Review: Waterloo by Alan Forrest

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Read From: January 16th to 20th. Kindle ARC.

This was a good overview of how the Battle of Waterloo was viewed in various countries that took part in the event.

Alan Forrest is a historian specialising in French history, and especially Napoleon. This gives the book a nice ring of authority.

Waterloo is treated in a straight forward manner with a straight up discussion of a prelude to the battle, the battle itself, and then how the battle was perceived in the eyes of history.

I especially liked the sections on how the Battle of Waterloo was used by the British for propaganda purposes, and more or less or appropriated by them, to the detriment of the Germans. I also liked the sections on how the Germans weren't a united front either and it was seen through different eyes in Hannover (which had dynastic ties with Britain) and Prussia (the other principal participant in the Allies). Surprisingly, Waterloo only plays a role similar to a footnote in German nationalistic history, and Leipzig was given pride of place instead.

The writing is crisp, and although Forrest isn't a great stylist, you're not bored by the content either. A little knowledge of Napoleon and his exploits will help you appreciate the book a lot better.

P.S. I was given an ARC by the publisher in exchange for a review.

Review: Gemini Cell by Myke Cole

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Read From: January 11th to 12th, 2015. Kindle ARC.

I think Myke Cole invented the military fantasy genre, and even if he didn't, he'll be remembered as somebody who introduced it to the masses.

Myke Cole has previous experience as an US military officer and security contractor, so that gives his military fantasy books a good tinge of "realism".

Gemini Cell was an action packed, full blown adrenaline ride. The protag, Jim Schweitzer is a Navy SEAL. But combine a hard-case like him with magic and you've got a one of a kind book on your hands. Although Gemini Cell calls itself a prequel to Cole's brilliant Shadow Ops series, this can be considered as a brand new book/series on its own. And it's Cole's best work to date. The characters are interesting and diverse. Cole pulls off that rare trick of making you feel all kinds of things about his characters: you want to root for them, then they are deplorable, and then you're back to cheering. You get your money's worth.

Like all his novels, Gemini Cell also asks interesting questions about personal rights, and how far the government can interfere in those rights when it comes to issues such as national security. However, I just couldn't flow with the idea that being a "professional" killer somehow made it okay to being a killer. When this book asks nice question about religion and personal rights, this sense of American gungo-ho-ness somehow didn't jive with the whole book. And considering, Cole distanced himself from this very thing in his other novels, even criticized them.

That apart, this is a great book. To quote Jim Schweitzer, this is the start of something new. I can't wait to see where it goes next.

Full Disclosure: I got an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a review.