The Fall of Troy by Peter Ackroyd

The Fall of Troy

Peter Ackroyd

Front cover

Date read: 1 - 6 February 2021

Length: 215 pages

Published: 2006

Sophia marries Obermann, an archaeologist obsessed with discovering the lost city of Troy. But strange things keep happening to their discoveries, and Sophia begins to learn Obermann has not been honest about his past.

I did not like Obermann AT ALL! He's very single minded, he only wants to see Troy and as a result is very dismissive of facts that contradict his ideas. Despite the fact he could be discovering something else wonderful; if it's not related to Troy in any way, he's not interested. Even in his personal life he dismisses anything that gets in the way of what he wants and doesn't tell the truth.

I feel sorry for Sophia and especially the way she finds out the truth about Obermann's past life. I'm not sure if my hatred of Obermann made me feel more sympathetic towards Sophia, but I'm glad she got away from him regardless.

I wonder about what happened in the cave. It's very mysterious and the events aren't fully explained, it's just kind of swept under the rug and left there. I think that would have been interesting and I wish there was more detail there!

I don't know much about Troy and I'm not sure if that had an impact on my appreciation of this novel. Or it could be my hatred of Obermann that got in the way. If I rated in halves I would have given The Fall of Troy 2.5 stars, but I did like some parts of the story and I liked Sophia, so I've rounded up to 3.

Peter Ackroyd

Overall rating

Thanks,

The Wee Librocubicularist

Driving Big Davie (Dan Starkey #6) by Colin Bateman

Driving Big Davie

Dan Starkey #6

Colin Bateman

Front cover

Date read: 23 - 31 January 2021

Length: 357 pages

Published: 2004

After the death of Joe Strummer from The Clash, an old friend gets in touch with Dan. On the pretence of going with Davie on his honeymoon after his almost-wife leaves him, they spend 3 weeks in sunny Florida. But that's not the sole reason for their visit, Davie has something else in mind for Dan. Will he go through with it?

I'm glad that Dan and Patricia are back together. Things just seem better when they're together, especially for Dan. Without Patricia he loses focus and has very little motivation for anything.

This is the first book in the series where Dan doesn't sleep with someone else! Almost, but he didn't! He's clearly growing up and realising that even though his relationship with Patricia is far from perfect, on the most part it works for them and they do love each other.

Bateman clearly doesn't like village mentality. He portrays them as a bit mad and quite secluded. I know there must be some weird ones out there but I'm pretty sure they're not all like that!

Dan always manages to get himself in very tricky situations! Even when it just seems that he's going on holiday! I guess we should know by now that nothing is as it seems!

Bring on the next one!

Colin Bateman

Overall rating

Thanks,

The Wee Librocubicularist

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland #1) by Lewis Carroll

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland #1

Lewis Carroll

Front cover

Date read: 19 - 22 January 2021

Length: 152 pages

Published: 1865

After Alice follows the white rabbit down the hole, she finds herself in a world where nothing makes sense. She can talk to animals, change her size, and plays the weirdest game of croquet of her life. A pack of cards are alive and the Queen of Hearts really likes beheading people. Can Alice keep her head?

This is a good children's story full of nonsense. There's so much imagination here, nothing is impossible!

I liked the songs and poems, especially the mouse tale. The formatting made it even better because it looked like a tail! The songs and poems were a nice way to break up the narrative too.

Alice is stubborn which is good in Wonderland. Many of the creatures are very bizarre and ask Alice to do some strange things, but because she has a pretty steady head she knows which thins are just ridiculous. She's not afraid to tell them no!

So many more creatures than I remember. It's been a while since I've read any version of Alice, or seen a cartoon or film. I just don't remember there being so many different creatures, so either they weren't included or I only remember the 'main' ones such as the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire cat.

I'm looking forward to the next one, which I'm pretty sure I've neither read nor seen any version of!

Overall rating

Thanks,

The Wee Librocubicularist

The Great Hunt (The Wheel of Time #2) by Robert Jordan

The Great Hunt

The Wheel of Time #2

Robert Jordan

Front cover

Date read: 1 - 18 January 2021

Length: 681 pages (721 including prologue and glossary)

Published: 1990

Rand is on a mission to find the Horn of Valere and return it to King Agelmar. Nynaeve and Egwene go to the White Tower to train to become Aes Sedai. But when they leave to help Rand, they find themselves trapped by Seanchan sul'dam. Will the Horn be reclaimed?

It's been a while since I read The Eye of the World but I was excited to get to this one! It took me a little while to remember some of the things from the first one but no time at all to get right back into it! 

This time I liked reading more about the girls than Rand. I was so drawn in to their story and just wanted to keep on reading about them!

I didn't like the Seanchan, and I felt angry for the girls but specifically Egwene. They were pretty much treated as slaves and it was an awful experience for them. They handled very well though!

Ingtar betrayed Rand, but died for a good cause. He knew he had done wrong and wanted to make amends.

I still like Mat and Perrin. They compliment Rand, and honestly, I think they make him a better person. When they're not round Rand can be a bit reckless, but when they're there he stops to actually think about things, and how his decisions will impact them.

I'm looking forward to the next one, even though I know it will be a while before I get to it!

Overall rating

Thanks,

The Wee Librocubicularist