Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell

Kudos to Cornwell for giving the works of Shakespeare their dues, especially A Midsummer Night's Dream. He dissects the piece, as if it were the hottest new reality-soap in town.

Leaving the historical references and importance of Shakespeare's work aside for a moment, what remains are emotional roller-coasters for the masses. Shakespeare gives us drama, laughter, tears,violence and death. His plays were live television.

Cornwell is an excellent storyteller. The reader becomes so transfixed by the unfolding drama, and drawn in by the strong characters, that you almost forget everything is taking place in the Elizabethan era.

The story is about William and Richard Shakespeare, and their sibling rivalry. At the same time it is also about the existing rivalries between the various playhouses. An original play or new script is worth its weight in gold. People will pay good money to watch a new play being performed. It's quite interesting to note how many new scripts playwrights had to come up with in such a short period of time to entertain not only the masses, but also the upper echelon of society, including the queen.

Richard struggles with the fact his brother seems to see him either as a hindrance or a complete failure. He wants acknowledgement of his talent and perhaps even an apology for being handed to the wolves by his brother. At the moment he is always automatically picked to play the role of the pretty woman, because he is known for his striking looks. The kind of appealing physical appearance that tends to be noticed by the wrong people.

I really enjoyed it. I was expecting a story filled with heavy historical references. Instead it is a witty light-hearted entertaining read, which still manages to portray the hardships, the danger, the paranoia and the fear in that particular era, and the way of life in London.

Cornwell combines his talent for historical fiction with his concise knowledge of Shakespeare, which of course makes this a double-treat for bookworms with a penchant for both history and the works of the bard.

Buy Fools and Mortals at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Follow @BernardCornwell @HarperCollinsUk

Visit bernardcornwell.net

Today! Blog-Tour: As I Descended by Robin Talley

My turn on the Blog-Tour for As I Descended by Robin Talley. Her previous novel Lies We Tell Ourselves was a phenomenal success, and it was one of my favourite reads of 2014. I was intrigued to hear the premise, especially because I am a wee bit of a Shakespeare fan.

About the author:
Robin Talley grew up in Roanoke, Virginia, writing terrible teen poetry and riding a desegregation bus to the school across town. Robin lives in Washington, D.C., with her fiancée, plus an antisocial cat and a goofy hound dog. When Robin’s not writing, she’s often planning communication strategies at organizations fighting for equal rights and social justice.

You can connect with robin at www.robintalley.com, on Facebook or follow @robin_talley and @HQYoungAdult and watch out for #AsIDescended on Twitter.

Review
To be perfectly frank you will have to freshen up on your Shakespeare's Macbeth to fully get the gist of this story. Without that reference and prior knowledge, this is just another YA urban fantasy, but with it you see the story in an entirely different light.

Obviously you can't make a literal direct comparison of the bard's work and As I Descended, as Talley has taken a fair bit of artistic license. Saying that, there are quite a few interesting adaptations, starting with the gender and sexuality of the characters.

The author has infused the story with the complexities of sexuality, with a particular focus on same gender relationships. Insecurity is one of the pivotal motivators for Lily. I think her control and influence over Maria is probably underestimated throughout the entire book. Whereas Maria is motivated and controlled by the nefarious ouija summoned presence.

The two girls are driven by different reasons, but both are willing to cross boundaries to get what they want. Manipulation, betrayal and even death. Nothing is off-limits even if it is unintentional.

The common thread between Macbeth and this story is the power of suggestion and whether or not Maria would have made the same choices without it. Lily is perhaps a less assertive choice for the figure of Lady Macbeth. and her character goes from controlling and manipulative to strangely docile.

The stroke of genius was the Macduff of the story, I won't tell you who that is you can work that out for yourself. I really liked the way Talley drew the parallels between Macduff being stripped of his family and the intentional malicious outing causing the alienation of the family.

Again I have to say that this may be more of a treat for readers who like their Shakespeare, and I will spare you any further comparison of the two lest I give away too much. It is a fascinating combination of Shakespeare's darkest tragedy, an en vogue genre and important social justice issues.

I can't wait to see what Talley comes up with next. She isn't afraid of writing about controversial subjects or trying something fresh and innovative.

Buy As I Descended at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Read Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

Pop Sonnets by Erik Didriksen

I am a lover of Shakespeare. I watched the Voldemort meets Gerard Butler version of Coriolanus and read the original play at the same time, that's being a wee bit of a Shakespeare geek.

There is nothing quite like watching his work being performed by thespians, who understand the essence of his words and voice.

Didriksen makes a really good point in the foreword. Shakespeare is meant to seen and heard, and not just read.

He was not an author but a playwright: his work is intended not to be read but heard.

Pop Sonnets is the combination of Shakespeareanism vs the world of modern music. Erik Didriksen has written popular and contemporary songs in the form of Shakespearean sonnets.

It is what I would call a niche kind of book. It might not appeal to everyone. It is certainly a unique book. I am going to be buying myself a print copy, because I don't think the Kindle version does it real justice.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.
Buy Pop Sonnets at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.