I have 3 books to review, but can't drag myself away from the current read. I'm close to finishing The Terror by Dan Simmons. Thanks to Stefanie of So Many Books whose review instigated my choosing this one on my last trip to the library. I already had Simmons' Drood on my list when I read Stefanie's review, and now I will be looking for more Dan Simmons. Oh, yeah.
I've learned a great deal from this book including that a Welsh wig is a knitted cap: " By the eighteenth century, the woollen cap worn by the ordinary sailors in the British Navy had changed to the Welsh Wig which was described as a round knitted cap which may have originally been the 'Monmouth cap'." [from The Isca Morrismen]
I've also learned about the horrors of scurvy and that Holland tents were still being used in arctic exploration in 1875, and much more. I've been completely absorbed by it -- alternately entertained, educated, horrified...
Yay! I am so glad you are enjoying the book! isn't scruvy horrible? I had no idea. And always being so very cold. Brr!
ReplyDeleteStefanie - I finished! I know what you meant about the conclusion; it was a bit of a twist. Started to tell my husband about it, and I got no further than "the search for the Nortwest Passage" before he was telling ME about the Franklin Expedition!
ReplyDeleteSimmons had me through all of the cold, hunger, hardship, and danger.
Excellent! And even though the ending had quite a twist, I thought it worked out fine. Sounds like your husband might enjoy the book too.
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