The War Hero If I were into hard rock and heavy metal bands - which I'm not - I would have known that Career of Evil is the title of a track by the group Blue Öyster Cult. It is also the title of the latest crime novel by Robert Galbraith, a.k.a. JK Rowling. I …
Category: Books
Getting Away With Murder (1)
The Classic American As promised, I'm going to write this week about detective stories. The fictional detective and the typical fictional crime have changed a lot since back in the days ( I won't say how long ago) when at the age of about eleven I read my first Agatha Christie novel. Throughout my teens …
Happy New Year!
I do hope you all had a pleasant Christmas holiday! I haven't been thinking too much about blogging over the past few days, being pretty much occupied with launching my new book, It's a Fantasy World!, which is out on Amazon now. ** However, I have been reading some detective stories (three in all in …
Only a Matter of Time
The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov The possibility that we might visit our planet's history - and maybe influence it - is the most tantalising of all fantasies. Perhaps, instead, we might travel into the future and, as observers, discover whether our descendants are still reading books, or watching films. What new mythologies can …
Siberian Adventure
The Forbidden Territory by Dennis Wheatley I wrote a few months ago that I was planning to re-read some of Dennis Wheatley's novels. The first three of my choices were reviewed at the time: https://bookheathen.wordpress.com/2015/07/25/the-devil-rides-out-again/ https://bookheathen.wordpress.com/2015/08/09/the-satanist/ https://bookheathen.wordpress.com/2015/08/24/nightmares-and-zombies/ The Forbidden Territory is my fourth choice. It is Wheatley's first novel, published in 1933, and introduces the …
Another Tale of Love and Death
Continuing the German theme of a day or two ago, I decided to feature another work that I like - literally a tale of love and death, or to give it its proper title, The Song of the Love and Death of Standard Bearer Christoph Rilke - Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets …
A Tale of Love and Death
Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué November is German Literature Month apparently - see the hosting site : https://beautyisasleepingcat.wordpress.com/2015/09/24/announcing-german-literature-month-v/ so I thought I might read (re-read as it happens) one of my favourite classical German works. Despite the rather French-sounding name, Fouqué was German and wrote his 1810/11 novella in that language. English readers …
Women Behind the Throne – Part Three
Sorqoqtani - 'Munificence and Benefaction' Shirimun and the sons of Ghaimish opposed the election of Mangke as Great Khan. They prevaricated and would not attend the quriltai to endorse the appointment. When they did at last set out for the Mongol homelands, it was with mischievous intent - or so the contemporary historians would have …
Women Behind the Throne – Part Two
Sorqoqtani Makes Her Move Toregene Khatun managed to delay the quriltai until 1246 but by then she was ill. She must have recognised that her son Guyuk was a weak man, even more of a drunkard than his father but without Ogodai’s good nature. The quriltai formally endorsed Guyuk as Great Khan. The coronation was …
Women behind the Throne – Part One
Sorqoqtani and the Mongol Succession [adapted from Chapter 5 of my book The Lion, the Sun and the Eternal Blue Sky] In Mongolia, where Temuchin (Genghis Khan) is honoured today as a national hero, women enjoy a remarkable degree of economic and social independence compared to their counterparts in some other Asian countries. And, when …
Magda Green Books 