Saturday, October 27, 2012

October 27th, 2012
Stonehenge
created by:
Bernard Cornwell
   Hi, my name is Haley Mount and I'm an avid book reader. I typically read around 360 books a year. Since I tend to read so much I decided to start a book reviewing various books, so hopefully you find my opinion helpful.

Well, I originally got the book Stonehenge as a birthday gift from my parents, but I postponed reading it because I thought it would be a boring documentary about the creation of Stonehenge. But it turned out to be anything but boring.

   Stonehenge takes place four thousand years earlier to a world filled with ritualistic sacrifices. The story involves three brothers, Lengar, the oldest. Greedy and cruel. Camaban, the outcast middle brother. And Saban, the youngest who actually built Stonehenge. 

   Lengar due to pure greed kills his father to become chief of their tribe. Forcing his younger brother Saban, and his uncle to submit to him if they wish for their tribe to survive. He forces them to kneel and touch his feet as a sign that they recognize Lengar as their new leader. 

   Although Lengar doesn't believe his uncle would attack him he does not trust his brother to be docile while he is leading their tribe. Lengar planned on killing Saban and would have if his brother Camaban hadn't convinced him that slavery to Haragg, a trader, and someone who worships Camaban, would be a worse punishment for Saban. Camaban convinced Lengar not to kill Saban because Saban had been the only one that was ever kind to Camaban.

   Saban's slavery leads to conflict regarding who should be worshiped, and why.

   Over-all this was a great novel. It was brilliantly written. Bernard Cornwell did an excellent job building suspense, excitement, and intrigue. 

   Some of the things that caught my attention about Stonehenge is the amount of detail and thought that obviously went behind the creation of Stonehenge. 

   For me I never thought about Stonehenge, but this book gave me a new perspective about how long it actually took to build Stonehenge.

   Also it shines an interesting light on sibling rivalry and the effect greed can have on a person. Besides enjoying the novel itself it connected to me on a more personal level. I myself have a few siblings and I realized the effect greed could have on a normally happy family, although the brothers in Stonehenge weren't exactly happy. 

   Normally I do not like historical fiction, but Bernard Cornwell beautifully created an intriguing novel that piqued my interest.