Just testing our new home. Actual posts later?

Book Log 2009 #34: Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell

This one-off about the famed battle of the Hundred Years' War follows the same structure as most of the Cornwell books I've read, what with its troubled young protagonist taking up arms as a way to escape enemies and seek revenge, meeting powerful figures and an almost equally troubled woman along the way.

But like those other Cornwell books, the story is told in an entertaining enough way to help keep the repetitive aspects from bothering me too much. I don't think it's a book that needs to be sought out, but if you like Cornwell or historical fiction and are looking for something to read, you'd do worse.

Book Log 2009 #33: Death and Restoration by Iain Pears

Another in the Jonathan Argyll-Flavia di Stefano series, this time centered around a rumored theft in a monastery whose only painting of value is of disputed origin and currently undergoing the ministrations of a controversial restorer.

A solid mystery as always, with an added dash of subplot related to the art theft squad and Flavia's boss that will set up some stuff in the next - and final - book in the series.

If you've checked in over at the Bruce's blog, then you know that this will be among the last posts here at the attemptedchemistry.com location. As with most moves, there's a sense of nostalgia with an underlying understanding that it's for the best.

In any case, I'll be moving this to a Blogspot location at some point. I should also start cross-posting things to Facebook, I suppose. I'm not as social network/Web 2.0/buzzword of choice savvy as I should be, so it's not like this will turn into a random assortment of links and tweets any time soon. Though that may be more entertaining.

Book Log 2009 #32: World War Z by Max Brooks

I'm not much of a zombie fan, unlike some people. I have nothing against zombie movies and the like, more that I'm not much of a horror genre person generally. But Greg suggested this book as it does venture into the alt-history genre, sort of, so I gave it a go.

And I have to say that I may have misjudged my affinity for the walking dead. I really enjoyed the story, and using an oral history framework made the thing seem a little less bizarre for me. I suppose there's some sort of parable in here as well about how to win a war against a foe that's non-state, but really, it's the sort of book you do read for the zombies.

Book Log 2009 #31: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling

Honestly, I don't have much to say here. Liked it, and appreciated the shift to a darker tone, and was a little surprised about the real lack of typical Hogwarts stuff (Quidditch and the like) until I thought about the fan base. The kids who started with the first book are, I think, old enough to want to move beyond the walls and get more involved in the impending war against Voldemort.

I still don't think the romantic parts work particularly well, at least where Harry's concerned. Still seems too rushed, but that could be my comparing him to the slow build with Ron and Hermione.

Typically I've read the books just before the movies, but I don't think I'll be able to do so with the last one. I nearly took the last book out of the library the day after finishing this one, which certainly instills a desire to see how it all turns out. Which, I imagine, is just what you want from the next to last book in a series.