it can cause such emotion reflects well on the author. There are a lot of characters, some only appearing for a chapter or two while others throughout, and it is too Barclay's credit that it is hard to confuse them with each other as many of them remain distinct from each other, they are also very believable with their own flaws and strengths. There are a lot of battles, seemingly well researched though perhaps gets too many battles near the end. However an ability to surprise, good characters and excellent descriptions help make battles enjoyable as you see it through a person's eyes. It is also a book where you don't get told "General A has been utterly destroyed as have all his legions" or "Our army of the West has won a great victory", Barclay instead shows you the said battle.

The real strength is entertaining dialog, the banter, the arguments, all done so very well and the ability to pull at the emotions. One or two flaws, one small part of the book plot didn't quite feel it was pulled off well, felt the Tsard kingdom was very poorly represented in terms of characters. Yet it doesn't detract from a engrossing read in an excellent book.

Non Fiction:

Ancient Rome On Five Denarii A Day by Philip Matyszak. Essentially a small guidebook based on what a traveller to Rome in 200 A.D might need to know. Was quite funny in patches, some excellent quotes and anecdotes in a very short but solid book.

Venus of Empire: The Life of Pauline Bonaparte by Flora Fraser. About the sister of an Emperor whose name was known for deviancy as people looked to blacken the name of the Bonaparte. A lack of sources for her early life and a not always pleasant character doesn't help Fraser's efforts but I do wonder if a better job then this could have been done. Fraser describing Pauline's time in Haiti was fascinating, perhaps due to combining army, political as well as love life but sometimes Fraser confused me. One page, explaining how so and so was not her lover but then next page she suddenly has a lover who Fraser doesn't seem to name for example. She fails to address the rumors/charges against her subject sometimes and when she does, like the incest one, Fraser explanation wasn't always convincing. Didn't often seem to get into the head of her on her lovers but that may be due to lack of sources. For all that, a decent book but no more then that, you may be able to find a better biography out there.

Talleyrand by Philip G.Dwyer. Part of the Profiles in Power series (different writers for different people), it is rather small meaning Dwyer has had to cut certain things out. Talleyrand's time in America, his educational suggestions, his personal life and a few things near the end are cut though for those looking for more detail, he does have a list of books in English. The book requires some basic knowledge of the French Revolution though elsewhere Dwyer does brief background stuff to avoid confusion. Leaving aside the limits imposed on the work, Dwyer writes well and is informative about the subject though I feel he is slightly too forgiving of the subject in this case (my sister disagrees). Did get a feel of his abilities, the difficulties he was in as a minister and only wish Dwyer would write a full biography.

Europe's Tragedy: A history of the Thirty Years War by Peter H.Wilson. Very large book, makes a good overview of the war in and out of Germany, dealing with the politics and the battles well, going into just enough detail for the large battles. It isn't a book that manages to convey personalities that well and would prefer he didn't give all the info of a guy's career/personality/reputation when we first meet them but this is really a book of overview and theory about the period. For those who already know a lot about thirty years war, some might find Wilson's assertions interesting, for those like me who knew nearly nothing, this is an excellent way of learning about it.

1939: Countdown to War by Richard Overy. More a treatise in paperback then a book, it covers from 24 Aug till the fateful day the Allies declared war. The concentration is on events in Germany, England and France, to a lesser extent Poland, with Italy being a minor part and on the major personalities involved. Informative as you would expect from someone with Overy's reputation, it challenges a fair few things commonly thought about the Prime Minster Neville Chamberlain. My only wish for this excellent work is for it to have been longer.

A Gambling Man: Charles II and the Restoration by Jenny Uglow. A surprising choice of subject by Uglow and a difficult one for any biographer who likes to get inside their subjects head. In that sense, Uglow was never going to succeed but it is still a good book, making a solid overview of the period and the characters, of how people viewed the court. Having a quote, usually from a poem or a play, at the start of each chapter is a nice touch with Uglow concentrating the book on the period between Charles becoming King and his signing a secret treaty with France. Won't provide anything new if you have fairly good knowledge of Charles II, one of England's more popular and well known monarchs, but will provide a good introduction to the subject for those who do not have such knowledge.

