This book is somewhere between a novel and an anthology. It began as groups of stories that could have gone into the Grantsville Gazette. However, Eric Flint saw that these stories could be pulled together to form something like a novel. This story is focused on the question of how the individuals, both uptimers and downtimers, would deal with the problems the Ring of Fire created.
It is divided into four sections. The first is a pair of stories by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlet with bridge chapters by Eric Flint. It shows uptimer farmers integrating with downtime German farmers. The second section is from a collection of different authors and shows how the “Ram” story develops. The third section is a collection of stories, mostly by Virginia DeMarce, that shows how the Ram Rebellion comes into being along with the opening moves. The final section is a novella by Eric Flint and Virginia DeMarce that deals with the full blown peasant farmer revolt in Franconia against the local petty lords.
As a book it is probably best understood as an anthology and, like the Grantsville Gazette, it is not a good entry point into the history. Having said that, this is a good book for someone who has already read and enjoyed “1632” and “1633” at least. Moving forward events described in this book are obliquely mentioned in later books, like “1634: The Bavarian Crisis”.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
“Dragonsdawn” by Anne McCaffrey
This is the origin story of the Pernese colony and the Dragonriders of Pern. Naturally it begins with the colony ships arriving at Pern. It shows the colony leaders, Admiral Paul Benden and Governor Emily Boll, leading the colonists in their initial exploration and settling in. Tensions are shown, Averil Bitra schemes, and fire lizards are discovered and impressed.
Then Thread falls for the first time. Admiral Benden and Governor Boll are recalled from their stakes to lead the colony in this crisis. The volcano at the main city, Landing, starts to smoke, they put tremendous strain on their resources, Averil Bitra steals the admiral’s gig and gets herself killed, the first dragons are created by Kit Ping Yung and impress the first riders, and Fort hold is founded.
The book ends with a swift reversal the beleaguered colonists are out of power for the flying sleds when the dragons arrive to defend Fort.
Overall this is a good story. There are clearly drawn characters and problems. However it is not the best introduction to the series. There are quite a few references that only make sense if you’ve read the first couple books Anne McCaffrey published in this setting.
Then Thread falls for the first time. Admiral Benden and Governor Boll are recalled from their stakes to lead the colony in this crisis. The volcano at the main city, Landing, starts to smoke, they put tremendous strain on their resources, Averil Bitra steals the admiral’s gig and gets herself killed, the first dragons are created by Kit Ping Yung and impress the first riders, and Fort hold is founded.
The book ends with a swift reversal the beleaguered colonists are out of power for the flying sleds when the dragons arrive to defend Fort.
Overall this is a good story. There are clearly drawn characters and problems. However it is not the best introduction to the series. There are quite a few references that only make sense if you’ve read the first couple books Anne McCaffrey published in this setting.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
“Eulalia!” by Brian Jacques
Eulalia, the battle cry of the Badgers of Salamandastron is rather appropriate for this story. There are six badgers involved.
Two drop out early, they’re old farmers who drop out after their farm is attacked by sea rats. Gorath, the farmer’s grandson, has been taught by his grandfather to use the berserk rage of the Bloodwrath to do the really heavy farming work. Lord Asheye of Salamandastron is blind from wounds suffered while under the Bloodwrath and is waiting for his successor. Taboura is a wise old badger with a tremendous knowledge of herbs and the world. Taboura’s adoptive daughter, Salixa, travels with him.
Then there are the non-badger characters. Orkwil Prink, a hedgehog thief that eventually returns what he steals from people he likes. Mad Maudie, a champion boxing hare, cook with strong and particular views, that is nearly drummed out of the regiment of the Salamandastron fighting hares. These are joined by Rangval, the squirrel, a bunch of otters, the Guosim, and the inhabitants of Redwall Abbey.
There are two villains in this story. Gruntan Kurdley is the master of a brown rat horde. He sees the Guosim, with Mad Maudie, as they travel to Redwall. He demands that his horde capture the log boats of the Guosim. This demand gets modified to a demand to take Redwall and slay a badger. This demand is balanced against the demand that he be constantly supplied with hard boiled eggs.
The other villain is Vizka Longtooth. He is the captain of the searats that pillage Gorath’s grandparents farm. He tries to turn Gorath into a fighting machine as he leads his crew to attack Redwall.
