M.M. Gaidar's Blog
August 25, 2022
2nd Edition of The Highgate Ghost
If you are a fan of reading the mystery series about Sherlock Holmes or the macabre tales by Edgar Allan Poe, if you enjoy watching such TV shows as Penny Dreadful and The Alienist, you will love the series CASSANDRA'S SHADOWS!
The Highgate Ghost starts the series. You can buy the book here --
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
The Highgate Ghost starts the series. You can buy the book here --
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
June 21, 2019
The Highgate Ghost FREE on Amazon
If you are fascinated with the dark alleys of Victorian London, with the dimly-lit living-rooms, clouds of opium rising over the streets with questionable repute and unconventional bad-ass detectives, this is a story for you!
Grab it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
Grab it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
June 17, 2019
Book 13
June 14 - 16
I've read one more book on Egypt, "Dictionary on Civilization. Egypt", a little bit different from all the rest I read before. It is more like a guide into Ancient Egyptian history, highlighting the most important archaeological discoveries, most prominent rulers and most interesting facts.
This book was quite pleasant to read as it is stuffed with beautiful quality illustrations and the text is organized in short paragraphs including only relevant information. It makes the book a perfect choice for those who are going to Egypt and wish to be informed or those who just want to know a little more about it without reading boring encyclopedic volumes. I'd say that this book is like a magazine.
Can't say a lot about it, except that I made a few fascinating discoveries, which will probably help me when I'll be writing the third part of my detective series about Cassandra Ayers.
8 / 10
I've read one more book on Egypt, "Dictionary on Civilization. Egypt", a little bit different from all the rest I read before. It is more like a guide into Ancient Egyptian history, highlighting the most important archaeological discoveries, most prominent rulers and most interesting facts.
This book was quite pleasant to read as it is stuffed with beautiful quality illustrations and the text is organized in short paragraphs including only relevant information. It makes the book a perfect choice for those who are going to Egypt and wish to be informed or those who just want to know a little more about it without reading boring encyclopedic volumes. I'd say that this book is like a magazine.
Can't say a lot about it, except that I made a few fascinating discoveries, which will probably help me when I'll be writing the third part of my detective series about Cassandra Ayers.
8 / 10
June 14, 2019
Book 12
June 10 - 12
Treasure
I am happier than ever since the day I started my reading challenge because I found a perfect story! Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the champion of brilliant character descriptions and a talented puppeteer who always pulls the right strings of the plot, Mr. Michael McDowell with his novel "Gilded Needles"!
Actually, I've cheated a little this time. I didn't find this book in the library, but I was dead set to know what it was about, so I bought it's audio version on Amazon and enjoyed this 10 hour journey into the Black Triangle, the darkest and the filthiest of New-York districts of the year 1882. And what a journey it was! This novel engages the reader from the first line and doesn't let go till the end.
This story about the clash of a female criminal family with the family of a judge has all the ingredients to grip my attention - my favourite period, 19th century, dark alleys soaked in opium and steeped in danger, ruthless reality of life in the rotting pit where criminals thrive in all possible forms and shapes, where people either accept being cogs in the criminal world or perish crushed by it. The tone of the book reminded me of the novels by Dickens and Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe's tales of mystery and macabre, the TV shows "Penny Dreadful", "The Nick" and "Allienist". The fact that McDowell collaborated on Tim Burtons eerie "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and wrote the script for Burton's "Beetlejuice" also illustrates his style.
The thing which stuck with me forever is the introduction in "Gilded Needles". In fact, I think it was one of the most powerful introductions I have ever read. It gives the description of New York celebrating New Year. The most eerie, raw and grotesque take on old New York, and I absolutely love it! It gives a feeling of a fly over the city. We see children huddled around a grate, taking turns to sit directly upon the iron grid; impoverished regulars of a stale-beer shop, a low and filthy place which serves stale beer discarded by a saloon; released prisoners playing cards at the entrance of the stale-beer shop; opium smokers lurking in the dark corners of the opium house; a young actress who comes to an abortionist; a young girl prostituted to a middle-aged man; a family in a rich but bleak house discussing the chances for Democrats to win the elections in the new year; and the bells pealing over the city as the New Year, "the Year of Grace" begins. With every word I descended lower and lower over old New York until the story enveloped me entirely.
It's a shame such a great author had been unknown to me before. This novel was first published back in 1980, but I'd had no idea it existed, which only spills more oil on the fire of my indignation concerning how trashy novels get so much publicity, leaving audience oblivious of really worthy ones.
Sadly, Michael McDowell died in 1999 when I was only nine. His stories reach out for me now. I feel I can learn a lot from him and I intend to read other books written by him.
Michael McDowell gets my absolute admiration! 10 out of 10! Oscar! Nobel Prize!
Treasure
I am happier than ever since the day I started my reading challenge because I found a perfect story! Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the champion of brilliant character descriptions and a talented puppeteer who always pulls the right strings of the plot, Mr. Michael McDowell with his novel "Gilded Needles"!
Actually, I've cheated a little this time. I didn't find this book in the library, but I was dead set to know what it was about, so I bought it's audio version on Amazon and enjoyed this 10 hour journey into the Black Triangle, the darkest and the filthiest of New-York districts of the year 1882. And what a journey it was! This novel engages the reader from the first line and doesn't let go till the end.
