Book Log 16/2015 - Winston Graham: Ross Poldark: A Novel of Cornwall 1783 - 1787

I'm not sure why it's taken me the best part of forty years and two TV dramatisations to read this book. Perhaps because it was written in the 1940s I assumed the prose style would be a little stodgy, but not a bit of it. This reads like a much more modern novel. Winston Graham had a light touch

In 1783 Captain Ross Poldark, a gentleman, returns to his Cornish home from the American wars. Headstrong and volatile when he left, he's now more seasoned and prepared to take on the near-derelict family home, Nampara, after the death of his father. He's anticipating that Elizabeth, the love of his life, will be waiting for him to sweep her off her feet and marry him, but arrives to find her on the point of marrying his wealthier cousin, Francis.

He buries himself in work, repairing the house, cultivating the land, with only his plain cousin, Verity, as a friend. But Ross has the common touch. Despite the Poldark name, he's always been equally comfortable with the common folks who work the land and the tin and copper mines. He rescues a waif of a girl, Demelza Carne, and takes her in as a kitchen maid, not realising until several years later that she's grown into a lovely (and loving) young woman. marrying beneath his class causes scandal in the neighbourhood; the Poldarks are considered to be Cornish aristocracy while Demelza is the daughter of a drunken miner.

The story will not be new to anyone who has seen either the Robin Ellis TV version or the current Aidan Turner one. The first season of the current televised version takes incidents from the first two books in the series (there are 12 altogether), but this book ends before the birth of Ross and Demelza's first child.

Themes include love and loss, class struggle and rivalry, both personal and industrial. (Though in the first book the enmity between Ross and George Warleggan seems relatively unimportant.  Graham's historical background and setting is well-researched. He captures the world of eighteenth century Cornwall well.

And yes, I did resist using the TV tie in cover with Aidan Turner's face all over it. Disappointed? Well, here you are then. Ross Poldark as played by Aidan Turner. You're welcome.

Book Log 17/2015 - Lia Silver: Prisoner

Sherwood Smith's review pointed me at this one (two, actually because 'Partner' is a direct continuation of the story and takes up where Prisoner leaves off. (I'm only just starting on that one). This combines adventure thriller with supernatural romance. DJ Torres is a 'born' werewolf and a marine who, when his helicopter is shot down in Afghanistan goes against everything he's ever been taught and bites his badly wounded best buddy, Roy, to try and save his life. Having given away his secret, DJ finds himself imprisoned by a shadowy government agency somewhere out in the desert where he's partnered with tough-as-nails superspy and assassin, Echo, one of two surviving experimental clones. Echo has superstrength and lightning fast reflexes. DJ and Echo are both physically capable of escaping but Echo is held back by her frail clone sister who is gradually succumbing to the defects of her body, and DJ is held back because the bad guys have Roy stashed in some secret lock-up and threaten him with torture if DJ steps out of line. Things are complicated by a pack of unhappy 'made' wolves, each one of them with a power and a problem.

What could be a fairly standard adventure romance is lifted above the average by the exploration of dyslexia, and PTSD and the psychological effects of warfare and violence. (The author is a therapist in real life, specialising in PTSD.) DJ has been shaped by marine culture: never leave anyone behind and pack principles. Echo, born in a test tube, raised by carers, bottles up her emotions and is used to working alone. She's watched three of her close sisters die as their bodies failed them, now her last sister, the only person she cares about, is a fragile invalid. When the sister dies her controllers will lose their last hold on Echo, so they try and team her up with DJ to give her something - or someone - else to care about.

This is slight in terms of page count, but high in emotional intensity. Lia Silver is a pen name. The author also writes as Rachel Manija Brown. I've been hearing good things about her books from a number of people. This one certainly didn't disappoint.

Book Log 18/2015 - Firefly: Still Flying (Various authors.)

A book of Firefly trivia, nicely produced with excellent illustrations and the added advantage of four new pieces of short fiction by Ben Edlund, Jane Espenson, Brett Matthews, and Jose Molina. It's for fans, but that's OK. Shiny, in fact.