Like most Redwall novels this one has strongly drawn characters, fast paced narrative with lots of action, a clear separation between the good guys and the bad guys, and feasts. Overall this is a solid and enjoyable book, though the good guys are mostly much less heroic than most of the other Redwall tales.
Two drop out early, they’re old farmers who drop out after their farm is attacked by sea rats. Gorath, the farmer’s grandson, has been taught by his grandfather to use the berserk rage of the Bloodwrath to do the really heavy farming work. Lord Asheye of Salamandastron is blind from wounds suffered while under the Bloodwrath and is waiting for his successor. Taboura is a wise old badger with a tremendous knowledge of herbs and the world. Taboura’s adoptive daughter, Salixa, travels with him.
Then there are the non-badger characters. Orkwil Prink, a hedgehog thief that eventually returns what he steals from people he likes. Mad Maudie, a champion boxing hare, cook with strong and particular views, that is nearly drummed out of the regiment of the Salamandastron fighting hares. These are joined by Rangval, the squirrel, a bunch of otters, the Guosim, and the inhabitants of Redwall Abbey.
There are two villains in this story. Gruntan Kurdley is the master of a brown rat horde. He sees the Guosim, with Mad Maudie, as they travel to Redwall. He demands that his horde capture the log boats of the Guosim. This demand gets modified to a demand to take Redwall and slay a badger. This demand is balanced against the demand that he be constantly supplied with hard boiled eggs.
The other villain is Vizka Longtooth. He is the captain of the searats that pillage Gorath’s grandparents farm. He tries to turn Gorath into a fighting machine as he leads his crew to attack Redwall.
Like most Redwall novels this one has strongly drawn characters, fast paced narrative with lots of action, a clear separation between the good guys and the bad guys, and feasts. Overall this is a solid and enjoyable book, though the good guys are mostly much less heroic than most of the other Redwall tales.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Red Lantern, Rolling Meadows, IL
This restaurant is located in a strip mall at 1655 Algonquin Rd, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008. The phone number is (847) 439-3380.
This is an Asian/Chinese sit down restaurant. There was a large lazy susan in the middle of the table, so that it is easy to share food around the table. Not being Asian we were given the menus in English. Appetizers were avocado spring rolls and crab rangoons. Both of which were quite tasty. I ordered the Orange Beef, which was easily big enough for two people. I enjoyed it very much. For desert I ordered the crispy banana rolls. This is a pair of bananas wrapped like an egg roll and fried with honey drizzled over all. This tasted good, though the banana was rather mushy. It was best eaten like a normal egg roll.
Unlike the last several places we’ve been, the prices are much more reasonable.
This is an Asian/Chinese sit down restaurant. There was a large lazy susan in the middle of the table, so that it is easy to share food around the table. Not being Asian we were given the menus in English. Appetizers were avocado spring rolls and crab rangoons. Both of which were quite tasty. I ordered the Orange Beef, which was easily big enough for two people. I enjoyed it very much. For desert I ordered the crispy banana rolls. This is a pair of bananas wrapped like an egg roll and fried with honey drizzled over all. This tasted good, though the banana was rather mushy. It was best eaten like a normal egg roll.
Unlike the last several places we’ve been, the prices are much more reasonable.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Stoney River, Deer Park, IL
This restaurant is located at 20504 North Rand Rd, Deer Park, IL 60010. The phone number is (847) 719-1596.
We arrived shortly before 6 o’clock and were shown to a side room. It had three large round tables down the middle and booths around the sides. The wall between this room and the bar helped to cut down the noise, which was appreciated since it allowed us to talk across the table.
Ambiance:
The lights were set at a restful level and the customers looked to be dressed in business casual or a bit nicer.
Service:
The waitress was attentive, regularly coming past the table to check to see that we had everything we needed. There were a few points that could have been improved on; she put the desert silverware in the center of the table where it was a little hard to reach. Overall the service was good.
Food:
This is a restaurant that specializes in steak, and it shows. I had an excellent steak, and Jim said that the prime rib he got was one of the best he’s ever had. They have other dishes, like the salmon that Frank got, which are also good.
After everyone had ordered baskets of fried biscuits with sweet butter were brought. These were so good that I had to consciously resist the urge to eat the entire basketful.
