Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

The story takes place in Medieval Cambridge, where several children have been taken and brutally killed. The local Jews have been blamed and take refuge inside the towns castle.
King Henry calls on the King of Sicily to send one of his investigators to try and solve the mystery, along with a renowned doctor. Only this doctor is a woman and the Mistress of the Art of Death.
Together these two, along with her Saracen man servant and King Henry's 'fixer', uncover who the brutal killer is, but not before endangering all their lives

.A well researched and well written mystery.
Loved it.
I'm hoping for further novels.

TIMELINE by Michael Crichton

The story starts in the opening of the 21st century, when a man is found wandering in the Californian desert, totally disorientated. The couple who find the man take him to the hospital, where he dies.
But the doctor is puzzled after doing an MRI scan and we discover that the deam man, Traub, had been employed by ITC - a big company working on quantam physics.
In short, the company has been testing equipment to return people back into history.

We are then moved to a historical excavation in France, around the Dordogne River. The dig is being funded by ITC. When the Professor in charge is ordered back to the States for a meeting with the Company Chairman, the tale gets interesting, especially when the Professor makes a trip back in time and gets stranded. The place is where he has been working with a team of other archeologists. Other members of the team are then "asked" to to back and locate the Professor.

This was an interesting read - taking in the conflicts that were being waged at the time (1400's) and we are told how the Middle Ages were not a Dark part of history, but a time when many advancements were being made.

The students are an interesting mix of personalities and they have to cope with life as it was in that era.

The Name of the Rose (Vintage Classics) by Umberto Eco

The Name of the Rose (Vintage Classics) by Umberto Eco

Amazon Synopsis:
'The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey where extraordinary things are happening under the cover of night. A spectacular popular and critical success, "The Name of the Rose" is not only a narrative of a murder investigation but an astonishing chronicle of the Middle Ages. '

I loved this novel.
I'd seen the film years ago, but it just doesn't do the book justice.
You learn so much about the middle ages and monastic society.
Brother William is a wonderful character too.
Recommended

WHITE NUN'S TELLING by Fay Sampson

This is Book 2 in the sequence - Daughter of Tintagel

I had to wait a while for this book, as my local library did not have a copy.
And I like to read the books in order as well.

This story follows on with the tale of Morgan, who has been banished to Tintagel, after she tried to kill her brother, Arthur.
The nuns at Tintagel are to look after her and see to her education, but if she leaves Tintagel, she will be killed. This order is by Uther Pendragon, her stepfather.
We are brought into the story by Luned, a nun, and herself a bit of an outcast. Morgan is given into her care and shares Luned's small cell for nigh on 8 years.
Luned is not strong minded and cannot control the determined ways of Morgan, who gives the impression of being on a path to destruction.
Given the setting in Cornwall and the era, the old ways are still practised, though Christianity is evident.
Morgan's old nurse Gwennol Far Sight keeps in contact and introduces Morgan into the old ceremonies.
Luned must follow Morgan everywhere and witnesses the events, and also is dragged into one of them. The result being that she becomes pregnant (she is very ignorant of her body and does not know of this, until she gives birth).
By then she has lost the respect of the other nuns, and is sent away from the convent and makes her way to Bossiney, the former home of Morgan.
Gwnnol Far Sight then proceeds to instruct Lunel into the old ways.

The character of Morgan is one of uttr deviousness, and taking control of others.
Hatred of her family breeds these feelings.

The story concludes with Morgan being married and I am keen to read the next book in the series.

The First Princess of Wales

When the lovely and high-spirited Joan of Kent is sent to this politically charged court, she is woefully unprepared for the underhanded maneuverings of her peers. Determined to increase the breadth of his rule, the king will use any means necessary to gain control of France—including manipulating his own son, Edward, Prince of Wales. Joan plots to become involved with the prince to scandalize the royal family, for she has learned they engineered her father’s downfall and death. But what begins as a calculated strategy soon—to Joan’s surprise—grows into love. When Joan learns that Edward returns her feelings, she is soon fighting her own, for how can she love the man that ruined her family? And, if she does, what will be the cost?My thoughts: Karen Harper's Story of Joan of Kent was an ok read at sometimes the book seemed to drag on and I didnt feel that I was really being entertained at all.It wasn't one of my favorites but I may hold on to the book and reread it in the future to see if my views change.

The Other Queen By Philippa Gregory

The long awaited story of Mary Queen of scots by Philippa Gregory has arrived but it left alot of things desired. Gregory chose to tell the story of the capture of Mary Queen of Scots using the Three first person views. Bess of Hardwick and Her husband The Earl of Shrewsbury and The Queen of Scotland. With only three or four pages dedicated to each character it was really hard to become engaged in the story. The characters were flat to me they didn't have any real personalities I felt like I was reading notes that they left behind. I was really disappointed in this book i expected more of "bang" for the end of the Tudor series but this was a complete disaster for any Philippa Gregory fan.

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

I loved this book ... I'm a huge fan of traditional epic tales, and Crichton's reworking of Beowulf didn't fail to impress.

'Written' by Ibn Fadlan, emissary of a Caliph, it tells the tale of his journey with a group of Northmen / Norsemen who return home when summoned by Rothgar to help defeat the Wendol who keep terrorising villages.
The leader Buliwyf (Beowulf) and his men faced the fierce hairy savage wendol (Grendel), their snake haired mother who lives in a cave, and the fire serpent (the wendols with torches snaking down the hillside).
Fierce battles, Viking lifestyle, an Arab emissary, and monsters galore, make for a brilliant tale. It even has footnotes, commentary and an appendix...all fictional though.

Crichton cleverly weaves the actual tales of Ahmed ibn Fadhlan and the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, into this brilliantly constructed story.
At the end Crichton explains why he wrote the tale, his love of Beowulf and his reading of some of Ahmed ibn Fadhlan tales in college.

A lovely book.
Read it or at least see the film the 13th Warrior which is based on this. The film weaves in all three monsters which Beowulf faces in the poem ... Grendel (the wendol), the mother and the dragon (fire serpent).

Read 22/9/08