I've read Deathly Hallows about 4 or 5 times now. Rowling is piss poor at writing, but it's like reading a comic
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You do it to immerse yourself in a world, without having to really think about it.
I still hate all the faff in tents bit though (chapters 4 to 13 = skip
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).
I'm on a bit of a Bernard Cornwell bender at the moment. Again, not a great author, but his history and "feel" of history is good. He also know how to knock together a decent enough action story, with some obligatory love/revenge sub plots.
So I started on Saturday with Azincourt. All about the English invasion of France in 1415 and Henry V's victory at the battle. It's what the whole Shakespeare's (you've heard of that guy I assume) Henry V was about. Though unlike Shakespeare, Cornwell has used historically researched facts :lol:
It's just a war tale. The story of an archer working as a professional soldier in the middle ages. Lots of blood, guts and killing. A bit of rape, murder and pillage thrown in too for good measure. Then half a book describing the way we slaughtered and humiliated the Frenchies - HUZZAH! (Cornwell doesn't appear to like the French much :lol: ).
So, good read for a couple of nights, mindless violent entertainment almost in a period of history I love (I'm waiting for him to do some Wars of the Roses stuff
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).
So, on the back of that, I bought the latest two of his Saxon/Dane series. It's all about the son of a Danish lord from Northumbria, whose father is killed by his [the father's] brother. The son gets rescued from the battle by a Saxon Lord who raises him from the age of ten as a Saxon. If you don't know much about this period (late 9th Century) - it's a bit confusing really :lol:
Anyway, it's the tale of this boys hunt for revenge as he becomes one of the most feared warriors in Wessex, Sussex, Mercia, Cumberaland and Northumbria. He fights with Alfred the great (who lived in a marsh and burned the cakes) and it's all about that period of history where England was brought together under a single ruler. Essentially, the turning point from the dark ages to the middle ages.
Again, it's on (relatively) solid historical ground and it's an action/adventure involving lots of killing, maiming, rape, murder and bloodshed...
Reading it though so close on the tail of Stonehenge, the Crécy series and Azincourt - you realise that all Cornwell's novels have pretty much the same characters, the same kinds of revenge issues. It's like he has a computer program that runs out templates for him. It just mixes and matches the characters and plots (probably taken form the Sharpe books :lol: ).
Still, it's mindless, yet mildly worthy reading. I'd recommend Azincourt to anyone wanting to read about the French getting a whuppping. The Saxon series though is a bit more "boys own adventure" and if you don't like strange names - it's not for you :lol: