Peachy Reads

The Burning Land / Bernard Cornwell Click here to check for availability at AFPLS The 9th century was an unsettled time in Britain. Alfred the Great was trying to keep the English speaking inhabitants unified in one kingdom, while the Danes were essentially trying to make Britain an outpost of Viking Scandinavia. We meet up with Uhtred in this fifth installment of Bernard Cornwell's historical adventure series Saxon Tales as he continues to somewhat reluctantly honor his oath to Alfred, while nurturing his true desire is to lead an army against his uncle and reclaim his ancestral home. There is lots of historically-based battle action here, as in previous books there are many sharp blades, axes, and in one clever siege innovative use of beehives and sailcloth. Uhtred experiences triumph on the battlefield (and a near miss) but disappointment and sorrow on the homefront. We’ll have to wait until another installment in the series to see if he can be Lord of Babbenberg in more than...

Solar / Ian McEwan Click here to check for availability at AFPLS . Michael Beard is a Nobel-Laureate in physics who peaked far too soon. It seems he used up all his genius early in life and this novel follows him as he tries to parlay his Nobel honor, and no further innovative work or thinking, into a lifelong career. He can’t give physics too much attention since he is caught up in his own self-absorption, can’t seem to stay faithful or married (five marriages and counting), and has no self-discipline when it comes to eating and exercise, or anything else for that matter. To stay afloat he becomes involved in several unscrupulous actions, including concealing a suspicious death, framing an innocent man for it, and stealing the poor dead man’s intellectual property. This novel has moments of greatness, but it is much too plodding, too preachy, too satirical, and too scientific in places, and the characters (other than Michael Beard) are just too flat. I love Ian McEwan, but I didn’t f...