Each steak came with an order of potatoes, which could be changed to a vegetable for a small charge. There were around eight options on the potatoes including baked potato, baked sweet potato, fries, mashed potatoes with caramelized onions, and au gratin potatoes. There were a number of vegetable options. All of the potato options tried tasted good. I had the fries and felt that they were nothing special, but they were pretty good fries. The au gratin potatoes were interesting. They were made with parmesan rather than cheddar, and came out looking like a grayish white brick. Apparently it was a good tasting brick, but Jim said the shape and color made it look rather like a urinal cake. Outside of that unfortunate visual the food was excellent and looked good.
We also got an order of asparagus with the meal. It was a generous serving of cooked asparagus. It was good, though not anything extraordinary.
Desert was a dish with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream between two large cookies made of almond slices. It was sweet and not too heavy, making it an excellent desert.
Price:
Prices are rather on the high side. The cuts of meat are good cuts of meat well prepared, which the prices reflect. The other dishes were reasonably priced for their size.
We arrived shortly before 6 o’clock and were shown to a side room. It had three large round tables down the middle and booths around the sides. The wall between this room and the bar helped to cut down the noise, which was appreciated since it allowed us to talk across the table.
Ambiance:
The lights were set at a restful level and the customers looked to be dressed in business casual or a bit nicer.
Service:
The waitress was attentive, regularly coming past the table to check to see that we had everything we needed. There were a few points that could have been improved on; she put the desert silverware in the center of the table where it was a little hard to reach. Overall the service was good.
Food:
This is a restaurant that specializes in steak, and it shows. I had an excellent steak, and Jim said that the prime rib he got was one of the best he’s ever had. They have other dishes, like the salmon that Frank got, which are also good.
After everyone had ordered baskets of fried biscuits with sweet butter were brought. These were so good that I had to consciously resist the urge to eat the entire basketful.
Each steak came with an order of potatoes, which could be changed to a vegetable for a small charge. There were around eight options on the potatoes including baked potato, baked sweet potato, fries, mashed potatoes with caramelized onions, and au gratin potatoes. There were a number of vegetable options. All of the potato options tried tasted good. I had the fries and felt that they were nothing special, but they were pretty good fries. The au gratin potatoes were interesting. They were made with parmesan rather than cheddar, and came out looking like a grayish white brick. Apparently it was a good tasting brick, but Jim said the shape and color made it look rather like a urinal cake. Outside of that unfortunate visual the food was excellent and looked good.
We also got an order of asparagus with the meal. It was a generous serving of cooked asparagus. It was good, though not anything extraordinary.
Desert was a dish with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream between two large cookies made of almond slices. It was sweet and not too heavy, making it an excellent desert.
Price:
Prices are rather on the high side. The cuts of meat are good cuts of meat well prepared, which the prices reflect. The other dishes were reasonably priced for their size.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Seasons 52, Schaumburg, IL
This restaurant at 1770 E Higgins Road, Schaumburg, IL 60173. The phone number is (847) 517-5252. Seasons 52 has a seasonal menu, which naturally changes four times a year, and a weekly list of specials. None of the items on the menu is more than 475 calories. It also has a wine list and full bar.
We arrived at 4:45 and, after a gathering in the piano bar we were taken to the Chef's table. This is a table seating up to ten people that has a decorative wall between it and the main dining room.
Ambiance:
The restaurant and bar are dark wood. The diners were mostly wearing casual to business casual clothing. The noise level at the Chef's table was very comfortable level for conversation. In the main dining room it was somewhat louder, though not too bad for a group smaller than eight.
Service:
The server came by at regular intervals. She checked whether we needed anything without being pushy about it. They weren't perfect but the server looked like she was doing her best. The most noticeable example of imperfection was when one of the eight sets of silverware didn't make it to the table with the entrees.
Food:
Since we were at the Chef's table a small free appetizer was presented by the chef. This was goat cheese on artichoke heart with wild arugula and half a grape tomato. This was quite tasty.
For appetizers the Baked Stuffed Mushrooms and the Ripe Plum Tomato Flatbread. The flatbread was crispy and pleasantly seasoned with garlic and cheese. It reminded me of a fancy thin crust pizza. The mushrooms were stuffed with crab meat and had a shrimp to cap the mushroom and nearly the whole plate was covered with Parmesan cheese. Each mushroom was in its own well on the plate.