This story about the clash of a female criminal family with the family of a judge has all the ingredients to grip my attention - my favourite period, 19th century, dark alleys soaked in opium and steeped in danger, ruthless reality of life in the rotting pit where criminals thrive in all possible forms and shapes, where people either accept being cogs in the criminal world or perish crushed by it. The tone of the book reminded me of the novels by Dickens and Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe's tales of mystery and macabre, the TV shows "Penny Dreadful", "The Nick" and "Allienist". The fact that McDowell collaborated on Tim Burtons eerie "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and wrote the script for Burton's "Beetlejuice" also illustrates his style.
The thing which stuck with me forever is the introduction in "Gilded Needles". In fact, I think it was one of the most powerful introductions I have ever read. It gives the description of New York celebrating New Year. The most eerie, raw and grotesque take on old New York, and I absolutely love it! It gives a feeling of a fly over the city. We see children huddled around a grate, taking turns to sit directly upon the iron grid; impoverished regulars of a stale-beer shop, a low and filthy place which serves stale beer discarded by a saloon; released prisoners playing cards at the entrance of the stale-beer shop; opium smokers lurking in the dark corners of the opium house; a young actress who comes to an abortionist; a young girl prostituted to a middle-aged man; a family in a rich but bleak house discussing the chances for Democrats to win the elections in the new year; and the bells pealing over the city as the New Year, "the Year of Grace" begins. With every word I descended lower and lower over old New York until the story enveloped me entirely.
It's a shame such a great author had been unknown to me before. This novel was first published back in 1980, but I'd had no idea it existed, which only spills more oil on the fire of my indignation concerning how trashy novels get so much publicity, leaving audience oblivious of really worthy ones.
Sadly, Michael McDowell died in 1999 when I was only nine. His stories reach out for me now. I feel I can learn a lot from him and I intend to read other books written by him.
Michael McDowell gets my absolute admiration! 10 out of 10! Oscar! Nobel Prize!
June 11, 2019
Book 11
June 8 - 10
Hulk is Angry
I hadn't had the slightest notion that "The Constant Princess" by Philippa Gregory would piss me off so much. I started taking notes from the very first page, my annoyance building with every next passage. After page 35, I just stopped writing down all the flaws I came across because by that time I had already wasted a pile of paper on that.
I'm not going to talk about historical accuracy because, first, I'm not a historian, and second, I don't know to what extent the author wanted to stick to the facts. What I am going to talk about is the narration itself, the characters, the plot and simple logic.
The story revolves around Catalina, Princess of Spain and Wales, the Catalina, who later became Henry VIII's first wife and suffered a fate of a queen in exile. In "The Constant Princess", her journey starts when she is five, and, believe me, I thought I would never say such a thing, but I hated this five-year-old child.
First of all, she doesn't sound five-year-old. Secondly, she sounds like a spoilt, self-loving and egotistic bitch. I get it that royal children were brought up in a different way, they were taught Latin earlier than they were able to hold a spoon, but, no, I don't believe a little child could say to her nurse: "If I, the Princess of Wales herself, can be left in a burning campsite, then you, who are nothing but a Morisco anyway, can certainly endure it." Also, this is a very strange way to make the character relatable. And again, I understand that royal children were brought up with the idea of their superiority, but only a really fucked-up child would say this to her loving nurse.
Apart from Catalina, other characters are rather cardboard. Some of them are just mentioned in passing, like her sisters, which, in some cases, creates a strange feeling that no one except Catalina matters. Like in the scene where the camp is set on fire, but Isabella, Catalina's mother, only cares about her younger daughter Catalina. Other princesses are simply there, they are extra with no features.
In the beginning of the story, Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, Catalina's parents, lay siege to Granada, the last kingdom of the Moors in Spain. This event is described on 27 pages with only one aim - to show how brave and unstoppable Isabella was, and what impact her personality had on little Catalina and her whole life. Except, the author has a very peculiar notion of Isabella's bravery and decisiveness. Several times the reader is told that the woman is a battle axe and a talented ruler, but to me, she seems a short-sighted and extremely stupid goose. She takes her three daughters, including five-year-old Catalina, on a scouting mission. Seriously?! She goes to the village near the city they lay siege to with three princesses. When they are attacked by the Moors, Isabella climbs onto the roof of some hut and... no, she doesn't shoot arrows at them like Legolas... she starts praying! Yes, it is a historical fact that their royal family were extremely religious, but I highly doubt they won their battles by praying! Praying didn't make Isabella and Ferdinand great conquerors! But this fucking woman kneels on the roof, exposed to all enemies, and prays!
As for the logic of the plot, well, judge yourself. One of the generals in Isabella and Ferdinand's army, Hernando, knows a secret passage into the city they lay siege to. And he uses this knowledge to pull off a prank - to leave Ave Maria stabbed to the floor in the Moors' mosque. Why not use this knowledge to invade the city? WHY? God! What an imbecile would do such a thing?
Some dialogues nearly killed me. Instead of describing a horse that must have looked terrifying because "its lips were cut off to make it snarl at the enemy", the author gives us an exchange between Isabella and her daughter Catalina.