Finished Bioshock and reviewed it here . Wobbled between 8.5 and 9 but felt there was slightly too much boredom for me during the game. I love whoever made the Bioshock wallpaper for the PS3, I will be surprised if I change it for awhile. Also thank you to the game makers for livening up the credits, usually I grab a book for the next half an hour but it was done in two minutes, half of which had me reading each one with interest.

I remember when Bioshock first came out and I was pondering whether to get it so tried the demo at 9pm. By the time I finished it an hour later, I knew I would not get to sleep for some time. So many times I was alarmed by something from the dark or heard something that made my heart beat a little faster so I decided to buy it soon after the game was released. When I first came across a Little Sister, I decided to harvest her as I do tend to play the evil characters. Moments later I was loading up, my heart tearing itself apart on seeing what I had done in her little face. I was going to rescue them all but then an error happened, killed a Big Daddy but the girl didn't appear, so I put Bioshock away for awhile.

Why it took me a year to pick it up and start a new game, I have no idea. I had enjoyed it the first time round and I enjoyed it even more the second time, appreciating the atmosphere, hunting down every diary and every sister, hacking everything I could find that wasn't rated impossible. This time I played it during the day, lights off, curtains closed thus giving me several hours to settle down and there were times when I needed it. I don't play many horror games and the last time I recalled a game having such a haunting atmosphere, so many shocks was way back when I was a child and first discovered Silent Hill.

I don't recall which one,I also never completed it but when I played myself or peeked over my fathers shoulder I was scared. Silent Hill had the isolated town, the mist, the static radio, the splicers, the horrifying monsters, the story that contained many a surprise, it was a true horror game for me. Bioshock may allow you to shoot the splicers in the face till dead and not worry about ammo or the consequences of death but it was the first time I have felt such fear again so often, felt such an atmosphere. How I have missed it!

Bioshock, for me, will forever be a Horror game and not an FPS. Is there any other PS3 that will provide me with some scares?

Review

I played this game mostly when I was not in the mood for the more emotionally draining Valkyria Chronicles or didn't have an afternoon free but just an hour or two. Then I would roam the streets, buying up shops, completing missions, just having a relaxing time spreading my gang's lands with a . It is nice to have two so very different games, Valkryia Chronicles is the game that I will remember most of all and will remain on my best ever game list long after I have forgotten Saints Row 2. It got inside my heart and tore me up a few times, the effort to keep my troops alive and seeing what was happening left me pleasantly drained at the end of each chapter. Everyone has different favorite characters from the umpteen excellent choices, the world is so rich an animie and manga have been made out of it, though surprisingly little fanfiction out there, it was a game of excellence that has kept on in my mind ever since I finished it. It was gaming's ability to wrap people into a world at it's best, the kind of game I would put naysayers of gaming and show how a game can be as enthralling as an excellent book.

Saints Row 2 (my copy was buggy) could simply be described as fun for the most part, an escapist route where I don't need to think. True, certain cutscenes fully earn the 18 rating by themselves for showing a brutal side to game yet somehow, the game still comes across as amusing even during such moments though not sure if that was intentional. Put my guy and have him run around a thousand cute things with an evil laugh, it would still lack a emotional punch. Yet it isn't a game for those looking for an awesome story or great characters but a game where you shoot stuff and have fun, laughing as you go. For me, it was also a chance to watch my sister playing only the third full PS3 game (the dreadful Untold Legends, GTA and strangely, since she doesn't like football, the Fifa10 demo) so I have been delighted at that. She will happily learn the storyline of games she likes enough to hear about (MGS, Overlord, Valkyria Chronicles for examples) but it is even greater joy for me to see her playing something. Mostly so I can tease her about it;) It may generally lack the excellence of Valkyria Chronicles but then Saints Row 2 doesn't try to be a heart puller, it fills it's own most valuable niche. Long may there always be room for "if I wanted story, I would go to a film" games and "mindless tosh, insert some insult about anyone who plays it here" games.

