Book Review: The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary 1914-1918

The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary 1914-1918 by Holger H. Herwig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The popular academic study of World War One in English has long suffered a deficit in the number of publications that use German sources. Herwig's hefty tome comes as a welcome change to this. At 450 dense pages, only serious history buffs need apply.
Those willing to make the effort, however, will find their understanding of the war enriched and changed. While we are long accustomed to hearing criticisms of the Entente's General staff, the commanders of the Central Powers are shown to have made many key blunders and to be grossly out of touch with the reality on the ground.
Herwig goes through each year and campaign in detail, backed up with a wealth of primary sources. I could have used some more personal accounts--the ones he gives are gripping--but that's not really the focus here. He shows how the high command was influenced by politics, posturing, and unrealistic expectations. The incapacity of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to wage war is well drawn, and Herwig knows just when to bring out a telling detail. For example, rubber was in such shortage that in 1917 the Hapsburg government requisitioned the pockets from all billiard tables!
Herwig takes us step by step through the evolving political, strategic, and tactical situations. A glossary of terms and key figures and some more detailed maps would have been helpful, but I can't bring myself to give this book fewer than five stars. It's essential reading for anyone who wants to truly understand the Great War in detail.

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More reviews, the importance of minor characters, and indie publishing news

Things are busy here. Sales for Radio Hope are steady but not stellar, but it's only been out two weeks so word is still spreading. Please help with that if you can!

I've received two new reviews. One on Goodreads, by a member of my writers group in Madrid saying, "I liked it, so much so that--faced with all those empty days until the next installment arrives--to satisfy my craving for radioactive scavenging and crumbling pockets of civilisation I've started playing Fallout: New Vegas again, after several years of twitchy abstinence. So thanks a lot, Sean: Radio Hope kicked me off the wagon."

The other is on Amazon and is titled: "It's a hard life if you don't weaken. If you do, you're dead." Gotta love a reviewer who paraphrases Sillitoe. From there she compares it with The Postman (I have a better ending, thank you for noticing) and to Stephen King.

I'm over at Amlokiblogs today talking about the importance of minor characters in writing.

Far more important than all this is that indie bestselling author Hugh Howey has teamed up with a statistician to analyze how well indie authors are doing compared with traditionally published authors. The data will surprise you. If you're a writer, or a reader interested in the future of books, check out his report.

A history post tomorrow. I'm getting bored with all this self-promotion!

Radio Hope gets its first review, and it's five stars!

Less that two weeks after its release, Radio Hope has received its first review! The reviewer, blogger Sioux Roslawski, says:

The author has painted a picture of a world that we might end up with--if we keep abusing our environment and we if keep being devisive about people, keeping the "have-nots" separated from the "haves." Although this story takes place in the future, it's easy to envision it being not too far into the future...which is the terrifying part.

I appreciate that the author has given his readers some credit. Too often, books like this are full of chunks of background information. Different terms and backstories are explained at the very beginning, which slows down the story. Sean McLachlan trusts that his readers have brains and he has ensured that things are revealed in a logical, natural way...as the story evolves. (He even made us wait until the last page for a tidbit I was wondering about throughout the entire novel. I was worried I'd never find out the answer, that it would be just a forgotten detail, but McLachlan did not disappoint...)

I gave this novel 5 stars because it is normally not the kind of book I would read. However, despite it being outside of my reading box, I inhaled it. I read it in two nights, anxious to get to the end.
Sioux isn't the only person who said they've read it in two days. I take that as a good sign!

My virtual book tour is continuing. Today I'm being interviewed by Paris-based blogger D.G. Hudson.

