Gaston de Foix

I do this thing where I find unread fantasy recommendations from trusted sources and then try to read a sample chapter before deciding the most engaging book to read. Today I will read sample chapters from (with rankings to come): Gideon the Ninth The Priory of the Orange Tree Watchmaker of Filigree Street The Ruin of Kings The Poppy War Seven Blades in Black Time of Dread Hawkwood Kings. Thanks. An excellent review. I disagree with her take: "What's missing from The Mirror and the Light—so noticeably missing that one can only assume this is a deliberate choice—is any conclusion to this belief, either disillusionment or affirmation. Mantel has written Cromwell as a humanist in a world where that belief has no scope." In fact (and this is not a spoiler) the work of his lifetime is the narrative of Whig history, so notably parodied in 1066 and All That. The break with Rome, the publication of the Bible, the increase in the power of Parliament, centralization of administration etc.

Thanks Zorral. It was in fact your recommendation that led me to try the biography. Amongst all the interesting facts in the biography that stood out the one that really tantalized me was the identit(ies) of Cromwell's betrayer(s), particularly those individuals who repeated snippets of his statements that were later denounced as treasonous and/or heretical. Wriotheseley and Bonner are both excellent candidates, and no doubt both played their role in his downfall. But the candidate that Mantel suggests (but does not name) is Thomas Wyatt the poet. The man who stood by Cromwell on the scaffold (which McCulloch celebrated), and whom Cromwell had protected and promoted throughout. The joy of historical fiction is you can speculate freely and maybe that is what she has done.

I just finished Thomas Cromwell by Diarmaid MacCulloch based on an earlier thread recommendation. I read the Mirror and the Light before that. Next up is the Intelligent Investor followed by Rick Riordan's Apollo series.

Is the suggestion that Dresden cheats on Murphy with Lara? Yikes.

If he doesn't recover (which I profoundly hope is not the case) his official successor will be (checks notes) Dominic Raab. Gulp.

Hard to display magic otherwise. Some creative liberties seems perfectly appropriate. {SPOILERS FOR PEACE TALKS AND BATTLE GROUND BELOW}

Thanks for sharing this link Wert. Based on the interview (and reading the book descriptions and watching the trailer and therefore getting unavoidably, somewhat spoiled), I've decided to wait and read both books together when Battle Ground comes out on 29 September 2020.

I think a remake of the TV show would be better with a proper budget and someone who looked like Dresden as the central character. The problem isn't so much that they changed things but that the changes were to create a monster-of-the-week vibe. Messing around with the deeper story ultimately set up problems for the future. Does anyone else find the coronavirus growth remind them somewhat eerily of the Vord? (If you haven't picked up Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series, you should.) Are people enjoying the microfiction?

He can't. He's not playing this to get it passed by Monday. That would have been a five corners negotiation. He's playing this to hold his caucus together and make the Democrats look obstructive. Losing 8 R Senators for Phase 2 was a major warning sign. I doubt he can pass anything in the Senate unless he can divide and conquer the Dem minority and he would much rather negotiate with them than Pelosi (let alone Pelosi negotiating with Mnuchin and ramming her preferences down the Senate's throat). The Dem senators should stick with Pelosi and dictate terms.

Burr's defense is that he didn't rely on the classified information. If it can be proved that he did (based on timing and, ideally, contemporaneous electronic communications) then he is toast. But the Senate ethics committee will almost certainly not subpoena him. It will be the SEC or the DOJ that will have to do so in an investigation. By contrast Loeffler's defense (as publicly stated anyway) is that she had nothing to do with the trades. If it can be proved that she did then she will also be in hot water. Lying to the public or in a press release is not a crime but it's not a good look before a jury. Important to note the law on insider trading wouldn't have covered these acts but the Obama STOCK Act appears to do so. That is their principal legal jeopardy.

Thanks all for the recommendations! Keep 'em coming. Right now I'm reading “Nobody Will Tell You This But Me” by Bess Kalb (excerpt): https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/nobody-will-tell-you-this-but-me-phone-calls-with-my-grandmother

She's a pretty awesome author in her own right. I would be curious about her take on the delay tho...

Yes. It may be that Alveron takes Kvothe back into his service? Somehow Kvothe must find himself at the royal court at Renere.