One area I felt Saints Row 2 excelled more then any other I have played is character customisation, now a regular part of sports games and comes into other area's now and again. Too often the choice is limited in terms of clothes, lucky to get a voice at all, no man wears a dress and (if your allowed to have a female. Or in case of Smackdown, allowed to have a female storymode, hugely disappointed when they stopped that) woman are limited to pretty things to an extent. In Saints Row 2, a man can wear a bra (I went with bandages but had eyeshadow, looked really good on him) and a woman a bowler hat and the selection of clothing was wide. I have always enjoyed buying clothing for my characters in games and if certain clothing doesn't affect skills, I'll buy ones that make my character look good after careful consideration, same with houses if I can decorate them. Saints Row2 allowed my character to look nice in terms of body and face then had a wide range of clothing from hats, shoes to glasses (how many games actually have decent glasses to choose from? Saints Row2 does) and earrings, a choice I don't think I have ever had before. It wasn't perfect, voices will always be a limited choice and the female ones are bad (whereas the men have a nice British one that I went for), I think the bra's are ugly and the makers are a bit keen to call some house decoration a Pimp style/bed/TV/thing but overall, they have set a good marker for PS3 games looking for character customisation.

Finally finished it, of course posted a review . May well become a PS3 classic, one of those praised by critics but not bought by many, it is a flawed game in terms of the battles themselves but that doesn't matter as much. Bit odd to say about a game but everything else about it is so good that for me, this is the first "original" (ie not MGS4) PS3 game that joins my favorite games ever list, alongside Neverwinter Nights, FFX and MGS2/3/4. Really glad I played it.

I live in a town with a nice but small library but benefit from an excellent library service which tends to have books I want and get them to me quickly. I generally pick my books based on Times review but does anyone know a good online review site for books?

Fiction:

Been reading a lot of Terry Pratchett recently, his books amuse me and help raise my spirits if I'm down, he has long been one of my favorite writers. Pratchett has a good eye for making a mockery out of life and make interesting characters in a fantasy world. I have always loved the books concentrated on either Death and the City Watch more then the others. Combining my love for humour with my love of a fantasy world, a perfect mix!

It is perhaps unfair for the Portuguese book Death at Intervals by Jose Saramago, translated by Margaret Jull Costa to have to compare. For one, the author's refusal to use quote marks is a valuable lesson on why they are so important, really hard to tell when the speaker has changed! Set in a non named modern country suddenly wakes up to discover there is no death in the country. Sarmago's rambling ways, using 10 words when 1 would do, actually helps the story and increases the very good humour as a narrator observes the reactions of the population, from the lowest to the head of the country. If death suddenly vanished, I could see all that Sarmago wrote in first half coming true, while inferior to one or two tales by Pratchett with a similar tale, it is none the less a funny books. Would give first half a 7.5 out of ten. It changes genre due to a major twist and loses the humour and looks at fewer characters, the conversation is good but the rambling method works against it and since the book is rather small, I was left with a feeling of wanting more as it seemed to happen far too quickly. A 6.5 for second half but found it sweet and would like a (highly unlikely) sequel.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman: More adult and enough differences from the movie to avoid the feeling of sameness. It is a short tale, a nice one with some humour with a very touching ending yet was left with the feeling that the book was never quite all it could have been.

History:

Napoleonic era: I don't know why seem so obsessed with that era, it is as if Britain fought only two wars ever, WW2 and Waterloo. If I like in the local library, or the next nearest one, history seems filled with those two wars with a few others. Same when reading of new books coming out, getting rather crowded those area's.

Waterloo Commanders: Napoleon, Wellington and Blucher by Andrew Uffindell. 200 pages long so never going to be a fully detailed biography of the three generals, instead looks to give an overview of the three commanders, first concentrating on pre-Waterloo careers then comparing their actions that fateful day then the ramifications afterwards in decent detail, summing up their lives afterwards. Uffindell compares the three men in terms of ability, for anyone like me who knows little of Blucher then this book is informative. I would challenge the author's assertion that the error filled Blucher was a great general but certainly overlooked in England, to make a convincing defence of such a point would require a specialised biography of the Prussian general, not a quick if informative overview.