'His horse looks so frightening, like it wants to bite,' Catalina.
'He has cut off its lips to make it snarl at us. But we are not made fearful by such things. We are not frightened children,' Isabella.
These are just talking heads like in a very cheap movie where exposition is delivered through dialogue.
Even though Isabella is portrayed as a religious zealot, ready to pray in the middle of the battle field, she sometimes says very controversial things. She keeps calling the Moors heretics and unbelievers, but then claims that Yarfe, one of the Moors' knights, and all other knights of Granada, are honourable men. No, no, no! You can't hate your enemy because of their belonging to another religion and consider them honourable. Catholics and Muslims hated each other so much that they spent decades killing each other. Isabella's democratic take on the enemy's honour contradicts the nature of her character and the nature of war in general.
What is more, after Granada is finally taken, Isabella, Ferdinand and their children appear in the city in the attires of the Moors, in their rich silks and turbans. Why? Why would Christian royal family do such a thing? Why would conservative Catholic women dress in Muslim gowns? Are they a travelling circus?
And, of course, there is a bouquet of the most beaten clichés in this story, such as the main heroine, Catalina, being a desire of all men's hearts. Adult she arrives at the court of Henry VII. The king immediately feels desire impulse in his temples and, of course, in his groin. His son Arthur behaves like a clumsy teenage girl when Catalina is near. His younger brother, Henry, later Henry VIII, falls in love with her too. Obviously, men in this story are turned on by bitchy girls who tell them what to do and overestimate themselves.
All in all, this novel became a disappointment of the year for me. I can't find any redeeming qualities in it, so I don't even bother to give it any score. I feel sorry for my eyes which had to strain so much to read these endless 500 pages.
Hulk is Angry
I hadn't had the slightest notion that "The Constant Princess" by Philippa Gregory would piss me off so much. I started taking notes from the very first page, my annoyance building with every next passage. After page 35, I just stopped writing down all the flaws I came across because by that time I had already wasted a pile of paper on that.
I'm not going to talk about historical accuracy because, first, I'm not a historian, and second, I don't know to what extent the author wanted to stick to the facts. What I am going to talk about is the narration itself, the characters, the plot and simple logic.
The story revolves around Catalina, Princess of Spain and Wales, the Catalina, who later became Henry VIII's first wife and suffered a fate of a queen in exile. In "The Constant Princess", her journey starts when she is five, and, believe me, I thought I would never say such a thing, but I hated this five-year-old child.
First of all, she doesn't sound five-year-old. Secondly, she sounds like a spoilt, self-loving and egotistic bitch. I get it that royal children were brought up in a different way, they were taught Latin earlier than they were able to hold a spoon, but, no, I don't believe a little child could say to her nurse: "If I, the Princess of Wales herself, can be left in a burning campsite, then you, who are nothing but a Morisco anyway, can certainly endure it." Also, this is a very strange way to make the character relatable. And again, I understand that royal children were brought up with the idea of their superiority, but only a really fucked-up child would say this to her loving nurse.
Apart from Catalina, other characters are rather cardboard. Some of them are just mentioned in passing, like her sisters, which, in some cases, creates a strange feeling that no one except Catalina matters. Like in the scene where the camp is set on fire, but Isabella, Catalina's mother, only cares about her younger daughter Catalina. Other princesses are simply there, they are extra with no features.
In the beginning of the story, Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, Catalina's parents, lay siege to Granada, the last kingdom of the Moors in Spain. This event is described on 27 pages with only one aim - to show how brave and unstoppable Isabella was, and what impact her personality had on little Catalina and her whole life. Except, the author has a very peculiar notion of Isabella's bravery and decisiveness. Several times the reader is told that the woman is a battle axe and a talented ruler, but to me, she seems a short-sighted and extremely stupid goose. She takes her three daughters, including five-year-old Catalina, on a scouting mission. Seriously?! She goes to the village near the city they lay siege to with three princesses. When they are attacked by the Moors, Isabella climbs onto the roof of some hut and... no, she doesn't shoot arrows at them like Legolas... she starts praying! Yes, it is a historical fact that their royal family were extremely religious, but I highly doubt they won their battles by praying! Praying didn't make Isabella and Ferdinand great conquerors! But this fucking woman kneels on the roof, exposed to all enemies, and prays!
As for the logic of the plot, well, judge yourself. One of the generals in Isabella and Ferdinand's army, Hernando, knows a secret passage into the city they lay siege to. And he uses this knowledge to pull off a prank - to leave Ave Maria stabbed to the floor in the Moors' mosque. Why not use this knowledge to invade the city? WHY? God! What an imbecile would do such a thing?
Some dialogues nearly killed me. Instead of describing a horse that must have looked terrifying because "its lips were cut off to make it snarl at the enemy", the author gives us an exchange between Isabella and her daughter Catalina.
'His horse looks so frightening, like it wants to bite,' Catalina.
'He has cut off its lips to make it snarl at us. But we are not made fearful by such things. We are not frightened children,' Isabella.
These are just talking heads like in a very cheap movie where exposition is delivered through dialogue.
