Sara's reading log

I am a book hoarder and reader. My main genre is SF, but I also love magic realism, fantasy and general fiction. Favorite authors are Iain M. Banks, Ursula K. LeGuin, Haruki Murakami, José Saramago, Isaac Asimov, Ben Aaronovitch and more. My rating system is based on five stars. I rate books based on my expectations and what a books aims to be. This means that the brilliant 'Fahrenheit 451' gets five stars because I thought it would be good, people said it was good, and it was good, but 'A Closed and Common Orbit' also gets five stars because in its series, in its style, I really enjoyed it and was not disappointed.

Crusader Gold by David Gibbins

  • Started on: 2012-01-25
  • Finished on: 2012-01-30
  • Read in: English
  • Rating: ****-
  • Genre(s): Historical Adventure

When The Da Vinci Code came out I loved it, the combination of history and adventure, and the major “what-if” at the heart of the story. Ever since them it seems to be a genre on its own, all following a similar formula. Most of them aren’t brilliant in their writing and storyline, and the history is sketchy at best. But most of them are good fun to read, so I always have some in my to-be-read pile to enjoy. One of these books is this one.
I don’t want to give away too much of the story, so I’ll try to give some key players and subjects that are part of this story. The historical figure at the centre of it all is Harald Hardrada and his Vikings. Locations are Istanbul, Hereford, Iona, Greenland and more. As with the first book featuring Jack Howard, diving and underwater archeology are major in this story.
The story itself is a strange balance between action and explanation. Even though I liked the theory, I would have liked more adventure. I have the feeling I can describe the adventure in less than a page, while the theory could be an essay of its own. But, I can’t complain too much, I enjoyed this book and the theory was pretty original to me. Four out of five stars.

  • Started on: 2012-01-25
  • Finished on: 2012-01-30
  • Read in: English
  • Rating: ****-
  • Genre(s): Historical Adventure

When The Da Vinci Code came out I loved it, the combination of history and adventure, and the major “what-if” at the heart of the story. Ever since them it seems to be a genre on its own, all following a similar formula. Most of them aren’t brilliant in their writing and storyline, and the history is sketchy at best. But most of them are good fun to read, so I always have some in my to-be-read pile to enjoy. One of these books is this one.
I don’t want to give away too much of the story, so I’ll try to give some key players and subjects that are part of this story. The historical figure at the centre of it all is Harald Hardrada and his Vikings. Locations are Istanbul, Hereford, Iona, Greenland and more. As with the first book featuring Jack Howard, diving and underwater archeology are major in this story.
The story itself is a strange balance between action and explanation. Even though I liked the theory, I would have liked more adventure. I have the feeling I can describe the adventure in less than a page, while the theory could be an essay of its own. But, I can’t complain too much, I enjoyed this book and the theory was pretty original to me. Four out of five stars.