This week I've read Viking: King's Man by Tim Severin and The Secret Life of Trees by Colin Tudge. I only intend to comment at any length on fiction as my comments are primarily my observations about how novels are written and constructed. Having said that, The Secret Life of Trees was wonderful. Trees are brilliant.
Viking: King's Man is the final part of a trilogy. Books 1 and 2 are Odinn's Child and Sworn Brother, both of which I read some time ago. First of all it should be noted that anything that has vikings in it is automatically good. Can't get enough vikings. (Hmm, things that begin with V?)
The Viking trilogy is presented as a memoir written by Thorgils Leifsson at the end of a long and eventful life. It is in the first person and there's no other pov that is really appropriate for a memoir. This format also allows the author to comment on the events that he's relating. Severin's scholarship is evident throughout and at times it reads more like a history text than a novel. If I wasn't already interested in the subject matter this might have felt quite intrusive.
There's not much more to say: overall it was an entertaining read, competently written, but didn't stand out from the crowd.
In other news, I've added a link to my Bookwormr profile so you can have a look at my reading list. It's on the right, just below the fold.
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