Conservative Book Talk

Plot: Won by the Sword is set in the 17th century. The French at that time were in the midst of what would turn out to be a thirty years war.
We meet our hero, Hector Campbell, in 1639, the war has already been raging for twenty-some-odd years by that time. Found by General Turrene practicing play-war against a city, Hector talks some time with him before finding that the gentlemen he is speaking with is General Turrene himself. Turrene takes a liking to Hector and soon has him on as his personal messenger.

The thirty years war began mostly due to the different nobles of France warring for more power, and a stronger hold on the French throne. At that time the Italian bishop, Richelieu, held great power over the throne, mostly due to his friendship with the king. A man of intelligence and power, Richelieu did his best to unite France during his life time with the king.

Not far into our story Richelieu, and the king, die of illness. The king’s young son is then crowned king, but the throne is in control of his mother until he comes of age. Succeeding Richelieu is Mazerin, another Italian bishop who is also in great power, though he was not greatly admired by the king, he learned well from Richelieu and is held in favor by the queen.

General Enghien is also under Frances’s service at this time, and is equal in brilliance in strategy to Turrene, though Turrene is more cautious while Enghien is less concerned with how many men are lost. Both are equally brave, and both take a liking to Hector, who serves under the two.
Battles are won on either side, the French and Austrian, (both countries have other countries aiding them) but nothing happens that truly sways the victory rod in either direction.

This Henty book contains much of the history of France, yet is combined with Hector’s own adventures, which are many. We see the war through Hector’s eyes, and are very happy for it, as it’s a fun nose-in-the-pages book.

Negative: The war chapters do not go into great detail of how men die and are very mild. Other than a duel, an alley fight and a brush with robbers in an inn, there is little negative content.

Overall: This was a very good Henty book, not his most exciting, but it was not dry and dull. I do recommend this book, as it is chock full of good history, and is rather a fun read. (And, as usual, our hero is ever brave and honorable.)

Tags: fiction, G. A. Henty, Hannasus, History, youth

Plot: The basic “plot” of this book is to learn about Grainne, sailor princess of Ireland, as she grows into womanhood and marries a warrior.

Her entire world practically revolves around her father, wanting to be a boy, learning to be a chieftain and sailing the sea.

As a little girl she watches all she can of her father’s business, doing her best to learn all and be better than any boy. She does well in school, most of the time, and manages to win the trust of all the boys in her class.

While she grows in womanhood, Grainne still wishes to be a boy, but slowly figures out that she should be a bit more content with who she is.

Negative: Grainne is constantly disobeying her mother, defying her father, and over all being rather annoying. At one point she cuts off all her hair, and I mean ALL, to make herself look like a boy so that her father would take her on a voyage, one that her mother doesn’t want her to go on and has told her that she couldn’t go on. Had her father rebuked her and left her behind this might have been fine, but no, he admires her spirit and takes her with him! A man is stabbed by a little girl, and a little girl strips naked in front of boys. (she is swimming)

Overall: To be perfectly honest, I did not care for this book at all, Grainne is a brat from page one. A few paragraphs of the scenery is all I really liked. So I would not recommend this book, unless you are looking for a quick read and don’t care what its about. However, if you read it and end up enjoying it, more power to you.

Tags: fiction, Grainne, Hanassus, Ireland, Louise Gherasim, Sailor, youth

Plot: In Aurora, a small town in Alaska, an unwanted puppy is thrown into the world to live on its own. Being small and clumsy, he was not wanted by his owner, Smiley Jackson.

Being half wolf, the little puppy, dubbed Scrub by the townspeople, takes to stealing food from coolers, windows and garbage piles to eat. He does not do too well with the people throwing things at him and local dogs chasing him, but months go by and he is still alive.

Eventually David Martin, a young boy who goes to school in Aurora, but lives a few miles out, finds him. David gives Scrub half his lunch every day for several weeks, but soon comes no more because he broke his leg.

Scrub, finding that David does not come anymore, is desperate for food and attempts to steal a large hunk of meat from a porch. The local dogs see him and chase him away, eventually catching and beating on him, leaving him for dead and taking his food.

Scotty, a friend of David Martin, finds Scrub and takes him to David and his family. They then nurse him back to health and tell Smiley Jackson where Scrub is, but Jackson, thinking Scrub still unfit for a sled dog, says he does not want him. Scrub continues to grow healthier and gets larger, eventually, Jackson sees him as a good sled dog and wants him back.

Positive: Think of this as a Call of the Wild type book, dog lovers will probably like this best. It was engaging and well written for a teen book. Our characters are fun and keep us reading to find out their fates.

Negative: The only negative things are when Smiley beats his dogs or David. A boy steals, two people freeze to death and another man attempts to steal.

Overall: My friend lent me this book and said I should read it; it turned out to be pretty good, I liked it. The book was not overly long and fairly engaging. It is not a must read, but if you have a few hours and do not want to think about the economy, this is a fun book.

Tags: Dog, Hanassus, Scrub Dog of Alaska, Walt Morey, youth