Reviews and Comments

two chapters in and I'm thinking a lot of Dune. did Herbert knew all this but economics not?

i have a strong affection to all the historians, who are able to find the new perspective or are even capable of turning the mainstream narration upside down (see Emma Southon). i think you can see here how hard the struggle with biased and obnoxious (roman) sources really is. 'Carthage' is an interesting read, full of new facts and insights in the mediterranian antiquity -- at least for me as a vivid reader of Livy. and it has the melancholy of a work, which shows you the edge of our understanding, pointing in the direction of the ones, who muddied the water.

hmm -- offenbar kann man mir es nicht recht machen: den zweiten teil habe ich als deutlich bündiger wahrgenommen, als den ersten, das fand ich sehr gut. dafür waren mir die schlüsse auf vorstellungen der eiszeitler, das liegt natürlich in der natur der sache, zu vage, um sie in der darstellung dann erst zu nehmen. aber für eine realistische(re) bebilderung des lebens zu dieser zeit und einer unmenge interessanter entdeckungen und zusammenhänge ist auch der zweite band wunderbar!

are you telling me this, are you showing ? ah, both. in one single scene. and the next, and another. it is kinda hard...

i started with the game "to hell with the ugly" only to learn, it is based on this novel. and i'm still fascinated by the derailing noir-pulp story line -- think "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" --, by the anti-hero, by the absurd handling of people and situations. but apart from the fun: i truly believe this novel has more to say as you would expect from a pastiche. the themes are feeded by the shock of the second world war and eugenics. and by precognition this is combined with a setting of innocent and frivolous usa-culture. explaining in the end, how easy you become rationalizing evil.

(surely missed all the wordplay and the nuances by reading the text in french)