Josephine: A Life of the Empress by Carolly Erickson. Like Richard the III being an evil humpback, the tale of Josephine and Napoleon's marriage being one of the great romances with a sad ending has and probably always will do, live on in people's minds longer then the historical tale. It made for a good TV series back in... the 80's I think that I recently watched but it has little historical truth. A woman who went from a bankrupt family on a small island to Empress, via marriages, affairs, the Revolution, a woman of charm, kindness but a knack for survival and her own problems. As a woman, her life is fascinating but Erickson manages to also show how attitudes in France changed, she fits everything in nicely and writes a flowing account. Author's sympathies are clearly with Josephine and once or twice dubiously tries to second guess her feelings/thoughts but shouldn't take away from a very enjoyable and well written book.

Napoleon and Wellington by Andrew Robert, the niche for the book being discovering what the two commanders thought of each other and how that changed. Roberts debunks a fair few myths and gives the necessary information needed to understand the events that changed their opinions, he also gives a fair analyses of the two commander's strengths and weaknesses. Blunt about their weaknesses and praising their strengths, the only issue I have is Roberts hatred of the Whigs is blatantly obvious and leads to questions of his objectivity with anything he says about them.

Napoleon: The Path to Power 1769-1799 by Philip Dwyer. About the famous French emperor from his birth (well given family detail, before it as well) to his coup against the Directory. For anyone looking for a book with details about his battles, this book isn't it. Dwyer has to sacrifice something to keep the book from becoming too large and that was it, he only goes into detail when it shows how Napoleon twisted it into propaganda. That is where Dwyer concentrates, how the general manipulated the news for his own sake, how he developed as a person and a politician. It looks at his campaigns and policies, how the Directory, the notables, the French and native people reacted to all this, it is an incredibly detailed and fascinating book. I will read the sequel to this though he could work on his attempts at humour for future works.

France:

Love and Louis XIV: The Woman in the Life of the Sun King by Antonia Fraser. This book includes his mother was one of the ladies and, to an extent, his descendants, covering his entire life, it is a good biography of the King that concentrates on his love-life. There may be bio's that, by concentrating on just the one person, will be more detailed but this book is hardly lacking in information or detail. Fraser is a very good biographer and shows how the King and his court, evolved over the years, she shows how his relationships changed, I would recommend this well written book to anyone interested in the Sun King or ancient French court/romances.

The Affair Of The Poisons: Murder, Infanticide & Satanism At The Court Of Louis XVI by Anne Somerset is about the wide spread hysteria about poison and the investigation into the allegations. While the reaction of the populace and the nobles was interesting, generally the book was poor. Somerset revealed the results of everything too early so killed suspense, failed to bring the characters to life though it was informative (and ultimately, depressing on how low humans can go), the short book wasn't enjoyable.

Rome: I'm hoping the English love of Rome is shared across Europe, certainly we love certain sections of it over here. Hannibal and later on Cesar but these two books cover Rome's fall which hasn't always been fashionable, that seems to be changing.

The Fall of the West: The death of the Roman Superpower by Adrian Goldsworthy. The historian has often worked on earlier Roman periods and was a regular expert on BBC's former show Time Commanders. The book is rather aggressive and seems to attack every essay or book ever about the collapse of Roman Empire in the west while managing to give Western companies/governments an unfavourable comparison. His theories on why Rome fell do make sense and it contains an excellent glossary but it is a book that could done with being split into two books rather then one so he didn't have to limit the economy of the Third Century to one page. Some may find it too aggressive but none the less a very interesting read.

