Lunch special

#49 Read Montana fiction winners of the last 10 years
2000 Harlequin rex / Owen Marshall
2006 Blindsight : a novel / Maurice Gee

#86 A-Z reading challenge - authors & #87 A-Z reading challenge - titles
Robin Waterfield "Xenophon's retreat : Greece, Persia and the end of the Golden Age"
About the retreat of an army led by Xenophon (among others) over rugged land way back in, um, I forget the exact date, but it's before Alexander the Great.
What did I think?
I thought that it was going to be heavy going as the first chapter dives right into the story and descriptions of the weapons. However, with a bit of concentration, it turned out to be a fascinating bit of history. The Greek soldiers made an already arduous journey more complicated by their own treachery and greed. Of course, that all seems so obvious from our vantage point in history but I guess if you're desperate you're not exactly thinking clearly.

#86 A-Z reading challenge - authors
Xinran "What the Chinese don't eat"
A collection of columns from the Guardian.
What did I think?
An interesting reminder of the differences between Eastern and Western culture and of the fact that China is such a large country that even if a Chinese person was willing to talk to you about their country it wouldn't follow that every Chinese person thinks that way or has expereinced that situation. Which is pretty bloody obvious when you think about it.

Yancey, Rick "The extraordinary adventures of Alfred Kropp"
About a boy who gets involved in stealing a sword and then has to deal with the mythical aftermath.
What did I think?
I very much enjoyed this take on the Arthurian legend. Especially the very well done bit just before the wrapping up scenes. Some very exciting blood and violence for the boys in this story, perhaps not so much for the girls - sometimes Alfred comes across as a bit of a whiner. Apparently the rights have been sold to Warner Bros Pictures...I hope they get the casting right. One tiny niggle about the resolution about parentage but if it hadn't have panned out the way it did what would be the point of the story? Recommended. (oh, it's another teen book.)