David Miles > Recent Status Updates

Initial impression - it starts in a wee bit of a jerky fashion...as though one has started playing a movie 10 min into it and it takes you some time to acclimate yourself to what you're watching and "the-basic-premise-of-the-movie-as-a-whole".

But then...it sucks you in.

OK - I was a bit startled at the opening... But it's really growing on me now.

“As everyone from ancient times till today knows, clerks and accountants think in a non-human fashion. They think like filing cabinets...The most important impact of script on human history is precisely this: it has gradually changed the way humans think and view the world. Free association and holistic thought have given way to compartmentalisation and bureaucracy."

“... our history now descends from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust...

- Cassius Dio

“Here is what you do, friends. Forget country. Forget king. Forget wife and children and freedom. Forget every concept, however noble, that you imagine you fight for here today. Act for this alone: for the man who stands at your shoulder. He is everything, and everything is contained within him. That’s all I know. That’s all I can tell you.”

Excerpt From
Gates of Fire

“As poets call upon the Muse to speak through them, I croaked my inarticulate grunt to the Striker From Afar.”

Excerpt From
Gates of Fire
Steven Pressfield
This material may be protected by copyright.

“You are eighteen and will soon receive your commission. When we cross this river, you will lead men in battle for the first time. It is my role to instruct you, for, though prince you be in your own country, here you are only a Page, a cadet in the academy of war which is my tent.”
- Alexander.

Excerpt From
Virtues of War

“…If I command you, “Pick up that bowl,” and set a swordpoint to your back, you will obey but no part will own the action. You will exculpate yourself, accounting, “He made me do it, I had no choice.” But if I only suggest and you comply, then you must own your compliance and, owning it, stand by it.”
-- Alcibiades


Excerpt From
Tides of War
Steven Pressfield
This material may be protected by copyright.

So far it's amusing with a good pace.

I'm not liking the few grammatical errors that Im finding though.

First impressions - It's written from the perspective of a member of the military by someone that I can only infer has never been in the military.

So - It's a bit "off". The interactions and the reactions of the "military" personnel are not correct. They do not act like pers that are in the military.

I'm reserving judgement for a bit though in the hope that this ceases once the guy is flying solo through space.

Some spelling and grammatical errors- poor editing.

"stocked" vs "stalked".

"your" vs "you're"

Other than that, so far an entertaining read.

“Who buys nonalcoholic beer? What depraved heathen would commit such sacrilege and not only purchase O'douls but falsely, and actively, advertise it as beer to a man who'd had a long and trying night. There isn't a place deep enough in Hell for the type of person who would do such a thing."


Excerpt From
Double-Barreled Devilry: A Deckland Cain Novel
D Michael Bartsch
This material may be protected by copyright.

“All wrongs can be righted with enough whiskey.”

....and just like that, I'm hooked 😁👍

Excerpt From
Double-Barreled Devilry: A Deckland Cain Novel
D Michael Bartsch
This material may be protected by copyright.

“in between the chaos of the world’s birth and the chaos of the world’s death is order, and order is made by oaths, and oaths bind us like the buckles of a harness.”

Excerpt From: Cornwell, Bernard. “The Warrior Chronicles.” HarperCollins Publishers, 2012-10-20T04:00:00+00:00. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.

“I had been given a perfect childhood, perfect, at least, to the ideas of a boy. I was raised among men, I was free, I ran wild, I was encumbered by no laws, was troubled by no priests, was encouraged to violence, and I was rarely alone.”

Excerpt From: Cornwell, Bernard. “The Warrior Chronicles.” HarperCollins Publishers, 2012-10-20T04:00:00+00:00. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.

“Swords were no doubt prettier but pretty weapons, like pretty people, are prone to sulk. Swords need subtlety and when the battle joy was on him Raith could be less than careful. He’d once beaten a man’s head with the flat of a sword until both sword and head were bent far past any further use. Axes weren’t so sensitive.”

Not pulling any punches are you? Here's a new book... BAM! Miriam dies, Pullus' baby dies....bleak way to start. Even anticipating Miriam's death, I somehow thought there'd be more to that portion of the story.

Fantastic!

"It is the pity of the world that we must come to wisdom through fire"