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brandypainter's reviews
1984 reviews
The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff
5.0
Rosemary Sutcliff's work had been recommended to me by several different sources. I am grateful to all for introducing me to this wonderful author. I hate that I have been missing out all these years.
The Eagle of the Ninth is historical fiction set in England during the Roman occupation. It is the story of a young Roman soldier stationed there whose career with the legions is brought to an abrupt end. Looking for a purpose to fulfill him afterwards he goes on a mission that takes him from southern England to the north of Scotland to find the Eagle lost by the missing legion his father commanded and discover the truth about what happened to them.
The language of the book is beautiful and it would make a great read aloud. The history is well researched, the characters fully developed and the plot engrossing. While this book technically falls into children/YA category it is equally engaging for adults to read.
The Eagle of the Ninth is historical fiction set in England during the Roman occupation. It is the story of a young Roman soldier stationed there whose career with the legions is brought to an abrupt end. Looking for a purpose to fulfill him afterwards he goes on a mission that takes him from southern England to the north of Scotland to find the Eagle lost by the missing legion his father commanded and discover the truth about what happened to them.
The language of the book is beautiful and it would make a great read aloud. The history is well researched, the characters fully developed and the plot engrossing. While this book technically falls into children/YA category it is equally engaging for adults to read.
Perelandra by C.S. Lewis
5.0
Perelandra, while the second in a trilogy, can be read independently and stand on its own merits. I never cease to be amazed by the works produced by the mind of C.S. Lewis, and this was no exception.
In Perelandra the protagonist, Dr. Ransom, once again finds himself journeying to another planet. This time his travels take him to Perelandra, or Venus, as it is called on earth. In Peralandra the majority of the land consists of floating islands that move and undulate with the waves of the ocean. It is a young world inhabited by only two rational beings, a man and a woman. Everything is again strange and new and the peril Ransom faces even greater than it was when he journeyed to Malacandra. He has been sent there to complete a dangerous task that threatens to overwhelm him.
Lewis paints such vivid pictures with his prose in this work that it is very easy to see the golden sky and strangely moving earth. The creatures also come to life in all of their playfulness and devotion. The true brilliance in this work lies in its emotive qualities though. I felt stress, anger, fear, anxiety and temper in varying degrees just as Ransom felt them in the story. At one point I had to put it down for awhile in order to give my mind a break. I can’t remember the last time a book evoked such a consuming response in me.
The theology in this book is much weightier than in the previous volume but it in no way hinders the plot or character development. It is the force that drives the whole book but is never didactic. It is what breathes life into the story and beauty into its conclusion.
In Perelandra the protagonist, Dr. Ransom, once again finds himself journeying to another planet. This time his travels take him to Perelandra, or Venus, as it is called on earth. In Peralandra the majority of the land consists of floating islands that move and undulate with the waves of the ocean. It is a young world inhabited by only two rational beings, a man and a woman. Everything is again strange and new and the peril Ransom faces even greater than it was when he journeyed to Malacandra. He has been sent there to complete a dangerous task that threatens to overwhelm him.
Lewis paints such vivid pictures with his prose in this work that it is very easy to see the golden sky and strangely moving earth. The creatures also come to life in all of their playfulness and devotion. The true brilliance in this work lies in its emotive qualities though. I felt stress, anger, fear, anxiety and temper in varying degrees just as Ransom felt them in the story. At one point I had to put it down for awhile in order to give my mind a break. I can’t remember the last time a book evoked such a consuming response in me.
The theology in this book is much weightier than in the previous volume but it in no way hinders the plot or character development. It is the force that drives the whole book but is never didactic. It is what breathes life into the story and beauty into its conclusion.