So long since I've written anything bookish!
So I was all sick and fluey over the weekend, which severely limited my activities, and so I took the opportunity to catch up on some reading.
It so happened that I'd picked up a lovely hardback copy of Sharon Kay Penman's "Cruel as the Grave" at Half Price Books during the the Bay Area Book Fest . I'd been sitting on it for a while, not sure if I really wanted to read an amateur mystery from an author I knew best as a great historical novelist.
But in this book, Sharon Kay Penman really plays to her strengths, bringing out the details of life in medieval Britain. Her protagonist, Justin de Quincy is very likable, the historical characters are believable, and the story makes its way to a satisfactory conclusion.
I love that the author is able to bring out the shades of gray in both the villains (such as Prince John) and the heroes of the story. John especially made a great anti-hero. Maybe it was the shades of Loki in the character that made him so sympathetic.
The book was inspiring enough for me to buy and read the rest of the series(The Queen's Man, Dragon's Lair, and Prince of Darkness in the next few days (even sneaking in a few pages on my iPhone at work), and now I'm itching for a fifth. Here's hoping for more.
So I was all sick and fluey over the weekend, which severely limited my activities, and so I took the opportunity to catch up on some reading.
It so happened that I'd picked up a lovely hardback copy of Sharon Kay Penman's "Cruel as the Grave" at Half Price Books during the the Bay Area Book Fest . I'd been sitting on it for a while, not sure if I really wanted to read an amateur mystery from an author I knew best as a great historical novelist.
But in this book, Sharon Kay Penman really plays to her strengths, bringing out the details of life in medieval Britain. Her protagonist, Justin de Quincy is very likable, the historical characters are believable, and the story makes its way to a satisfactory conclusion.
I love that the author is able to bring out the shades of gray in both the villains (such as Prince John) and the heroes of the story. John especially made a great anti-hero. Maybe it was the shades of Loki in the character that made him so sympathetic.
The book was inspiring enough for me to buy and read the rest of the series(The Queen's Man, Dragon's Lair, and Prince of Darkness in the next few days (even sneaking in a few pages on my iPhone at work), and now I'm itching for a fifth. Here's hoping for more.
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