Book Review: Legionnaire from Texas

Legionnaire from Texas by Gordon Landsborough
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a reprint of a 1950s novella that was recently released by Piccadilly Publishing. The publisher specializes in old and new action tales, what used to be called "Men's Adventure Fiction."
And that's what you get here. A hard-bitten man from Texas joins the French Foreign Legion for mysterious reasons, and fights Arabs in North Africa while all the time trying to get something else done. . .
The story is well-written and fast-paced, as you'd expect from this kind of book. Landsborough wrote a lot along these lines and knows how to spin a good yarn.
There were some hiccups along the way, though. The story takes place just after World War Two, yet the Legionnaires are still using the Lebel Model 1886 rifle. I'm not sure that's accurate. Also, I found the characters to be a bit cardboardy. Perhaps they develop further in the series. In addition, this is not a complete tale, having a rather abrupt ending.
In the Smashwords edition I bought there were huge numbers of formatting errors. Paragraphs kept alternating in font size and there was a lot of missing punctuation, especially periods. Perhaps this was from scanning from an old pulp magazine. Whatever the reason, someone needs to proofread the ebook before clicking publish.
I'm intrigued with Piccadilly's line of books and have bought a few more. I don't think I'll continue with the Legionnaire series, however.

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Book Review: The Story of Texas Jack Vermillion

When writing my book Tombstone - Wyatt Earp, the O.K. Corral, and the Vendetta Ride 1881-82, I sadly didn't have much room for some of Wyatt's colorful friends like Turkey Creek Jack Johnson and Texas Jack Vermillion. I only had 25,000 words to play with!

Luckily Australian researcher Peter Brand has been hard at work researching the lives of these lesser-known Vendetta Riders and has come out with a great book on Texas Jack Vermillion. For many years it was thought that this little-known friend of Wyatt Earp was Confederate veteran John Wilson Vermillion. Brand proves conclusively that the real "Texas Jack" was John Oberland Vermillion, a Union veteran. Brand goes into detail about both men's lives so you're really getting two biographies here.

Of course Texas Jack is the focus and he's an interesting character. He ran away from home in 1864 to join the Union army, serving in the 122nd Ohio Infantry. He saw action in some of the toughest battles of the Overland Campaign such as the Battle of the Wilderness and Cold Harbor and was left traumatized by his wartime experience, unable to speak above a whisper for two years.

After the war he got restless and headed west. Like many people seeking to reinvent themselves, Vermillion left his relatives and never wrote home. He worked as a carpenter in various spots and also earned a reputation as a gunman. At some point he earned the nickname "Shoot-your-eye-out" Vermillion.

In Tombstone he was squarly on the side of the law and order Earp faction, but he did his share of nefarious deeds as well, such as hooking up with the famous gang of conmen run by “Soapy” Smith. All these coming and going are hard to document because Vermillion occasionally used aliases. Even as careful a researcher as Brand has to admit that he simply doesn't know where Vemillion was or what he was doing for large periods of his life.

What we do know, however, is fascinating, and Brand plugs in the gaps with details about Tombstone, the Arizona War, and Soapy Smith. While the book's subject may seem obscure and only of interest to specialists, Brand tells some fascinating tales that anyone interested in the Old West will enjoy.

My only complaint with this seemingly self-published volume is its poor distribution. I had to order direct from the author's American representative. These days it's quite easy to get onto all major online outlets by simply uploading your book to Amazon and Smashword's Premium Catalog. I hope Mr. Brand does this with this and any future books. I think he'll get the wider readership he deserves.

Book Review: The Day New York Went Dry

The Day New York Went Dry by Charles Einstein
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I picked this out of my collection of vintage paperbacks thinking it was a post-apocalyptic tale, something I've been in the mood for lately. It turned out not to be, but was entertaining nonetheless.

The book, published in 1964, follows two movers and shakers in the New York City's political and social scene who try to curb an impending water crisis. One of the characters is a boozing socialite who reminded me of Roger Sterling from Mad Men!

The main strength of this novel is its clear explanation of just how such a big city is supplied with water, and the environmental and social pressures that can threaten that supply. There are also some wonderfully funny passages. Its weaknesses are the rather cardboardy characters and the uneven pace of the plot, which at times veers off into lengthy explanations of unimportant material (like one character's theories on blackjack) that feel like padding.

Still, it's a fun and quick read and if you have a taste for mid-century curios and you can find it cheap, give it a try.

