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A review by archergal
The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford
4.0
Read for our SF/F book club.
I'd known of John M. Ford for some time, but hadn't read much by him. Part of it was the reputation of his books being difficult reads. I prepared for this by having a page open to the Draco Concordans page. I had the audiobook as well as the ebook. Following the words with my eyes while I hear the story with my ears sometimes helps ME with challenging texts.
Well, honestly, I'd probably have been okay without all that. The Draco Concordans DOES give some additional info and insight, especially about the history of the time. (Most history is a closed book to me.) A few additional glosses on the texts helped, but not as much as I expected it to, TBH.
As the introduction says, if you've read the Aubrey/Maturin books by Patrick O'Brian, you should probably be ok with following the text. I always read introductions last. By the time I read the intro to this book, I'd already decided that yes, Mr. Ford writes a lot like O'Brian. (Also, apparently, like Dorothy Dunnett, who I haven't yet read. But she's on my list.)
I quite liked the writing, and the audiobook narrator was quite good too. The characters are memorable. I expect they'll float around in my brain for a while.
Good stuff. Maybe I'll try another John M. Ford book now, besides [b:How Much for Just the Planet?|268442|How Much for Just the Planet? (Star Trek Worlds Apart, #2)|John M. Ford|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388927639l/268442._SY75_.jpg|209995] :)
I'd known of John M. Ford for some time, but hadn't read much by him. Part of it was the reputation of his books being difficult reads. I prepared for this by having a page open to the Draco Concordans page. I had the audiobook as well as the ebook. Following the words with my eyes while I hear the story with my ears sometimes helps ME with challenging texts.
Well, honestly, I'd probably have been okay without all that. The Draco Concordans DOES give some additional info and insight, especially about the history of the time. (Most history is a closed book to me.) A few additional glosses on the texts helped, but not as much as I expected it to, TBH.
As the introduction says, if you've read the Aubrey/Maturin books by Patrick O'Brian, you should probably be ok with following the text. I always read introductions last. By the time I read the intro to this book, I'd already decided that yes, Mr. Ford writes a lot like O'Brian. (Also, apparently, like Dorothy Dunnett, who I haven't yet read. But she's on my list.)
I quite liked the writing, and the audiobook narrator was quite good too. The characters are memorable. I expect they'll float around in my brain for a while.
Good stuff. Maybe I'll try another John M. Ford book now, besides [b:How Much for Just the Planet?|268442|How Much for Just the Planet? (Star Trek Worlds Apart, #2)|John M. Ford|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388927639l/268442._SY75_.jpg|209995] :)