The B&B Book Review - The Bear and Badger

Raiziel

Have you read the other two?

acemuzzy

Yes. Both fine really, but neither quite as good, third better than the second, but kinda gets some closure between them. The build/reveal in the first one is magnificent though.

Raiziel

Thanks, muzzy. Reading The Shining Girls at the moment, but might just make that one my next read.

Gremill

99p is a steal. Read it years ago and remember loving it, but can't remember much else about it though.

tigersgogrrr

Mordew.

It's good so far.

davyK

Completed Vol.3 of Churchill's The Second World War which covers 1941 - starting off fighting alone in North Africa, The Atlantic and the Middle East, while still managing home defence and ending with Russia and the US joining the fray.

Japan really caught the US and GB with their pants down. They have the run of the Pacific at the end of this volume with both US and GB ships at the bottom of the sea - and the US is nowhere near ready to take them on. They are eyeing up Singapore.

Rommel was temporarily foiled but is still in the game re North Africa.

The Germans are bogged down in the Russian Winter.

The fleet in the Mediterranean have been battered severely by submarines - 2 major ships sitting in Alexandria harbour at risk. Malta and Tobruk holding out stubbornly.

Churchill's energy and mental plate spinning is Herculean. He flies to the US just before Christmas '41 and speaks to the assemblage in the Capitol building and delivers the "Some Chicken, Some Neck" speech in Ottawa before going back to US, feeling heart troubles and taking a few days off. Then the Grand Alliance is agreed between the big 3.

Then homeward. He then decides to fly from Bermuda back to Blighty on a seaplane - almost on the spur of the moment (a battleship and escort was awaiting him) - and avoids stumbling into the German batteries in France after drifting off course in the mist - and also a scrambled squadron of Hurricanes the English sent up because they thought he was in an enemy bomber.

halfgone

No Last King of Osten Ard book 3 till October, get it together Tad Williams. What have you been doing during lockdown?

Will have to stagger the original trilogy now. Delighted it's the same reader, he's exceptional (take note Neal Asher).

Dinostar77

Listening to Ryan Kirk's Nightblade book1. Probably be a good book to list to while playing Ghosts of Tsushima. The setting is appropriate as is the characters. Does anyone else listen to audiobooks while playing or try to find a audiobook appropriate for the game setting?

By the way anyone read Kel Kade "Kings Dark Tidings" book series. I really enjoyed the series. Would make for a good tv show or videogame i think.

Skade

Dogs of War was overdue for a read.

Tchaikovsky is rapidly becoming a favourite of mine, again his anthropomorphic work is on point, and I loved Bees. (Reminded me of the pain from MG3:snake eater (best bosses)).

acemuzzy

A Memory Called Empire is 99p on Kindle and sounds like a thing folk here might like. (I've bought but not read.)

Could even be a book club nominee...

acemuzzy

acemuzzy wrote:

It works pretty well as a standalone I'd say. But yeah there's not too come at the end of it. Our likes haven't always been assigned but really hope you enjoy - and do keep going even if you're unconvinced by the start because Things Happen

So even this predo was polar wrong

Gremill

acemuzzy wrote:

A Memory Called Empire is 99p on Kindle and sounds like a thing folk here might like. (I've bought but not read.)

Could even be a book club nominee...

Cheers Muzzy, bought that. Out of interest, is there a way of getting notified of these kinds of deals or do people just stumble across them?

acemuzzy

Amazon itself pinged that one at me, maybe in part due to previous purchases?

The main site I used to use was eReaderIQ which somebody here recommended, and emails with bargains based off authors you request etc. But I have too many books atm to be really using it right now!

davyK

Finished Vol.4 of Churchill's Second World War

Two vols to go.

Vol.4 covered 1942-Spring 1943 when things take a turn.

It starts with Rommel advancing to Alamein - touching distance of Egypt and the Suez canal with access to the Arabian oil fields.
Then the fall of Singapore to the Japanese.

