Clik here to view.
Julian Rathbone: creative anachronism, political commitment
I haven’t before blogged book reviews, because that’s what Goodreads is for. But I might, now and then, with a novel relevant to me as a writer. At the moment I’m sprawled at Julian Rathbone’s feet....
View ArticleNomads: state evasion?
State evasion/state prevention. Clastres, French radical, blasted into anthropology with these concepts in the 70s. The title of his definitive essay says it: ‘Society Against the State’. He studied...
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‘Manas’: inspiration from Chingiz, Bilga Khaghan
Today I read the beginning of Manas – the Kyrgyz oral epic – and was struck by Chingiz resemblances. Already I think Chingiz overshadows the story. I’m not alone: the introduction to the online Manas...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Impressions of ‘Manas’
First impressions of the online Manas, after a once-through yesterday, at the speed I might have heard it sung. This epic talks to me, more directly than the Iliad, say, my king of epics… though maybe,...
View ArticleSolitary writers (are you out there?)
Writers have different habits, different ways to write, and I hope we can politely leave each to our own. It is an exercise in politeness, as I know from myself, because when I hear a friend say, ‘I’m...
View ArticleThe UB Post on Walker Pearce
Yesterday I got up the gumption to send Jack Weatherford a fan email. Not only didn’t he mind, he took time to answer and even inquire into this site. Proud to have his feet here, I can tell you....
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Single women on the steppe?
As a happy single these days, and even committed I think (that’d be a first) (enough about me) — I’m intrigued by the possibility that certain steppe societies allowed women to live singly. Liao, at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
William Napier’s Attila trilogy
I was interested enough to read these three books in a month, and they deserve a spot here as steppe fiction. On my blog I can be more personal than I am on Goodreads. To start off: I mostly avoid the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Finished? Unfinished?
A note on my books. Can they stand alone? Do you have to wait for Three for satisfaction? How finished or unfinished is the story? Answer: One and Two are whole books, with a conclusion to the events...
View ArticleWhat’s independence?
Me and my independent sentiments. Last week I read an article with an independent creed I almost never see — that expresses my unexpressed convictions. Here’s a link: Matthew Gasda, ‘How Indie Authors...
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The ‘Nefertiti of the Amur’
So they like to call her. She’s from the Stone Age on the Amur River, and I’ll take her over Nefertiti. She’s in an online gallery called Faces of the Amur. Named for a strong tradition, as old as we...
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Historical Novelists’ Spring Book Fair
Welcome fair-goers to my stall. The Historical Novelists’ 4 Day Book Fair is a get-together run by Francine Howarth; here’s her blog, from where you can browse and wander the stalls of novelists. Ny...
View ArticleNomads: state evasion?
State evasion/state prevention. Clastres, French radical, blasted into anthropology with these concepts in the 70s. The title of his definitive essay says it: ‘Society Against the State’. He studied...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘Manas’: inspiration from Chingiz, Bilga Khaghan
Today I read the beginning of Manas – the Kyrgyz oral epic – and was struck by Chingiz resemblances. Already I think Chingiz overshadows the story. I’m not alone: the introduction to the online Manas...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Impressions of Manas
First impressions of the online Manas, after a once-through yesterday, at the speed I might have heard it sung. This epic talks to me, more directly than the Iliad, say, my king of epics… though...
View ArticleSolitary writers (are you out there?)
Writers have different habits, different ways to write, and I hope we can politely leave each to our own. It is an exercise in politeness, as I know from myself, because when I hear a friend say, ‘I’m...
View ArticleThe UB Post on Walker Pearce
Yesterday I got up the gumption to send Jack Weatherford a fan email. Not only didn’t he mind, he took time to answer and even inquire into this site. Proud to have his feet here, I can tell you....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Single women on the steppe?
As a happy single these days, and even committed I think (that’d be a first) (enough about me) — I’m intrigued by the possibility that certain steppe societies allowed women to live singly. Liao, at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
William Napier’s Attila trilogy
I was interested enough to read these three books in a month, and they deserve a spot here as steppe fiction. On my blog I can be more personal than I am on Goodreads. To start off: I mostly avoid the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Finished? Unfinished?
A note on my books. Can they stand alone? Do you have to wait for Three for satisfaction? How finished or unfinished is the story? Answer: One and Two are whole books, with a conclusion to the events...
View Article