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Book Review: A Plague of Pythons by Frederik Pohl

A Plague of Pythons by Frederik Pohl
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I heard that Frederik Pohl, one of the Grand Old Masters of science fiction, had died earlier this month, I rummaged through my collection of vintage paperbacks looking for something of his I hadn't read. I came up with this short 1965 novel.

Someone or something is taking over people's minds and leading them to commit horrible crimes. Nuclear bombs go off, people go on killing sprees, and in one unsettling scene a jetliner crashes into the Pentagon. The people who get possessed are fully aware of what is happening but are unable to stop themselves, having to watch helplessly as their bodies kill, main, and rape those around them. Then they are let go and have to live with the guilt of their crimes.

No one knows why this is happening and as you might expect, civilization is quickly unraveling. Then one man begins to learn the truth, and is faced with the choice of stopping the madness or taking on this power for himself.

This is a gripping tale that still seems fresh more than 40 years later. It lost a bit of an edge when the protagonist learned what was causing the possession, but the story built up again as he gets wrapped up in the conspiracy. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes the genre.

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Book Review: AD 410 The Year that Shook Rome

AD 410: The Year That Shook Rome by Sam Moorhead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The British Museum Press is famous for producing clear, well-illustrated books about archaeological subjects, and this volume is no exception. It focuses on Alaric the Visigoth's sacking of Rome in 410 AD, a momentous event that signaled the imminent collapse of the Western Roman Empire.

The authors go into detail about the politics that led to the sacking, especially Rome's mismanagement of the Visigoths. This Germanic tribe was fleeing the Huns from the east, and wanted only some land and food, offering loyalty and military help in return. The Romans in their arrogance spurned the Visigoths' offer and instead starved and massacred them. Alaric comes off as forgiving to a fault in this narrative and the Romans missed several opportunities to make good.

The book follows several other stories as well, including the clash between paganism and an emergent Christianity, rebellions in Africa and Britain, and relations with the Eastern Roman Empire, later to be called Byzantium.

Long quotes from several contemporary writers liven up the text, and there's a helpful Who's Who and annotated bibliography in the back. While any serious student of Late Antiquity will find little that is new, the educated lay reader for whom this book is targeted will find this an enjoyable, somewhat complex, and enlightening read.

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Book Review: Nanok and the Tower of Sorrows by Jack Badelaire

Nanok and The Tower of Sorrows by Jack Badelaire
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This novella is by Jack Badelaire, better known for his excellent Commando series of war novels. Here the author takes on a different subject--old school pulp fantasy in the vein of Robert E. Howard.

There are far, far too many Conan pastiches circulating these days, but fortunately Badelaire takes a lighthearted approach. There are lots of jokes and pratfalls mixed in with Badelaire's signature fight scenes.

I especially enjoyed all the references to fantasy fiction and movies. In his adventures Nanok even meets The Beastmaster (oh, sorry, The Master of Beasts!), one of the more embarrassing fantasy films of our youth. There could have been more, though. What? No reference to The Barbarians or Willow? I would have loved seeing mighty-thewed Nanok cleaving Willow's head in with his massive sword.

Anyway, this is a fun little read, nothing Earth shattering, nothing you'll be tempted to read again, but an amusing way to spend an hour or so. If you want something meatier, check out his Commando books. Those are more serious, and seriously good.


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Book Review: The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco

The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Umberto Eco is back with a typically convoluted novel that showed his zest for minutely detailing odd corners of history.

Set in late 19th century Paris and Italy, it follows the exploits of a fictional counterfeiter of legal documents as he meets with the real (and really strange) figures of his era.

Simone Simonini is entirely without scruple and apolitical except for a deep undercurrent of antisemitism. He will forge documents for anyone but prefers to create conspiracy theories about the Jews. As you might suspect, he contributes to that notorious fake, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, one of Hitler's favorite reads and still a bestseller in many Muslim countries.