Even though Isabella is portrayed as a religious zealot, ready to pray in the middle of the battle field, she sometimes says very controversial things. She keeps calling the Moors heretics and unbelievers, but then claims that Yarfe, one of the Moors' knights, and all other knights of Granada, are honourable men. No, no, no! You can't hate your enemy because of their belonging to another religion and consider them honourable. Catholics and Muslims hated each other so much that they spent decades killing each other. Isabella's democratic take on the enemy's honour contradicts the nature of her character and the nature of war in general.
What is more, after Granada is finally taken, Isabella, Ferdinand and their children appear in the city in the attires of the Moors, in their rich silks and turbans. Why? Why would Christian royal family do such a thing? Why would conservative Catholic women dress in Muslim gowns? Are they a travelling circus?
And, of course, there is a bouquet of the most beaten clichés in this story, such as the main heroine, Catalina, being a desire of all men's hearts. Adult she arrives at the court of Henry VII. The king immediately feels desire impulse in his temples and, of course, in his groin. His son Arthur behaves like a clumsy teenage girl when Catalina is near. His younger brother, Henry, later Henry VIII, falls in love with her too. Obviously, men in this story are turned on by bitchy girls who tell them what to do and overestimate themselves.
All in all, this novel became a disappointment of the year for me. I can't find any redeeming qualities in it, so I don't even bother to give it any score. I feel sorry for my eyes which had to strain so much to read these endless 500 pages.
June 8, 2019
Book 10
June 5 - 7
Cozy Walks with the Mummies
Can't say that "Beneath the Sands of Egypt" by Donald P. Ryan gave me any new insight into Egyptian history, it is less rich in facts than those ones I'd read before, but this one elaborates a little more on archaeology, on how the tombs in the Valley of the Kings are found, marked, excavated and maintained. I learnt more about outstanding names in archaeology and their contribution into the cause.
What I liked most about this memoir of an unconventional archaeologist is that it is not encyclopedic and can appeal to bigger audience than most history books on Egypt. The author also shares some anecdotal stories from his experience of being an archaeologist, some interpersonal relationships and his own emotional reactions to different discoveries.
The book becomes a little boring at places, but my own fascination with the places he describes helped me get through some more tedious pages.
Overall, quite solid read which I would advise to those who are more interested in archaeology as a subject. For those who seek interesting books on Egypt, I would recommend "Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians" or "The City of Akhenaten and Nefertity", which I'd reviewed before.
8 out of 10
I have already started another book. I've always been keen on British history, more particularly on early Medieval and Tudor times, and, of course, I've binge watched all costume drama, including those films based on Philippa Gregory novels, with "The Other Boleyn Girl" being my favourite. I've decided it is high time I got acquainted with her novels myself. So, my next read is "The Constant Princess", June 8 - 10.
Cozy Walks with the Mummies
Can't say that "Beneath the Sands of Egypt" by Donald P. Ryan gave me any new insight into Egyptian history, it is less rich in facts than those ones I'd read before, but this one elaborates a little more on archaeology, on how the tombs in the Valley of the Kings are found, marked, excavated and maintained. I learnt more about outstanding names in archaeology and their contribution into the cause.
What I liked most about this memoir of an unconventional archaeologist is that it is not encyclopedic and can appeal to bigger audience than most history books on Egypt. The author also shares some anecdotal stories from his experience of being an archaeologist, some interpersonal relationships and his own emotional reactions to different discoveries.
The book becomes a little boring at places, but my own fascination with the places he describes helped me get through some more tedious pages.
Overall, quite solid read which I would advise to those who are more interested in archaeology as a subject. For those who seek interesting books on Egypt, I would recommend "Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians" or "The City of Akhenaten and Nefertity", which I'd reviewed before.
8 out of 10
I have already started another book. I've always been keen on British history, more particularly on early Medieval and Tudor times, and, of course, I've binge watched all costume drama, including those films based on Philippa Gregory novels, with "The Other Boleyn Girl" being my favourite. I've decided it is high time I got acquainted with her novels myself. So, my next read is "The Constant Princess", June 8 - 10.
June 5, 2019
Book 9
June 2 - 4
Mea Culpa
I am a literary sinner, I confess. I have only read a couple of books by Stephen King, and abandoned them halfway. I only read his autobiography with much joy. But "Elevation" is finally the one which sticks with me.
I read it in one gulp. Well, okay, in two gulps, but it was amazing! I don't have much to say about this story, and I refuse to give it any marks because it's hard to put a price on stories which make you sincerely laugh and cry. Don't remember when I actually cried over a book last time, except that time when it was a murderously tedious crime novel of 500 pages, and I only had two days to finish it.
Will try to describe "Elevation" in just three adjectives - touching, though-provoking and kind. This book is an absolute must-read!
And, I am very happy I can now say that I am a Stephen King's admirer.
Vocabulary - https://drive.google.com/drive/folder...
Mea Culpa
I am a literary sinner, I confess. I have only read a couple of books by Stephen King, and abandoned them halfway. I only read his autobiography with much joy. But "Elevation" is finally the one which sticks with me.
