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What to say about Wolf Hall?

I enjoyed the book. Ms Mantel is a talented writer who has achieved something quite fantastic by weiving together history and fiction to give us quite a handsome portrait of Cromwell, albeit apparently untrue.

It is a challenging read. The style of prose is quite difficult and can be somewhat confusing; however, once you realise that whenever the author uses “he”, it almost always refers to Cromwell, you start to settle in. I think I would have given it five stars had it been a bit easier to read. But then again, I am a simple man.

I must confess I was not entirely aware of the intricacies of Henry VIII's court. I did not fully understand how his marriages and subsequent annulments played out. However, this adaptation is a great entry point into understanding the whole affair. While I know this is not a historical biography, the author's meticulous attention to detail should be praised.

Most of Cromwell's biographers paint him as a callous, cruel, and calculating man, far from Wolf Hall's portrait. This might be true, but nonetheless, it is exciting, and once you get into it, you can't put it down.

I listened to and read this book. I must also praise Simon Slater's reading on Audible. It is fantastic, and his use of accents to differentiate the characters made it all the more enjoyable.

I will read the sequels and then pick up a history of the Tudors to piece it all together.

I thought this book was underwhelming. Nonetheless, a fine read.

In the prior month, I finished David Grann's other book, The Wager, Alfred Lansing's Endurance and Peter Fitzsimons' Mutiny on the Bounty. All were epic tales, expertly written and enjoyed. This was not that.

This book falls somewhat flat, partly because it doesn't have a satisfying ending and partly because the narrative arc is loose. We never find Fawcett's trail; we only get the author travelling into the jungle briefly to talk to some Indigenous folks. It's true that sometimes there isn't a satisfying ending, which is fine, but I feel the author sets the book up to uncover something and does no such thing. I think there is an argument to say this ought to have just been a book about the life of Fawcett, not a history-cum-travel-book that tries to tie two loose threads together.

For all its flaws, the book is still readable, interesting enough and short. I never knew about Fawcett's life before I began, and I enjoyed it in that regard. Moreover, it made me realise I have no appetite for travelling deep into the jungle. I will give it to Fawcett, exploration in the Amazon is hard. It is brutal. I have no envy for their lives like I did with those travelling to Tahiti in Fitzsimons' Bounty.

One thing I did enjoy is the author's attempt to help the reader understand the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon. He gives us a good, albeit brief, explanation of these people and their ancient and impressive lives before the Colombian Exchange, after which millions died due to Old World diseases.

I would still recommend this book to those who want to learn more about Amazon exploration, as it is a quick read. Any longer, and I would have felt the cost-benefit might lend itself to an alternate read.

Project Hail Mary is an enjoyable story. It is readable and fun, requiring little reading comprehension; most readers could finish this book within a week or less.

The science is fine, albeit sometimes a little bit far-fetched. With Sci-Fi, it's often hard to get the balance right. I feel that you either create broad concepts, e.g., FTL travel, wormholes, etc. and don't explain them in detail or you try to make them hyper-realistic and explainable. The author attempts to do both but doesn't get it exactly right. Nevertheless, attention to detail regarding some of the key concepts, e.g. relativity, gravity, etc., is appreciated.

The major criticism I have, that is to say, why I wouldn't give it four or five stars, is that the characters aren't particularly complex and, therefore, not real, in a human way. The protagonist falls into the classic Hollywood hero trope. His only flaw is that he gets a bit cranky and stupid when tired or drugged (who doesn't?) and is somewhat of a coward. Other than that, he is almost perfect. Moreover, in many ways, he is a copy-and-paste of his other protagonist, Mark Watney, from his previous book, the Martian. Frankly, I think he's a bit of a loser, and not in a fun or endearing way — I would not like to have a drink with him.

Overall, I would recommend this book as something to read on a long weekend or as something light between more challenging reads.

Again, it is not bad, but not great. There is a lot of complex lore and not enough lovable characters, but I feel I should finish the series.

This is a fun book. It's entertaining, interesting, and not too long. I was quite gripped by the narrative and found the protagonist likeable, albeit a little too perfect. Nevertheless, it is very readable/listenable as it has an interesting premise and exciting plot. If it were longer, I probably would have rated it lower as I felt it lacked a kind of depth that I would normally expect with a good novel; however, its interesting premise carried it.