h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I needed to buy a new book... so I took your recommendation and bought Ash. She sounds like my kinda gal!

It is a good book (well so far ), and very well done, but it is pretty gritty. Let me know what you think of it Until later....
BCNU - Crescent

Finally finished it And wow! This puts Mary Gentle up there with Roger Zelanzny, at least for me. I always liked her, but this book was amazing Or at least I thought so Until later....
BCNU - Crescent

I have just got to the bit where Ash is made Captain General of Burgundy...

rip roaring read, huh?

What about that last battle, and the aftermath. That is violence with consequences. A very real Middle Ages, I felt (though I have almost nothing to back that up with academically), and the fighting, and the confusioin of battle, came across very well. The humour in it, that the characters exhibited, was as dark as I would imagine it would be (I know a few hospice nurses and their humour is also black, all that death does it to you ) with some moments I almost curled up laughing (when they dropped the bear and the bees into the sap). Hmmmm, I may write an Entry about it, well until later....
BCNU - Crescent

Finished it yesterday.

I have to say that I thought it was really really clever. The way you finish it and you can't wrap your head around it, but in the ensuing hours everything fits neatly into place in the way the evidence came to light in the book.

Very clever, very well written, great battle sequences. I am rereading my fave book ever (Piece of Cake) and then I think I might read Ash again. I am glad Robert Anselm didn't get killed off cos he was my fave character over then Ash. Sad that Rickard went though.

A 'real' battle, with all the randomness of it, not just the bad guys getting it. It has a flavour of some of Sven Hassels fights and battles in it - the chaos, the panic, the sudden and not so sudden death. I agree the end was clever, as I said puts Mary up there with Roger as a kick ass author.

If you liked Ash, then you may want to try 'The Deed of Paksinarrion', by Elizabeth Moon. Though I do not think you can get it in one book here, it is in three seperate books - The Sheepherders Daughter, Divided Allegiance and Oath of Gold. Similar to Ash in many respects, it is not as gritty as Ash. It is more a look at what may happen in the Fourth Age of Tolkein, rather than an alternate history of Earth, with only memories of magic, elves and such. It follows a female mercenary on her rise through the ranks of a company, and though she takes a different path to Ash, it is also well worth the read. My parents could read Paksanarrion, but Ash was too gritty for them.

So what is Piece of Cake about, then? Until later....
BCNU - Crescent

Its about a squadron of Hurricane pilots during the Battle of Britain. It is my favourite book, I read it over and over again.

There was one thing I did not get about Ash. Why did Vaughan Davis age but Ash and her troops not age?

Sounds good So what draws you back to it time and again? I wouldn't think is was a usual war story, to do that.

As for the Ash thing, Ash's 'miracle' was to push herself, Burgandy and Carthage right to the edge of the collapsing states, a nanosecond forward in time. Vaughan Davies was only pulled into that state in spirit (so his body aged), wheras Ash et al went physically. Well, t'is a theory Until later....
BCNU - Crescent