Eco is at his best when describing the bizarre beliefs of bygone ages, something he returns to again and again in his fiction. He's in top form here, with lots of information about the Freemasons, political radicals, and religious hucksters of the era. At times, however, it gets a bit long winded and reads as if it was lifted verbatim from century-old sources.

Another problem is the narrative conceit. Simonini has lost his memory, and carries on a correspondence with a clergyman who may or may not be his alter ego and who seems to know everything he doesn't. I saw no reason for this structure and it quickly becomes tiresome, as do the broad winks to the reader. His first two books, The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum, were much better.

Still, it's a fun read and gives a detailed skewering of the Protocols and how they were cobbled together from earlier antisemitic screeds and novels. It gives this frivolous romp through history a relevant tone.

I give this book three and a half stars.

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Book Review: Lolito

Lolito by Ben Brooks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I feel I don't read enough contemporary fiction so I picked up this book, published just a few months ago, by the young author Ben Brooks. What I found was a mixed bag.

As the title suggests, Lolito is about an underaged teen who gets into a relationship with an older woman. Etgar is 15, totally screwed up, suffers panic attacks, and already a binge drinker. When his girlfriend cheats on him he tips over the edge. In his loneliness he starts chatting to strangers on the Internet and ends up in a liaison with a 49 year-old mother and teacher.

Etgar's emotional rollercoaster is vividly drawn but it's hard to sympathize with him because he doesn't seem real. The author's MFA style of overwriting makes Etgar sounds like a literary construction, with phrases like "shops the colour of old fax machines" and "eyes like glasses of red wine." Does a 15 year-old talk like that? Does ANYONE talk like that? Certainly not a teenager who spends most of his time drunk in front of the television.

Also, the narrative gets a bit unbelievable. Etgar's fake ID works without question everywhere, even in posh hotels, and there's an unrealistic scene where he's being questioned by the police and they let him run away without even trying to stop him.

What really frustrated me about this novel is that I feel the author could do much better. Some passages are excellent, the minor characters are well drawn, and the concept has loads of potential, especially with "cougars" being so trendy now. Brooks is an author to watch, but I think he might need a few years for his style to mature.

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Book Review: Wild Bill Hickok, The Man and His Myth

Wild Bill Hickok: The Man and His Myth by Joseph G. Rosa
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wild Bill Hickok is one of those Old West icons whose real personality has been shrouded in generations of fiction. The reality, as is often the case, is far more interesting. Hickok was a scout, Indian fighter, Civil War spy, lawman, gunfighter, gambler, actor, and much more.

In this book Joseph Rosa, the leading authority on Wild Bill, tries to separate the man from his myth and nail down just how various untruths and exaggerations about him got started. What really launched his fame was his 1865 shootout with David Tutt, one of the few standup, Western-style gunfights that really happened. The national magazine Harper's sent a hack out to Missouri to interview Hickok, and the result was a blood and thunder tale in the dime novel tradition. The article is reproduced in full in this book.

While Rosa does a good job separating fact from fiction, this book is terribly organized. It jumps around in time and place and never gives a full overview of the man's life, instead looking at a few key incidents. Even these aren't in chronological order. This makes the book confusing and frustrating.

For those looking for a standard biography, I recommend Rosa's earlier book, They Called Him Wild Bill. While written 30 years earlier and not as fully researched, it's much more readable.

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Book Review: Cotswold Privies

Cotswold Privies by Mollie Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I saw this in the Oxford Central Library and being a fan of obscure history I couldn't resist. This little book was written in 1984 when outhouses were still in use in some of the smaller English villages.

Full of fun anecdotes and humor, as well as lots of photos and a fair amount of architectural information, it will tell you far more than you ever needed to know about English toilet habits in the early 20th century. For example, some privies were "two holers" so family members could go together. Isn't that nice? You even get little ditties like this one:

In days of old
When knights were bold
And paper wasn't invented
They used blades of grass
To wipe their arse
And went away contented.

At the end of the book is a list of slang terms for privies, such as The Widdlehouse, The Long Drop, and my favorite--The Thunderbox.

