Currently Reading (fiction): The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Steig
Larsson
I’m about halfway through this novel. Definitely the weakest of the three.
Salander is not as interesting a character when cooped up in a hospital room as
she is running around loose creating chaos. And Blomkvist just seems to be
going through the motions, working to help Salander but not developing much
beyond a one dimensional character. So far the novel just follows too
many threads of too many rather bland characters. At least Zalachenko and Niedermann
provided some interesting villainy in The
Girl Who Played With Fire. Most of the antagonists in this book appear to
be bureaucrats.
Currently Reading (nonfiction): Carthage Must be Destroyed by
Richard Miles
Finished the most interesting and possibly the most anticipated
chapter in the book, In the Footsteps of Heracles. This covers Hannibal’s
march from Spain to Italy, across the Rhône and over the Alps, and the many
battles fought against the Romans on Italian soil. Even though Hannibal lost
more than half of his forces in transit, it was nice to see things generally
work out well for the Carthaginians. Of course the Romans made so many
mistakes that you almost feel sorry for them. That the two commanders of the
Roman army at some point not only disagreed over strategy, but took turns
commanding the army every other day was clearly a recipe for disaster. It all
culminates in a huge Roman defeat at the Battle of Cannae, which may have led
to the downfall of the Roman Republic had Hannibal been a little less cautious.
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