The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel (My Goodreads Review)

The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I found this book a little on the tedious side. I got the idea of a human Cro-Magnon modern-day infant being rescued by Neanderthal people. It was interesting at first. Gradually I lost this interest as the story progressed. I stuck with the book but found it uninspiring. Ayla, the Cro-Magnon girl, is raised by Iza - a medicine woman of the Neanderthals and her brother Creb. Creb is a deformed Sharman of the group who has survived a vicious attack of a bear. He has lost the use of one arm and an eye. Together, this brother and sister pair raise Ayla who is very different from the rest of the Neanderthal people. The story goes off on a big SJW woman thing within this caveman society. There are notions of Neaderthal people having a strong and sophisticated sign language which Ayla has to learn from scratch. She does not have the ability to learn something straight away after being shown something once. Evidently, Neanderthals could do this according to the author. All the various tribal taboos that Ayla seems to break on her journey of growing up just did not seem like a big deal. I know there are other novels that follow this, but it was not for me. It is well written but I just disliked the story and the way it developed. Others might enjoy it better than me. I've spoken to people that have a better opinion of this book than I do.

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All Out War by Tim Shipman (My Goodreads Review)

All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain's Political Class by Tim Shipman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was engrossed in this book from the word go. We go through the whole process of how David Cameron was forced by his own Eurosceptics and UKIP pressure to do his famous Bloomberg speech. What followed next was the chain reaction and the underestimating of the Brexiteers’ ability to put together a substantial fighting force. This combined with events and powerful personalities brought about one of the most interesting political shock waves I can remember in my 56 years of life.

This book is very detailed and looks at both Remain in the EU and Leave the EU camps and the consequences that brought it about. We also see some egotistical characters in the form of Dominic Cummings and Aron Banks with their different aggressive approaches.

We get a good look at how David Cameron watered down his demands after the Bloomberg speech and then tried to sell it to the electorate, thinking he had got a victory for the British people and his ministers.

Every chapter gives the reader an interesting angle and development as we edge closer to the referendum day. It is not for the faint-hearted for it is packed with cunning ways to attract attention, good for one group and bad for the opposing. There are political guerrilla tactics employed as we move closer to the all-important day. This is a splendid and exciting read that lets you see both sides of the campaign including the in-house fighting.

It was a total war with battle fronts comprised of joint party cooperation on both sides. The organised pro-EU government-backed campaign led by the Prime Minister and the wonderful guerrilla adversaries from the Leave camp of Vote Leave, Leave EU to Grass Roots Out or GO. The whole thing is marvellous.

Cabinet ministers taking sides against their Prime Minister and joining opposing party politicians for a greater cause. Opposition MPs joining the opposing government for the pro-EU. This was a civil war at its very best where each side battled to win more than 50% of the electorate.

The amount of work that went into targeting specific categories of people. All the planning and application were mind boggling. This is one of the best political accounts I have ever read and on such an emotive and derisive subject. It certainly gives the reader a deeper insight and appreciation of the work both sides put in. Also the oversights and underestimating afterwards.

I would highly recommend this book.

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The Shadow of a Gunman (My Goodreads Review)

The Shadow of a Gunman by Seán O'Casey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I struggled with this at first and think somethings might have gone over my head. I enjoyed the hard hitting ending - if it meant heroes and fighters are not always what we expect and perhaps more modest people pick up the woeful tab at the end of the day.

One of the characters is Donal Daveron, a struggling 'want to be - poet,' moving into a slum in a poor district of Dublin. He has a roommate named Seumus. The other people of the block suspect Donal of being a Republican Volunteer fighter. Donal, who is not such a person, does little to refute such beliefs as I think it appeals to the romantic side of his nature. His roommate Seumus, however, has a friend who is of such persuasion.

When Crown forces in the form of Auxiliaries raid the place after an incident with Seumus' rebel friend all sorts of things come into play with Donal and Seumus needing help to take suspicion away from them. Donal is helped by a young woman who is infatuated with him. A lady called Minnie Powell.

I would highly recommend this story. I thought the drama that unfolded towards the end of this tale was very dramatic indeed.

C.A. Powell
The Black and Tan Summer: Ireland's Turbulent Year of 1920


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The Growing Interest of Fantasy and Science Fiction Books Developed Over Multiple Decades.

What makes a book what it is?

Modern-day Science fiction has a lot of things that the writers of the past had to quite literally make up. Computers, communication devices, and space travel are all real. Somehow, though the creativity of the writers of science fiction today still pushes the boundaries of imagination that few other genres manage to do. However, it is not just science fiction, or more likely science fact, writing that has pushed the envelope when it comes to good storytelling.