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Indie Life: Let's Stop Review Inflation

Anyone who has been to university is familiar with the phenomenon of grade inflation: students are given better grades than they deserve in order to make the department or university look good. There's a similar process going on in indie publishing that I call review inflation.

It's simple: an indie writer gets her friends to give the book five-star reviews, lavishing praise on the book. Sometimes it's quite obvious. I've seen books that have only been published for a day that somehow have half a dozen reviews, all of them five stars. The idea is that this will help sales.

In the end, this hurts the author and indie writers in general. When real readers buy the book, they're often disappointed and take out their sense of betrayal with especially bad reviews. Readers are also getting more sophisticated. I've seen more than one review on Amazon or B&N which complains there are too many fake reviews for a book.

It's also just plain dishonest, and trying to pull one over on your readership is not going to help your career in the long term. I have never asked my friends for reviews. For my Civil War novel A Fine Likeness, only one reviewer is someone I know. ACLopez is a friend of mine. I didn't ask her to write a review, but she did anyway and gave it five stars. I'd think she really enjoyed the book and was probably tickled that much of the action took place in her county, but would she have given it five stars if she didn't know me? Probably not.

The only other unsolicited review from a friend was for The Night the Nazis Came to Dinner and other Dark Tales. On Amazon UK, Critch gave me only three stars and said, "He needs to improve if his fiction is to equal his non-fiction, but there are glimpses of potential in this collection."

Well, no review inflation with that guy!

Book Review: O Pioneers!

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Here's how the West was really won, through hard work, perseverance, and helping your neighbors. Cather's prose vividly describes the hard landscape of pioneer Nebraska and the harder people who tamed it.

This short novel is of interest because Cather actually lived in that time and place and I suspect many of the characters are taken from life. Here's one of those "classics" that's actually worth reading. At times it can feel a bit dated, and parts are a wee bit overwritten, but this won't be much of a hindrance to readers accustomed to books from this era.

One warning: if you buy the Dover Thrift Edition of this book don't read the back cover blurb. It gives away the ending!

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Book Review: Legendary Beasts of Britain

Legendary Beasts of Britain by Julia Cresswell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Shire Books are short, heavily illustrated introductions to a variety of British subjects. Considering how many they've published, including one on spoons, I'm surprised they haven't done one on legendary creatures. Well, good things come to those who wait. This is a fascinating look at the origins and development of unicorns, dragons, wyverns, griffins, and more.

Despite its small size, the author manages to pack in a lot of information. By the time you finish this you'll know the difference between your mermaids and your selkies, your unicorns and your yales. You'll also learn several old legends and tall tales from times past.

Creswell digs up some interesting images beyond the usual ones we often see. For example, there are several photos of misericords, those little benches they put in churches to lean against while you're standing. They were often carved with mythical beasties and make for an interesting study in unusual church art.

Since this is an examination of traditional beasts, newer appearances such as aliens and globsters don't make the cut, but you'll still find Alien Big Cats (which go back further than I thought) and everyone's beloved lake monster, Nessie.

I recommend this for anyone looking for a primer on the folklore of Great Britain. It makes for good fodder for writers too!

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Book Review: Time is the Oven

Time Is the Oven by Richard G. Sharp
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a tale of a young Missourian coming into his own in the years following the Civil War. The book spans a couple of decades from his first wanderings as a callow youth, through various romantic relationships, his friendship with Frank James, and his ultimate success while working on the Panama Canal. Vast in scope, this is an ambitious novel told with wit and historical detail.

"Told," unfortunately, is the key word. Most of the book is narration, with little actual scene. While the narration is insightful and often funny--I even laughed out loud a couple of times, a rare thing for me to do with a book--it lends a certain distance between the reader and the plot.

This was frustrating because I could see the great book trying to break out of the constraints of the good one. The author overly explains everything, when in fact he has the skills to show us far more effectively. I hope in future volumes the author gains confidence to put us right in the scene instead of simply narrating everything.