I ordered a spicy black bean soup to arrive before dinner, which it did. It was a decent black bean soup, though nothing extraordinary.
I got the Cedar Plank Salmon for dinner. It came with whole roasted carrots, asparagus, and red potatoes. The salmon was good and the vegetables were excellent. They didn't need any further seasoning.
The deserts come in shot glasses. I got the Meyer Lemon Cake. A deliciously lemony desert with whipped cream on top.
Price: The dinners were reasonably priced. So were the soup and the deserts, deserts were $2.50. The appetizer was somewhat less reasonable, though not unreasonable.
We arrived at 4:45 and, after a gathering in the piano bar we were taken to the Chef's table. This is a table seating up to ten people that has a decorative wall between it and the main dining room.
Ambiance:
The restaurant and bar are dark wood. The diners were mostly wearing casual to business casual clothing. The noise level at the Chef's table was very comfortable level for conversation. In the main dining room it was somewhat louder, though not too bad for a group smaller than eight.
Service:
The server came by at regular intervals. She checked whether we needed anything without being pushy about it. They weren't perfect but the server looked like she was doing her best. The most noticeable example of imperfection was when one of the eight sets of silverware didn't make it to the table with the entrees.
Food:
Since we were at the Chef's table a small free appetizer was presented by the chef. This was goat cheese on artichoke heart with wild arugula and half a grape tomato. This was quite tasty.
For appetizers the Baked Stuffed Mushrooms and the Ripe Plum Tomato Flatbread. The flatbread was crispy and pleasantly seasoned with garlic and cheese. It reminded me of a fancy thin crust pizza. The mushrooms were stuffed with crab meat and had a shrimp to cap the mushroom and nearly the whole plate was covered with Parmesan cheese. Each mushroom was in its own well on the plate.
I ordered a spicy black bean soup to arrive before dinner, which it did. It was a decent black bean soup, though nothing extraordinary.
I got the Cedar Plank Salmon for dinner. It came with whole roasted carrots, asparagus, and red potatoes. The salmon was good and the vegetables were excellent. They didn't need any further seasoning.
The deserts come in shot glasses. I got the Meyer Lemon Cake. A deliciously lemony desert with whipped cream on top.
Price: The dinners were reasonably priced. So were the soup and the deserts, deserts were $2.50. The appetizer was somewhat less reasonable, though not unreasonable.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
“1632” by Eric Flint
This is the story that started all the stories in the 163X or Assiti Shard series, including dozens of issues of the Grantville Gazette. It can be read online for free on the Baen Free Library
A natural event, technically solipsistic alien art, sends the town of Grantville, WV back in time from the year 2000 to 1631. This includes an area 6 miles in diameter and includes a fair chunk of coal and natural gas. After a brief foray into the surrounding territory turns up a small band of “mercenaries” raping a farm girl, and torturing her father the mineworkers get a glimpse of the world they’re in. It doesn’t take much after that to lead the town, under the president of the local UMWA, to decide to attempt to start the “American Revolution” early.
This excellent novel takes a light approach to the many problems that come up during the nearly two years of the story. For example, culture shock is shown, most obviously when two of the Abrabanel representatives come to town, but it is shown quickly and the focus moves on. Similarly, the characters are strongly and vibrantly drawn and that vibrancy contributes to drowning out the complexities that the later books delve into.
A natural event, technically solipsistic alien art, sends the town of Grantville, WV back in time from the year 2000 to 1631. This includes an area 6 miles in diameter and includes a fair chunk of coal and natural gas. After a brief foray into the surrounding territory turns up a small band of “mercenaries” raping a farm girl, and torturing her father the mineworkers get a glimpse of the world they’re in. It doesn’t take much after that to lead the town, under the president of the local UMWA, to decide to attempt to start the “American Revolution” early.
This excellent novel takes a light approach to the many problems that come up during the nearly two years of the story. For example, culture shock is shown, most obviously when two of the Abrabanel representatives come to town, but it is shown quickly and the focus moves on. Similarly, the characters are strongly and vibrantly drawn and that vibrancy contributes to drowning out the complexities that the later books delve into.
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