I read it in one gulp. Well, okay, in two gulps, but it was amazing! I don't have much to say about this story, and I refuse to give it any marks because it's hard to put a price on stories which make you sincerely laugh and cry. Don't remember when I actually cried over a book last time, except that time when it was a murderously tedious crime novel of 500 pages, and I only had two days to finish it.
Will try to describe "Elevation" in just three adjectives - touching, though-provoking and kind. This book is an absolute must-read!
And, I am very happy I can now say that I am a Stephen King's admirer.
Vocabulary - https://drive.google.com/drive/folder...
June 2, 2019
Book 8
May 29 - June 1
Book 8
May 29 - June 1
A Rebellious Pharaoh
It has been a while since I first heard about Akhenaten, the only pharaoh who for a short span of time introduced monotheism to his subjects. From the book "The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Amarna and Its People" I got to know that there was much more to that story than this simple explanation, and there were more dimensions to Akhenaten's personality than I imagined.
Since childhood, I have always rooted for underdogs, unsung and underrated heroes. Perhaps the earliest example of such a hero that stuck with me for my whole life was the protagonist from the animated film "Balto", which I watched when I was seven. That was the first videotape in my home collection. I have watched it a hundred times, I think. Then there was Belle from "Beauty and the Beast" with her unconventional thinking, later Aladar from "Dinosaur". Those ones made me feel for underdogs. And I think my interest in Akhenaten is explained by the fact that he was also a bit of an unsung hero. Of course, he suffered from megalomania and considered himself a deity, but it makes me really sad, how after his death all his legacy was obliterated. Now historians and archaeologists are trying to recreate the whole picture of his rule and life bit by bit.
Barry Kemp's work on Amarna, the city built by Akhenaten, and on this pharaoh, took more than 30 years of his life. This book is the result of his efforts. I thoroughly enjoyed every page. I'm glad that I started from a more simple read "Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians". After getting acquainted with the overall picture of the Ancient Egypt's history, I felt it wasn't too hard to read this book by Kemp even though it is rich in terms, names and dates. I found tons of valuable information, drawings, photos, tables and plans of the buildings in Akhenaten's city. Now I can make Akhenaten more believable as a character of my mystery novel "The Lost Caravan".
Akhenaten was a visionary, a man much ahead of his epoch, the one capable of creating a new religion and constructing new cities, the rebellious pharaoh, whose statues and images after his death were destroyed, whose beautiful cities were demolished and abandoned. As for Akhenaten himself, he was reburied, but the location of his tomb is still unknown. The archaeologists suspect one of the unidentified mummies buried in a used tomb may be Akhenaten. A very sad end of a great man.
I strongly recommend this book to all lovers of Egypt and history in general.
10 out of 10
Today I'm starting "Elevation" by Stephen King, a little of fiction literature for a change. June 2 - 4
Book 8
May 29 - June 1
A Rebellious Pharaoh
It has been a while since I first heard about Akhenaten, the only pharaoh who for a short span of time introduced monotheism to his subjects. From the book "The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Amarna and Its People" I got to know that there was much more to that story than this simple explanation, and there were more dimensions to Akhenaten's personality than I imagined.
Since childhood, I have always rooted for underdogs, unsung and underrated heroes. Perhaps the earliest example of such a hero that stuck with me for my whole life was the protagonist from the animated film "Balto", which I watched when I was seven. That was the first videotape in my home collection. I have watched it a hundred times, I think. Then there was Belle from "Beauty and the Beast" with her unconventional thinking, later Aladar from "Dinosaur". Those ones made me feel for underdogs. And I think my interest in Akhenaten is explained by the fact that he was also a bit of an unsung hero. Of course, he suffered from megalomania and considered himself a deity, but it makes me really sad, how after his death all his legacy was obliterated. Now historians and archaeologists are trying to recreate the whole picture of his rule and life bit by bit.
Barry Kemp's work on Amarna, the city built by Akhenaten, and on this pharaoh, took more than 30 years of his life. This book is the result of his efforts. I thoroughly enjoyed every page. I'm glad that I started from a more simple read "Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians". After getting acquainted with the overall picture of the Ancient Egypt's history, I felt it wasn't too hard to read this book by Kemp even though it is rich in terms, names and dates. I found tons of valuable information, drawings, photos, tables and plans of the buildings in Akhenaten's city. Now I can make Akhenaten more believable as a character of my mystery novel "The Lost Caravan".
Akhenaten was a visionary, a man much ahead of his epoch, the one capable of creating a new religion and constructing new cities, the rebellious pharaoh, whose statues and images after his death were destroyed, whose beautiful cities were demolished and abandoned. As for Akhenaten himself, he was reburied, but the location of his tomb is still unknown. The archaeologists suspect one of the unidentified mummies buried in a used tomb may be Akhenaten. A very sad end of a great man.
I strongly recommend this book to all lovers of Egypt and history in general.
10 out of 10
Today I'm starting "Elevation" by Stephen King, a little of fiction literature for a change. June 2 - 4
May 30, 2019
Book 7
May 27 - 29
Glorious and Mysterious Egypt
Ancient Egypt has always been a mystery for me. It is extraordinary, how they precocious they are in many areas, writing, agricultural techniques, medicine, production, architecture tax and political systems, they were thousands of years ahead of their time, but their view of the world was primeval and naive, closer to a prehistoric caveman's than ours. They worshiped numerous gods who represented natural elements and events, they though spirits controlled every natural phenomenon, which left them powerless in the face of gods' wrath, dependent only on prayers.