The Ruin of the Roman Empire by James J. O'Donnell. A book split into three parts, the revival of the West under Theoderic, the poor rule of Justinian and how everything fell apart in Pope Gregory the Great's lifetime. The writer comes across as extremely arrogant, sarcastic, dismissive of conventional history and some of his dismissive view points will upset people (he insults Reagan, neo-con's and anyone who believes the Bible/Korean to be very accurate). While I found Goldsworthy's theory that we need to go back to the 3rd century for the decline of Rome, I can't bring myself to agree with O'Donnel. How can Justinian be that incompetent and not kill himself getting out of bed? His lecture on what the Modern World may learn is coloured by his obvious feelings against certain people/parities. Dragged on a bit in third part but there was a good book in there for first two parts, when the author kept to the facts then he was entertaining and informative. If his editor can just keep him from expressing opinions on/comparisons with modern life, it would have been far better.

Others:

Harold: The Last Anglo-Saxon King by Ian W.Walker. Harold, the second shortest reigning King England ever had, is known for losing to William I in 1006 at Hastings, killed that day due to an arrow to the eye. As books looking over England's history tends to due a summary of anything before William's reign then start the King's from the Norman invader. Few seem to have studied Harold, in part perhaps due to difficulty finding sources about the King that aren't blatantly biased one way or another. Mr Walker was brave to take on the task and has done it well, carefully considering what source to accept when source clash and explaining it to the reader, explains why he chose one theory over another rather then taking advantage of his audience by not showing the alternatives. Mr Walker perhaps is too kind towards Harold's motives at times but I may just be too cynical, the book suffers as it is hard to get at Harold the man rather then Harold the Earl then King means informative rather then fascinating but not Walker's fault. He has done a service to our knowledge of the time before the Normans.

The Red Prince. The Fall of a Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Europe by Timothy Snyder. A book about a bisexual Hapsburg Duke who wished to be King of Ukraine, he fought for several sides and lived in several countries in a bid for that goal. He saw the Hapsburg's fall and the rise of Hitler and Stalin, it gives a lot of information about what happened in the East after WW1, it informed me a lot about the decline of the Hapsburg Empire, neither an area I had heard much about. With such an ambitious man who saw the world he knew collapse around him and struggled in such turbulent times, this should have been a fascinating book but Snyder struggled. Early on he alluded to time quite a bit, which was baffling, his ****of writing left things half explained, characters vanish with no explanation of what happened to them afterwards, tip toes around relations, failing to bring the Duke to life. One of the best bits, if possibly shouldn't even have been included, was near the end when Snyder, writing in 2008, made comparisons between modern Europe and the Hapsburg's in a theory, on the whole the book was very dull which is a great pity given the potential and how unlikely it is we will see anyone write about the Red Prince for some time.

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin was a great book and whatever happens, I'll be thankful for the Obama hype seeing the book return to England. In England, we barely manage to learn anything about our history that isn't Tudor (by that, a brief look at Henry VIII and Elizabeth I) or Victorian so information about Lincoln beyond the basics? I didn't know much but his hefty tome corrected all that, taught me about his rivals and American politics at the time while being entertaining thanks to the little stories. It isn't too often I feel sad at the end of a book but Goodwin managed to ensure the President's death hit home so very hard, a fitting finale to the excellent book.

The Sisters who would be Queen, the tragedy of Mary, Katherine and Lady Jane Grey by Leanda De Lisle. The Grey family were, by thanks to their mother, outside contenders for the throne and would have probably faded out of history if Henry VIII's divorces not thrown the succession into some chaos. In theory, had the King's three children died without issue, the crown would have fallen to the Grey family but due to questions of legitimacy, region and politics, Jane Grey was made Queen of England for nine days before Mary Tudor took London and get her crown. Katherine has recently got more limelight as Elizabeth locked her up over a marriage. Leanda De Lisle writes about both well, showing the politics of the time and how it affected them greatly, getting into their personalities and destroying the (deeply disturbing at times) Jane Grey myths, she manages to dig beneath the surface and write a sad story about three dimensional characters though she struggles a bit with Mary Grey due to a lack of sources and shes rushes the bit about the descendants but these are small complaints about an excellent book.