Page 16 - Patrick Obrian News Today

20th Century is returning to sea with Captain Jack Aubrey.

A Novel Imagines a Victorian England Ruled by France Credit...Ben Jones By Dexter Palmer THE KINGDOMS By Natasha Pulley Speculative fiction and historical fiction are closer cousins than one might think, and alternate-history novels (such as Philip K. Dick’s “The Man in the High Castle” or William Gibson and Bruce Sterling’s “The Difference Engine”) can give enterprising writers the chance to work in both genres at once. Fans of such stories will be richly entertained by the lavish ...

5 November 2013 “Aztec Warrior”, Lalo Ugalde It was a bad decision on my part, but when I was finishing up the manuscript for what became  Gods, Gachupines and Gringos, I unwisely let some English teacher unknown to me, have a copy of the manuscript for what I thought was a bit of polishing and grammar checking.  Whether that foreign English teacher in Chihuahua thought his role was in all this, I have no idea, but he took it upon himself to attack my inclusion of homosexuals among the ma...

Peoria, IL, USA 104.9 The Wolf Jeremy Scott/1470-100.3 WMBD SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — If the proposed Illinois House Bill 3878 passes through the Senate, all documents filed through any recorder of deeds office would increase from $9 to $18. The money collected by recorder of deeds offices goes directly into the state’s Rental Housing Support Program. What that program does, Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman said, seems like a secret. “We’ve requested over the past several years [to know] w...

Debut novelist J. H. Gelernter’s “Hold Fast” (out May 4) is a ripping Napoleonic War adventure that leans heavily on its influences but nevertheless manages to chart its own course to a satisfying conclusion. The year is 1803; Boston-born Englishman Thomas Grey is in mourning for his wife, Paulette, who was killed after the ship on which they were traveling is attacked by a French frigate, the Fidele. Heartbroken, Grey resigns from the British secret service, intending to retire to a quie...

Mainers challenge themselves to reading goals during the pandemic A 9-year-old who has read some 250 books and a book club that tackled War and Peace are among those filling their downtime with reading. Photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer Nine-year-old Lucy Harkness used to do have days filled with school, gymnastics, soccer or some other extra-curricular activity. But since the pandemic began, the Portland fourth-grader’s life – not to mention her family’s home – has b...

Fulton County Community vaccinations Submitted News FULTON COUNTY—The Fulton County Health Department in conjunction with the Fulton County COVID Task Force will be holding its next round of vaccination clinics around Fulton County in Table Grove and Avon. The task force is also improving its service to Fulton County residents by allowing walk-ins at these latest clinics. Residents do not need an appointment to participate in the vaccination clinic but are encouraged to pre-register by callin...

Mainers challenge themselves to reading goals during the pandemic A 9-year-old who has read some 250 books and a book club that tackled War and Peace are among those filling their downtime with reading. Photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer Nine-year-old Lucy Harkness used to do have days filled with school, gymnastics, soccer or some other extra-curricular activity. But since the pandemic began, the Portland fourth-grader’s life – not to mention her family’s home – has b...

Based on original accounts taken from the diaries, journals, and letters of veterans of the British Army from 1808-1815, this is a fascinating reconstruction of what life was really like for a British soldier during the wars against Napoleon. Created from first-hand written accounts and contemporary military manuals of the time, this remarkable text presents a fascinating insight into the nitty-gritty of everyday life for the British soldier during the Peninsular war and leading up to the Battl...

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) (Film4, 9pm) OLD-school thrills. Peter Weir’s swashbuckling adventure, adapted from Patrick O’Brian’s novels, is a proper swashbuckler . Captain “Lucky” Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and the 197 crew of the HMS Surprise are ordered to intercept the French Privateer Acheron and “sink, burn or take her as a prize”. The first altercation between the two vessels leaves Aubrey’s ship badly damaged and many crew injured. Aubrey he...