Yet there has been no other civilization to witness such a long-standing prosperity and power. Their 3,000 year history exists now only in the tombs, temples and other legacy scattered around the world. It gives me goose bumps when I think about it.
Yesterday, I finished reading "Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians" by Bob Brier and Hoyt Hobbs. Surprisingly, this non-fiction book on history turned out to be more engaging than a few novels that I'd read before.
For those interested in this issue, the book will be a great asset. It is an easy read. It gives a detailed insight into the world of the Ancient Egyptians, but the text is neither overloaded nor lofty. I'd say it is a perfect choice for those who are, like me, quite familiar with the Egyptian history, but want to organize this knowledge and get a more detailed picture.
The book covers every significant sphere of the Ancient Egyptians' life, history, religion, government, society, work, play, food, clothes and adornments, arts and crafts, architecture, technology and construction, warfare, medicine and sciences. In addition, there are plenty of photos, maps and tables to illustrate the material.
I want to share the facts which I found most interesting.
1. Egyptians believed that gods will recreate whatever they saw in a man's tomb, so Egyptians decorated the tombs with paintings they most enjoyed.
2. Despite all the secrets Ancient Egypt is steeped in, its success and greatness may be explained simply by its location. It is believed that the Nile is the key to understanding Egypt's power. The annual floods of the Nile provided Egyptians with crops more predictable and stable than in other areas where people depended on rains. It also made soil very fertile and easy to plow. As a result, more food was grown with less manpower than in other countries, which gave Egypt a surplus to trade and time to devote to matters other than mere survival.
3. It is considered that the history of Ancient Egypt started in Predynastic times around 3150 B.C. and ended in 30 B.C. with the death of Cleopatra and Egypt's surrender to Rome. Well, beauty doesn't always save the world, does it?
4. There was only one short period, 16 years, in Ancient Egyptian history when Egypt became monotheistic. Pharaoh Akhenaten came up with the idea of one god, Aten. People continued worshiping their numerous gods though. After Akhenaten's death, his religion was obliterated as well as any memories of him and his family. By the way, the members of his family are also notoriously famous. His wife was the most beautiful woman in history, Nefertiti. His son Tutankhamen, murdered young, is the only pharaoh whose tomb hadn't been robbed before archaeologists discovered it.
5. Speaking about the tombs, they were desecrated not in our times as many believe, this happened after the collapse of the Old Kingdom, in 2181, when a long period of turmoil started in Egyptian history. It ended in 2040 when the Middle Kingdom began.
6. Ancient Egyptians didn't have notions of hell or heaven, but all people were judged after death, the corrupted hearts of sinners were thrown to a creature called the Great Devourer. After this sinners just stopped to exist.
7. Dark and scary Anubis, the god with a head of jackal, is merely the god of embalming.
8. Ancient Egyptians didn't have prisons. Criminals could be beaten, mutilated, executed, sent to mines or quarries, or exiled.
9. Ancient Egyptians didn't kiss. One of the signs of affection was to rub noses.
10. Pharaohs had harems and one royal wife.
11. They didn't have money until epoch of Ptolemies, the last dynasty. To trade something, they used barter.
12. They also didn't have days of the week and weekends. They worked all the time, except major religious holidays. They had three seasons with four months in each. Despite being nameless, each day was marked in calendar as representing specific theological events. They had a 24 hour day, but minutes and seconds didn't exist. Hour spans were measured by special candles with marks down their sides or by lines on a bowl that showed the water remaining after steady dripping.
13. No schools existed, only sons of scribes, higher officials and sometimes children of farmers could attend temples for instruction of letters. The rest were illiterate.
I stop at my favourite number 13:) Hope you'll find this trivia interesting.
I give this book 10 out of 10.
My next book, which I have already started, is "The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Amarna and Its People" by Barry Kemp. This one is of great interest for me since my next novel about the detective Cassandra Ayers is about the excavation of Akhenaten's tomb. This book is bigger, so I give myself three days, May 30 - June 1.
Glorious and Mysterious Egypt
Ancient Egypt has always been a mystery for me. It is extraordinary, how they precocious they are in many areas, writing, agricultural techniques, medicine, production, architecture tax and political systems, they were thousands of years ahead of their time, but their view of the world was primeval and naive, closer to a prehistoric caveman's than ours. They worshiped numerous gods who represented natural elements and events, they though spirits controlled every natural phenomenon, which left them powerless in the face of gods' wrath, dependent only on prayers.
Yet there has been no other civilization to witness such a long-standing prosperity and power. Their 3,000 year history exists now only in the tombs, temples and other legacy scattered around the world. It gives me goose bumps when I think about it.
Yesterday, I finished reading "Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians" by Bob Brier and Hoyt Hobbs. Surprisingly, this non-fiction book on history turned out to be more engaging than a few novels that I'd read before.