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Book Review: Hothouse (aka The Long Afternoon of Earth)

Hothouse by Brian W. Aldiss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brian Aldiss never disappoints. This novel, which first came out in the U.S. with the title THE LONG AFTERNOON OF EARTH, won the Hugo Award in 1962. Rich in style and evocative in its imagery, it follows a band of some of the last survivors of humanity in the far future. The Earth has stopped rotating and the sunlit side is now a thick jungle dominated by a continent-spanning banyan tree.

Plant life has almost entirely taken over, with many strange and improbably plants species imitating forms previously known as animals and insects. Most plants are extremely deadly, and Aldiss kills off characters with reckless abandon.

Aldiss was criticized at the time for the lack of scientific believability in this novel. Indeed, it's almost science fantasy. Suspend your disbelief, however, and it's an absorbing read.

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Book Review: The Strongest Tribe: War, Politics, and Endgame in Iraq

The Strongest Tribe: War, Politics, and the Endgame in Iraq by Francis J. West Jr.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book about the Coalition occupation of Iraq was written by Bing West, a Vietnam veteran and former assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration. He examines the changing strategy and tactics of the occupation from its troubled beginnings through the height of the insurgency and up until 2009.

Despite West's background, he is not kind to the Bush administration. He accuses Bush of being out of touch with the reality on the ground and unwilling to listen to those who were better informed. He places the blame for much of America's troubles in Iraq at the feet of its then Commander-in-Chief

The armed forces did learn from its mistakes, however, and the bulk of this book is devoted to Coalition's attempts to devise strategy and tactics to defeat the insurgency. West embedded with numerous frontline units to get a better idea of how the changing tactics worked on the ground. His detailed military analysis is fascinating for any student of the subject and West keeps it from being a dry Defense Department briefing by giving vivid descriptions of the individuals involved and some of their firefights.

One thing I especially appreciated is that the author gives full credit to the bravery and commitment of the many Iraqis who fought alongside the Coalition to make their country a better place. Having been to Iraq myself, I have met many such Iraqis and it's too bad their story isn't told more often. The Americans got to go home at the end of their tour of duty. The Iraqis, however, didn't have that option and ran the risk of assassination at the hands of terrorists. Many fell victim to such a fate.

There are holes in his coverage, however. Coalition partners are given short shrift, and the whole Blackwater scandal (overcharging the government, pointlessly killing civilians, etc.) is shrugged off in a single page with the statement that new rules were put in place to keep the "mistakes" from happening again. That's a shockingly naive statement coming from such an experienced observer and I wonder if West actually believes it.

The Abu Ghraib scandal is treated in a similarly flippant manner. West never considers the possibility that the blame went higher than those immediately involved. I'm not saying it did; I'm just saying that it's a question worth asking.

Despite these quibbles, I still found The Strongest Tribe the single best general coverage I've read on the war. Anyone who wants to understand the occupation of Iraq or the changing tactics of modern warfare should read this exciting and informative book.

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A good book review and a strange one

Last week my Civil War novel A Fine Likeness received to more reviews. A new four-star review on the novel's Goodreads page says that while the reader isn't into paranormal, "The author does an excellent job in incorporating accurate Civil War and Missouri history and handles the military action sequences with ease. The tale reads smoothly and is a very easy read. The motivations of the main protagonists on both sides of the conflict are realistically developed."

He goes on to say: "A Fine Likeness is one of those novels that falls between genres: American historical fiction with a regional focus, paranormal, a bit of the "Western." That may limit the readership, but the writing shouldn't be penalized for that."

Yeah, that's one of the reasons I couldn't find a regular publisher. The rejection letters kept saying how they didn't know how to market it. So I'm marketing it myself!

The second review is from the Indie Book Review. It was positive ("intriguing" "timely") yet odd in places. While I'm not the kind of person who bites the hand that feeds him, I'm wondering why Captain Addison is referred to as "General Captain Addison" and how exactly my background as an archaeologist informs the novel.

But what the hey, don't look a good review in the details!