|
Post by ammianus on Jul 1, 2019 16:11:03 GMT
Barbarians and Romans: The Birth Struggle of Europe, A.D. 400-700 by Justine Davis Randers-Pehrson
|
|
|
Post by gregorius on Jul 1, 2019 23:41:50 GMT
So over the weekend I picked up the latest in Simon Scarrow's "Eagles of the Empire" series - "The Blood of Rome" and have pushed about a quarter of the way through. A good solid read I also speed read the Osprey Wargame "Men of Bronze" a game of stylised hoplite warfare. cheers David I'd be interested in getting your views on "Men of Bronze" when I see you at Wintercon. Cheers,
|
|
|
Post by ammianus on Jul 2, 2019 19:39:08 GMT
The Rome That Did Not Fall: The Survival of the East in the Fifth Century by Gerard Friell and Early Medieval Europe, 300-1000: Third Edition (Palgrave History of Europe) by Roger Collins
|
|
|
Post by macbeth on Jul 5, 2019 1:01:07 GMT
Yesterday afternoon I finished reading "Blood of Rome" - a good solid yarn by Simon Scarrow, but I did predict three of the major plot twists.
I am now reading the latest in the Roma Sub Rosa series by Steven Saylor - "The Throne of Caesar"
Cheers
|
|
|
Post by gregorius on Jul 5, 2019 23:49:25 GMT
I've just started Adrian Goldsworthy's latest novel in the Vindolandia seris, Brigantia.
Cheers,
|
|
|
Post by macbeth on Jul 8, 2019 0:15:36 GMT
This morning I couldn't set out for work until I'd finished "The Throne of Caesar" - the end was intriguing but fizzed a little. It also looks like Saylor has ended his Grodianus series - but like Lindsey Davis, the option for the daughter of the principle character to start their own series soon afterwards has been left hanging.
I am now reading Steve Tibble's "The Crusader Armies" a new history of the Crusading era where in the opening pages he states that the Crusades were not about religion but the conflict between Nomadic and Sedentary societies. I believe that he suggests changes in climate were a driver - some reviews on Library Thing have been scathing about that assertion.
It remains to be seen if the book is any good.
Cheers
|
|
|
Post by ammianus on Jul 10, 2019 19:22:08 GMT
The Fall of Rome: A Novel of a World Lost by Michael Curtis Ford (476AD)
|
|
|
Post by macbeth on Jul 17, 2019 12:39:00 GMT
I finished 'The Crusader Armies' yesterday and by and large it was a very interesting read. The later part which dealt with the way the Crusaders fought specific enemies. His analysis of the Fatimids is quite scathing.
Today I picked up 'The Great Empires of Asia'edited by Jim Masselos which gives breif histories of the Mongol, Ming, Ottoman, Mughal, Khmer, Savafid and Meji Restoration Japan.
Cheers
|
|
|
Post by vtsaogames on Jul 17, 2019 18:21:23 GMT
Started reading Peter Heather's "The Fall of the Roman Empire", quite interesting. Early description of 4th Century Empire reveals that the upper classes spoke a different language than the hoi polloi, not just accents and vocabulary but grammar et al. Educated gents spoke pretty much the same Latin as Cato, 4 centuries earlier while even in 79 AD Pompeii graffiti indicates the lesser breeds were on their way to Romance languages with simpler grammar. It would be like the wealthy speaking Elizabethan English now.
|
|
|
Post by macbeth on Jul 22, 2019 12:41:09 GMT
I finished 'The Great Asian Armies' - not a bad read, but nothing much new.
I am now about 1/3 of the way through the first of James Mace's "Soldier of Rome" series - "The Legionary".
Cheers
|
|
|
Post by macbeth on Jul 24, 2019 9:50:07 GMT
This morning I finisehd "The Legionary"- not a bad yarn but a little disjointed and it seems that the author had the work spell checked but not proof read.
There were hoards of barbarians
The soldiers became board and so spent time drinking pictures of whine
The enemy began to waiver under the hail of javelins
And so it goes on
- still I am giving the second book in the series "The Sacrovir Revolt" a go - and I'm about halfway through
Cheers
|
|
|
Post by ammianus on Jul 24, 2019 14:06:18 GMT
The Last Wish (The Witcher, #1) by Andrzej Sapkowski
Getting read for NETFLIX Witcher series with Henry Cavill (Superman). Initial trailers on Internet look good.
|
|
|
Post by macbeth on Jul 25, 2019 7:38:19 GMT
So by lunchtime today I had finished 'The Sacrovir Revolt' and found it disappointing. At least 'The Legionary' followed Tacitus' coverage of Germanicus' campaign fairly well. This one, I had trouble swallowing, with a revolt against Tiberius in Gaul, where the leader was primarily driven by being humiliated by the heroes of the first book. I cannot come at the idea that the Gallic rebels tried to defeat the standard Roman tactics by having their centre equipped with plate armour, and that the Legions defeated them with the simple expedient of attacking them with their pickaxes. The book also had little challenge for the protagonists, at every point that the rebels made plans, or tried to thwart the Romans, it was painfully obvious that they were outmatched. There was just no suspense. And the atrocious spelling errors continued. Not a fan So next off the rack (spoils of the last Lifeline bookfair) is "Gods and Kings" by Lynn Austin, it is a novelisation of the early life of King Hezakiah of Judah. Cheers
|
|
|
Post by nangwaya on Jul 25, 2019 12:44:52 GMT
So by lunchtime today I had finished 'The Sacrovir Revolt' and found it disappointing. At least 'The Legionary' followed Tacitus' coverage of Germanicus' campaign fairly well. This one, I had trouble swallowing, with a revolt against Tiberius in Gaul, where the leader was primarily driven by being humiliated by the heroes of the first book. I cannot come at the idea that the Gallic rebels tried to defeat the standard Roman tactics by having their centre equipped with plate armour, and that the Legions defeated them with the simple expedient of attacking them with their pickaxes. The book also had little challenge for the protagonists, at every point that the rebels made plans, or tried to thwart the Romans, it was painfully obvious that they were outmatched. There was just no suspense. And the atrocious spelling errors continued. Not a fan So next off the rack (spoils of the last Lifeline bookfair) is "Gods and Kings" by Lynn Austin, it is a novelisation of the early life of King Hezakiah of Judah. Cheers Oh, that "Gods and Kings" book seems really interesting.
Look forward to your opinion of it.
|
|
|
Post by vtsaogames on Jul 25, 2019 17:03:37 GMT
Greatly enjoying "The Fall of the Roman Empire" by Heather. The Huns did it!
|
|