From the book "The Battle of The Tanks", a history of the Battle of Kursk in WWII between the Germans and the Soviets....
Paul Hausser's II SS Panzer Corps had also been busy during the few precious hours of darkness that early July offered. Fierce fighting continued in some areas as both sides used the cover of the night to improve their positions. At the tip of Das Reich, for example, acting Panzer Grenadier company comander SS-Untersturmfuhrer Kruger spent six hours leading his unit in hand-to-hand fighting during which he was twice wounded. Remaining with the company, he continued to lead his men as they wrestled with several T-34s (Russian tanks). Darting forward with a magnetic mine grasped between muddy hands, Kruger was grazed by a round, which ignited a smoke grenade in his pocket and set his trousers on fire. Ripping the flaming cloth from his legs, he continued his attack on the T-34 in his underwear and succeded in knocking out the tank.
Just a daily reminder why I would be terrible in war, because if I get down to my underwear, I'm letting the tanks win.
I'm a bit late on this, but then I think every year I'm a bit late on this. And then I wonder what I'm going to write about, because I always wonder what I'm going to write about on my mid-point review. And then I just start writing. So here we go, I guess.
As I look at my list of books read, what sticks out at me is this...I've read a lot of good books, but not a whole lot of great ones. Right now, if I had to pick a top book, it would be a battle between "Sabbath's Theater", "The Sense of an Ending" and "As I Lay Dying". And, in all honesty, though I really like those three books, I'm not sure any would make the top ten in 2010 or 2011. On the other hand, when I tried to make a preliminary top ten list, I narrowed it down to 20 books, and had trouble kicking out candidates. A lot of good books, not a lot of great ones. Maybe that changes over the next few months, I've got to finish my barely-touched assignments, which are usually good for a couple of top picks. Some other interesting (to me) topics about the books I read this year.....
Game of Thrones is just like The Wire...sort of- Mostly in the similarities of how Joe, Alan, and I consume the books/seasons. When I'm reading a series of books, or watching seasons of a TV show, I am not someone who needs to watch season after season, or read book after book. Even when I'm really into a show, I like to have some time in between "episodes" to digest what's going on. Unlike Joe and Alan, who both have a habit of, when they get into a story, trying to finish that story as quickly as possible. I think most people are like Joe and Alan, and I might be the weird one, but I'm not saying one way or the other is right, just that this is how I am, and how they are. When I started watching "The Wire", I loved Season One. Loved it, and told Joe repeatedly how awesome it was. By the time I finished season One, he was about to start it. Fast forward a few months, I was getting ready to watch season Two, and Joe was finishing season Four and telling me what to expect. I think of this when I think that, in the span of six weeks, Joe has read the first two Game of Thrones, catching me, and is now reading the third book. Or the fact that Alan read the first four books back to back earlier this year. And I'll have the third book read by the end of the year, but only because James assigned it to me. I don't know why this interests me, but it does. I'm different sometimes, and I can't explain it to you.
Last Year, one of the bookclubs I go to decided to start a Big Book choice, by which we decided a "big" book to read, and had a few meetings, placed at certain checkpoints in the book, to gather and discuss. And last year's choice was War and Peace, which I don't know if you've ever heard of it, but I was impressed, and I had a couple of things to say about it. Those Russian writers, they're so good. Russia must be a magical wonderland to develop brilliant creative types like that. Anyways, I did really enjoy War and Peace, so much so that, in an effort to show thanks and prove just how smart I really am, I rated it Number One in my favorite books of last year. This year, the "Big" book chosen was "A Suitable Boy" by Vikram Seth. It was to touch on many of the same themes as War and Peace, except that it was focused on 1951 India and was about 300 pages longer. I started reading, and got to the "page 900" meeting, and then stopped reading. And then meetings got moved, and I kept not reading it, missed the last meeting, and, while professing that I would finish the book by the end of the year so it will count and I really want to finish it but it wasn't a good time but I'm totally gonna don't you worry about that.......I forgot about it for a few months. And that's when Joe stepped in.
Joe's plan was to have me finish the book now, in an effort to try to "slow me down" so he could gain ground in the overall race for books read while he was reading every Game Of Thrones book ever. (For those who think I'm paranoid, Joe basically told me this was his plan. Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean I'm wrong) So Joe ladled on the guilt like a good Indian mother...or an American mother....all mothers, really. And I capitulated, and started reading the book again, and finished the last 580 pages in 2 weeks, because fuck that guy. (Look, I love Joe like a brother, but also like a brother I do not handle sibling-led power struggles well. He knows that now.) So I have finished "A Suitable Boy", and am ready to talk about how I felt about it.
Don't expect find ASB on the top of this year's list.
The above video is a trailer for the second season of Game of Thrones on HBO, which follows book 2 of his series called "A Song of Ice and Fire." That second book, A Clash of Kings, is the focus of this post.
The book continues each of the many story lines covered in A Game of Thrones, but A Clash of Kings excels in its treatment of the power struggle for political control of Kings Landing. Specifically, this book absolutely owns the struggle between Tyrion and Cersei to fill a political vacuum. The ruthlessness of the struggle below the surface was phenomenal. It simmered for most of the book until the boil hit late. You can see a portion of that in the clip above when Tyrion says "you will know the debt is paid."
I LOVED that scene in the book. Without spoiling the plot, Cersei escalated the simmer to a boil and all the underlying struggles came flowing out. I read that chapter twice. I have heard various criticisms that A Clash of Kings floundered in just about every other storyline, but I disagree with that criticism on the whole. It is a fair critique when applied to a few story lines (specifically Danaerys), but I think many other stories seem lesser only by comparison.
Events at the Wall were intriguing and Arya's adventure was wrought with danger and thrilling at times. Even Sansa's time at Kings Landing became compelling at times.
I also got a lot of unintended comedy relief by watching everyone try to cover for the completely horrible judgment of the young King. It was just so entertaining to watch the power struggle be jolted from left field because of random impulsive (and stupid) acts by the monarch. I chuckled many times when the entire playing field for power would shift like an earthquake simply because "the dolt no one can criticize" decides to do something extreme and ridiculous. Everyone just kind of sighs, works to fix things, and then gets back to the struggle at hand. That was just so much fun.
I also enjoyed the story of Theon and how he became "the dog who caught the truck." I loved watching him walk the line between allegiances, his attempt to be bold, and then his attempt to guard his legacy. It was exactly like the dog that caught the car. "What do I do with this thing now that it is finally mine?"
Tyrion continued his Omar ways through wit and solidified his position as my favorite character. He has a different style, but Tyrion uses what he has to create havoc. I love his style and he is not to be trifled with.
And, with that thought, I leave you with more footage of Joffrey being slapped (this never gets old).
Finally, I must mention the Blackwater Bay battle. That battle was breathtaking. It was described through the eyes of various participants and included a massive maneuvering feat for a medieval water battle. It involved some brilliant tactics and was wonderfully described.
The book leaves off without cliffhangers, but with many dark storm clouds brewing. It makes me want to immediately start the next one, which I can tell is aptly titled as A Storm of Swords.