Fantasy stories such as Harry Potter and Percy Jackson have much of what Tolkien wrote about in the Lord of the Rings and that C S Lewis wrote about in the impressive and still hugely popular Narnia novels. Readers now as they did then need escapism, something to take them out of the humdrum or stressed out world we live in. Readers need to somehow believe that there is perhaps an alternative existence and hope they can close their eyes and wake up in a dream.

Jules Verne took readers on amazing adventures, under the sea and to the centre of the earth as well as to the moon. His stories were born out of a love for adventure and travel. The only one of his adventures that has not become a reality is to the centre of the earth. But still, we have not sent a man to the core as yet. The best writers tell stories of adventures in places in faraway places with the impossible being just part of the story in the fact that it is just or maybe somehow could happen. Modern-day Clive Cussler stories have much of the adventure contained in a Jules Verne story. True they are aimed at a more mature audience but for the reader, his books are believable escapism with a perfect blend of possible, impossible and who knows if it could be possible. Raise the Titanic? It has been done with other ships so why not?

But what is it that makes a person write a book that enthrals a generation of readers?

The popularity of Narnia and Middle Earth are still as popular today as they were in the mid-1900s when they were conceived and written. There was something in them that made each page come alive and something that is as real today as it was then.

The reason why the books were and are so popular is adversity. When Tolkien’s and Lewis’ books were written, the world was in a state of turmoil. The depression was ending when Tolkien published the Hobbit in 1937 and World War II had just ended five years prior to the publication of the Lion, the Witch and the wardrobe. People needed cheering up, times for most people times were hard, there was no TV, cinema was a treat and money was scarce for many forms of entertainment.

Books and reading became an affordable and enjoyable pastime that has remained today. Modern books in paperback or hardback outstrip sales of e-books despite the convenience of a Kindle but nonetheless, books are still popular. It could be said that many modern authors are heavily influenced by other writers and this is not surprising and despite this great stories still emerge even if there is a hint that we may have heard the story before.

 Yes, we live in a tough world but it is nowhere near as dark and worrisome as it was in times past. The world is not at war, countries are not being invaded and while the economy could be better, it is nowhere near as bad as it was in the 1930s. Writers of science fiction, fantasy and adventure have to dig a little deeper to find their inspiration and make a book a bestseller, they need to find some adversity that the world can understand.

People want to read, they want good stories, and there are many great and lesser-known authors today who enthral readers.  Harry Potter did a good job of getting kids to read and for many struggling writers the story behind J K Rowling gave them the courage to write. The reason for the success of Harry Potter was that it was a story like nothing before. Witches, Wizards and Muggles took the world by storm and the success is a story all on its own. It worked because of originality, some crazy almost believable storyline and it stretched the imagination of the reader to the perfect sweet spot.

Other authors can inspire writers and always will but it takes some form of adversity to create an original bestseller. J K Rowling had long train journeys and nothing to do and Harry, Ron and Hermione popped into her mind. Rowling’s characters and theme was unique, other writers try to “write a book like” another author, Rowling didn’t.  While a story may well be enjoyable, it is perhaps a little predictable, the sense of trying to be a Mark Twain, Edgar Rice Burrows or C S Lewis and the fact someone is aspiring to this level is just too difficult to ignore. Those who imitate a style or rewrite the same or similar plot will sell, the escapism will always work but for success originality is the key, taking readers to new places in between the pages of their minds.

Writers over the generations have taken readers to places they could never imagine and places they would be too scared to imagine. Edgar Rice Burroughs took readers into the Jungle Tarzan and to Mars with John Carter, two extremes that were and still are in many cases impossible to live in reality. His stories are still popular and fresh today.

Not many people will know that Robert E. Howard a writer of what is commonly called Pulp Fiction died at the age of 30 in 1936.  Howard was a prolific author of many books and stories that inspire thousands of authors every day.  Howard took people out of this world in some of the most well-read and well-known stories and themes specialising in Sword and Sorcery stories and ending his final years before his suicide writing westerns. Howard’s influence today in much of the fantasy and adventure stories is close to impossible to deny, he was a master who died too soon.

The combination of influence of other writers and some form of adversity makes for good reading. If a reader can relate and the imagination is pushed into a sweet spot of almost real readers will turn the page. It is hard to think where we would be today without the writers of the past who have blazed a trail for the writers of tomorrow who dare to dream and then put it down in words.

The Civilization of Humans Upon the Planet.

The civilization of humans upon the planet. Watch Empires grow and crumble as new ones spring up and flower, for a short time, and then, once again, to wither. Some dynasties last for over a thousand years with boundaries changing and reforming. This goes on until 2016 AD from 3,000+ BC. Our world, our species. Humans in all their glorious horror and beauty. Untamed and metamorphosising all of the time. Hopefully developing towards goals that will go beyond the planet we live upon. How will the next four thousand years look if we could see the speeded up development of years and the map change to one of our universe?

    

    

The Victorian ironclad from H.G. Wells War of the Worlds.