The US then defeats Japan in the Coral Sea and at Midway
GB push Rommel all the way back and the US land on the West African coast and after the Allies meet up the German/Italian forces are ultimately pushed out of North Africa with a last stand in Tunisia. The allies are ready to hop over to Sicily and then the Italian mainland.
The Atlantic battle rages on and GB starts to take on US troops and weapons for an assault in '44
The Arctic convoys taking supplies to Russia are taking a pounding.
The Russians stop the rot at Leningrad and the Germans are pushed back to the lines they formed a year before.
GB reinforcing India (who produced 2.5m volunteers) to push East and engage with the Japanese.
GB still holding Iran, Egypt with forces there - looking at a possible push North into the Caucuses to prevent the Germans getting to the oilfields.

Raiziel

acemuzzy wrote:

acemuzzy wrote:

It works pretty well as a standalone I'd say. But yeah there's not too come at the end of it. Our likes haven't always been assigned but really hope you enjoy - and do keep going even if you're unconvinced by the start because Things Happen

So even this predo was polar wrong

It really was.

Skade

Gremill wrote:

acemuzzy wrote:

A Memory Called Empire is 99p on Kindle and sounds like a thing folk here might like. (I've bought but not read.)

Could even be a book club nominee...

Cheers Muzzy, bought that. Out of interest, is there a way of getting notified of these kinds of deals or do people just stumble across them?

Another cheers here.

It was even on a wishlist of mine but no notification.

SpaceGazelle

I've been meaning to do Jane Austen justice and she didn't disapppoint. Stupid good talent.

hylian_elf

Oh I was just thinking earlier I’m going to start on Austen next!

Gremill

Adrian Tchaikovsky high fantasy novel (first of a series) 'The Tiger and the Wolf' is 99p on Kindle at the moment. Surely worth a punt if you're into fantasy - every book I've read of his so far had been brilliant.

davyK

Parking Churchill's WW2 for a while. Have picked up the 2nd 3 body problem novel on Kindle.

The Daddy

Any audible recommendations? I’ve got a free credit burning a hole in my account.

regmcfly

Beastie Boys Autobiography

Stopharage

The Daddy wrote:

Any audible recommendations? I’ve got a free credit burning a hole in my account.

The Future Starts Here by John Higgs.

And pick up Stranger Than We Can Imagine: Making Sense of the 20th Century by the same author in the current £3 sale.

They are absolutely superb - the former looks to the future and what we can expect from it. The latter does what it says - it's wonderful.

The Daddy

Cheers both, I shall investigate.

Gremill

Finished American War by Omar El Akkad. Bloody hell. A bleak, powerful and thought provoking novel. The story of what war can do to a country and the ordinary people living there, through the eyes of one family. Scarily plausible and brilliantly written, that it's set in America and not Iraq or Afghanistan just adds to the impact.

acemuzzy

I've just got the final section of it too. Bleak as you say, but I think it's very good. Slightly dreading what still less ahead...

Gremill

It's excellent.

pantyfire

American War - read that. I remember enjoying it but I can’t actually remember anything about it other than a shed.
My memory for consumables is shot to shit.

Dinostar77

Nightblade by Ryan Kirk

An audiobook ive been listening to while playing Nioh2, only cause i dont have Ghost of Tsushima. Inspired by Samurai. It was a fun listen. Though why these "period" authors need to go into graphic detail about "bad things" happening to women isnt needed in my opinion. Some things are better left unsaid. Anyway a mate has given me the other two books in the series as audio books so they will get listened to.

Though its nowhere near as good or gripping as Kal Kade "King Dark Tidings" series. Those remain my favourite ("fantasy" is that the genre for these type of books? ) books of this ilke.

Anyway the blurb for Nighblade.

...Ryuu is a boy orphaned by violence at a young age. Found by a wandering warrior, he learns he may have more strength than he ever imagined possible.

A quiet child, Moriko is forced into a monastic system she despises. Torn from her family and the forest she grew up in, she must fight to learn the skills she’ll need to survive her tutelage under the realm’s most dangerous assassin.

Young, beautiful, and broke, Takako is sold to pay for her father’s debts. Thrust into a world she doesn’t understand and battles she didn’t ask for, she must decide where her loyalties lie.

When their lives crash together in a Kingdom on the brink of war, the decisions they make will change both their lives and their Kingdom forever.

If they can stay alive....

acemuzzy

pantyfire wrote:

American War - read that. I remember enjoying it but I can’t actually remember anything about it other than a shed.
My memory for consumables is shot to shit.

The but I'm at involves a shed.

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