★★★½
GENRE: Historical Fiction
SUBJECT: loyalty, honor
Setting: England, Normandy, France
CHARACTERS: William Marshall, Isabelle de Clare, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II, Richard Lionheart
DATE READ: August 22 - August 31
NO. OF PAGES: 440
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?: yes, Nook Stockpile
PLOT:....................................................................3.00
CHARACTERIZATION:.......................................3.50
TOPICS: ...............................................................4.00
STYLE:..................................................................4.00
ORIGINALITY:.......................................................3.50
ADDICTIVENESS:..............................................4.00
OWNERSHIP:......................................................3.00
Threshold Quality.................................................3.00
Average..............................................................................................3.50
Having just read Sharon Kay Penman's trilogy about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine where the reader meets William Marshall at the age of 5 and he continues in the background throughout, this book was extremely entertaining because of the background that is built by this other with the same history.
William Marshall here is shown as a man of chivalry, honor and loyalty as well as love for those of his family. Frequently, he story shows how he is torn between what he desires to and what he sees as the honorable thing and Chadwick's William Marshall always manages to make the right choice at the right time.
★★★½
GENRE: Non Fiction
SUBJECT: tissue samples, question of consent, HELA cells
Setting: Baltimore, MD
CHARACTERS: Henrietta Lacks, George Gey, Deborah Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
DATE READ: August 23 - August 27
NO. OF PAGES: 619
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?: no, public library
PLOT:....................................................................3.00
CHARACTERIZATION:.......................................3.00
TOPICS: ...............................................................3.50
STYLE:..................................................................3.50
ORIGINALITY:.......................................................4.50
ADDICTIVENESS:..............................................3.00
OWNERSHIP:......................................................3.00
Threshold Quality.................................................3.00
Average..............................................................................................3.31
This book is a combination of the details of medical research using HELA cells and the life of the woman whose cells they were. Her family was never aware that her cells had been taken and were being used for massive research areas - polio, TB, etc. Her cancer cells which were taken from her in 1951 are still being used in research today. When the cells are placed in the proper medium they continue to grow.
One of the major points of interest in this book is the discussion of the question of consent. The author analyzes the ethical issues of using tissues without consent forms signed vs. the need of medical researchers needs to tissues for experimentation.
Recommended to those interested in the processes of medical research.
★★★½
GENRE: Fantasy
SUBJECT: Witches, Vampires, Demons
Setting: England, France, New England
CHARACTERS: Diana Bishop, Matthew Clairmont, Sarah Bishop, Emily Mathur, Hamish Osborn, Ysabeau d'Clairmont
DATE READ: August 3 - August 22
NO. OF PAGES: 881
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?: yes, audio stockpile
PLOT:....................................................................3.50
CHARACTERIZATION:.......................................3.50
TOPICS: ...............................................................3.50
STYLE:..................................................................3.50
ORIGINALITY:.......................................................3.50
ADDICTIVENESS:..............................................3.00
OWNERSHIP:......................................................3.00
Threshold Quality.................................................4.00
Average..............................................................................................3.44
Diana Bishop is a witch but she avoids whenever possible using magic so had a PhD and doing research at Oxford was an interesting opening especially when she is confronted by a civilized vampire who wants to protect her from the other vampires and demons as well as the wicked witches.
This Young Adult book is very entertaining without the gore of normal attacks, etc. It also had some very interesting historical information throughout.
★★★★¼
GENRE: Historical Fiction
SUBJECT: Henry II's sons and their rebellions
Setting: England, France, Aquitaine
CHARACTERS: Henry II, Hal, Richard, Geoffrey, Eleanor
DATE READ: August 2 - August 20
NO. OF PAGES: 860
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?: no, Nook
PLOT:....................................................................4.50
CHARACTERIZATION:.......................................3.50
TOPICS: ...............................................................4.00
STYLE:..................................................................4.00
ORIGINALITY:.......................................................4.25
ADDICTIVENESS:..............................................4.25
OWNERSHIP:......................................................3.50
Threshold Quality.................................................4.00
Average..............................................................................................4.25
And we thought that kids nowadays got into trouble….
In this final installment of the story of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, we are given the account of their four rebellious and ungrateful sons as well as the flawed judgment of the father and mother. Each son (Hal, the young king, Richard - Duke of Aquitaine, Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, and John) has grievances with the power that King Henry wields over the regions of his kingdom. Each wants the reins to be slackened and the management to be theirs but Henry cannot give up his domination over the lands and the brothers join together to wrest control away.
Normally in a story of this type there are heroes and villains, but not so here, probably because it is based on truth. We are dealing with flawed humans who not always are thinking or acting clearly but are passionate in their desires, selfish, exercising poor judgment or no judgment at all.
Henry could not understand why his sons would be so ungrateful as to rebel against his authority. He did not feel that they were mature enough to handle the reins of power, however, when they cited his experiences at the same age, he could not justify his delays to them. Henry's issues appeared to be with trust throughout his life - his father trusted him at an early age, but he could not trust his sons which only brought about the rebellions that repeatedly threatened his kingdom and his life. He could forgive many of those involved in the rebellion but the betrayal of his Queen Eleanor was the wound that he could not heal which only drove his sons farther away.
Not only is the reader treated to the historical accounts of the events of the reign of Henry II but we are also shown the driving forces of the other 2 sons - Hal, the young King, and Geoffrey the Duke of Brittany - who did not live to wear the crown of England. We know of Richard the Lionheart as well as evil King John, but rarely are we treated to such a personal look at the other two sons who frequently were in the forefront of the rebellions and the reasoning that drove the battles between father and sons.
The characters were brought to life so thoroughly on these pages that often I wanted to shake a few and say, what are you thinking? No matter what, the historical events of the 12th century depicted throughout this meticulously researched book, are woven spectacularly into a tale of a dysfunctional family worthy of 21st century reality TV.
★★★¼
GENRE: Mystery
SUBJECT: Amnesia
Setting: Morroco
CHARACTERS: Sherlock Holmes, Mary Russell, Mahmoud Hazr, Ali Hazr
DATE READ: July 30 - August 3
NO. OF PAGES: 288
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?: no, public library
PLOT:..............................................3.50
CHARACTERIZATION:.................3.00
TOPICS:..........................................3.00
STYLE:............................................3.50
ORIGINALITY:.................................3.00
ADDICTIVENESS:.........................3.00
OWNERSHIP:.................................3.00
Threshold Quality............................4.00
Average...........................................................3.25
This latest addition to the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series picks up shortly after the end of Pirate King. Holmes has gone off on his own to explore leaving Mary to continue on with the film crew but upon his return he discovers that Mary is missing. Mary, in the meantime, has awoke in a strange place with amnesia.
Their combined adventures and reunion are thoroughly entertaining and remind the reader of the earlier books where Holmes and Russell collaborated so well and why their unusual marriage works.
I love any book that these two are in together, however, the plot did seem a bit thin this time but there were a few surprises.
