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September: Here Be Dragons discussion (spoilers)

HeatherB

HeatherB

Ain't nothin wrong with a few dust bunnies!
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September we read Here Be Dragons. Since we weren't ready for our discussion on the chat night, let's just discuss the book here.

I would have never picked this book up on my own. I've not read that much historical fiction other than assignments in high school and uni and quite frankly I wasn't too thrilled with those. I like to read read quickly and the older prose of some of those books made the whole experience full of stops and starts and it wasn't easy, and it wasn't that pleasurable.

But I have to admit, this book was a pleasant surprise. I loved the combination of historically accurate info and the wonderful character development, and, for me, it really brought to life that period of history. Lots of very interesting bits and pieces of info that I really didn't know and that will probably stick with me because of reading this book. And I loved the way the plot moved quickly with jumps of months and then looking at how the characters moved forward in their lives. I would have been bored if those intervening months were described in excessive detail since they didn't contribute to the plot anyway. (Yup, I'm that shallow a reader - but this is reading for pleasure for me, I have enough reading for growth through work + church.)

It was very interesting to see what life was like for women back then, but also for men. I've since read the 2nd book and almost finished the 3rd in the series, but the boundaries have blurred a bit, so I don't want to spoil anything by accidentally revealing plot lines from the 2nd.

I have to admit that I was firmly on the side of the Welsh in this book, rooting for them, and hoping that they would overcome their bullying English conquerer. I wonder how it moved from that setup to today: having a Prince of Wales named by the English Crown instead of from their own people. I distinctly remember thinking that Wales was so honoured by having Prince Charles being named Prince of Wales (1958? when he was 10), but now I'm wondering if the Welsh think he's an English figurehead that they would rather replace with one of their own. Anyone know their English-Welsh modern history? Does any of that animosity still remain to this day?

I will definitely be looking for new books from this author in the future.

How about you? How did you like the book? Did it capture your attention enough to convince you to continue the series? What there anything that you disliked about the book or how it was written?
 
:giggle Sorry, crazy week here! I will stop by this weekend! :) I didn't know this was a series! Now I might have to check out the other books...
 
Ha ha! I'm here! I am still plugging away at this one. I am still getting used to getting up earlier for work and going to bed earlier... which I keep forgetting to do by the way. SO, when I do finally go to bed to read, I don't make it long before I conk out. :) So far, I'm enjoying the story, but I'm really struggling with all the Welsh names. I also have a little trouble with the jumping forward sometimes. I'm reading this electronically and this is the first time that I really wished I had a paper book instead so I could flip back and see the prior chapter for the dates so I can keep straight how far ahead we've jumped.

As a whole, I love historical fiction though and I never in a million years would have thought so. I read all of the series about King Henry the VIII by Phillipa Gregory starting with the Other Boleyn Girl and LOVED those. Definitely more saucy than this book, but I didn't have as much trouble reading them. I'll jump back in here after I finish... I'm not even half way through yet...
 
i'm still working on this too - i'm finally more than 1/2 way done though :) i do enjoy it - but i'm a little bit like karen, i get a little confused w/ the time jumps - and sometimes i really want to know the details of what was going on during those skipped over times, too! i think it's keeping me from being really invested in the characters. but, i really do enjoy historical fiction (have read all of phillipa gregory's books too) and am liking this!
 
I wonder if some of the enjoyment comes from reading electronically vs paper copy. I read a large format softcover book and I frequently flipped back to check dates in previous chapters to orient myself. I also did a bit of skipping back for a few characters.

I don't know why, but I always expected that flipping back to find a character or date would be easier on the kindle (just search backwards, how hard can that be?), but another friend has mentioned how awkward and difficult that is, and how much we must actually glean (without realizing it) from just flipping paper pages backwards to influence our search. I wasn't expecting that at all.
 
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yes - i'm reading on my kindle too - and although i COULD flip back and verify dates, etc - it's too much of a hassle to actually do it!
 
I got about 200 pages left or so. I enjoy reading historical fiction but for some reason I go a lot slower when reading them. I think it is because there are more details to remember so I can't speed through it.

I've enjoyed this book, but the names has left me with my head spinning. :dizzy The whole thing with multiple people having the same name is difficult. It seems like almost after every chapter I am going back to see how much time has passed. I don't mind the gaps I just don't like that you can't really tell how much time has passed unless you skip back.

So far I'm not a big fan of Llewlyn. He is too self absorbed. John is too for that matter. But Llewlyn is too sure of himself and leaves me angry at him for many of the decisions he makes. Hopefully my opinion will change by the end of the book, because I do want to like him.

After reading about 50 pages I decided I would finish this book out. since I enjoyed the storyline. Then I saw that it was a trilogy and about died. For some reason I HAVE to read books in order and I MUST finish series even if I don't like them. So now I have to read the other two books. I'm hoping that I'll be able to read some other books simultaneously but that doesn't always go well. :td
 
I didn't read this one. SORRY!! It just didn't seem like my type of thing...

Lori, I am the exact same with a series! I will finish all the books even if I don't like them LOL! I need closure!!
 
It's only recently (the last few years) that I can put a book down and say "forget it" if I don't get into it after the first 50 or so pages. Before I had to read to the end just to make sure it didn't get better. :)
 
I have to confess that I didn't finish this one. I don't know if it is just the season of life that I am in that was keeping me from getting invested and my time was short and couldn't read it in very big chunks, but I just struggled. So, when I was only like 150 pages in and still not completely hooked and I had renewed it from the library like 3 times, I decided that i wold just give up. I had a hard time too with the Welsh names and trying to say them in my head how they explained in the first chapter or two that they would be pronounced, but then I would forget and be frustrated. I might pick it up again sometime, b/c i know so many people who loved it, but I just decided to move on for now.
 
Well, I didn't read it in September. Sorry. I had to read the Fever series, and I was just so busy. BUT....I've read the book 3 times before, so I can chime in!!! Obviously, if I've read it three times, it's one of my favorite books ever! I love Llewelyn, loved all the Welsh names, love historical fiction, and I love the series too (I've actually read all her books)

This is one of my top 5 books ever!

I can't remember if I had to keep flipping back to check dates and things, but I'm sure I did. Something I wouldn't think about with reading it on an e-reader.
 
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I liked it, but not overly. I was glad I was reading a paper copy because I often flipped back to check years and calculate how old the characters were. I think Joanna's situation between two great men she both loves is so uncomfortable, almost unbearable. I liked the development of her feelings for her father throughout the book, as she moves from fear as a child before meeting him, to total adoration, to doubt, to hatred, to some kind of forgiveness. But the betrayal with Will I really couldn't understand. I found the book interesting from a historical perspective, with all those women dying of child birth. I wish some of the characters were more developed, like Morgan, and I hated the huge gaps in years. For me, it was an enjoyable read, but not riveting.
 
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