Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Go back 100,000 years and you would find six separate species of human scattered across the earth. Today there is a single one left; homo sapiens. In this book, Harari looks at how we rose not only to become the only Homo species but also the dominant creature on the planet. He considers how our genetic makeup is still closely tied to the original hunter-gatherer way of life and how our innovations in farming, civilisation and science have made us all powerful. Modern life has brought us many benefits but there is a darker side; we have enslaved people and wrought pain and misery on countless people throughout history and even now are slaves to the clock and consumerism.

It is a broad-brush book as Harari draws on economics, anthropology and palaeontology to complete the history of our species. He also considers our future as humans, looking at the medical advances that could mean we live longer than ever and other technologies like genetic modification that could make some of people life more comfortable. Sadly though, there are flaws. He seems to come up with some daft conclusions, there are sweeping generalisations concerning subjects like the economy whilst there is very little on our effects on the climate. It has immense amounts of detail in some subjects and then rushes through on others, but it is a good stab at a subject with so much history and offers the potential of so much more.

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Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and Digital Money are Challenging the Global Economic Order by Paul Vigna
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Money supposedly makes the world go round. It doesn’t; that’s physics; but it is the lifeblood of business and the system that controls it, governments, banks, brokers and the other middlemen have made and lost fortunes with it and with that control comes power. Cryptocurrencies might be something that you have heard of, but like most people you are probably unaware how this new form of money is aiming to revolutionise the concept of money.

Bitcoin is probably the best known of these new cryptocurrencies. They are beginning to offer a genuine alternative to regular currencies, allowing people without access to credit and banks a way into global finance. This new money is a peer-to-peer type verified by technologies such as the blockchain and encryption allowing the bypassing of regular money channels. It is not subject to regular laws either, it was extensively used on the Silk Road website for illegal transactions and has gained some notoriety, however it is democratic and anyone can mine the coins to spend how they choose.

It is an interesting book about a new form of cash and whilst the authors do their best to explain it in simple and straightforward terms, it is at time very technical and complex. It is worth reading though, especially if you have an interest in technology or finance; but be prepared to be baffled at times.

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Stonehenge: The Story of a Sacred Landscape by Francis Pryor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.

Stonehenge. Just the name can conjure up that iconic image of the standing stones and sarsens against the background of the Salisbury Plain. Rightly so, it is a World Heritage site, but it is an enigma as it actual purpose can still only be speculated about. Was it a celestial calendar? Or a ritual site? Perhaps it was used for sacrifices, or used as a focus for the Neolithic peoples who built it. Whatever its purpose, we know that the area has been used for millennia as a place of significance with the first man made changes being made around 3000 BC.

Pryor is an expert in the Bronze and Iron Ages, but his particular speciality is Flag Fen, a huge site in Cambridgeshire that was used extensively for ritual purposes. Whilst he is not an expert on Stonehenge, he does have a gift for seeing the landscape as those people would have done. In this book he draws on the very latest in archaeology and research to give us a broad history of the monument, explores how a range of people have seen and used the site ove the years and considers the context of the site in the wider landscape.

Pryor’s ability to immerse himself in the age and the ability of see the landscape through their eyes, means that we get an expert view of the way that it evolved and changes, without descending into dry academic speak. As well as the rigorous writing, the book is full of excellent photos, high quality plans and beautiful pictures of Stonehenge. It is comprehensive without being complicated and well worth reading.

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Dirt Music by Tim Winton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Georgie Jutland has drifted into Jim Buckridge’s life. Widowed, he is a thriving fisherman in the Australian coastal town of White Point. Her relationship with his sons is tense and she has never really settled into his home or the wider community. Georgie is looking out the window very early one morning and sees a boat slip into the water to fish illegally. Buckridge and the other residents of White Point detest poachers.

The man in the boat is Luther Fox, formerly a musician but is now a loner since his family were killed in a freak accident. These two isolated individuals are inexorably drawn together and begin an intense affair. The residents of the town are not best known for their tolerance and it is a place of violence and secrets. Their liaison is full of risk and if discovered the danger is immense…

I have only read one of Winton’s books before, the excellent Lands Edge which is a memoir on his life at the coast in Australia, but this was the first foray into his fiction. He has managed to write a really powerful book with some great flawed characters and a tense plot. The writing is stark and sparse, and like the outback is intense and evocative. It has a really good ending too; very cleverly done. Must read some more of his fiction soon.

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The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Koth had been a simple innkeeper in the town of Newarre for a while. A traveling scribe, calling himself Chronicler, is rescued from the Scrael, lethal spider-like creatures by Koth. Realising that there was more than meets the eye to this innkeeper, Chronicler offers to write his story. Koth reveals that he is actually Kvothe, renowned musician, fabled magician and legendary fighter, and agrees to spend three days telling his story.

Starting with his childhood, he tells of the time spent travelling with the Edema Ruh, a travelling band of performers. It is a happy time for him, even more so when they are joined by Abenthy, a gentle man who teaches him about the world and some elements of the ‘sympathy’ magic that exists in this world. He witnesses him call on the Name of the Wind one day and vows that he will learn this skill at the university. Tragic events and a lucky escape from the mythical Chandrian causes him to end up in the city of Tarbean as a beggar where he has to survive on his wits. He is still driven by the desire to reach the university to learn more of the magic that Abenthy taught him. So begins the next phase and possibly most dangerous phase of his life.

I have heard lots of good things about this book, but this is the first time I have read anything by Rothfuss at all. And it was a really good story; it had a great plot, with a good build up of tension and twists galore. I liked too the mediaeval world that he has created; it feels real whilst infused with magic and dark elements. It did feel a little YA, not always a problem, and I didn’t like the spoilers in the book concerning Kvothe and another character. I want to find out for myself as I read it. Looking forward to getting my hands on the next one, 4.5 stars overall.

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