For those interested in this issue, the book will be a great asset. It is an easy read. It gives a detailed insight into the world of the Ancient Egyptians, but the text is neither overloaded nor lofty. I'd say it is a perfect choice for those who are, like me, quite familiar with the Egyptian history, but want to organize this knowledge and get a more detailed picture.
The book covers every significant sphere of the Ancient Egyptians' life, history, religion, government, society, work, play, food, clothes and adornments, arts and crafts, architecture, technology and construction, warfare, medicine and sciences. In addition, there are plenty of photos, maps and tables to illustrate the material.
I want to share the facts which I found most interesting.
1. Egyptians believed that gods will recreate whatever they saw in a man's tomb, so Egyptians decorated the tombs with paintings they most enjoyed.
2. Despite all the secrets Ancient Egypt is steeped in, its success and greatness may be explained simply by its location. It is believed that the Nile is the key to understanding Egypt's power. The annual floods of the Nile provided Egyptians with crops more predictable and stable than in other areas where people depended on rains. It also made soil very fertile and easy to plow. As a result, more food was grown with less manpower than in other countries, which gave Egypt a surplus to trade and time to devote to matters other than mere survival.
3. It is considered that the history of Ancient Egypt started in Predynastic times around 3150 B.C. and ended in 30 B.C. with the death of Cleopatra and Egypt's surrender to Rome. Well, beauty doesn't always save the world, does it?
4. There was only one short period, 16 years, in Ancient Egyptian history when Egypt became monotheistic. Pharaoh Akhenaten came up with the idea of one god, Aten. People continued worshiping their numerous gods though. After Akhenaten's death, his religion was obliterated as well as any memories of him and his family. By the way, the members of his family are also notoriously famous. His wife was the most beautiful woman in history, Nefertiti. His son Tutankhamen, murdered young, is the only pharaoh whose tomb hadn't been robbed before archaeologists discovered it.
5. Speaking about the tombs, they were desecrated not in our times as many believe, this happened after the collapse of the Old Kingdom, in 2181, when a long period of turmoil started in Egyptian history. It ended in 2040 when the Middle Kingdom began.
6. Ancient Egyptians didn't have notions of hell or heaven, but all people were judged after death, the corrupted hearts of sinners were thrown to a creature called the Great Devourer. After this sinners just stopped to exist.
7. Dark and scary Anubis, the god with a head of jackal, is merely the god of embalming.
8. Ancient Egyptians didn't have prisons. Criminals could be beaten, mutilated, executed, sent to mines or quarries, or exiled.
9. Ancient Egyptians didn't kiss. One of the signs of affection was to rub noses.
10. Pharaohs had harems and one royal wife.
11. They didn't have money until epoch of Ptolemies, the last dynasty. To trade something, they used barter.
12. They also didn't have days of the week and weekends. They worked all the time, except major religious holidays. They had three seasons with four months in each. Despite being nameless, each day was marked in calendar as representing specific theological events. They had a 24 hour day, but minutes and seconds didn't exist. Hour spans were measured by special candles with marks down their sides or by lines on a bowl that showed the water remaining after steady dripping.
13. No schools existed, only sons of scribes, higher officials and sometimes children of farmers could attend temples for instruction of letters. The rest were illiterate.
I stop at my favourite number 13:) Hope you'll find this trivia interesting.
I give this book 10 out of 10.
My next book, which I have already started, is "The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Amarna and Its People" by Barry Kemp. This one is of great interest for me since my next novel about the detective Cassandra Ayers is about the excavation of Akhenaten's tomb. This book is bigger, so I give myself three days, May 30 - June 1.
May 27, 2019
Book 6 (May 23 - 26)
I Begged my Husband to Shoot Me
That does it! I'm officially done with judging a book by its cover!
On my last visit to the library, I wandered there at ease, picking the books which seemed interesting at first glimpse. I took a couple of detective stories set in Italy, a mystery novel revolving around Hitchcock (which I wrote about in my previous review) and a crime novel in which the investigation was carried out by Sherlock Holmes himself, plus it was about his wife, which I found intriguing. It was "The Murder of Mary Russell" by Laurie R. King.
From the beginning, the book seemed engaging, a little slow-paced though. I thought I was about to read one of those novels which mimic classical ones, with their slow but steady building of the atmosphere, surroundings, appearances and characters. And the book met my expectations, it included very thorough descriptions of everything, which I especially like when it comes down to interiors , I adore all these chandeliers, sconces, chests of drawers and similar stuff, and characters.
However, the first chapter where the inciting and intriguing event happens, is followed by a huge flashback into Mrs. Hudson's past, and it killed me mercilessly. First, it was so boring, I was begging my husband to shoot me so that I didn't have to finish the book. Second, Mrs. Hudson's past reveals the secrets about her origin and her family, which are cringe-worthy. They ruined Mrs. Hudson, a nice English lady, for me forever.
To some extent, I am always suspicious of the stories that are built on well-known classical characters, the so-called fan fiction. It has a ring of fraud to it. It seems much easier to attract the audience with a story about their beloved and well-known character than create something from scratch. But I am always ready to give in to temptation and give it a try, sometimes fan fiction turns out to be fun. "The Murder of Mary Russell" turned out to be not bad, but boring, the only feature this novel shouldn't have copied from the classical novels.
