Kell's Legend

Now that David Gemmell has past away I need to go elsewhere to get my fix of hard-hitting, action-packed fantasy. Having just finished reading Andy Remic's Kell's Legend my search is over. Remic is quite clear that Gemmell is a huge influence on his writing and it shows.

Remic's hero Kell is an aging warrior who is forced by circumstances to pick up his axe (yes an axe in involved), and fight the invaders. The parallels between Kell and Druss are numerous. Both are aging axemen who carry a famous axe, both a grizzled veterans with surly temperaments and bear-like physiques.

But despite all this I did enjoy Kell's Legend. (It goes without saying I like Gemmell's work as well.) It's bloody and the fights are epic, and I don't mind the hero as crotchety killing machine. While Remic isn't Gemmell this book will fill any Gemmell shaped hole in a fantasy fans life. A fun, fast-paced, action-packed read. Enjoy.

Pro Ball

The FreeDarko site is a place to find excellent writing about the NBA. A site that believes that basketball is important, and that it can be written about with wit and intelligence. As they set out in their book The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac they also have a manifesto which states amongst other things, "The Citizens who support it (the NBA) affirm their right to be entertained and diverted by the league, no matter what the month" and "we ask: Is there no such thing as a beautiful Loss? A noble Faliure? A compelling Train Wreck? ... We assert our right to be amused by non-Champions."

The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac extols this manifesto as it looks at the styles, stats and stars in today's NBA. Consisting of short biographies of NBA stars each entry is written with a keen eye for the game as well as a sense of fun that energises the whole book. The almanac also contains great artwork that fits seamlessly with the text.

Fans of the NBA will get a kick out of this book. It's a book written by fans for fans and it is clear that the writers care about their subjects. Here's hoping they produce many more books like this.

Gettysburg

The battle of Gettysburg is one of the decisive battles of the American Civil War. The Confederate forces led by General Lee had marched into Union territory and were threatening Baltimore and Pennsylvania. They would be brought to battle by the Army of the Potomac led by General Meade at a small town called Gettysburg.
Stephen Sears’ book Gettysburg is a detailed look at this important battle and the events leading up to it and after it. Sears describes the three days of hard fighting that took place and the mistakes made by both sides in the heat of battle. The one thing that stands out after reading this account is the amount of times important decisions had to be made with no were near complete information. Many times both sides had no real idea were the enemy forces were located, or if they were fighting how much of the enemy was engaged. The overall impression is of a group of people playing Marco Polo as they stumble around in the dark, and if they collide a battle starts.
Gettysburg is an absorbing read, Sears’ attention to detail comes through in the narrative and I found myself not wanting to put this book down. I feel I know a lot more about this important and bloody battle.

The Great Patriotic War

The Soviet Union's war with Nazi Germany is probably the most brutal and costly war the world has seen. Both sides committed vicious acts in order to win in a war were surrender was not an option. Chris Bellamy chronicles this struggle in Absolute War: Soviet Russia in the Second World War. With access to the Soviet archives that were opened after the collapse of the USSR, Bellamy is able to bring new light onto this conflict. This is also more than just a military history, it is also a social and political history. Bellamy covers topics as diverse as why the Soviet Union didn't collapse economically in 1942, the role of women in the USSR army, atomic bomb research and diplomatic battles with Great Britain.

It's good to read such a comprehensive study of the country that suffered the longest and did the most to win the Second World War. Bellamy has an easy reading style and this makes this interesting book fly by. Well worth reading.

Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs

Chuck Klosterman is a man with his finger on the pulse of Pop Culture. He shows this in his collection of essays Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto. This collection shows how he is able to write intelligently on just about anything that takes his fancy, especially if it relates to his understanding of culture, which is pretty much everything.

In this book you will read essays on Billy Joel, Luke Skywalker as a Gen Xer, Soccer, a Guns 'n' Roses tribute band, TV programs, The Sims, Pamela Anderson and many other things. All the essays are written in Klosterman's witty style, and his intelligence leaps of the page. What is also amazing is his depth of Pop Culture knowledge and his ability to link it to all aspects of his life.

This collection is well worth reading. Klosterman can make you laugh, and he can make you think and sometimes both at the same time. But best of all Klosterman can entertain, and that is the best attribute an essayist can have.