Of course, there were reasons to enjoy it too. I liked how the characters were portrayed, the mystery itself, the investigation and the twist. I think if it were a little shorter and Mrs. Hudson's story were less hideous, I would have liked the novel much more.
There was one particular thing in this book which blew my mind. At some point, Mrs. Hudson's mother has to travel to Australia to her fugitive husband, who is a criminal. She has no money for this travel, so, she decides to commit a crime to be transported to Australia for free as a felon. More than that, she has a baby girl and she is expects to be sent to Australia with her so that the baby's father could meet his daughter for the first time. What a diseased mind could come up with such an idea!? What follows, is even better. Apparently, her relationship with her parents, who are well-to-do, is so bad that when she steals some jewelry from their house, they turn her in to the police! Wow! I think it is over the top even for Mr Paul Dombey from "Dombey and Son" by Dickens. But, brace yourself for what comes next. When she, Mrs. Hudson's mother, commits this crime, she is, of course, very conveniently sent to Australia, where, upon arrival she is released by the warden because, apparently, that's how felons were treated in those times. The warden has a soft spot for damsels in distress, so he sets her free in spite of the law. Also, there is some business he has to tend to, so he has no time to bother with a mother with a baby. It is such a far-fetched sequence of events! These things happen just to keep the plot moving.
I give this book 5 / 10.
Even didn't manage to take its photo before taking it back to the library, so, no photo of the cover this time, sorry.
I have decided to choose books more carefully, doing a research before going to the library. Speaking of research, I am now writing the third part of my Victorian mystery about the detective Cassandra Ayers, "The Lost Caravan", and I need to get an insight into Egyptian history, so I've robbed the library of their entire shelf of books about Egypt, and my next read is "Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians" by Bob Brier and Hoyt Hobbs.
That does it! I'm officially done with judging a book by its cover!
On my last visit to the library, I wandered there at ease, picking the books which seemed interesting at first glimpse. I took a couple of detective stories set in Italy, a mystery novel revolving around Hitchcock (which I wrote about in my previous review) and a crime novel in which the investigation was carried out by Sherlock Holmes himself, plus it was about his wife, which I found intriguing. It was "The Murder of Mary Russell" by Laurie R. King.
From the beginning, the book seemed engaging, a little slow-paced though. I thought I was about to read one of those novels which mimic classical ones, with their slow but steady building of the atmosphere, surroundings, appearances and characters. And the book met my expectations, it included very thorough descriptions of everything, which I especially like when it comes down to interiors , I adore all these chandeliers, sconces, chests of drawers and similar stuff, and characters.
However, the first chapter where the inciting and intriguing event happens, is followed by a huge flashback into Mrs. Hudson's past, and it killed me mercilessly. First, it was so boring, I was begging my husband to shoot me so that I didn't have to finish the book. Second, Mrs. Hudson's past reveals the secrets about her origin and her family, which are cringe-worthy. They ruined Mrs. Hudson, a nice English lady, for me forever.
To some extent, I am always suspicious of the stories that are built on well-known classical characters, the so-called fan fiction. It has a ring of fraud to it. It seems much easier to attract the audience with a story about their beloved and well-known character than create something from scratch. But I am always ready to give in to temptation and give it a try, sometimes fan fiction turns out to be fun. "The Murder of Mary Russell" turned out to be not bad, but boring, the only feature this novel shouldn't have copied from the classical novels.
Of course, there were reasons to enjoy it too. I liked how the characters were portrayed, the mystery itself, the investigation and the twist. I think if it were a little shorter and Mrs. Hudson's story were less hideous, I would have liked the novel much more.
There was one particular thing in this book which blew my mind. At some point, Mrs. Hudson's mother has to travel to Australia to her fugitive husband, who is a criminal. She has no money for this travel, so, she decides to commit a crime to be transported to Australia for free as a felon. More than that, she has a baby girl and she is expects to be sent to Australia with her so that the baby's father could meet his daughter for the first time. What a diseased mind could come up with such an idea!? What follows, is even better. Apparently, her relationship with her parents, who are well-to-do, is so bad that when she steals some jewelry from their house, they turn her in to the police! Wow! I think it is over the top even for Mr Paul Dombey from "Dombey and Son" by Dickens. But, brace yourself for what comes next. When she, Mrs. Hudson's mother, commits this crime, she is, of course, very conveniently sent to Australia, where, upon arrival she is released by the warden because, apparently, that's how felons were treated in those times. The warden has a soft spot for damsels in distress, so he sets her free in spite of the law. Also, there is some business he has to tend to, so he has no time to bother with a mother with a baby. It is such a far-fetched sequence of events! These things happen just to keep the plot moving.
I give this book 5 / 10.
Even didn't manage to take its photo before taking it back to the library, so, no photo of the cover this time, sorry.
I have decided to choose books more carefully, doing a research before going to the library. Speaking of research, I am now writing the third part of my Victorian mystery about the detective Cassandra Ayers, "The Lost Caravan", and I need to get an insight into Egyptian history, so I've robbed the library of their entire shelf of books about Egypt, and my next read is "Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians" by Bob Brier and Hoyt Hobbs.
